Why is Etsy charging a listing renewal fee after a sale before it expires?

Hi! Yes—what you’re seeing is normal for Etsy listings with quantity available (or variations where more than one can be purchased). On Etsy, the 4‑month “listing term” is only one way a listing renews; the other common trigger is a sale. When one unit sells and your listing still has quantity left, Etsy charges an “auto‑renew sold” renewal fee so the listing stays active for the remaining stock, and that renewal also resets/pushes out the listing’s expiration date.

A couple quick clarifications that usually make it click:

• You’re effectively paying a listing fee per item sold (for multi-quantity listings). The first $0.20 listing fee covers the first item, and then Etsy charges another $0.20 as items sell (either as “auto‑renew sold” when one sells and there’s still stock left, or as “multi‑quantity” fees when a buyer purchases more than one in the same order).
• That’s why the expiration date keeps moving. Each time Etsy renews the listing after a sale, it starts a fresh 4‑month listing period from that renewal date.

As for switching to manual renew: it will stop the auto-renew at the 4‑month expiration, but it won’t accomplish what you’re hoping if the goal is “only pay again every 4 months even if I sell items.” Etsy’s listing fee structure for quantity-based listings still results in fees as you sell through stock.

If you want tighter control, the most practical approach is:

• For truly one-of-a-kind items, set quantity to 1 (so it sells out instead of staying active).
• If you restock, you can then renew/relist intentionally—but you’ll still pay the listing fee when you put it back up, and you’ll still pay a listing fee per item that sells overall.

If you tell me whether your listings are set to quantity > 1 and whether buyers often purchase multiples in one order, I can help you interpret exactly which line items you’re seeing in your Etsy Payment account.