How to Close Your Etsy Shop

Life is ever-changing, and sometimes the things you had time for, like your Etsy shop, you just don’t have time for anymore. That’s okay. If you’ve made the difficult decision to close your Etsy shop, it’s a relatively simple process. Best of all, if you take the proper steps, closing your Etsy shop is something you can undo if you change your mind. 

Below, I’ll walk you through what you need to know to close your Etsy shop, whether temporarily or permanently.

Should I Close My Etsy Shop?

The decision to close your Etsy shop is personal and entirely up to you. No one can tell you what is or is not right for you.

However, remember why you started your shop in the first place. Odds are, you did it out of love. A love for what you were creating and what you were offering people. One of the first things you should ask yourself is, do you still love what you do? Are you still happy?

If you are no longer feeling fulfilled by your Etsy shop, or you’re no longer fulfilling the goal you set out for yourself at the beginning of the process, maybe it’s time to close. 

You may also consider closing if your shop has become a financial burden. If you’re spending more than you’re making from your Etsy shop each month, it may also be a sign that it’s time to close. 

Again, only you can determine what’s best for you but know that some Etsy shop owners have felt more positive after they closed their shops. 

One shop owner posted on reddit, saying they did not feel sad or nostalgic when they closed up shop, but rather like a large weight had been lifted off their shoulders. 

When thinking about closing your shop, consider whether you could feel more relief than sadness. If the answer is yes, it may be time to close.

Can I Temporarily Close My Etsy Shop?

If you’re still on the fence about whether or not it’s time to close your shop, consider taking a sabbatical. 

Etsy calls this “Vacation Mode,” but it applies to shop owners who cannot run their shops temporarily. This includes an emergency, illness, or an actual vacation. 

When you’re on “Vacation Mode,” you can set up your Etsy account to auto-reply to any messages. 

Etsy will post a notice on your shop page saying you’re on a short break, and it will gray out the “Add to Cart” button so people cannot purchase your items. 

While your shop will still appear in searches for your exact shop name, it will not appear in other searches, nor will your items. 

Even in “Vacation Mode,” you must fulfill the orders made before the switch.

You may still face Etsy fee charges while in “Vacation Mode.” Any items set to auto-renew will auto-renew as planned, and you will be charged the renewal fee. 

Etsy Plus subscribers will still need to pay the subscription fees.

If you go on “Vacation Mode” for an extended period, be prepared to see your “Star Seller” standing take a hit. Etsy bases Star Seller rankings on the previous three months of sales. You will lose your standing if you do not meet the threshold over the three months. 

How to Close Your Etsy Shop for Vacation

The process is the same to set up Vacation Mode, whether for vacation or time away.

Sign in to your Etsy.com account and click the “Shop Manager” button.

In “Shop Manager,” select “Settings” and click “Options.”

Click the “Vacation Mode” tab and then change the setting to “On.”

Input a temporary shop announcement and then create a message for auto-reply. 

Click “Save,” and you’re done.

To turn off “Vacation Mode,” simply change the setting in the “Vacation Mode” tab to “Off.”

How to Permanently Close Etsy Shop

If you’re just ready to call it quits, there are a few steps you need to take before you can permanently close your Etsy shop.

If you have no orders left to fulfill or unresolved cases, then permanently closing your Etsy shop will be easy.

Simply sign in to your Etsy account and go to “Shop Manager.”

Under “Settings,” select “Options.”

Then click on the “Close Shop” tab.

Select “Close Shop.”

Etsy will ask you to complete a short survey before you close your shop. The site says it will take some time to process the request, so be prepared to wait a little while before your shop officially closes.

How to Close Down an Etsy Shop

If the “Close Shop” tab is not available to you, that probably means that you have unresolved issues with your shop that need to be resolved before you will be allowed to close down the Etsy shop.

Check to see if there are unresolved cases. 

Are there orders that you still need to fulfill?

Do you still have fees that need to be paid?

If any of these are the case, put your shop into “Vacation Mode” as outlined above while you resolve these issues. “Vacation Mode” will ensure you don’t receive any new orders while trying to close down your Etsy shop.

For more details on closing your Etsy shop, visit the Etsy help article here.

What Happens When You Close Your Etsy Shop?

When you close your Etsy shop, it means you can no longer sell on the website. However, it does not prevent you from ever selling through your Etsy shop ever again.

Even though you have closed your Etsy shop, Etsy will still allow you to reopen your shop at any time. It will even allow you to keep the same shop name. 

In fact, even though your shop is closed, the shop name still belongs to you. The shop name is forever linked to the email address used to run the Etsy account that owns the shop. 

You cannot transfer or cancel a shop name. Once the shop name is used, it can never be used again.

For you, that’s a good thing. If you decide that you want to reopen your Etsy shop at some point in time, you can simply reopen the shop within your Etsy account.

Here is what Etsy says:

“Your shop and listings won’t appear anywhere on Etsy.

People who try to view your shop will be redirected to your profile. People who try to view one of your shop’s listings will see a page not found error. You can continue to view your billing history and sold orders in Your Account.

Closing your shop does not prevent buyers from leaving a review.

Reviews left for your shop and your shop’s sold item pages remain public.

You can reopen your shop any time.

No one can use your shop name. Your shop will look just the way you left it. You need to authorize a new credit card to reopen your shop.”

