Etsy Offsite Ads Explained: How You Get Charged and When You Can Opt Out

Etsy Offsite Ads is Etsy’s program that promotes your listings on places like search engines and social platforms, then charges you only when that promotion leads to a sale. The charge is an offsite ad fee taken as a percentage of the order total, with the rate based on your shop’s sales over the last 365 days: under the $10,000 threshold it’s optional and typically higher, while $10,000+ puts you in a lower rate but required participation. Orders can be attributed to a click for up to a 30-day attribution window, and the fee is capped per order. The detail that trips up many sellers is when a click still “counts” even after settings change.

Etsy Offsite Ads basics for sellers and listings

What Etsy promotes through Offsite Ads

Etsy Offsite Ads promotes your Etsy listings, not a custom ad campaign you build yourself. Etsy sends participating ad partners the key details they need to create an ad, like your listing title, photos, description, and other inventory information. Those partners may then show your item to shoppers across the web, including search engines and social platforms, based on what their systems think is most relevant.

The important seller takeaway is this: Offsite Ads is designed to pull from your existing catalog. If a listing looks incomplete, unclear, or inconsistent, it is harder for an ad system to match it to the right shopper.

How listings get chosen and shown

You do not pick which specific listings run as Offsite Ads. Etsy and its partners decide what to advertise and where to place it, using performance and relevance signals on each channel. In practice, listings that convert well and clearly match shopper intent tend to get more exposure over time.

Because the ad is built from your listing data, the basics matter: strong primary photo, accurate title, clean attributes, and shipping details that do not surprise shoppers after they click.

If you want Etsy’s official overview of how the program works, start with How Etsy’s Offsite Ads Work.

What sellers control and what they do not

Sellers control the fundamentals: what products are active, pricing, shipping settings, processing times, and listing quality. Sellers can also control participation only if their shop is eligible to opt out.

What you do not control: which partner site runs the ad, the exact audience targeting, creative variations, and the timing or frequency of promotion for a given listing. In other words, you can influence Offsite Ads indirectly by improving listings, but you cannot “manage” it like a traditional ad account.

Where Etsy Offsite Ads appear across the web

Google Shopping, Search, and Display placements

Etsy Offsite Ads can show up on Google in a few different ways. The most obvious is product-style placements, like Google Shopping results, where your listing photo, price, and shop name appear right in the search experience. Etsy may also place Offsite Ads through the Google Display Network, which means your items can appear across a large network of websites and apps that run Google ads.

The exact mix changes over time, but the key point is that you are not limited to “Etsy-looking” placements. A shopper may see your item while actively searching for something, or while browsing content somewhere else online.

Social platforms and other partner sites

Offsite Ads can also appear on major social platforms and other partner destinations. Etsy lists common Offsite Ads channels as Google, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Bing, Etsy Publishing Partner Sites, and Google Display Network. Etsy also notes that its advertising partners can change. For the most current channel list, Etsy keeps it updated in its help documentation: How Etsy’s Offsite Ads Work.

One practical implication: your listings need to make sense outside of Etsy. Clear photos, readable titles, and accurate pricing help shoppers decide quickly when they see your product in a feed or on a partner site.

Buyer experience after clicking an ad

Most of the time, clicking an Offsite Ad sends the shopper to Etsy, usually straight to the listing page (or your shop) so they can review details, shipping, and policies before buying.

In some cases, the experience can be more “native” to the platform they are on. For example, certain Google Shopping experiences may allow checkout without the buyer feeling like they fully “moved” to Etsy. From a seller standpoint, the important part is that the shopper’s path may be shorter than you expect, so your listing needs to answer common questions fast: sizing, materials, processing time, and delivery expectations.

How Etsy decides an order came from Offsite Ads

The 30-day attribution window

Etsy uses a 30-day attribution window for Offsite Ads. If a shopper clicks an Offsite Ad that promotes one of your listings and then places an order from your shop within the next 30 days, Etsy can attribute that order to the ad and charge the Offsite Ads fee.

This is true even if the shopper does not buy the same day, and even if they buy a different item than the one they originally clicked. The fee is tied to the ad click that brought them to your shop, not to a specific listing staying in their cart.

There’s one important exception: if, within that same 30-day window, the buyer’s last click before purchasing is from an Etsy Ad, then Etsy applies the Etsy Ads fee instead of the Offsite Ads fee for that order. You can review Etsy’s current explanation of attribution in How Etsy’s Offsite Ads Work.

Repeat purchases and multiple clicks

A single Offsite Ad click can lead to more than one fee. If the shopper places multiple separate orders from your shop within the 30-day window, each of those orders can be eligible for the Offsite Ads fee.

Multiple clicks can also complicate things. If a buyer clicks around through different marketing channels and then returns later, Etsy’s “last click before purchase” rule is what decides whether Offsite Ads or Etsy Ads gets credit.

Where to see Offsite Ads attribution in orders

For a clear view of what happened, use your Offsite Ads dashboard in Shop Manager. It typically shows the listing that was clicked, the date of the click, the channel or website, and which order(s) were attributed.

You can also confirm the charge at the order level by checking your Payment account, where Offsite Ads fees appear as a line item tied to the attributed order.

Offsite Ads fees: when you get charged and how much

12% vs 15% fee tiers and what triggers them

Etsy Offsite Ads uses two fee tiers. If an order is attributed to an Offsite Ad, you’ll pay 15% or 12% of the order total, depending on your shop’s sales level over the past 365 days. Etsy also caps the Offsite Ads fee at $100 USD per attributed order, even if the order total is much higher.

