Etsy Shop With Multiple Owners? Here’s How (Solved)

Sometimes it is more fun to craft and to create things with friends than all by yourself.

This leads to Etsy shops having more than one owner or employee. Whether that is two creators, page designers, photographers, or customer service reps, Etsy shops require a lot of work – which easier to do with more than one person.

But who gets the credit for a job well done?

Can Etsy shops have multiple owners?

The “owner” of an Etsy shop is anyone who is a seller and maker of an item or crafted piece on that shop. You and anyone else you consider to be an owner can be listed as “owner” in the shop and are responsible for activity on the account.

In fact, Etsy shops have multiple roles you can list or assign for their owners and employees!

What Exactly is an Etsy Shop Owner?

An Etsy.com shop owner is a person who creates a product and sells it on Etsy.

Being the owner of an Etsy shop can be extremely fun and exciting, as well as very important. There is a lot that goes into owning and operating an Etsy shop, so don’t take it lightly!

This person must be the owner of the shop on the site, as well as design or create the products that the shop sells. They manage their employees, customers, products, design, and shipment of those products.

An Etsy shop owner is also responsible for anything that might go wrong with the shop and will have to make sure everything follows Etsy.com’s requirements and rules.

If rules or requirements or violated, the owner will be the individual penalized, not employees.

Are There any Problems with Having Multiple Owners?

Having multiple people listed as “Owners” in your Etsy shop isn’t a difficult thing to achieve. However, there are a few things that you need to remember when you set up a shop with more than one owner:

Banking & Money

Whoever initially sets up the shop is the one who will be responsible for the banking and payroll information.

Even if there are two or more “owners” in the shop, whoever started the shop is going to receive funds from customers.

This is because banking information is required upon the setup of the shop, and there cannot be more than one account listed.

Furthermore, Etsy is not responsible for dividing profits or funds to different “roles” in the shop.

To combat this problem, Etsy owners have, in the past, set up joint bank accounts and email information to better manage the shop as a unit. However, if the shop doesn’t work out, or if you don’t trust your partner, it is probably better to go it alone.

Taxes and LLC

When it comes to filing taxes on your Etsy.com income, you run into a lot of paperwork and things to consider.

For example, the person who officially “owns” the shop is the one who will have to pay taxes on any and all income and should be paid accordingly.

Splitting up funds 50/50 gets harder and harder when tax season comes around. Instead, putting away 30% of profits (at least) each month toward business taxes is a MUST and should be discussed with owners before the start of the shop.

If, however, both (or more) of you would like to be responsible for this aspect, you should consider starting an “LLC,” or an officially listed business. This will divvy up the responsibility, insurance, taxes, and revenue for your business.

Most freelancers and shop owners are “self-employed” in the eyes of the U.S. tax bureau (IRS). This means that although they are considered a “small business,” they aren’t technically an LLC, so their taxes are a little different.

For more information, consider visiting the United States IRS site on how to become an official business!

Shipping & Personal Information

Just like banking information, there is only one shipping address for your shop.

This means that printing shipping labels online for customers will only list one location. If you and your other owner(s) live and work in the same town, you shouldn’t worry or have any issues.

If, however, you work several hundred miles away from your other owner, getting together to discuss things, fix shipping issues, figure out customer problems, or any other number of things will be much harder.

There is an upside, though, which means that if you both have access to the shop’s email and login information, you can both answer customer questions and print shipping labels remotely.

Just remember, shipping from further away will increase your estimated delivery time, so try to pick a location that works best for your customers.

For example, if your customer in California thinks their candles are coming from California, but they’re really coming from New York, the delivery will take a lot longer.

Be sure to notify your customer to prevent a bad review!

Division of Work

It is a requirement of Etsy that each “owner” is a maker and seller of your product.

This means that you both create, design, and produce those scented candles or clothes that you are selling.

This can have unexpected consequences for the division of labor.

If you both create and make these objects, you will want to discuss beforehand what each person’s responsibility is:

• Who works primarily with customers?
• Who ships and packages items?
• Who makes the items more frequently / which part of the item do you make?
• Do you both hire and manage employees or only one of you?
• Who’s name is on the business?
• Who’s banking information is used?

