How to Start an Etsy Shop: Setup Steps and First Listings

October 2, 2026

To start an Etsy shop, go to Etsy.com/sell on a desktop browser, select Get started, and work through Etsy’s setup in order: choose your shop language, country and currency, pick a shop name, connect a bank account and a card, verify your identity, turn on two-factor authentication, then add your first listing and open the shop. The setup itself takes an afternoon at most. What takes longer is the part after it: getting enough good listings into the shop that buyers can find it. This guide covers both, in the order Etsy asks for them.

Everything below about Etsy’s process and fees comes from Etsy’s own selling page and help centre, as of October 2026. Etsy changes both from time to time, and some fees depend on where your bank is, so check the live pages before you rely on a figure.

What to have ready before you start

Etsy’s setup asks for things in a fixed order, and it is easier with these at hand:

• An Etsy account. Etsy says you must have one before creating a shop. You can use the same account you buy with.
• A desktop or laptop browser. Etsy’s help centre says the shop has to be set up on a desktop web browser. After that, you can run it from the Etsy Seller app.
• A bank account in a country where Etsy Payments is available, so Etsy can pay you.
• A debit or credit card, which Etsy uses to bill you for its fees.
• A government ID and a phone with a camera, for the identity check.
• Photos and notes for at least one product. Etsy will not open the shop until you add a first listing.

Check what you plan to sell first. Etsy describes itself as a place for items made, designed, handpicked or sourced by the seller, and its help centre points new sellers at the Creative Standards and the Prohibited Items Policy before anything else. Ten minutes there saves a shop built around something Etsy will remove.

Etsy also says you do not need a business license to sell on Etsy, but that you must follow whatever laws apply to you as a small business selling online. If you are unsure which those are, that is a question for a local professional.

How to start an Etsy shop, step by step

These are the steps Etsy’s own guide, How to Open an Etsy Shop, walks through:

1. Go to Etsy.com/sell and select Get started. Sign in or create an account, then answer a few questions about your business experience.
2. Set your shop preferences. Choose the shop language, the country you run the shop from, and the currency you will price in.
3. Choose your shop name. Etsy holds the name for you while you finish setting up.
4. Set up payments and billing. Pick the country your bank is in, say whether you sell as an individual or sole proprietorship or as an incorporated business, connect the bank account, and add a card for Etsy’s bills.
5. Pay the set-up fee if Etsy asks for one. Etsy shows the amount before you authorise it.
6. Verify your identity. Etsy uses a third-party company, Persona, to compare a photo of your ID with a selfie.
7. Turn on two-factor authentication. Etsy requires it, with a code from an authenticator app, a text message or a phone call.
8. Set up your storefront. Add the shop’s look, your story, and the policies buyers need to know.
9. Add your first listing, then open the shop.

The sections below go through the steps where new sellers most often get stuck.

Shop language, country and currency

The shop language is the one setting here you cannot change later. Etsy says it is the default language you describe your items in, and that it should be one you are comfortable using with buyers. You can add translations in other languages after the shop is open.

Currency is worth a second thought too. Etsy prices your listings in the shop currency, and if your bank’s currency is different, a currency conversion fee may apply to your sales. Etsy’s selling page lists that fee at 2.5%.

Choosing an Etsy shop name

Etsy’s rules for a shop name, from its help centre:

You can change the shop name later, from Your shop under the Shop Name tab, so do not spend a week on it. A name that is easy to spell and says something about what you make will serve you better than a clever one buyers cannot type.

Payments, the set-up fee and identity checks

Etsy needs two money connections: a bank account to pay you and a card to bill you. The exact steps vary by country, and Etsy’s guide splits them by location.

Once billing is in, Etsy’s help centre says:

“a one-time, non-refundable shop set-up fee must be paid. This fee helps us invest in support for new sellers, as well as enhanced security checks to protect our marketplace.”

Etsy does not publish a single amount for it. Its fee page says the fee is displayed and charged during setup if it applies, and its selling page says you “may be charged” one. Read the “Total due now” box before you tick it, because that is where Etsy shows what you are about to pay.

