Etsy seller glossary.

A cart with items the buyer didn't complete checkout on - Etsy can email the buyer a reminder with an automatic discount.

Short text descriptions of each photo, used for screen readers and as a small SEO signal.

A structured piece of metadata Etsy collects (color, occasion, room, holiday) to power filtered search.

The bundle of attribute fields Etsy prompts you for, determined by the category you pick.

The buyer-side checkout staging area where items wait before purchase - separate from your inventory.

A dispute that's been escalated to Etsy for a final ruling - Etsy reviews evidence and decides.

The Etsy-wide bucket your listing belongs to (e.g., Home & Living > Mugs) - controls which search results you appear in.

The final purchase flow where the buyer enters payment and confirms shipping.

The path from a buyer's first impression to checkout - impressions → views → favorites → cart → purchase.

The percentage of listing views that turn into purchases - the single best indicator of listing quality.

A bespoke order negotiated through messages, usually fulfilled via a private listing the buyer purchases directly.

A listing you've hidden from buyers but kept in your shop - not visible in search and not buyable.

The long-form text on a listing page - context for buyers and a secondary SEO signal.

A listing where the buyer purchases a file Etsy delivers automatically - no shipping required.

A formal complaint a buyer opens through Etsy when they're unhappy with an order - escalates to a case if not resolved.

A listing in progress - not yet published, not buyer-visible, not charged the $0.20 listing fee.

Etsy's on-platform paid advertising - you set a daily budget and Etsy promotes your listings inside Etsy search.

The official interface third-party tools use to read and write your Etsy shop data programmatically.

Etsy's $10/month subscription that adds shop customization, restock notifications, and listing credits.

A buyer who has hearted one of your listings or your whole shop - they get notified when you run a sale on that item.

A standardized product barcode (UPC, EAN, ISBN) that helps Etsy and external search engines identify your item.

A listing's inventory state when at least one purchasable unit is available.

A single item-for-sale record on Etsy - the fundamental unit of your shop catalog.

Etsy's internal score for how well a listing converts and engages buyers - a major search ranking input.

A listing for items produced after the buyer purchases - not held in physical inventory.

An auto-sent or manual message buyers receive after purchase - Etsy supports both digital and physical templates.

The standard way third-party apps connect to your Etsy shop without asking for your password.

The 12–15% commission Etsy charges when a buyer arrives via an external Etsy-funded ad and converts.

The record Etsy generates for each completed purchase - visible to both buyer and seller.

The per-order fee Etsy Payments charges to handle credit card and bank transactions.

A buyer-input field on a listing where the buyer types custom info (name, monogram, message) at checkout.

The recommended size and aspect ratio for Etsy listing photos.

A listing for a tangible item that requires shipping to the buyer.

The number of business days between order receipt and shipment, set on each shipping profile.

A third party who helps make your products - Etsy requires you to disclose them in your shop settings.

Listings that have been published, edited, or renewed recently - Etsy gives them a small temporary search boost.

Returning all or part of a buyer's payment - Etsy returns the transaction fee but not the payment processing fee.

A small per-order percentage Etsy charges in specific seller countries to cover digital service regulations.

The $0.20 Etsy charges every 4 months to keep a listing active, or whenever a multi-quantity unit sells.

A buyer who has placed more than one order with your shop - Etsy tracks them and surfaces them in your stats.

Your shop's rules about returns, exchanges, and cancellations - Etsy uses it to decide buyer disputes.

How often your listings appear in Etsy search results for relevant queries.

Shorthand for "shop section" - a category bucket inside your shop that organizes listings on your shop home page.

A reusable shipping configuration - origin, processing time, destinations, and rates - that you attach to listings.

A category bucket inside your shop that organizes listings on your shop home page.

A short internal code you assign to a product so you can track it across listings, variations, and outside Etsy.

A single-quantity listing where the unit has sold and no buyer can purchase it until you renew.

Etsy's recognition program for sellers who consistently meet messaging, shipping, and review standards.

A short keyword phrase you add to a listing to help Etsy match it to buyer searches.

Etsy's tree of categories and the attribute sets attached to each category leaf.

The headline of your listing - the single biggest SEO and click-through lever you control.

The 6.5% Etsy takes from every sale, calculated on the item price plus shipping plus gift wrap.

A shop-wide pause that hides your listings from search and prevents new orders.

A buyer-selectable option on a listing (size, color, scent) that can carry its own price, SKU, and stock.

The recommended length and format for the optional 5–15 second video on each listing.