I got a payment reserve on my Etsy account, then this happened!

My weird Etsy payment reserve experience, and some facts about how reserves work. And the only thing that the Star Seller program might be good for.

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[Maca]

I’ve had no complaints from customers or issues all of a sudden they started holding my funds back. I never received any messaging that told me I’m violating any policies or am getting a payment reserve. I asked what’s happening and no explanation. I shut my shop down and I’m chasing them for my $357 they owe me. I’m so done with these guys.

[natalieosborne]

I’m a star seller, I’ve been on Etsy since 2014 and they just placed a reserve on my account. I keep trying to get a reason why, but they just keep sending me a cut and paste list of reasons (none apply to me or my shop, so the explanations don’t help me figure anything out). I’m having a big launch so I’m opening a Shopify shop for my upcoming launch and I’ll minimize what I sell on Etsy until I figure it out. I don’t rely on Etsy shoppers. My customers are from my social media followers and they’ll shop any link I put in my bio. So I won’t have to worry for this big launch about Etsy holding funds until they’ve all shipped. But, I wanted to let you know, being a star seller doesn’t mean this won’t happen.

[NettiieB]

Lol! Your acting had me cracking up! "Payment reserve? What!" 😂😂

[edmundodot]

Etsy does this because the longer they hold your funds in the more fees they can steal from of your payment, nothing else, they do shady things like this very often

[KaraBuntin]

Update June 2023: Etsy is now putting payment reserves on some Star Seller accounts! I'll do an updated video about this and link it here when it's posted.

[MadameCorgi]

I think they added a reserve to my shop because I don't make people pay for tracking. When i do my sales drop drastically, so that's nice. Thanks Etsy!

[malinda]

I must be late to the game because I've beverage encountered this until recently. I am so angry! 1. No complaints 2. No notices 3. Every order or 99% of my orders are sent thru Etsy. With tracking number. I've not had a deposit since April 11. My minimum for my tiny little shop is 75% of ALL my orders. And not one Etsy person can take a min to speak to me and tell me why!? I do not meet the criteria. And!!! Once I've purchased label thru Etsy, the money is not deposited. And I pay for etsy ads and yet my sales have dropped! Ugh! I've sent multiple emails and not one email of the why that means anything because my shop does not meet this criteria. None of the regurgitated jargon!

[lorensamuel]

This is devastating!
Ive been a seller with 5 stars on Etsy for five years now, with over 70 sales. My on time shipping with tracking is always 100%, minimum sales amount is always "star seller" achieved, the only reason I don't get the badge is because I don't meet the minimum sales number. I sell custom photo booth kiosks that take 2-3 weeks to build, so I only sell around 3 or 4 per month. Ive been slapped with the 75% payment reserve on my account. At the moment Etsy has 5k in my reserve account, and on top of that, an order that was shipped and DELIVERED via Fedex (purchased the shipping label through Etsy) still says Pre Transit. The order says complete, when you hit the tracking link, it will say delivered, however Etsy still has it marked as Pre Transit, keeping the funds in the reserve account. The sale alone is worth almost 2k. This is criminal!

[kittijakab]

My shop also received this payment reserve. I ask them why and they ignored the question several times and still haven't got an acceptable answer for it. My shop isn't new, I didn't have a sudden increase in sales and there wasn't any policy violations. And even if I shipped the package with tracking number the amount is still reserved for 45 days because they keep saying it is an unsupported carrier, which isn't true because it is among the trackable carriers. They sent a link to the list and I checked the carrier I'm using which is supported. When I tell them they ignore this to and keep sending the link to the list. This whole situation is crazy and unacceptable. :(

[ValWarren]

I got hit with a reserve. Etsy is mostly my main source of income. So what I did was put a 3 week processing time on the shop but then sent out big orders first/early . So that released half of my reserve and then I was able to have funds for future operating costs. For me the money is released as it hits "In Transit" status, not the "accepted by PO" status.

[JustineGagliani]

My shop has also received an out of the blue payment reserve after 13, 000+ sales! I am posting my orders (out of my own pocket) tracked and still not seeing the money released. Emails to Etsy are replied to with a generic cut and paste email. Is this what we are paying our fees for!!

[HNicholsIllustration]

I have had a shop in good standing for 8 years, I've never had an IP violation or shop violation. I got hit with a reserve without explanation and I don't seem to fall into the categories for reserve conditions, anyone know why?

[allenadayswork]

I just opened my store a few days ago and I'm loving all the info on your channel! Thanks 👍

[andrewadent]

Yeah... there is a problem though... if you do made to order things that take a while to produce... then you're stuck. You have to pay out of pocket... do all the time and effort to make it... and only get paid when it's shipped and when they feel like returning the funds. It takes me sometimes a month + to produce certain high price items... getting 75% of my money taken from me until I fulfill that

[LisaOliverauthor]

I am yet to make a profit on my Etsy store because I am paying for advertising and still have a lot to learn, but in my regular job, I self-publish on Amazon, and they automatically hold your money for sixty days each month, to allow for refunds and charge backs. It's not a problem, because after you've been publishing regularly for longer than three months, you are still getting paid every month, it's just you are getting paid for money you earned two months before. I like that system personally because it allows you to budget in advance. You can see when you have to put money aside for a short month. But I will be keen on getting money from Etsy one day soon I hope. Keep up with the great videos :)

[ChusLaChicaManosa]

I had a payment reserve for 2 months, having had a successful shop for 6 years no problems no complaints. I have a well-managed shop, without trust or other issues at all. I asked for help and an explanation. Just got cookie cutter 2 replies and 1 saying don't worry it'll lift eventually. I ended up financing postage for all Etsy's orders on top of the materials and work et. 2 whole months with only 5% of the money I should have received being deposited in my account. Braise yourselves people this can happen to you too.

[RachellesCrafts]

Good information! I can see how a payment reserve could be devastating and could happen at any time—and apparently to anyone!

I’m assuming if someone has their own site it much more difficult to file a frivolous copyright claim so it’s less likely to happen? Seems like online selling platforms are low-hanging fruit for copyright trolls.

[awlthatwoodcrafts]

I started my shop right about 2 months ago (April). I got 3 sales in May and then 2 more in the first half of June. I just got an order a day for 3 days in a row. The next day, reserve notice.

Now that I've researched it, it makes sense. Fortunately for me, I don't depend on my Etsy income to live on. It was a surprise to see it happen, as I didn't know that it could, but I understand why. A bit of an annoyance, but we'll see how long they take to release the reserves. Of those 3 new orders, 2 are already on the way (1 arriving today the other tomorrow) and I'll be shipping the 3rd one today. We'll see if they release the reserve when the 3rd order is in transit. Of course the timing is such that it probably won't be released in time for the Monday deposit.

Interesting surge of comments on this video. Since updating the video 2 weeks ago, there are lots of comments about shops having a reserve place on them in the last couple of weeks. Certainly, the update to the video likely resulted in it popping up in people's feeds, but at the same time, a lot of people have been viewing and commenting because they got a reserve placed on their shop in the last 2 weeks.

[DCANOTXZ]

Hello, I just started a Etsy shop. It’s not being month since I started the shop. I only so far had 5 orders the first couple days. And today I woke up today to an email that said “we have placed a temporary payment account reserve on your shop” it said that only 75% of the sales make won’t be available right away. It said that would take 45 days to be deposit. But the funny thing, is that it’s been a week and I don’t have any orders

[laurab]

Good video, Kara! Glad to know the Seller Star is good for something.