What Happened
On June 30, 2026, Etsy completed its migration from the AWIN affiliate network to Rakuten. If you were using AWIN to monetize Etsy product links in your gear lists, YouTube descriptions, or blog posts, those AWIN tracking links stopped working on that date. Any link that redirects through awin1.com to Etsy will no longer credit you with the sale.
The Etsy affiliate program itself is not gone — it has moved to a new network.
Two Programs, Two Very Different Things
Etsy now has two completely separate referral programs, and it's important to understand the difference:
1. The Etsy Affiliate Program (via Rakuten)
This is the traditional affiliate program — the one that was on AWIN and has now moved to Rakuten. It works like any other affiliate network:
- Commission: 4% for affiliates (bloggers, publishers), 2% for Creator Collective members (social media creators with 500+ followers)
- Cookie window: 30 days for web clicks, 7 days for app and social media clicks
- Scope: You earn commission on any qualifying Etsy purchase the buyer makes within the cookie window — not just the product or shop you linked to
- How to join: Apply at etsy.com/affiliates
This is the program you want if you're recommending Etsy products in your gear lists and want to earn commission on everything your audience buys.
2. Etsy Share & Save (For Shop Owners)
This is a completely different program built into Etsy's seller tools. It uses your shop's subdomain URL — yourshopname.etsy.com — to track traffic you drive to your own shop.
- Benefit: 4% refund on Etsy's transaction fees (drops your effective fee from 6.5% to 2.5%) on qualifying orders
- Cookie window: 30 days
- Scope: Only credits purchases made in your own shop — you get nothing for driving traffic to other sellers
- How to enroll: Shop Manager → Marketing → Share & Save
This is the program you want if you sell on Etsy and want to save on fees when you drive your own traffic. It is not an affiliate program — you don't earn commission, you save on fees.
How MakerManifest Handles Both
MakerManifest now supports both approaches:
- Etsy Share & Save preset: Go to Dashboard → Affiliate Programs, select "Etsy Share & Save," and enter your Etsy shop name. Your Etsy product links will be rewritten to
yourshopname.etsy.comso you get the 4% fee refund on your own shop's sales. - Rakuten preset: Once you're accepted into the Etsy Affiliate Program on Rakuten, use the existing "Rakuten" preset in MakerManifest with your Rakuten publisher ID and Etsy's merchant ID. This gives you tracked affiliate links with the full 30-day cookie and credit for any Etsy purchase.
If you had an AWIN-based Etsy rule, we've automatically migrated it to the Share & Save format. If you were using AWIN as a traditional affiliate (earning commission on all Etsy purchases, not just your shop), you'll want to apply to the Rakuten program and set up a new Rakuten rule instead.
Which One Should You Use?
You sell on Etsy and want to save on fees: Use Share & Save. It's free, instant, and lowers your transaction fees when you drive traffic to your own shop.
You recommend Etsy products (yours or others') and want commission: Apply to the Etsy Affiliate Program on Rakuten. You earn 4% on any purchase the buyer makes across all of Etsy within 30 days.
You do both: You can use both. Set up Share & Save for your own shop links and Rakuten for recommending other sellers' products. Note that if a buyer clicks both types of links, Etsy uses last-click attribution — the most recent link type wins.
Bottom Line
AWIN is done. The affiliate program lives on at Rakuten. Share & Save is a separate fee-saving tool for shop owners. Know which one you need, set it up in MakerManifest, and your links will work correctly.