Can I hire someone to manage my Etsy shop listings and marketing for commission?

Hi! Yes—you can hire someone to help run the day-to-day of your Etsy shop and pay them a commission/percentage, but the safest setup is to keep the Etsy account 100% in your name and avoid giving out your login if you can. Etsy doesn’t let you transfer accounts, and they also don’t recommend password sharing—plus you (the account owner) are still responsible for anything they do in your shop.

If you want the lowest-risk way to do this, here’s what typically works best:

1) Keep ownership + sensitive controls with you

• Create the Etsy account/shop under your legal name (and your business info).
• You keep control of: email login, Etsy login, two-factor authentication, bank deposits, billing/credit card, tax info, and shop security settings.
• Treat the helper as a contractor/VA/marketer—not a “co-owner” of the Etsy account.

2) Don’t give them your Etsy password (best practice)
Etsy doesn’t really have true “staff accounts” with permissions for Shop Manager, so sharing a password is the common workaround—but it’s the part that creates the most risk (security, accidental changes, and “you did it” accountability).

Safer alternatives:

• Have them do everything “off-platform” and you post it: they write titles/tags/descriptions, SEO research, pricing suggestions, photo shot-lists, ad keyword ideas, and message templates; you upload/approve inside Etsy.
• Use a shared workflow: Google Docs/Notion/Sheets for listing drafts + a folder for edited photos + a checklist for what you approve before anything goes live.
• If you truly need them to click buttons in Etsy (ads, renewals, editing listings), consider screen-sharing while you stay logged in, rather than handing over credentials.

3) Be transparent about who’s involved
Etsy expects you to list the people involved in your shop in the About section (shop members/roles). So if someone is helping with listings, marketing, or customer service, add them there with an accurate role.

4) If they handle customer messages, set strict boundaries
Customer messages impact cases, reviews, and policy compliance. If you let someone draft replies, I’d recommend:

• You approve/send anything related to refunds, cancellations, late shipments, custom work delays, or unhappy buyers.
• They can handle basic FAQs using pre-written templates you approve.

5) Commission structure: keep it simple and measurable
Paying commission is fine, but spell it out clearly in writing. Most sellers base commission on net revenue, not gross sales, so you’re not paying commission on money you never actually keep.

Common “net” definition (you can tweak):

• Order total minus Etsy fees, payment processing, refunds/chargebacks, shipping labels/postage, and ad spend (Etsy Ads/Offsite Ads fees).

Also consider:

• A small base retainer + smaller commission tends to get you more consistent results than pure commission.
• Put an ad-spend cap in writing (daily budget limit + “no increases without approval”).

6) Get a simple contractor agreement (worth it)
At minimum, have a signed agreement that covers:

• What they do (listings, Etsy SEO, Etsy Ads management, photo editing, etc.)
• What they cannot do (change bank/tax info, change shop owner info, talk to buyers outside Etsy, promise refunds without approval, buy fake reviews, etc.)
• Payment terms + commission definition + when it’s paid (monthly is common)
• Confidentiality + ownership of creative assets (you own your photos/listings/brand assets)
• Termination: you can end access immediately, and they must hand over all files

Quick “safest setup” summary

• You own the Etsy account and all financial/security settings.
• They prepare listing drafts + SEO + ad strategy + photo edits outside Etsy.
• You approve and publish inside Etsy.
• You add them as a shop member in About.
• Commission is based on net profit/revenue with clear ad-spend rules.

If you tell me whether you want them replying to customer messages and whether you’re planning to run Etsy Ads right away, I can suggest a clean division of responsibilities (what you should keep vs. what’s safe to delegate).