How to Delete Etsy Shop & Etsy Account
Etsy is a great platform for small businesses and creative entrepreneurs.
It’s the go-to destination for unique handmade products and vintage items of all kinds.
But it isn’t the only place where you can sell handmade goods. There are many other competitive e-commerce alternatives like Amazon Handmade, Shopify, Wix, Big Cartel, etc.
There are many reasons why you might want to delete your Etsy account for good and shift to another platform. Or perhaps you’d like to take a break from your business. Maybe, you would like to rethink your business strategy and want to focus on launching a brick-and-mortar store.
Whatever your reason is, the instant question that pops up in your mind is “How to close your Etsy account”. The process of closing your Etsy account can be confusing for someone who doesn’t know how to go about it. It’s natural you are looking for some help and advice with that.
Hello everyone! If you are confused about how to delete your Etsy account, worry not because you have come to the right place. In this post, we will provide you with a step-by-step guide to deleting your Etsy account. Whether you’d like to delete your account permanently or close it on a temporary basis, we will tell you all about the exact process.
There are many things to keep in mind even before you decide to close your Etsy account. Many steps are involved in closing your account, and you must be familiar with the entire cycle before you take the plunge.
In this post, we will give you an overview of the various steps involved – closing your Etsy shop, deactivating your Etsy account, and finally closing it permanently.
How to Delete Etsy- Various Options
Permanently deleting your Etsy account is a huge decision. Remember that it won’t be possible to get your account back once you’ve deleted it for good.
Therefore, you must consider other options before closing your Etsy account permanently.
- Close Your Etsy Account – Closing your Etsy account isn’t the same as permanently deleting it. Your account gets deactivated, but you can open it again.
- Close Your Etsy Shop – If you are not sure about deleting your Etsy account, you could select the option of cloning your Etsy shop. It gives you time to think about your decision and take the final call. You have the option to continue buying stuff from Etsy, and you can reopen your shop at any time.
- Unsubscribe from Etsy’s Emails – Maybe, you are just fed up with Etsy’s marketing emails and that’s why you want to delete your account. In that case, you could unsubscribe from their email service. It would ensure you wouldn’t receive any promotional or marketing emails from them.
You’ll just receive emails whenever:
Etsy updates its Terms of Service & Use
You make a Transaction
If you’ve been running your shop on Etsy for a long time, it makes sense to consider other options before deleting your shopping account.
Setting up an Etsy account again or starting from scratch on other e-commerce platforms would require a considerable amount of investment of time and energy. You must keep the pros and cons in mind before taking the plunge.
Steps to Take Before Deleting Your Etsy Shop
Closing your Etsy shop is the first step to deleting your account on Etsy.
However, you must do a few things before closing your shop on Etsy.
Remember that closing your shop will permanently remove all the data stored on your Etsy seller account. You have worked hard to create all the product listings, shop descriptions, etc., so you will need all that info while setting up a shop on another platform. You must download all that data before you close your Etsy store for good. It would include all your descriptions, product listings, settings, sales data, images, reviews, etc.
You could also use various online tools to migrate your data from Etsy to other ecommerce platforms.
Before closing your shop on Etsy, you will have to complete any pending orders and address any unresolved issues. Also, you cannot close your shop if you owe Etsy any money!
If you’ve resolved all outstanding issues and cleared all your dues but only have pending orders, there is still a way to close your shop.
You could put your shop on vacation mode. Once you click the Vacation Mode, your Etsy store will be visible to shoppers, but they won’t be able to place new orders. This enables the customers with pending orders to see that the shop is still open and their orders will arrive on time. Once all your pending orders are completed, you can close your Etsy store.
While it’s recommended that you keep your Etsy store on vacation mode until all your orders are fulfilled, you can still close your shop if you like. You would be able to access all your orders and keep customer communication going, but shoppers won’t be able to see your store on Etsy.
Check out our article on How to Be Successful on Etsy and How To Get Etsy Sales.
How to Close Your Etsy Shop
It’s recommended that you first close your shop on Etsy before deleting your account.
It gives you more time to finally make up your mind.
To close your shop on Etsy, you must:
- Log into your Etsy account.
- Next, you must click the “ Shop Manager” option on the top right-hand corner of your Etsy screen.
- Then, select the “Options” button from the “Settings” menu.
- Finally, access the “ Close Shop “ tab and click on the option.
If you have pending orders, you should turn on the vacation mode before closing your Etsy store.
How to Delete Your Etsy Account
The next step is to close your Etsy account.
