Sellers search for “should I put my Etsy shop on sale” because a 20% coupon looks like a conversion cheat. It is not free. Every buyer who would have paid full price leaves $5.43 less on the default $30 listing. The cash a sale returns is a higher sell-through on the same listings.
Open the Etsy profit calculator, keep your shop fees, and type the percent or dollar coupon you would run plus the sell-through from Shop Stats. The table below uses the calculator defaults: $30 item, $5.00 shipping charged, 6.5% transaction, 3% + $0.25 payment, $6.00 postage, $4.00 materials, 20% off vs $5.00 off, 40% vs 55% sell-through, 40 listings.
This is not free shipping — that zeros shipping charged — and it is not on-site Etsy Ads. Percentage fees sit on the lower ticket; postage and materials do not change.
A packed full-price sale keeps $21.23. 20% off drops the ticket to $24.00 and leaves $15.80 if this buyer would have paid full price (−$5.43). A $5.00 coupon leaves $16.70 (−$4.53 vs full price). At 40.0% vs 55.0% sell-through the full-price path expects $8.49 per listing, 20% off expects $8.69 (+$0.20, +$8.00 across 40 listings), and $5.00 off expects $9.19 (+$0.70, +$28.00 across 40 listings). 20% off has to convert about 53.8% of listings before it matches staying full price. The dollar coupon has to convert about 50.8%. At this lift the sale has to stay at or below about 21.3% or $6.40 off.
| Path | Packed leftover | Sell-through | Expected / listing | Across 40 listings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stay full price | $21.23 | 40.0% | $8.49 | $339.60 |
| 20% off | $15.80 | 55.0% | $8.69 | $347.60 |
| $5.00 off | $16.70 | 55.0% | $9.19 | $367.60 |
Keep 20% and $5.00 off and drop sale sell-through to 50%. Expected keep becomes $7.90 on 20% off (−$0.59, −$23.60 across 40 listings) and $8.35 on $5.00 off (−$0.14, −$5.60). Stay full price. The break-even conversion stays 53.8% for 20% off and 50.8% for $5.00 off — a 10-point lift does not clear either. Raise sale sell-through to 70% and $5.00 off expects $11.69 (+$3.20) while 20% off expects $11.06 (+$2.57).
Turn on 15% Offsite Ads and keep the 40% vs 55% lift. Full price expects $6.39, 20% off expects $6.29 (−$0.10), and $5.00 off expects $6.71 (+$0.32). 20% off now has to convert about 55.8%; the discount ceiling falls to about 19.2% or $5.77 off. Drop the percent sale to 10% on the default fees (no Offsite Ads) and the packed sale keeps $18.51. Expected keep is $10.18 — +$1.69 versus full price — and 10% off beats the $5.00 coupon too.
Rules change. This page does not publish Etsy’s live coupon schedule, search ranking, or sale calendar. Enter the discount you would actually run and the conversion from Shop Stats.
On the worked example — a $30 listing, $5 shipping charged, 6.5% transaction plus 3%+$0.25 payment, $6 postage, $4 materials, 20% off vs $5.00 off, and 40% vs 55% sell-through — a packed full-price sale keeps $21.23, 20% off keeps $15.80 (−$5.43 if this buyer would have paid full price), and $5.00 off keeps $16.70 (−$4.53). Expected keep is $8.49 vs $8.69 vs $9.19. The $5 coupon expects $0.70 more per listing and $28.00 more across 40 listings. 20% off has to convert about 53.8% before it matches staying full price; $5 off has to convert about 50.8%. At this lift the sale has to stay at or below about 21.3% or $6.40 off.
No. Keep 20% and $5.00 off and drop sale sell-through to 50%. Expected keep becomes $7.90 on 20% off (−$0.59) and $8.35 on $5.00 off (−$0.14). Stay full price. The break-even conversion stays 53.8% for 20% off and 50.8% for $5.00 off — a 10-point lift does not clear either.
Yes. Turn on 15% Offsite Ads on the same 40% vs 55% lift. Full price expects $6.39, 20% off expects $6.29 (−$0.10), and $5.00 off expects $6.71 (+$0.32). 20% off now has to convert about 55.8%; the discount ceiling falls to about 19.2% or $5.77 off. A shallower 10% sale on the default fees, with no Offsite Ads, keeps $18.51 packed and expects $10.18 — $1.69 more than full price, beating the $5 coupon too.