Guide · By DQ · October 22, 2026
On October 20, 2026, Etsy turned Share & Save into a holiday gift for own-traffic sellers: on eligible orders driven through your Share & Save links, Etsy refunds the full 6.5% transaction fee to your Payment account—“pay zero transaction fees,” in Etsy’s words. The window runs through January 4, 2027. After that date, the credit returns to the evergreen 4%.
That is a real margin lift for Instagram, email, newsletter, and Linktree traffic. It is not a free sale. Processing, listing renewals, and an Offsite last-click can still take a bite. This guide is the holiday-timing companion to our evergreen 4% Share & Save fee credit guide—dates, what “zero transaction fees” actually covers, worked US examples, and a checklist before the promo ends. Facts checked against Etsy’s Community announcement and Help Center on October 22, 2026. Confirm live wording in Shop Manager.
Etsy’s Community announcement (“Our Share & Save holiday gift to you,” posted October 20, 2026) states:
Help’s Share & Save page carries the same banner: from October 20 to January 4, enrolled sellers earn 6.5% back on eligible orders. The baseline program text still describes the evergreen 4% rate that returns after the promo.
Etsy also claims (attribution: Community announcement): among sellers who joined during Cyber Week 2025, approximately 29% of buyers purchasing through their links each month were brand new to Etsy. Treat that as Etsy’s marketing claim, not an independent study.
Path: Shop Manager → Marketing → Share & Save → Join now. Enrollment is free and optional.
Eligible (Help): a buyer clicks a trackable link you shared outside Etsy and places an order within 30 days. The refund posts instantly to your Payment account. The credit base matches transaction fees: item + shipping + gift wrap. Help’s evergreen example: $100 before taxes → $4 at the 4% rate—so at the holiday 6.5% rate the same example yields $6.50.
Links that can count:
Never count (Help):
Tracking: Stats (Share & Save traffic and savings), Orders (Share & Save badge), Payment account → Fees / Recent activities.
Why a credit may be missing: Share & Save was deactivated during the click window; the buyer’s last click was an Offsite Ad; custom URL forwarding is broken; or the purchase fell outside the 30-day window.
Assume a US Etsy Payments order where item + shipping + gift wrap = $100 before taxes (Help’s example style). Ignore buyer sales tax for the Share & Save / transaction base. Approximate processing as 3% + $0.25 on $100 = $3.25. Listing renewal $0.20. No COGS in this table—fee stack only.
| Path | Transaction 6.5% | Processing | Listing | Share & Save credit | Offsite 15% | Approx. fees net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) No Share & Save | −$6.50 | −$3.25 | −$0.20 | — | — | −$9.95 |
| (b) Holiday 6.5% credit | −$6.50 | −$3.25 | −$0.20 | +$6.50 | — | −$3.45 |
| (c) Evergreen 4% credit | −$6.50 | −$3.25 | −$0.20 | +$4.00 | — | −$5.95 |
| (d) Offsite 15% last-click | −$6.50 | −$3.25 | −$0.20 | — (not eligible) | −$15.00 | −$24.95 |
Numbers are rounded illustrations. On this order, the holiday promo is worth $6.50—$2.50 more than the post–Jan 4 4% credit. An Offsite 15% last-click still dwarfs either credit. Under the 12% mandatory Offsite rate the Offsite line would be about $12.00, still far larger than $6.50.
Takeaway: “Zero transaction fees” means path (b)—the 6.5% line is refunded. You still leave ~$3.45 on the table for processing + listing on this example, and path (d) can erase the holiday win entirely.
Share & Save and Offsite Ads are separate programs. Attribution uses the last link the buyer clicked before purchase. If they clicked your Instagram Share & Save link last week, then tapped an Offsite Ad and bought, Help says the order is not eligible for Share & Save.
Offsite Ads (US Help, verified for this article):
Holiday weeks mean more own-traffic pushes and more Offsite inventory in Google/Facebook/etc. Price and margin buffers that assume a holiday 6.5% credit can fail if last-click flips to Offsite. For the deep dive, see Etsy Offsite Ads Explained.
Canopio’s free calculator applies US listing, transaction, processing, and Offsite Ads (15% or 12%) to one order in the browser—no sign-up. Free listing scores; optional rewrites $2.99/10 or $9.99/40; one-time $9.90 Shop Audit—no subscription. Independent of Etsy; confirm rates on Etsy’s pages.
From October 20, 2026 through January 4, 2027, enrolled sellers get the full 6.5% transaction fee refunded to the Payment account on eligible Share & Save orders. After January 4, 2027 the credit returns to 4%.
No. Etsy’s wording means the 6.5% transaction fee line is refunded on eligible Share & Save orders. You still pay payment processing, listing/renewal ($0.20 US), and possibly Offsite Ads if last-click is Offsite.
If you are already in Share & Save, the holiday rate applies automatically. If not, join under Shop Manager → Marketing → Share & Save → Join now; the offer starts once enrolled.
Links sent through Etsy Messages and links placed in listing descriptions do not count. Use trackable yourshopname.etsy.com, listing Share, promo-code, or Seller-app review/section links.
The Share & Save refund drops back to 4% of the eligible order total (item + shipping + gift wrap), matching the evergreen program rate described in Help.
Yes. Attribution uses the buyer’s last click. If that last visit before purchase is an Offsite Ad, the order is not eligible for Share & Save and may carry Offsite fees (15% or 12%) instead.
Canopio is independent and not affiliated with Etsy, Inc. Examples are hypothetical and use US rates unless noted. Confirm current fees and Share & Save Holiday Promo Terms in your Shop Manager.