Etsy set off a bomb in the order automation world last week. And without a formal announcement, this likely won’t be fully realized for a while.
What happened?
As of October 21, 2024, Etsy has quietly eliminated support for any new third-party shipping providers in the United States via a small update announced in their knowledge base. They have chosen to continue to support Shippo and ShipStation, and they said existing API connections would remain unaffected. Existing software partners were not notified of this change.
Without the ability to receive shipping details or communicate tracking information back to Etsy, third-party automation tools like Order Desk will not be able to provide service to any new US customer connections to Etsy.
Etsy’s wording suggests that this change was made from a desire to lock in label-printing support to their preferred partners, but they haven’t made a public statement with any clarification yet. From a quality of service perspective, we can understand that stance, though it causes considerable disruption for third-party label printers like Pirate Ship who have been outspoken about this issue.
It is incorrect to assume that every shipping-based service connected to the Etsy API is creating labels, however. By removing shipping details from their API, Etsy has effectively cut off support for many print on demand providers who print hand-crafted artwork onto on-demand products. Others use the Etsy API to fulfill pre-produced inventory via 3PL.
Etsy’s website says “In a time of increasing automation, it’s our mission to keep human connection at the heart of commerce.” Their robust API has led to the creation of many innovative third-party tools that extend what Etsy can be and do, many of which have contributed to the growth of the Etsy marketplace. This new policy won’t be immediately felt since it wasn’t applied retroactively to all customers, but by removing these critical functionalities, Etsy is shooting itself in the foot and limiting their potential market. Partners of Etsy who no longer have access to this data will have little incentive to continue to maintain their Etsy connections without the ability to support new customers in another major region.
Their stance effectively locks new customers out of any sort of automation. Etsy’s commitment to authentic products is understandable, however we believe there’s a place for artistry to thrive where makers can focus on their craft and let the actual production and shipping of their products be handled automatically behind the scenes. Etsy’s own policies support handmade art and design in partnership with automated production partners, so this change is needlessly strict and will harm the wider Etsy community.
What this means for you.
Due to Etsy’s abrupt change in policy, Order Desk is now unable to provide support for new US-based Etsy customers. New Order Desk customers may continue to connect to Etsy, but we won’t be able to download address details or report shipping for US orders at this time. We will continue to support the hundreds of businesses who currently use Order Desk to receive their Etsy orders, but we have no insight into if or when Etsy decides to sunset public access to their shipping API. We’ve reached out to Etsy for comment, but have yet to receive a response.
We hope that Etsy will quickly roll back this change and restore full API support going forward, and on behalf of the hundreds of sellers who rely on Order Desk to support and automate their business growth with Etsy, we’ll continue to push for answers and a positive way forward.
