Selling posters on Etsy works the same way from Manchester as it does from Minneapolis, with a few UK-specific differences. Get them wrong and each one quietly takes a few pounds off every sale. This guide covers just those differences: fees, VAT, sizes and shipping. For the rest of running a poster shop, the print-on-demand Etsy guide is the place to start.
What Etsy actually takes from a UK sale
Etsy's fees stack. For a UK seller in 2026:
| Fee | UK rate | Charged on |
|---|---|---|
| Listing fee | $0.20 (converted to £) | Each listing, every four months |
| Transaction fee | 6.5% | Item price plus shipping |
| Payment processing | 4% + £0.20 | The order total |
| Regulatory operating fee | 0.32% | The order total |
| VAT on Etsy's fees | 20% | Etsy's seller fees, unless you give Etsy a VAT number |
On a £20 poster with £4 shipping, that comes to roughly £3 in fees before VAT on them, and a little more once VAT is added. If the sale came through an Offsite Ad, add that fee on top. The full breakdown, including Offsite Ads and currency conversion, is in Etsy fees explained.
The one UK sellers miss: the listing fee is set in US dollars. You pay whatever it converts to that day, and it is charged again every time a listing renews. See what renewals really cost.
VAT, briefly and correctly
Two separate things get called "Etsy VAT", and they work differently:
- VAT on your sales. You only charge it once your taxable turnover passes the UK threshold, currently £90,000 a year. Most poster shops are well below it.
- VAT on Etsy's fees. Etsy adds 20% VAT to its seller fees for UK sellers who have not given it a VAT number. That covers almost every small shop, and it adds up to a fifth to what Etsy costs you on top of the headline rates.
For sales to buyers in the EU, Etsy collects and pays the VAT on the order itself, so you do not register in each country for normal marketplace sales. The paperwork side, including what goes on an invoice, is in the Etsy VAT and invoices guide.
This is general guidance, not tax advice. If you are close to the threshold, an accountant costs less than getting it wrong.
Sizes: sell to both sides of the Atlantic
UK buyers search in A-sizes. US buyers, who are most of Etsy's traffic, search in inches.
| Buyers search for | Common sizes |
|---|---|
| UK and Europe | A5, A4, A3, A2, A1 |
| United States | 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, 16x20, 18x24, 24x36 |
A-sizes have a different aspect ratio from most inch sizes, so an A3 file does not fit an 11x14 frame. Each size needs its own crop of the artwork, not a stretched version. Poster size standards has the exact ratios and which sizes share one.
A practical setup is one listing per design, with size as a variation covering both systems, for example A4, A3, A2, 12x16 and 18x24. Setting up sizes and prices as variations shows how to do it without the prices going wrong.
Shipping a poster without it arriving creased
Most returns and bad reviews on UK poster shops come from damaged tubes, not bad prints.
- Rolled: a strong cardboard tube with plastic end caps. A tube goes as a parcel, not a Large Letter, so set your shipping price for the tube.
- Flat: small prints (A4 and below) between two sheets of rigid card in a board-backed envelope.
- Framed: heavy and fragile. Most sellers use a print-on-demand printer so framed orders never pass through their hands.
Set this up once in a shipping profile per product type, not per listing. The shipping profiles guide walks through it.
Where UK poster shops lose money
- Pricing in pounds without the fee stack. A £12 A4 print loses roughly a fifth of its price to fees and VAT on fees. How to price Etsy listings has the maths.
- Only listing A-sizes. That misses the US buyers who make up most of the traffic.
- The same mockup as everyone else. A stock bedroom scene used by a hundred shops makes your poster look identical to theirs. Your own PSD mockups, rendered in bulk, are what make a shop recognisable. See wall art mockups that sell.
What should I do?
- Work out your real margin per size with the full fee stack and 20% VAT on fees included.
- List both A-sizes and inch sizes on every design, each with its own crop.
- Pick one shipping method per product type and build it into a shipping profile.
- Use mockups that are yours, not a stock scene.
PSDmate is built in the UK for exactly this kind of shop: it renders every design through your own PSD mockups, writes the title and 13 tags, and publishes the listing with your sizes and prices already set. Pro has a 3-day free trial.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Etsy take from a UK poster sale?
A $0.20 listing fee (charged in dollars and converted), a 6.5% transaction fee on the item price plus shipping, payment processing of 4% + £0.20 for UK sellers, and a UK regulatory operating fee of 0.32%. If you are not VAT registered, Etsy also charges 20% VAT on its own fees. On a £20 poster that is usually around £3 before any Offsite Ads fee.
Do I need to be VAT registered to sell on Etsy in the UK?
Only once your taxable turnover passes the UK VAT registration threshold, which is £90,000 a year. Below it you are not charged VAT on your own sales, but Etsy still adds 20% VAT to the fees it charges you unless you give it a UK VAT number.
Should I list posters in A-sizes or inches?
Both, if you sell abroad. UK and European buyers search A4, A3 and A2; US buyers search 8x10, 11x14, 16x20 and 18x24. The sizes are not interchangeable (A-sizes have a different aspect ratio), so each needs its own crop of the artwork, not a stretched one.
What is the best way to ship a poster from the UK?
Rolled in a strong cardboard tube with end caps, or flat between card for small sizes. Rolled posters travel as a parcel rather than a Large Letter, so price shipping for the tube, not the paper. Print-on-demand printers ship for you, which is how most poster shops avoid the problem entirely.