Listings

This chapter covers how to find your products in Protsy, the ways you can create a new listing, and how to edit and publish a listing in the editor from start to finish. Scheduled publishing, bulk editing, CSV import, and Shopify products are also covered here.

The basic rule: AI prepares, you publish

Whichever path you choose in Protsy, a new listing is first created on Etsy as a hidden draft. Buyers can't see the draft. Taking a listing live is always up to you: you press Publish in the editor, or you choose the time it goes live yourself.

Everything AI suggests works the same way:

• In the wizard, you see the details AI filled in on a card before anything goes to Etsy, and you correct and approve them.
• Title, description, tag, and price changes suggested by the AI assistant in the editor don't enter the form until you press Apply. Even after you apply them, they aren't written to Etsy until you save.
• Jobs that spend credits (AI photos, mockups, video) first show what will be generated and what it costs; nothing is generated until you approve.

Listings page

Go to your listings from the sidebar (address: /listings). The page title is Listings. Below the title, you'll see when your store last synced. To pull in recent changes from Etsy, use the Sync store option in the store selector (see Dashboard and Settings).

Warning: If your store isn't connected, you'll see the message "Connect your Etsy store to view listings." If your store is connected but permission to read listings is missing, the page will ask you to reauthorize the store.

Views

Use the icons on the left of the toolbar to switch between three views:

• Grid view: Cards with large cover photos.
• List view: Denser, row-style cards.
• Table view: A spreadsheet layout. From the Columns menu, you can show or hide the Price, Stock, Status, Category, Views, Favorites, Tags, Description, Created, and Updated columns.

Tip: Table view is only available on wide screens. On a phone, Protsy automatically shows grid view; when you go back to desktop, your table comes back.

At the bottom of the page, you can choose how many listings to show per page (10, 20, 50, or 100). Your chosen view, columns, and page size are remembered for your next visit.

Status filter

By default, the page shows Active listings. From the status menu, you can choose one of the following:

The last status you chose is remembered and is also written into the page address. That way, you can save a link to a filtered view and use your browser's back button to return to the same filter.

Other filters and sorting

• Category: Filters by your Etsy shop sections. Only sections that contain at least one of your listings are listed.
• Shared: Filters by whether the listing has been shared on social media: Shared: All, Shared anywhere, Not shared, or a single platform.
• Sorting: You can sort in ascending or descending order by created date, updated date, title, price, stock, views, and favorites (for example, Most viewed or Price: Low–High).

To search by product name, use the global search box at the top of the page.

Quick editing in the table

In table view, you can click a cell to edit a listing without opening it:

• Title, tags, and description open in a small window. For the description, you can replace the text entirely, or add to the existing text with the Insert at start, Insert at end, Insert before text, and Insert after text options.
• Price and stock change right in the cell. For a product with variations, the window shows each variation separately; use Set all variations to the same value to give them all one value.

Warning: Changes you save in the table are written directly to the listing on Etsy. On an active listing, buyers see the change immediately.

Ways to create a new listing

Click the New listing button at the top right of the Listings page. The New listing window opens with these options:

Note: If the plan system is enabled, Create with AI requires a paid plan. If your plan doesn't include it, the option appears locked, and the Upgrade to unlock → link takes you to the plans page. For plans, see Getting started.

The wording in the window changes with your store's product type. Print on demand (POD) stores use design and mockup language; physical product stores use photo language.

Creating with AI

AI listing screen

When you choose Create with AI, the AI listing screen opens (address: /listings/new/ai).

