UPDATE: This article was corrected on March 16, 2009. We have removed the message on the Sign In page about overdue accounts at this time. We have decided to postpone implementing this billing reminder change until later this spring. We will communicate in advance when this will take effect. (The article was originally published on the evening of March 15, 2009.)

Dear sellers,

Beginning at 12:00 am UTC on March 15, 2009 until roughly 4:00 pm UTC, an automated email was sent out to sellers who had not yet paid their Etsy bills. In addition, if those sellers signed in to their Etsy account, they would have seen a similar message on the site. The automated email is a new billing reminder we began using with this month’s billing cycle. By mistake, these overdue notices were sent one day early, as Etsy policy states that a seller has 15 days to submit payment before the account is considered overdue.

We apologize for the confusion caused by the email and the related message on the Sign In page about overdue accounts. We can and will do better to communicate with our seller community. We have made some changes to Etsy billing collection recently that we communicated in December 2008 and again earlier this month, however, the entire process was not clearly communicated. Adding to the confusion, the new reminder email was sent at 12:00 am UTC, which for many sellers in other time zones was still the evening of March 14.

We have removed the message on the Sign In page about overdue accounts at this time. We have decided to postpone implementing this billing reminder change until later this spring. We will communicate  in advance when this will take effect.

This article is intended to clarify our billing collection process. Our goal has always been to implement a fair policy, while also recognizing that Etsy relies on collecting fees from our members in order to continue developing and growing our business.

Here are the common questions we’ve seen related to Etsy billing collection:

When does a bill become overdue?
Billing statements are emailed on the 1st day of the month at 12:00 am UTC; these statements detail all the fees incurred by an account for the previous month. There is a payment grace period of 15 days; the balance must be paid in full by 12:00 am UTC on the 16th day of the month (this is the beginning of the day on the 16th). An account not paid in full by that time is considered overdue.

What time zone does Etsy billing use?
Etsy billing operates on Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which is essentially the same as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Etsy begins sending monthly billing statements on the 1st day of each. Unpaid bills are considered overdue on the 16th of each month at 12:00 am UTC. To translate 12:00 am UTC on the 16th day of the month into your time zone, please follow these links: March 16, 2009 / April 16, 2009 / May 16, 2009 / June 16, 2009 / July 16, 2009 / August 16, 2009 / September 16, 2009 / October 16, 2009 / November 16, 2009 / December 16, 2009.

Where on the site is this stated? I read something different.
We recognize that we have conflicting information on the site regarding the exact timing of our billing cycles. We will be updating all billing related content on the site to be consistent and accurate.

Why didn’t sellers receive an email stating the changes to the billing process?
We will be sending an email to all registered sellers this week. In that email, we will include the information reviewed here, as well as additional relevant information about Etsy billing.

Will an account be suspended if a seller does not pay their Etsy bill?
Right now, we are not taking this level of action for currently overdue bills. Eventually, yes, as specified in our policies, a seller’s account may be suspended for not paying their bill. This will happen in the future as outlined below. We will communicate in advance of this policy becoming effective, which we anticipate will be later this spring. In addition, the new process will include email reminders and a message on the Sign In page for accounts which are overdue.

Here is how the upcoming changes to the billing process will operate:

• Etsy bills are issued for the previous month’s fees. Billing statements are emailed to all seller accounts on the 1st day of the month. There is a payment grace period of 15 days.
• If a bill is not paid before 12:00 am UTC on the 16th day of the month, the bill is considered overdue. On the 16th day of the month, an account that has an overdue bill is sent an email reminder and is shown a message at the Sign In that their account is overdue.
• An account that is overdue less than 2 months will be sent email billing reminders and see the message at Sign In until payment is made. The account still retains full capabilities.
•  After 2 months from the date the bill was originally issued, an account that has an overdue bill will lose the ability to list, relist and renew item listings until the balance is brought up to date.
• After 3 months from the date the bill was originally issued, an account that has an overdue bill will be closed until the balance is brought up to date.

Do I have to pay if I only owe less than $1.00 USD (between $0.01-$0.99)?
Previously, Etsy only accepted payments of $1.00 or more from sellers. Now that we have implemented PayPal as a means to pay Etsy bills, we ask those owing less than $1.00 to pay their balances in a timely manner, just like other Etsy sellers. If you are billed $0.60, you can now pay $0.60, and you have the option to pay via PayPal.

More details about paying your bill via PayPal can be found in this announcement from March 10, 2009.

What happens to an account when the Etsy bill is 2 months overdue? 3 months overdue?

• When the new billing process is in effect, an account that is overdue by 2 months, regardless of amount owed, will lose listing, relisting and renewing abilities.
• When the new billing process is in effect, an account that is overdue by 3 months, regardless of amount owed, will be closed.

Why am I receiving errors when paying my Etsy bill with PayPal?
We have investigated these reports. There was an intermittent problem for some sellers over the past weekend. For those who attempted to send an Etsy bill payment via PayPal and received a failure notice, no funds changed hands. Please try again. We believe this issue to be resolved now.


Again, we are very sorry for the confusion and poor initial communication surrounding these changes. Should you have further questions, please email billing@etsy.com.