The Offsite Ads Rate Most Guides Get Backwards
By The MyShop Team · 2026-09-05 · 5 min read
There is a version of the Etsy Offsite Ads rules circulating that sounds completely reasonable, gets repeated in fee explainers and seller threads, and is exactly backwards. It says small shops pay 12 percent and can opt out, and shops over 10,000 dollars pay 15 percent and are locked in. Every part of that is inverted, and the shop most likely to act on it is the one approaching the threshold with a real decision to make.
Key takeaway: Under 10,000 dollars you pay the higher 15 percent rate and you may opt out. At or above 10,000 dollars you pay the lower 12 percent rate, participation becomes mandatory, and it stays that way for the lifetime of your shop even if sales fall back. The rate cut is real. You pay for it with your exit.
What Etsy's policy actually says
The Fees and Payments Policy is the binding document, and it is unusually clear. On which rate applies: "The Offsite Ads fee you are charged for Attributed Orders depends on your shop's sales over the prior 365 days."
On what happens after you cross: "If you subsequently fall below the $10,000 USD threshold at a later date, you will still only be charged a 12% advertising fee for the lifetime of your shop."
And on the opt out you thought you had: "If you opted out of participation in Offsite Ads prior to meeting the $10,000 USD threshold, you will be required to participate and will be charged a 12% advertising fee on Attributed Orders for the lifetime of your shop upon reaching the $10,000 USD threshold."
That third sentence is the one that surprises people. Opting out early does not bank an exemption. It is suspended, not permanent, and crossing the threshold overrides it.
Prior 365 days, not lifetime, and not the calendar year
The second common error is quieter and just as expensive. Plenty of guides, including some careful ones, describe the 10,000 dollar test as lifetime sales. It is not. Etsy measures your shop's sales over the prior 365 days, calculated on the first of each month. It is a rolling window that moves under you every month.
What counts toward that window is narrower than most sellers assume. Threshold sales are item price times quantity, minus discounts and formally cancelled orders. They exclude Pattern orders, In Person Payment orders, Etsy fees, and separately charged shipping, taxes or gift wrap. A shop that thinks it is comfortably clear of 10,000 dollars because gross revenue including shipping says so may be reading the wrong number in both directions.
Watch out: The rolling window is what gets you across. The lifetime rule is what keeps you there. Those two facts sound contradictory and both are in the same policy: eligibility is measured on the prior 365 days, but once you have met the threshold the 12 percent mandatory rate applies for the lifetime of your shop regardless of what the window says afterwards.
What the rate difference is worth
The framing that makes 12 percent sound like a punishment misses that it is a rate cut of three percentage points. On an attributed order it works out like this.
| Attributed order | Fee at 15% | Fee at 12% | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50 | $7.50 | $6.00 | $1.50 |
| $150 | $22.50 | $18.00 | $4.50 |
| $300 | $45.00 | $36.00 | $9.00 |
Assumptions: a single attributed order at the value shown, each published rate applied to that value, no cap reached. Your own attributed orders will differ. The Offsite Ads fee on any single attributed order is capped at $100 regardless of the order size.
The 30 day attribution window is the part sellers argue about
An Offsite Ads fee is charged on an Attributed Order, and attribution runs for 30 days from the click. A shopper can click your Offsite Ad, leave, come back three weeks later through a search of their own, and that order is still attributed. This is the source of most of the "I got charged for a sale I would have made anyway" complaints, and it is working as documented rather than misfiring.
One useful detail on top: where an Etsy Ads click is the last click, Etsy Ads takes precedence over the Offsite Ads attribution. If you run both, they do not double charge you for the same order.
"Opting out early does not bank an exemption. It is suspended, not permanent, and crossing the threshold overrides it."
So should you opt out while you still can?
If you are under 10,000 dollars, you genuinely have the choice, and it is worth making deliberately rather than by default. The honest framing is not "15 percent is expensive" but "15 percent on orders I would not otherwise have received, against zero visibility on channels I am not buying." Look at your own Offsite Ads statement for the last few months and ask whether the attributed orders came from products you were already ranking well for organically.
If you are near the threshold and planning to cross it, understand that you are choosing the lower rate and giving up the exit permanently. That is not necessarily a bad trade. It is just a trade, and Etsy states it plainly enough that nobody should be surprised by it later.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 10,000 dollar threshold lifetime sales?
No. Eligibility is measured on your shop's sales over the prior 365 days, calculated on the first of each month. The lifetime part is what happens after you cross it: the 12 percent mandatory rate then applies for the lifetime of your shop.
If my sales drop back under 10,000 dollars, do I go back to 15 percent and get my opt out back?
No. Etsy's policy states you will still only be charged a 12 percent advertising fee for the lifetime of your shop.
Is there a cap on the fee?
Yes. The total Offsite Ads fee on a single attributed order will not exceed 100 dollars.
What counts toward the threshold?
Item price times quantity, minus discounts and formally cancelled orders. Pattern orders, In Person Payment orders, Etsy fees, and separately charged shipping, taxes and gift wrap are excluded.
How long does an Offsite Ads click stay attributed to me?
Thirty days from the click. Where an Etsy Ads click is the last click, Etsy Ads takes precedence.