Terms and conditions for an Etsy seller

An Etsy shop often starts as a hobby and becomes a business without the seller being told that the law now treats them as a trader. The terms have to fit inside the platform's rules, set the shop policies the platform lets you set, meet the consumer rights that apply to business sellers, deal with handmade and personalised items, and provide separate terms for the seller's own website. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Business sellers on Etsy and similar handmade and craft marketplaces in England and Wales, selling handmade, personalised, vintage and craft supply items to consumers, often with their own website alongside.

What matters in marketplace seller terms

The platform's rules come first

Sales through the platform are governed by the platform's terms and policies for buyers and sellers, which the seller cannot vary, and the seller's own shop policies operate within them. The terms should say so, set the shop policies the platform allows (dispatch times, returns, exchanges, cancellation), and keep them consistent with the law that applies to a business seller regardless of the platform.

Trader status and consumer rights

A seller trading as a business must comply with consumer law: goods must be of satisfactory quality and as described under section 9 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and buyers have the fourteen-day cancellation right under regulation 30 of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 for standard items, whatever the shop's stated policy says. The terms and the shop policies should reflect those rights, and the seller's business identity and contact details should be shown as the law requires.

Handmade, personalised and made-to-order items

Personalised and made-to-order items are excluded from the cancellation right by regulation 28 once production starts, provided the listing said so before the order, and the terms should identify which items are personalised and describe handmade variation as a characteristic rather than a defect. Vintage items are sold as described by condition, and craft supplies are goods like any other.

Dispatch, delivery and problems

Dispatch times set in the shop are commitments, and the terms should say that delivery after dispatch is by the carrier with times as estimates, that goods are at the seller's risk until received, that lost or damaged parcels are replaced or refunded, and that problems are raised through the platform's process first. Customs duties on international orders are the buyer's where the listing said so.

Your own website, data and intellectual property

Sales through the seller's own website are governed by the seller's own terms, which should carry the full consumer law provisions, prices including all mandatory charges under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, and a privacy notice; buyer data from the platform may be used only to fulfil orders. The seller's designs are its own under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and the seller must not list items that infringe others' rights, which the platform enforces through its own process.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted for your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want them checked and brought up to date. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of bespoke terms drafted for your business, reflecting the legal requirements that apply to your business and sector
• A note in plain English explaining the terms I have drafted for you
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions that protect your position and are drafted to withstand scrutiny from the other side
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly
• Your questions and comments answered by email or phone
• One round of amendments to finalise the terms ready for use

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers (I am happy to quote for this as an additional service if required)
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country
• Tax advice

Questions I am often asked

Our shop policy says no returns. Does that hold?

Not against a consumer for standard items, where the fourteen-day cancellation right applies to a business seller regardless of the policy. Personalised and made-to-order items can be excluded if the listing said so. Set the policy to match the law.

A buyer opened a case on the platform. Do our terms matter?

The platform's process decides the case under its rules, and your terms and shop policies are evidence within it. Terms consistent with consumer law are what win cases; a policy that contradicts the law loses them.

Do we need separate terms for our own website?

You do. The platform's terms do not reach your website, and a business selling to consumers there needs its own terms of sale, ordering information and privacy notice.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Terms and conditions for an eBay business seller
• Terms and conditions for a business selling made-to-order or personalised goods

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.