Why am I being charged Etsy shipping label costs and offsite ads fees on an order?

Hi! You’re not being charged twice—on Etsy the buyer’s shipping payment is added to your order revenue, and then if you buy an Etsy shipping label Etsy subtracts the label cost from your Payment account as a separate expense. Offsite Ads is also separate from Etsy Ads (they’re different programs), and you can be charged an Offsite Ads fee even if you’ve never turned on Etsy Ads.

To verify where the buyer’s shipping money went (and reconcile it)

1. Open the order receipt (Shop Manager → Orders & Shipping → click the order). You should see the buyer’s Item total + Shipping + taxes (if any). That shipping amount is part of what the buyer paid you.
2. Check your Payment account for that exact order’s “Sales” entry (Shop Manager → Finances → Payment account). The order will show a gross sale (which includes the shipping the buyer paid), and then separate line items for things like:
   • Etsy transaction / processing fees (important: Etsy fees are calculated on the order total and commonly include the shipping amount too)
   • Shipping label (only if you purchased a label on Etsy)
   • Shipping label adjustment (possible later if USPS/carrier adjusts based on weight/dimensions)
3. If it’s still confusing, download the monthly statement CSV from your Payment account and filter by that order number. That’s the easiest way to see “shipping charged to buyer” (as part of the sale) vs “label purchased” (as a separate debit).

A quick way to sanity-check it: If the buyer paid $X for shipping and your label cost $Y, you’ll net (shipping collected) – (label cost) for shipping (minus the Etsy fees that apply). If Y > X, you cover the difference; if Y < X, you keep the extra (many sellers do this intentionally to cover packaging/time).

Why an Offsite Ads fee can appear even if you don’t run Etsy Ads

• Offsite Ads isn’t Etsy Ads. Offsite Ads is Etsy promoting your listings on places like search/social/partner networks, and Etsy charges a fee only when an order is attributed to one of those ad clicks.
• Attribution window: if a shopper clicked an offsite ad for one of your listings and then bought from your shop within 30 days, Etsy can tag that order as Offsite Ads and charge the fee.
• Most shops are enrolled automatically. Depending on your shop’s sales history, you may be able to opt out—or you may be required to participate (Etsy applies a lifetime requirement once a shop crosses the stated threshold in a qualifying period).

How to confirm the Offsite Ads charge is legit

• Open the order details and look for an Offsite Ads indicator/message on the order.
• Go to Marketing → Offsite Ads in Shop Manager and check whether the order shows as an Offsite Ads order there.
• In Finances → Payment account, click the Offsite Ads fee line item for that day/order to confirm it matches that order total.

If you tell me what you see in the Payment account around that order (just the types of line items—no personal info), I can help you map each charge to what it’s for and spot anything unusual like a label adjustment or a second label purchase.