How to Close Your Etsy Shop But Keep Your Etsy Account

Closing your Etsy shop does not mean that you have to close your Etsy account. Once you close your shop, your Etsy account will still exist. However, the account is now in buyer-only mode, meaning you can shop on Etsy but cannot sell.

As explained previously, Etsy makes it easy to return to selling by creating a permanent link between your shop name and your Etsy account. 

By maintaining your Etsy account, you will always be able to reopen your shop if you choose to do so.

How to Delete Your Etsy Account

For some people, once their Etsy shop is closed, they’re done with Etsy, and they want to delete their Etsy accounts permanently. That’s doable, though not always advisable.

Permanent means just that, permanent. Once you delete your account, you cannot reinstate it. Moreover, you cannot use the email address linked to the account again.

Before you choose to delete your Etsy account, be absolutely sure that’s something you want to do. 

Alternatives to Deleting an Etsy Account

Etsy suggests that instead of deleting your Etsy account, you do one of the following:

• Close Your Etsy Account – By closing your Etsy account, you’re making it inactive but allowing yourself the option of reopening the account at any time.
• Close Your Etsy Shop – You can always close your Etsy shop, but allow the account itself to stay open. Remember, there are no fees associated with having an Etsy shopping account, and you’re under no obligation to buy.
• Unsubscribe From Etsy Emails – Etsy says if the emails are what’s bothering you, then unsubscribe. By unsubscribing, you won’t receive those unwanted marketing emails but will still receive the important transaction emails associated with purchases. 

How to Close Etsy Shop Account

If you’re still intent on deleting your Etsy account, you’ll need to make sure that your record is clear.

This means that as a seller, you have no payments due, all of your cases are resolved, and your open orders are filled.

Before you delete your account, ensure you have all the financial information you need saved to your computer. Once the account is deleted, you will not be able to access tax and record-keeping information.

Finally, be sure that the email attached to the account is something you’re willing to lose. Once you delete the account, the email linked to the Etsy account will no longer be available for use on Etsy. Ever.

If the email currently attached to the account is one you want to use again, then change the email linked to the Etsy account before you delete the account. 

Permanently Delete Etsy Account Walkthrough

Once you’ve changed the email address attached to the account, downloaded all the financial information you need, and closed all unresolved issues, you’re ready to delete your Etsy account permanently.

To delete the account, sign in on Etsy and click “You.”

Click “Account Settings” and then select “Privacy.”

Select “Request Deletion of Your Data” under “Permanently Close and Delete Your Etsy Account.”

Then check your email. There will be an email with instructions on how you can finish your deletion request.

You must be logged in to the account you are trying to close and delete to delete your Etsy account permanently.

How to Close an Etsy Shop and Open a New One

Once you have opened an Etsy shop under your account/email address, you cannot open another. Etsy will only allow you to open one shop for each email address.

This is true even if you close your current Etsy shop and delete your account.

There are ways around this issue, however. As I explained earlier in this article, if you want to use the same email address again, you MUST change the email address associated with your current Etsy shop before you close the shop and delete the Etsy account. The last email address associated with the deleted account will be the email address attached to that account forever. 

Once you’ve swapped out the email address in the old account, you can use that email address to create a new Etsy user account. Each email address is allowed one Etsy shop.

This way, you can close a previous Etsy shop and open a new one.

Another option is to open an Etsy shop with an entirely new email address. Etsy does not stop the same person from owning multiple Etsy accounts, but it will stop the same email address from owning multiple Etsy accounts. 

By those rules, if you have five email addresses, you could conceivably have five different Etsy shops. 

Word to the wise, that’s not advisable. As I explained in a previous post here, most Etsy sellers have found that running a single Etsy shop with segmented inventories is much easier than running two or three different Etsy shops. 

When running multiple shops, most Etsy sellers have found they are doing double or triple the work compared to what would have happened if they ran a single shop with extra inventory.

Try Selling Digital Products on Etsy Instead of Closing

Some sellers find that the inventory, fulfillment, and shipping of orders is what is overwhelming them.

They want to know if there is a more passive way to sell on Etsy – and there is.

At Gold City Ventures we only sell digital products.

Once you make the product on your computer, thousands of customers could theoretically buy from you with very little further action.

We just answer customer messages. It’s much easier than selling handmade goods.

If you’d like to give this a try, learn more about selling digital products on Etsy here.

Etsy Alternatives

If you choose to close your Etsy shop but still want to sell online, there are plenty of alternative sites. 

While Etsy is the most popular of the handmade goods retail sites, it’s certainly not the only game in town.

Alternatives for sellers who sell their handmade goods on Etsy include Amazon Handmade, Big Cartel, Bonanza, and Uncommon Goods. 

For digital sellers, there’s Shopify, Teachers Pay Teachers, and Creative Market, to name a few.

For a look at some of the best online retail alternatives to Etsy, check out this previous post.

Conclusion

Closing your Etsy shop is a decision that every Etsy seller faces at one time or another, but it’s not a decision to be taken lightly. 

An alternative like “Vacation Mode” should be explored before deciding. 

If, after taking a break, you’re still intent on closing your Etsy shop, then consider closing the shop but keeping your Etsy account. 

No extra work is involved in keeping an Etsy buyer-only account, and it still leaves you the option of reopening your shop anytime. 

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