Etsy vs Amazon Handmade: a fair comparison for sellers worried about suspensions

If you have been through a suspension, or watched another seller go through one, it is natural to wonder whether another marketplace would be safer. Amazon Handmade is one of the alternatives makers most often look at.

This is a fair, factual comparison focused on the questions that matter to cautious sellers. Fees and rules change, so we link to each marketplace's own pages and describe figures as they stood at the time of writing. Vetsy is not affiliated with Etsy or Amazon.

The short version

Who can sell

Etsy

Anyone can open an Etsy shop. What you can list is defined by Etsy's Creativity Standards, which describe items that sellers make, design, handpick or source. You can work with production partners if you disclose them, and Etsy asks sellers to disclose when AI tools were used.

The flexibility is useful, but it also means enforcement happens after you list, through policy checks and reports, rather than before you start.

Amazon Handmade

Amazon Handmade requires you to apply and be approved before you can sell in the Handmade category. Amazon reviews how your products are made. Items generally need to be made by hand, hand-altered or hand-assembled, and Amazon sets limits on the size of the business that makes them. Mass-produced and resold items are not eligible.

The approval step means Amazon has looked at your work before your first sale, though approval does not exempt you from Amazon's wider rules.

What you can sell

Both marketplaces prohibit broadly similar groups of items: drugs, weapons and dangerous products, recalled items, many animal products, hateful content and items that infringe intellectual property. Each has its own detailed lists and category rules.

On Etsy, the Prohibited Items Policy applies across the marketplace. Amazon has its own restricted products rules, and some categories require additional approval. Our guide to Etsy's prohibited items covers the Etsy side in detail.

Intellectual property is a major risk on both. A listing that uses a brand or character name without permission is a problem on Etsy and on Amazon alike.

How enforcement works

On Etsy

Etsy enforces its House Rules through a mix of automated detection, human review and reports from rights owners and buyers. Actions range from removing a listing to restricting selling privileges or permanently suspending an account. Etsy's Seller Policy also sets expectations around fulfilling orders, communicating with buyers and resolving problems.

Sellers often find Etsy's notices brief, which can make the cause hard to pin down. Our guide to suspensions that seem to come from nowhere covers the less obvious triggers.

On Amazon

Amazon gives sellers an Account Health page in Seller Central, which shows policy compliance and performance in one place. Amazon publishes performance targets that sellers are expected to meet, such as an order defect rate below 1%, a pre-fulfillment cancellation rate below 2.5% and a late shipment rate below 4%. Falling short, or receiving policy complaints, can lead to warnings, listing removals or deactivation.

The upside is visibility: you can see how you are measured. The downside is that targets apply continuously, and a run of problems in a busy season can quickly affect your account.

How appeals work

On Etsy

Etsy's Help Center describes appeals for removed listings through the Policy violations page in Shop Manager, and appeals for permanently suspended accounts through its Appeals Center. A good appeal explains what happened, shows that you understand the policy, lists what you have already fixed and explains how you will prevent a repeat. Our guide to writing an Etsy appeal letter covers this, and the Etsy appeal timeline explains what typically happens next.

On Amazon

Amazon appeals usually run through Seller Central and often ask for a plan of action. A plan of action typically covers the root cause of the problem, the immediate steps you took to fix it and the changes you have made to prevent it happening again.

The structure is similar to a good Etsy appeal. Amazon tends to be more formal about it, and a vague or incomplete plan of action is commonly sent back.

Fees compared

Fees are not a suspension issue, but they matter when you are deciding where to spend your effort. Figures below are as published at the time of writing.

Etsy

According to Etsy's Fees and Payments Policy:

• A listing fee of $0.20 per listing. A listing lasts four months or until the item sells, and renewing it costs another $0.20.
• A transaction fee of 6.5% of the order total, including shipping and gift wrap.
• Payment processing fees that vary by country.
• Offsite Ads fees on sales that come from Etsy's ads on other sites. The rate depends on your yearly sales, and higher-volume sellers cannot opt out.

Amazon Handmade

According to Amazon's Handmade pages:

• No listing fee.
• A referral fee of 15% on each sale.
• A Professional selling plan, which normally carries a monthly fee of $39.99. Amazon says this fee is waived for approved Handmade sellers, though in some regions the waiver starts after the first month.

Your real costs depend on your prices, shipping and how many sales come through ads, so model both with your own numbers.

So which is safer?

Neither marketplace is safe from suspension, and neither is designed to be unfair. They simply weigh things differently.

• If your risk is mainly policy and intellectual property, such as products near trademark lines or wellness items with claims, the same issues will follow you to Amazon. Fixing your listings matters more than switching.
• If your risk is mainly operational, such as late shipments in busy periods, Amazon's metrics will hold you to firm targets, while Etsy also expects reliable fulfillment under its Seller Policy.
• If you value approval up front, Amazon Handmade's application gives you an early review. Etsy lets you start immediately.

Selling on both

Many makers sell on both marketplaces. It reduces dependence on a single platform, so one account problem does not stop all of your sales. It also adds work: two sets of listings, inventory to keep in sync and two sets of rules to follow.

If you do, keep a few rules in mind:

• Keep inventory and processing times accurate on both, so overselling does not damage your metrics on either.
• Follow each marketplace's rules for its own buyers. Do not direct Etsy buyers to Amazon, or Amazon buyers to Etsy, to complete orders.
• Use one compliance standard for all your listings, based on the stricter rule wherever the two differ.

Many sellers also run their own website and mailing list. It is the one channel that no marketplace can suspend.

How Vetsy can help

Vetsy focuses on Etsy. It checks your Etsy listings against Etsy's policies, monitors your Etsy reviews, tracks changes to Etsy's policy pages and drafts appeal letters for Etsy actions. It does not connect to Amazon.

That said, the same habits protect you everywhere: no brand or character names, no health claims, honest descriptions and realistic shipping. Our Etsy listing compliance checklist is a good starting point for any marketplace.

You can start free with 3 scans a month or compare plans. Vetsy is not affiliated with Etsy, Inc. or Amazon.