Past 365-day sales threshold and required participation

The key line is the $10,000 USD sales threshold (past 365 days). Under $10,000, Offsite Ads is optional and attributed orders are charged at 15%. Once your shop reaches $10,000 or more in a 365-day period, Etsy moves you to the 12% rate and makes participation required for the lifetime of the shop.

Etsy calculates your status on a monthly cycle. Also note that the $10,000 threshold is based on your item sales (item price times quantity, minus discounts and formally canceled orders). It does not count things like separately charged shipping, taxes, or gift wrap toward the threshold.

What the fee applies to on an order

When an order is attributed, the Offsite Ads fee is calculated as a percentage of the total order amount. That generally includes the item price plus any shipping and gift wrap the buyer pays. Tax treatment can vary by location. For US sellers, Etsy’s policy states Offsite Ads fees do not apply to sales tax.

When the fee is not charged

You won’t be charged an Offsite Ads fee when:

• A shopper clicks an Offsite Ad but does not purchase from your shop.
• The buyer purchases after the 30-day window has passed.
• The buyer’s last click before purchase is an Etsy Ad (then the Etsy Ads fee applies instead).
• The order is not considered an attributed order under Etsy’s rules in its Fees & Payments Policy.

Opt-out rules: who can opt out and who cannot

Required participation vs optional participation

All sellers are automatically enrolled in Etsy Offsite Ads. The difference is whether you’re allowed to opt out.

• Optional participation: If your shop has made less than $10,000 USD in sales in the past 365 days, you can choose to opt out.
• Required participation: If your shop has made $10,000 USD or more in sales in the past 365 days, you’re required to participate and can’t opt out.

Etsy’s official help page lays out these rules and the opt-out eligibility details in How Etsy’s Offsite Ads Work.

What happens after crossing the sales threshold

Once your shop crosses the $10,000 USD threshold (based on Etsy’s 365-day sales calculation), Etsy moves your shop into required participation. This isn’t a temporary status. Even if your sales drop below $10,000 later, the required participation status stays with the shop.

Also, if you opted out while you were under $10,000, that opt-out does not “carry forward” once you cross the threshold. In plain terms: crossing the line turns Offsite Ads back on, and the toggle won’t be available anymore.

Effects of opting out on future ad traffic

If you’re eligible and you opt out, Etsy stops promoting your listings through Offsite Ads going forward. That can reduce the number of new-to-you buyers who find you through external channels.

Two practical notes sellers often miss:

1. Opting out doesn’t undo past clicks. A previous Offsite Ads click can still lead to an attributed order within the attribution window.
2. Opting out doesn’t affect your organic traffic. You can still get found through Etsy search, your own marketing, and other non-Offsite Ads sources.

Turning Offsite Ads on or off in your Etsy settings

Where the Offsite Ads toggle lives

In Etsy Shop Manager, the Offsite Ads control lives under Settings. On desktop, the usual path is:

Shop Manager → Settings → Offsite Ads → Opt out of Offsite Ads (if you’re eligible) or Turn on Offsite Ads (if you previously opted out).

Etsy keeps these steps updated in its Help Center article on How Etsy’s Offsite Ads Work.

What changes immediately vs later

When you opt out (and your shop is allowed to), Etsy stops enrolling you in new Offsite Ads placements, but the change is not always instant on every partner site. Etsy’s Advertising & Marketing Policy notes it may take up to three business days for your listings to no longer be displayed as part of Offsite Ads.

Also, opting out does not erase recent ad clicks. If a shopper clicked an Offsite Ad before your opt-out is effective, and then buys within the attribution window, that order can still be charged the Offsite Ads fee.

Common reasons the toggle is unavailable

The most common reason is eligibility. If your shop has hit the $10,000 USD sales threshold in a qualifying 365-day period, participation is required, and the opt-out option won’t be available.

Other common issues are simple but frustrating: you’re not in Shop Manager (you’re in the buyer view), you’re in the wrong account, or you’re looking in Etsy Ads settings instead of the separate Offsite Ads page under Settings.

Profit impact and smart decision points for Offsite Ads

Quick margin math: what the fee does to net profit

Offsite Ads fees come out of the same pool as your materials, labor, shipping costs, and Etsy’s other fees. So the clean way to think about it is: your profit margin needs to comfortably absorb an extra 12% or 15% of the order total when an order is attributed.

A simple check:

• If you normally net 25% profit on an order, a 15% Offsite Ads fee can cut that down to roughly 10% net (before considering other Etsy fees).
• If you normally net 15%, that same fee can push you close to break-even.

This is why sellers who feel “surprised” by Offsite Ads charges usually are not surprised by the fee itself. They are surprised by how thin their real margin was after shipping, packaging, and production time.

Offsite Ads vs Etsy Ads for predictable control

Offsite Ads is “set and reviewed,” not actively managed. You cannot choose keywords, bids, or which listings get promoted. Etsy Ads is closer to a traditional ad tool: you can set a daily budget and decide which listings you want to advertise on Etsy.

If you want predictable spend, Etsy Ads usually feels more controllable because you cap the daily budget. Offsite Ads is more performance-based: you only pay when a sale is attributed, but you cannot cap how many attributed sales you might get in a strong month.

Risk considerations for high-ticket and low-margin items

Offsite Ads can be a great match for items that:

• have healthy margins,
• ship reliably with low damage rates,
• and convert well from cold traffic.

It can be riskier for:

• high-ticket items where a single attributed order produces a large fee and a refund would be painful,
• low-margin products where a 12% to 15% cut eliminates profit,
• custom work with long lead times, where misunderstandings increase cancellations.

A smart move is to audit your price floors. Make sure your pricing already accounts for the possibility that some orders will carry an Offsite Ads fee, especially for bestsellers that are most likely to be promoted.