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WarningHM-3 · Etsy's Creativity Standards

Production partners must be disclosed on all applicable listings

What this rule means

If someone else helps make your item, you must say so on the listing. This applies to a printer, a manufacturer, or any outside service that produces your design. You must also give accurate information about where the item ships from. The rule asks for openness. It does not ban partners.

What Etsy says

Sellers must disclose that an item is made by a production partner, and provide accurate information about where the item is shipped from.
Read Etsy's full Etsy's Creativity Standards

Why Etsy has this rule

Many sellers design an item and have a partner produce it. Etsy allows that, but buyers deserve to know. Someone who thinks they are buying from a single maker may feel misled if a factory made the item and shipped it from another country. Disclosure lets the buyer decide with the full picture.

Etsy also uses the information to apply its other rules correctly. A listing that shows a partner can be judged as a designed item. A listing that hides one can look like a resold or mass-produced item. Disclosing is the simplest way to show you follow the Creativity Standards. Etsy's policy asks sellers to disclose the partner and give accurate ships-from details.

Common mistakes

  • Using a print-on-demand service and leaving the partner off the listing.
  • Adding a partner to some listings and forgetting the rest of the shop.
  • Naming a partner in the description but not adding it in Shop Manager.
  • Leaving the ships-from country as your home country when the partner ships the order.
  • Assuming a partner is only needed when a factory makes the whole item.
  • Hiding a partner because you worry it will make the item look less handmade.
  • Not updating the partner list after you switch to a different printer or manufacturer.
  • Forgetting that a partner who ships directly to the buyer changes the ships-from location.

Examples

  • AllowedYou design a shirt, use a printing service, and add that service as a partner on every shirt listing.
  • AllowedYou make some items yourself and have a partner make others, and each listing shows which applies.
  • AllowedYou set the ships-from country to the country where your partner ships the order.
  • AllowedYou add a new partner to your shop and to each affected listing when you start using them.
  • Not allowedYour listing photos show a print service's mockup, and no partner is listed.
  • Not allowedYou mention a manufacturer in the description and leave the partner field empty.
  • Not allowedHalf your print-on-demand listings show a partner and the other half do not.
  • Not allowedYour partner ships from overseas, and the listing says it ships from your home address.

How to stay compliant

  1. In Etsy Shop Manager, go to Settings > Production Partners and add the name and location of every third-party manufacturer or printer you use.
  2. Edit each listing that uses a production partner: open the listing, scroll to the Production Partner section, and select the appropriate partner.
  3. Ensure the 'ships from' location in each listing matches the actual fulfillment location (your production partner's country, not your home country, if they ship directly).
  4. Save and republish all updated listings.

Effort: low · 30-90 minutes

If your suspension email cites this rule

This rule is marked as a warning, but treat it with care. Read the email and list every listing it points to. Then ask which of your items involve an outside party at any stage: printing, cutting, sewing, packing, or shipping. Anywhere the answer is yes, the listing should show that partner. Check the shipping origin on the same listings, because the two details need to agree.

If you reply or appeal, be direct. Say that you use a partner, name it, and say that the listings are now updated. Make sure what you say matches what is on the listing page, since Etsy can compare them. Do not say you have no partner if you do. Keep a record of the date you made each change. An accurate and fixed listing is your strongest case, but Etsy makes the final decision.

Suspended over this rule?

Generate a complete, ready-to-submit Etsy appeal for this exact violation.

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Common questions

Do I have to disclose every printer or manufacturer I use?

Yes, if they help make the items you sell. Etsy asks sellers to disclose a production partner on applicable listings. Add the partner's name and location in your shop settings and select it on each listing.

Does using a production partner mean my shop is not handmade?

No. Designing an item and having a partner produce it is allowed when you disclose the partner. Hiding the partner is what creates the problem.

What is a production partner?

It is an outside person or business that helps make your item, such as a printer, manufacturer, or fulfillment service. If they take part in making or shipping your design, they are likely a partner.

Where should the item ship from if my partner mails it?

The ships-from location should be where the order actually ships. If your partner sends it from another country, that country belongs on the listing.

Do I need to disclose a partner on listings that I make entirely myself?

No. The disclosure applies to listings where a partner takes part. Add it only where it is true, and keep each listing accurate.

Related etsy's creativity standards rules