First, Add a Production Partner
Etsy requires every print-on-demand seller to declare who physically makes their items. Without one, Etsy refuses to create the listing, and the error it returns isOh dear, you cannot sell this item on Etsy, which sounds like your shop is banned. It is not. It only means the production partner is missing.
Etsy’s API has no way to add a production partner, so this is something you do once, by hand, in your Etsy account.
1
Open the production partner settings
In Etsy Shop Manager, go to Settings then Partners you work with, and click to add a partner.
2
Name the company that prints your items
Enter the company that actually prints and ships your products. If you fulfill through Printful, that is Printful. If you fulfill through Printify, that is Printify. Set Location to where that company produces your items.
3
Describe what they do for you
This description is shown to buyers, so keep it clear and honest. Say that they print your designs and ship the orders. Something like:
I create all the designs myself. This partner prints them onto the finished products, packs and ships each order directly to my customers.Avoid vague lines like “they help with my shop”. Etsy wants buyers to understand the arrangement.
4
Answer the two remaining questions
Under More about your partner, most print-on-demand sellers pick I don’t have the technical ability or equipment to make it entirely by myself and I design everything myself. These answers go to Etsy only and are not shown to buyers. Save when you are done.
Fill In the Etsy Settings
Back in Mockspark, open your product and go to the publish step.Shop and Platforms
Store is the Etsy shop this product will be published to. You can switch shops while the product is still a draft. Once it has been published, the shop is locked. Sales platform and Fulfillment platform are shown for reference. They come from how the product was created.Production Partner
Pick the partner you added earlier. This field is required, because Etsy rejects the listing without it. If the dropdown is empty, the partner has not saved on Etsy’s side yet. Add it, then reload this page.Store Currency and Weight Unit
Store currency should match the currency your Etsy shop sells in. Prices you set on the variants are read in this currency, so getting it wrong produces prices that are off by a lot. Weight unit only matters if your print provider needs shipping weights. Leave it as No weight if you are not sure.Etsy Category
Mockspark preselects a category based on the product type, so most of the time you can leave it alone. Change it if the guess is off, since the category affects where buyers find your listing on Etsy.Etsy Shipping Profile
Etsy handles shipping costs through shipping profiles that live in your shop. If you already have profiles, pick the one you want and Mockspark will attach it to the listing. If your shop has none yet, Mockspark offers to create one for you, shown as Mockspark Shipping (free shipping). The profile is created with your shop’s own ship-from country, taken from your Etsy settings. For countries that use postal codes, Etsy requires one and does not share it through the API, so Mockspark asks you for it once.Etsy Return Policy
Optional. Pick one of your shop’s return policies if you have them. Mockspark does not create return policies for you, because a return policy is a promise you make to buyers and that should be your wording, not ours. You can add one in your Etsy shop policy settings and reload the page.Processing Time
You will notice there is no field for this. Mockspark sets processing time to 2 to 5 days on every listing it publishes, which reflects how long print-on-demand production actually takes. If your shop already has a matching profile, Mockspark reuses it rather than creating another one.Buyer Personalization
Leave this off to sell a fixed design. Turn it on to let buyers make their own version before they buy. Let Buyers Personalize Your Listings covers how that works from both sides.Variants
Set the price and availability for each variant. Prices are in the store currency you chose above.Publish
Click publish. Mockspark creates the listing on Etsy, uploads your photos, sets up the variants, and activates it. If something fails partway through, Mockspark removes the half-built draft it created so you do not end up with orphaned listings cluttering your shop. Fix what the error points at and publish again.Updating a Published Product
Change the design, prices, or photos in Mockspark and publish again. Mockspark updates the existing listing instead of creating a second one. If you deleted the listing on Etsy in the meantime, Mockspark notices and creates a fresh one.When Publishing Fails
Oh dear, you cannot sell this item on Etsy
Oh dear, you cannot sell this item on Etsy
This is Etsy’s message for a missing production partner. It is not about your shop’s selling privileges. Add a production partner as described at the top of this page.
Production partner is required
Production partner is required
Mockspark caught the same problem before sending it to Etsy. Same fix.
Shipping profile is required
Shipping profile is required
Pick a profile, or choose Mockspark Shipping (free shipping) to have one created.
The category dropdown is empty
The category dropdown is empty
Etsy’s category list failed to load. Reload the page. If it keeps happening, your shop connection may need reauthorizing. Check the connections page for a Reconnect required tag.
Next
Etsy Orders and Fulfillment
What happens after a buyer places an order.
The term ‘Etsy’ is a trademark of Etsy, Inc. This application uses the Etsy API but is not endorsed or certified by Etsy, Inc.