Etsy’s active seller count has declined for the third consecutive quarter, dropping from a high of 7 million to 5.6 million in the latest figures. Most notably, there was a sharp decrease of 600,000 active sellers—those who have made at least one sale in the last year—from Q3 to Q4 of 2024. This trend indicates a significant contraction in Etsy’s seller ecosystem, bucking the growth patterns seen at competing marketplaces.
The decline extends beyond just sellers. Active buyers decreased from 92 million to 89.6 million over the past year, while quarterly and annual Gross Merchandise Sales (GMS) also showed modest decreases. This trifecta of declining metrics suggests Etsy is facing structural challenges rather than experiencing temporary fluctuations.
According to Marketplace Pulse research, nearly 14 million sellers have registered with Etsy since its inception, with registrations peaking at almost 3 million new sellers in 2021. However, the number of new sellers joining each year has declined drastically for three consecutive years, approximately halving each year. At its peak during the pandemic, Etsy was adding over 300,000 new sellers per month. Current data shows this figure has plummeted to less than 20,000 per month in 2024.
This downward trajectory stands in stark contrast to Amazon, which consistently attracts close to one million new sellers annually with no signs of slowing. Similarly, Walmart’s marketplace seller numbers continue to grow rapidly, having recently surpassed 150,000 active sellers.
As Etsy approaches its 20th anniversary in 2025, CEO Josh Silverman maintains that the company’s focus remains relevant:
“For the past two decades, Etsy has been the home for creativity and self expression. In today’s world of automation and generic, commoditized goods, we believe our mission has never been more important.”
This positioning directly challenges the “brandless” approach of platforms like Amazon and Temu.
While some seller attrition can be attributed to Etsy’s efforts to clean up its marketplace by removing bad sellers and counterfeit products, Silverman has acknowledged broader market pressures, noting that 2024 “had been a challenging period for discretionary goods.” This challenge is reflected in Etsy’s 1.4% decline in net income for the full year.
The diverging fortunes of these marketplaces highlight a fundamental difference in strategy. Amazon and Walmart are thriving by offering near-infinite selection and leveraging Chinese sellers to expand their catalogs. Meanwhile, Etsy remains focused on a narrow vertical – handmade and vintage goods – that appears to be experiencing declining demand based on current metrics.
The data suggests that Etsy’s once-explosive pandemic-era growth has not only stopped but reversed. The key question now is whether this represents a right-sizing after unsustainable pandemic expansion or signals a more concerning long-term trend for the handmade marketplace.