It ensures that your account gets temporarily deleted. You are closing your account, but not finally deleting it. You still have the option to reopen your account if you like.
This option is best for sellers who are confused about whether to permanently close their Etsy account or not.
You need to go through the following steps to close your Etsy account:
- Select the option “ You” from the Etsy main site.
- Next, click on the tab “ Account Settings”.
- Now, scroll down and click on the “ Close Your Account” tab
- Next, the Etsy algorithm will ask you to select a reason for leaving the platform. They also have the option of adding a specific comment if your reason is not listed in their given options.
- The final step is to click on “ Close Account”.
You must remember that closing your account on Etsy is a temporary measure. It’s different from permanently deleting it.
Many people get confused here. They think that closing their Etsy account on social amounts to permanent deletion. But that’s a grave misconception! Etsy has a separate feature for permanently deleting your account that we are going to explain in a bit.
Also, closing your account on Etsy wouldn’t free up any of your information including your username, shop name, email address, etc., for use on a new account.
If you plan to close your previous account and open a new one, you have to change the email address associated with your previous account before closing it. This change in the information on file ensures that your original email address is now available for use on your new account.
You must follow these steps to change your email address on file:
- Select the “ You” icon from the Etsy main site.
- Next, click on “ Account Settings”.
- Now scroll down and click on the “ Email” section.
- Enter the new email address along with the current password.
- Finally, click on the “ Change Email” option.
What Happens After Closing Your Etsy Account
- Your account will be considered inactive until you take the decision to reopen.
- Once you close your account on Etsy, your profile gets removed from their marketplace. It means that your profile won’t be visible anywhere on their site.
- Once your account is closed, Etsy will close any of the open non-delivery cases you have.
- Closing your Etsy account is a temporary measure; your information and data won’t be permanently deleted. Your account settings will stay the same and your username can’t be used by any other business.
How to Permanently Delete Your Etsy Account
If you’ve made up your mind and want to delete your Etsy for good, it’s time to take the next step.
You must follow these steps to delete your Etsy account permanently:
- Go to the Etsy site and sign into the account you’d like to delete.
- Next, select the Privacy tab from the ‘ Account Settings” menu.
- Now, click on the option “ Request Deletion of Your Data” under the section “ Permanently Close and Delete Your Etsy Account”.
- Finally, you’ll receive an email from Etsy with instructions for completing your request for deletion.
You must remember that permanent deletion of your account on Etsy is not an instant process.
Etsy will first check to see if there are any open issues and concerns. Once any outstanding issues are resolved, they will start the process of permanent deletion, and it can take up to 2 weeks.
Etsy has the right to retain certain information for regulatory, legal, security, tax, or compliance reasons for a limited time if your account is found to be violating any of its policies. The information will be retained for a certain time frame after which it will be deleted.
Why Sellers Decide to Close Their Shop on Etsy
Etsy is one of the top e-commerce marketplaces.
It has carved a top-notch reputation in the area of handmade products.
But like every online marketplace, Etsy also has its drawbacks and limitations.
Here is a list of a few reasons why sellers decide to close their shop on Etsy:
1. Desire to Expand their Business
Etsy brands sellers as “handmade”.
While this is great for growing a niche business, it’s a disadvantage when it comes to the desire to expand your business and move into mass-produced goods.
The Etsy marketplace is designed to address the needs of small and niche entrepreneurs. It doesn’t offer you opportunities for the kind of massive growth you would need to become a big mainstream brand.
Therefore, many businesses choose to move out of Etsy simply because it can no longer address their business interests.
2. Individuality & Brand Image
Etsy doesn’t provide you with many chances to project your brand independently.
Their algorithm works in a way that people would buy your products through their search engine, but they would hardly remember you as a brand unless you make it big. The brand Etsy and the handmade tag overtake the individuality of your brand. It’s like people are happy as long as they are buying something from Etsy and they don’t care about the shop name.
This can come across as a deterrent for sellers who want to create a distinct brand image.
It is a major reason many businesses might want to delete their Etsy and move on.
3. Additional fees
Many sellers have been recently leaving Etsy owing to their rising fees.
Etsy has a multi-tiered fee structure that includes listing fees, transaction fees, etc., and many sellers have been complaining that all this when put together becomes too much. Thus, many small businesses have been leaving the platform because of what they consider expensive fees.
4. Intense Competition
Etsy has achieved impressive growth over the past couple of years.
This obviously has brought in increased competition.
Many sellers can’t keep up the pace and relocate to less competitive platforms.
