The Etsy marketplace is a fantastic place to shop. Having access to the best creative minds in the world means you can find that something special from yourself, your home, or a loved one.
But it can feel daunting to some. Handing your personal details over to a complete stranger can seem dangerous.
Whilst it is true that you will have to hand over some pretty personal information, such as your address and payment details, Etsy doesn’t pass on all of it to the seller you buy from.
The question is, what information do Etsy sellers see? When viewing orders Etsy sellers can only see your shipping address, your username, your email address and the name of the method of payment. This does not include the payment details.
Do Etsy sellers see your address?
Etsy sellers will see your shipping address. This is shown regardless of whether the order was for a physical product or a digital download.
The Etsy seller will only see the shipping address used for the order to their store. So, if you do have multiple addresses saved to your account, the seller will only see the address for the one order.
Other information required for shipping – such as phone number – is not shown to the seller, but can be passed on to the shipping provider if the seller has integrated with them – e.g. with Etsy shipping labels.
The only other address related information is whether or not the address is Verified by UPS. This is a small flag against any order from the US to show that the address is a known, valid address.
Do Etsy sellers see your billing address?
No. Etsy sellers do not see the buyer’s billing address. All payment-related information is stored securely by Etsy and can only be viewed by the buyer in their own account area.
Do Etsy sellers get your credit card information?
No, sellers cannot see your credit card information. A seller can see how you paid for an item, but not any actual financial information.
For example, here is what an Etsy seller would see:
Paid via Etsy Payments on 22 Nov, 2021
This is true for any payment method. If you pay via PayPal the seller will NOT see your PayPal username, and if you paid via a gift card the seller will NOT see either the gift card code or any outstanding balance.
Does Etsy show your location?
Etsy does not show where in the world you ordered from. The only reference to a country is the country on your shipping address.
Etsy can use your current country to personalise your Etsy search experience – such as what items to show on listing pages, or what items are popular in your region in search – however, this information is not shared with the Etsy seller.
As a prospective buyer is Etsy safe?
Yes, your personal and financial information is 100% safe on Etsy. Whilst it is important to remember that Etsy won’t share your personal and financial information with a seller, you must always be vigilant when communicating with a seller.
If you feel the seller is asking for financial information or unnecessary personal information, you can always contact Etsy support to help out.
I have never heard of any financial mismanagement on Etsy and I would rank Etsy above other online marketplaces (e.g. eBay) in regards to how information is handled.
Conclusion
Etsy sellers don’t see a lot of your information about the buyer. All they can see is there:
- username
- customer name
- email address
- shipping address
- name of payment method – but not the actual payment details
As you can see, Etsy is very careful with buyer information. Etsy only shows sellers the bare minimum required to send the item to the seller.
Etsy is a trustworthy platform and your data is always safe when you enter it in checkout.
