Why are my Etsy earnings so low after a sale with international shipping?

Hi! What you’re seeing is usually a combo of (1) money being “pending/held” (common on new shops) and (2) Etsy immediately subtracting costs (fees + any shipping label you bought)—so your order can look like you “earned” ~$16, but only ~$1 is actually available for deposit right now.

Here’s exactly what to check in Shop Manager → Finances → Payment account to see where it went:

1) Compare “Current balance” vs “Available for deposit”

• Available for deposit is what Etsy will actually pay out on your next deposit.
• If most of it is not available, look for a Reserve / Deposit delay / Hold message in your Payment account (there’s usually a section that spells out what’s being held and for how long).
• On brand-new shops, Etsy sometimes keeps funds pending until the order shows as shipped/in transit (often via tracking).

2) Open the order line in “Payment account → Activity” and expand it
In the Activity list, click the transaction for that Mexico order and you should see a breakdown such as:

• Sale amount (item + the shipping the buyer paid)
• Fees (Etsy transaction fee, payment processing fee, and the listing fee if it auto-renewed)
• Taxes (often shown as collected/remitted—this money isn’t paid to you)
• Shipping label charge (only if you bought the label through Etsy)

This “Activity” breakdown is the quickest way to reconcile why the net is lower than the order total.

3) Check whether you bought an Etsy shipping label (or got a label adjustment)
You said the shipping cost was higher than what the buyer paid—if you purchased the label through Etsy, Etsy typically deducts the label cost from your Payment account, which can wipe out most of the payout on a low-margin order.

Also check for a separate line item later called a shipping label adjustment (this happens if the carrier recalculates weight/dimensions after acceptance).

4) Look for a “Reserve” badge on the order (Orders & Delivery)
Go to Orders & Delivery and see if the order shows something like “Order in reserve” or funds being held. If it’s in reserve:

• Adding valid tracking (or buying an Etsy label that includes tracking) often helps funds get released sooner, if Etsy can verify it’s in transit.
• If you’re using a carrier/tracking Etsy can’t confirm, the funds may stay pending for the reserve period shown in your Payment account.

5) Check your deposit schedule and minimums
In Payment settings, confirm:

• Your deposit frequency (daily/weekly/biweekly/monthly)
• Whether today’s money is still processing/pending before it becomes available
  Sometimes the order “earned” amount shows up quickly, but it takes a bit before it moves into Available.

Quick way to sanity-check what you actually earned
In the Payment account, look for the net for that order after:

• All Etsy fees
• Any label cost/adjustment
• Any ads fees (if you’re running Etsy Ads)
  And remember: if the buyer paid, say, $X shipping but your label cost was $X+Y, you eat the difference, and Etsy will show that as a bigger shipping-label deduction than the shipping revenue.

If you want, paste the non-personal line items you see under that order in Payment account Activity (just the types of charges and amounts—no names/addresses), and I’ll help you read it and pinpoint the exact reason your available balance dropped to ~$1.