Etsy Strikethrough Price Rules (UK, US & Compliance Guide)

To show strike-through prices on Etsy lawfully, sellers must adhere to honest reference pricing rules: you cannot artificially inflate base prices before launching a discount, and listings must be offered at regular prices for a genuine baseline duration. In the UK, EU, and US, misleading price comparison claims violate consumer protection regulations.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Maintaining transparent, compliant pricing builds buyer trust, protects your seller account standing, and ensures your promotional badges render cleanly across global markets.

Understanding Honest Reference Pricing

When a customer sees an item marked down from $50 to $35, they assume $50 is the genuine, established retail price.

• Genuine Reference Price: The price at which the product was genuinely offered for a meaningful period in the ordinary course of business.
• Deceptive Artificial Inflation: Increasing a $30 item to $60 on Tuesday and advertising a "50% Off Flash Sale" on Wednesday is deceptive and prohibited.

Regulatory bodies actively police misleading promotional claims:

• In the US: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Guides Against Deceptive Pricing govern comparative price advertising.
• In the UK: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Pricing Practices Guidance and Trading Standards enforce strict rules on price comparisons.
• In the EU: The Omnibus Directive requires promotional discounts to reference the lowest price offered during the previous 30-day period.

Etsy Automated Compliance Systems

To protect buyers and ensure marketplace compliance, Etsy algorithms evaluate price histories before displaying visual strike-through badges:

1. Price Change Cooldowns: If you raise a listing base price, Etsy may require a cooling-off period before allowing a promotional sale to display strike-through formatting on that listing.
2. Perpetual Sale Suppression: If a listing is discounted for months without interruption, Etsy may remove the strike-through strikethrough styling and display only the final price.
3. Cart-Level Compliance: Even if visual strike-through badges are suppressed on search cards, the percentage discount is still applied when the buyer adds the item to their cart.

Best Practices for Compliant Etsy Sales

• Keep Base Prices Stable: Adjust your foundational listing prices based on genuine material cost increases rather than short-term promotional tricks.
• Alternate Between Regular and Sale Days: Rotate 2-3 day promotional sales with periods of regular-price sales. This maintains clear reference price history while triggering authentic ending-soon urgency.
• Be Honest with Clearance Items: When clearing out discontinued designs, use clear labels such as "Clearance" or "End of Line" in your shop section titles.
• Consult Official Policies: Review Etsy Seller Policy on Disclosing Discounts regularly to keep up with platform updates.

To check that your genuine profit margins remain sound under lawful discounting, use our free Etsy Fee and Discount Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Etsy remove the strike-through price badge on my listing?

If a listing price was recently increased or has not been sold at its regular base price for a minimum reference period, Etsy algorithms suppress the strike-through visual badge to comply with consumer protection regulations.

Is it legal to raise an item price right before putting it on sale?

No. Artificially inflating prices immediately prior to advertising a promotional discount is illegal under UK consumer law (CMA guidelines) and US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Guides Against Deceptive Pricing.

How long must an item be sold at regular price before running a sale in the UK?

Under UK and EU consumer rules, an advertised discount must generally reference the lowest genuine price the item was offered at during the preceding 30-day baseline window.