There's rumors swirling, tiny tidbits on Instagram, Etsy seller groups on Facebook and in the Etsy forums themselves. Apparently, Etsy sent out a survey today with a non-disclosure agreement attached, and it's all about Free Shipping. I haven't seen the survey, so I have not signed the NDA. This update is based off the reactions from those who have. It seems that Etsy is looking to enforce free US shipping for all orders over $35.00. Those who don't opt in to this appear to be threatened with not appearing in search results. 

There's many reasons why a shop should be able to choose whether or not free shipping is right for them - here are just a few reasons why a shop might decide against free shipping. 

1) Free shipping confuses returns. When an item is returned, a full refund of the purchase price must be issued. When shipping is charged, and the item is returned for a reason other than seller fault, sellers can choose to refund only the item price, so they do not take a loss on the outbound shipping.

2) Free shipping makes the total order cost of multiple orders more expensive. When a customer orders 5 packs of beads each priced at $5 with $5 shipping, their total cost is $30. But if the seller must add the cost of shipping to their listing, the total order cost is $50 - $20 more. This similarly complicates adjusting shipping charges for international orders and multiple item international orders.

3) When a seller carries a very heavy items, it might cost only $15 to ship a state or two away, but $75 to ship to the opposite coast. How could the seller fairly determine what amount to add to their listing? 

Etsy is thinking about one thing - more sales conversions, but they are NOT considering the potential cost to sellers, and the cost to their website if sellers decide to leave. 

Just say NO to required Free Shipping. Free Shipping should be a choice left to the individual business - not a policy forced by Etsy.