For the identity check, Etsy says the ID must not be expired and must match the name on the bank account you added. You can keep setting up the shop while the ID and selfie are reviewed, and check the result later in Shop Manager under Legal and tax information.

What it costs to sell on Etsy

Etsy’s selling page sums up the model as: list your first item for $0.20, and pay transaction, payment processing and offsite advertising fees only when you make a sale. As of October 2026:

Etsy’s selling page also says there are no additional monthly fees, and that Offsite Ads are optional for most sellers but may become required depending on how much you sell in a 12-month period. For how these fees compare with running your own store, see Etsy vs Shopify.

Your first listing: the step that opens the shop

Etsy’s guide is explicit: once your shop sections are done, you need to add your first listing before you can open the shop. This is where most of the real work in starting an Etsy shop sits, because a listing is not just a form. It is a title, 13 tags, a description, attributes, photos, price and shipping, and the title, tags and description are what Etsy search reads.

Our guide on how to list on Etsy goes through every field of the form in order. The short version for a first listing:

• Title: say what the item is in the first few words, the way a buyer would search for it. See how to write an Etsy title.
• Tags: use all 13, each a different phrase a buyer might type. See Etsy tags: how to use all 13.
• Description: answer the questions a buyer would ask in a message: size, material, care, what arrives in the box.
• Attributes: fill every one that applies. They are quick, and many sellers skip them.

Your first listing does not have to be perfect. You can edit a listing on Etsy at any time after it is live.

Filling the shop: how to list faster once you are open

One listing opens the shop. It rarely makes a shop anyone finds. Each listing is another set of titles and tags Etsy search can match, so a new shop usually needs a few more before it gets steady views, and writing each one from a blank page is where many new sellers stall.

There are three practical ways to get from one listing to a full shop:

Copying is Etsy’s own shortcut and it is free. For a range of mugs in different prints, duplicate the first listing and change the print, the photos and the words that mention it. Our Etsy listing template gives you a fill-in structure to copy from.

Drafting from notes is the job ListingBrief AI does. You write a few lines about the product (what it is, its size, its materials, who it is for) and it writes an Etsy title inside Etsy’s 140-character limit, a full set of 13 tags and a description, which you then check and edit. It has a free Etsy title generator and Etsy tag generator that need no account, every account gets 5 free generations a day, and a bulk mode drafts many listings in one batch. The pricing page lists the paid plans. There is also a Chrome extension that fills the Etsy listing form in place. Whatever drafts the words, read them before you publish: you know the item, and the tool only knows your notes. For more on working in batches, see bulk listing on Etsy.

When the manual way is enough

You do not need any tool to start an Etsy shop. Writing every listing yourself is the right call when:

• you sell a small number of one-of-a-kind pieces, and each one has its own story;
• you enjoy the writing and it does not slow your launch;
• you are still finding out what buyers ask about, and writing each listing by hand teaches you that.

Speed matters when the writing is what stands between you and a full shop. If it is not, the Etsy form and a good checklist are all you need.

After you open: the first week

Opening the shop is the start. A short list for the first week:

1. Finish the storefront. Etsy’s guide asks for the shop’s look, your story and the information customers need, such as your policies.
2. Add more listings. Each is another way to be found. Use the approaches above to keep the pace up.
3. Check your keywords. Our guide on how to find Etsy keywords uses Etsy’s own search, for free.
4. Plan your marketing and customer service. Etsy’s guide points sellers at its marketing guides, and says consistent, excellent customer service can earn a Star Seller badge.
5. Watch your views, then fix what is weak. If listings get few views, how to get more views on Etsy walks through finding the cause.

A quick checklist

• Etsy account created, set up on a desktop browser
• Shop language chosen (it cannot be changed later)
• Shop name: 4 to 20 characters, no spaces, not taken, no trademark
• Bank account and billing card added
• Set-up fee amount read in “Total due now” before authorising
• ID and selfie submitted; two-factor authentication on
• Storefront: look, story, policies
• First listing with a clear title, 13 tags, a full description and attributes
• A plan for the next listings, by hand, by copying, or from notes

Starting an Etsy shop is mostly a matter of following Etsy’s steps in order. Filling it is the real project, and the sooner your listings are clear and complete, the sooner buyers can find them.