First 200 Mississippi businesses are Founding Merchants
Selling on Etsy?
Etsy's fees are low. The question is where they go.
We'll be straight with you: Etsy's base fees (~10%) are genuinely low, so this isn't a "you'll earn more per sale" pitch. On Good Circles the comparable margin doesn't vanish to a platform — it becomes a ~10% saving for your customer and funding for a local nonprofit, the platform takes just 1% of profit, and there's no Offsite Ads fee. Same craft, kept local.
A $100 sale, honestly
A $100 handmade item with $40 of materials and cost. We're showing you the case where Etsy looks good — base fees, no ads — and the case where it doesn't.
| Good Circles | Etsy (base) | Etsy + Offsite Ads | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer pays | $90.00 (saves $10.00) | $100.00 | $100.00 |
| Platform fee · ads · card | $0.50 · $0 · $0 | ~$9.95 · $0 · in fee | ~$22 · ads · in fee |
| Donation to a local nonprofit (deductible) | $5.00 | — | — |
| Pre-tax profit | $44.50 | ~$50.05 | ~$38.00 |
| After-tax profit (25%) | $33.38 | ~$37.54 | ~$28.50 |
| Customer saves / community funded | $10.00 / $5.00 | $0 / $0 | $0 / $0 |
| Total local value created | $48.38 | ~$37.54 | ~$28.50 |
The honest read: on Etsy's base fees with zero ad spend, your personal after-tax cash is a bit higher (~$37.54 vs $33.38). But Good Circles creates more total local value ($48.38), your customer saves $10.00, and a nonprofit is funded tax-efficiently. The moment you run any ads on Etsy — and Offsite Ads are mandatory above $10k/yr — Good Circles wins on every line.
Etsy: $0.20 listing + 6.5% transaction + (3% + $0.25) US processing ≈ ~10% all-in; Offsite Ads add 12–15% on ad-attributed orders, mandatory above $10k/yr (verified 2026-06-22, etsy.com/sell). Good Circles has no ad spend and no merchant card cost (the customer pays credit card processing if they use a card). Illustration, not tax advice.
Calculator
Run your shop's numbers
Your price, cost, tax rate, and current ad spend. This uses your numbers — not a sales pitch — to show your after-tax profit on each platform and the total local value of every sale.
Your platform
$0.00
after-tax profit / sale
Good Circles
$0.00
after-tax profit / sale
Total local value created per sale
$0.00 on Good Circles vs $0.00 on your platform
your after-tax profit + your customer's savings + community funding
Line-by-line, per sale
| Per sale | Platform | Good Circles |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue (list price) | ||
| Less: customer savings (10%) | ||
| Less: COGS | ||
| Less: platform fee | ||
| Less: ad / marketing | ||
| Less: card processing | ||
| Less: donation (deductible) | ||
| Taxable / pre-tax profit | ||
| Less: income tax | ||
| After-tax profit | ||
| Memo: customer saves | ||
| Memo: community funded | ||
| Memo: your after-tax cost to deliver that value | — |
Illustration only — not tax advice. Deductibility depends on your entity, income, and how the arrangement is characterized; confirm with your CPA. Competitor "fee" is the typical published all-in rate (verified 2026-06-22); set the fee and your ad spend to your real numbers.
The real difference isn't the fee — it's who it's for
On Etsy, your ~10% goes to Etsy and your customer is Etsy's, not yours. On Good Circles, that same margin goes to your customer as a saving that brings them back, and to a local nonprofit that gives people a reason to choose your shop. You're building a local following, not renting traffic — and you dodge the Offsite Ads fee that quietly doubles many sellers' costs.
Keep your Etsy shop for national reach if it's working — and use Good Circles to own your local community at better economics. See the full picture on Good Circles for business »
Questions
Etsy vs Good Circles — FAQ
Are Etsy's fees actually lower than Good Circles?
At Etsy's base fees, yes — about 10% all-in ($0.20 listing + 6.5% transaction + 3% + $0.25 processing), versus Good Circles' 1% fee on profit (with no ad spend and no merchant card cost). We're not going to pretend otherwise. The honest difference is where your fees go and what they buy you — and what happens once Etsy's Offsite Ads kick in.
What is Etsy's Offsite Ads fee?
Etsy charges an Offsite Ads fee of 15% (or 12% once you pass $10,000 in trailing-year sales) on any order it attributes to an ad it placed — and enrollment becomes mandatory above $10,000/year. That can push your all-in Etsy cost to roughly 22–25% on those orders. Good Circles has no ad fee, so on ad-attributed sales you keep clearly more.
Will I make more selling on Good Circles than on Etsy?
On base fees your take-home per sale is similar — sometimes slightly lower on Good Circles, because the ~10% you give your customer is real. But the value isn't lost: it goes to your customer (a saving that brings them back) and a local nonprofit, instead of to Etsy, and it lowers your taxable income. The moment you'd be paying Etsy's Offsite Ads (mandatory above $10k/yr), you come out ahead on Good Circles on every line.
Can I sell on both Etsy and Good Circles?
Yes. Many makers keep an Etsy shop for national reach and use Good Circles to sell to their local community at better economics, with customer savings and nonprofit funding built in. They run side by side.
Turn your fees into customer savings and local impact
Free to join. A 1% fee on profit only when you sell. The first 200 Mississippi businesses are Founding Merchants.