Answering these questions before you begin your shop is incredibly important to prevent a bad relationship later in the business.

Make sure to be open and communicative!

Responsibility & Accountability

Being an owner of your own Etsy shop is so exciting!

You set your own hours, create an amazing product that you share with the world, and even make a little money out of it! What could be better?

Well, there is one catch – accountability and responsibility.

Every small business owner – or even large business owners – are accountable for their own actions and the actions of their employees. This means that if something were to go wrong with one of your products or shipments, the blame ultimately falls to you – even if it was not your fault or was an accident.

Therefore, it is important to remember that anyone listed as an “owner” on your shop will have to be ready to shoulder that responsibility – no matter what.

When you run an Etsy shop all on your own, it’s easy to see where something has gone wrong and take responsibility for it. However, with a booming business, many employees, and more than one owner, it’s hard to take the fall for someone else’s mistake.

Still, if you’re going to share your business with others, you need to be prepared to take one for the team – because it is your team.

Keep that in mind when shouldering the responsibility with someone else, and make sure to keep an eye on your operations.

Can You Have More than one Etsy Shop on One Account?

If you’re a true creative-type, you probably have more than one talent.

Whether that is design, crafting, weaving, knitting, woodworking, art, or graphics, you’ve got a lot of talent to share with the world. Maybe you’ve considered having more than one shop to sell and showcase these talents?

Well, good news!

Etsy does allow you to have more than one shop per person – but not per account. Each Etsy account can only have one email address and shop at a time.

This can be frustrating for some small business owners who want to have more than one account – but can’t have them all in one place.

However, you can still use the same name and banking account information for each shop you set up. Just not the same email.

For those who are willing to use two emails for their businesses, this is a pretty simple solution. However, if you don’t want to go to the trouble, consider selling both types of craft in one shop.

How do I add an Owner to my Etsy Shop?

Adding an owner to your Etsy shop is as easy as going to your “Shop Manager” page.

• Go to “settings.”
• In the “Members” tab, add yourself as an “owner” and save your profile
• Then, add new members and assign them a “role.”

Once you’ve added new members and assigned them a role, whether that’s as another “owner” or as assistants, designers, photographers, etc., you’re good to go!

Can you Register Two Separate Businesses on One Etsy Shop?

You can only have one shop at a time and one business in that shop. Each shop has a “brand” or shop name that it falls under.

If there are two “owners,” they have to be part of the same business.

For Example

If Jane and Rick are working together in the same shop, they could label the whole Etsy shop “Jane & Rick’s,” and then sell “Jane’s Candles” and “Rick’s Beeswax Delights” on the same shop.

The singular “brand” name for the whole shop, such as “Jane & Rick’s,” remains intact, but the two could sell their separate products on that shop.

As long as you are proving to Etsy that you are both the maker and seller of these products in your Etsy store, you are not violating the terms and conditions of being a good seller.

So, even if you include others’ works as part of your “business,” you would still have to prove that you are part of the manufacturing of that product. In this scenario, Jane and Rick would have to be part of the same business together – even if they are manufacturing separate products.

IF you try to sell another person’s business items in your shop, Etsy will assume you are ripping off someone’s product and re-selling it yourself.

When in doubt, stick to your own business and branding.

Can you Transfer Ownership of an Etsy Shop?

Etsy shops are NOT transferable.

I know this is a quick answer, but the logic is simple.

Because your products are handmade by you – such as mugs, T-shirts, or paintings, transferring your shop to another person doesn’t make any sense. They can’t re-create your product without you.

This is because of copyright – Etsy will not allow someone who doesn’t make a product to sell that product, because they consider that stealing your intellectual property.

Even if you give over operations to your friend because you don’t want to do the “business” part of it anymore, you are still the artist and are still making the product. You cannot give them control, nor change the banking or financial details to another person’s name.

Now, what you could do is still remain an owner and operator of the site, but allow someone else to run the site for you – including the email, customer service, etc. Then you can pay that person for doing the operations part of the work, but you are still in control of or ownership of that site, and should still be paid for creating the products.