1. Add your inputs. They're all optional, but you need to add at least one:
   • Photos: Up to 10 product photos. Choose them with Add photos in the message box's + menu, or drag and drop them onto the screen.
   • Spec sheet (CSV): A key/value or column-based CSV that describes the product. You can pick a CSV file from the same window you use to choose photos. If the file has more than one product row, only the first one is used.
   • Note: Type anything AI should know into the message box, such as the occasion, material, style, or price range.
2. If you like, also add the following from the + menu:
   • Templates: If you choose a saved listing template, details like category, price, and shipping come from the template.
   • Create mockup and Create video: Have AI mockups or a short product video generated along with the listing.
   • Import from URL: See Importing a product from a URL.
   • In POD stores, also Design library and Create a design (see POD: Designs, Mockups, and Studio).
3. Press the Create with AI button. The message Drafting your listing… appears.
4. If AI needs a detail, it asks you a short question. Type your answer.
5. If AI can't confidently match a category, the Pick the Etsy category window opens. Choose the closest category, or describe it in your own words with None of these fit — let me describe it.
6. If you asked for mockups or a video, the Review the plan card opens. The card shows what will be generated and how many credits it will cost. Nothing is generated until you press Approve & generate.
7. Protsy creates the Etsy draft (Creating the Etsy draft…) and takes you to the listing editor. From there, you review it and publish.

Tip: You can continue without adding photos. In that case, you'll see the question No photos — create anyway? If you choose Create anyway, you add photos later from the editor.

Importing a product from a URL

To start from another Etsy or Shopify product:

1. On the AI listing screen, choose Import from URL from the + menu.
2. Paste the product address and press Import (Fetching product…).
3. Protsy takes the product's title, description, tags, and main photo. AI doesn't copy the text; it rewrites it for your listing.
4. Press Create with AI to continue.

Warning: For now, only Etsy and Shopify addresses work. If you paste any other address, you'll see the warning "Only Etsy and Shopify URLs work right now." Make sure you have the right to use the imported photo.

Listing wizard

Note: This feature appears if it is enabled on your account. If it is, Create with AI takes you to the Protsy AI page (/ai), and you create the listing with the step-by-step wizard there. For the rest of the Protsy AI chat, see Protsy AI and Insights.

The wizard is template-based: category, price, variations, and shipping aren't guessed; they come from your template. AI only writes the title, tags, and product details from your photos.

1. Add photos and video. The screen shows the limit: up to 20 photos and 2 videos. The first photo becomes the product's main image. If you add more, Protsy tells you which ones weren't added with a warning.
2. Write a note (optional). Add anything AI should know, such as the occasion, material, or style.
3. Choose a template. A template is required; until you choose one, it says Template — required. Use Choose to pick your template and Change to switch to another one. If you don't have any templates, Create a template takes you to the templates page (see Templates).
4. Press Create the Etsy draft. The wizard reads the photos and writes the listing.
5. The Check the listing details card opens. This is your approval step before anything is written to Etsy:
   • In the Filled in section, you see the attributes that AI or the template filled in. Each value shows its source (AI or Template).
   • The Still empty section lists empty fields that Etsy uses as search filters. Pick the one that fits, or leave it for later.
   • Materials and Tags are here too.
   • If you check the Also save these to the template box, your choices are also written to the template for your next product.
   • Continue with Confirm and create, or press Skip empty fields to skip the empty fields.
6. If your template is missing information Etsy requires, the Finish "{template name}" window opens first. Check the fields and press Save & create the draft. This information is saved to the template, and you won't be asked for it again.
7. Protsy creates the hidden Etsy draft and uploads your photos.
8. On the Generate mockups for this listing? card, choose how many AI mockups you want (1, 3, 6, or 10, depending on how much photo room is left in the listing), or press Skip mockups. The card shows the credit cost; if your balance isn't enough, the approve button is disabled.
9. On the Create a product video? card, you can ask for a 5- or 10-second clip or choose Skip. When the video is ready, you watch it and choose Add to listing or Discard. If you don't want to wait, press Continue without waiting; the video appears in the editor when it's ready. If product videos aren't included in your plan, the card says so; the listing is ready without a video.
10. On the Share it on social media? card, you see the captions AI wrote for your connected accounts and choose a time for each post. Because the listing is still a draft, the posts wait and go out once the listing goes live. For details, see Integrations.
11. The wizard takes you to the listing editor. Review the listing and publish it when you're ready.

Warning: If you see the warning "The Etsy draft was created, but Etsy refused part of it", the listing is already on Etsy. Don't create it again; open the listing in the editor and complete what's missing. Likewise, on the Your listing is still being created card, check with Go to Listings and don't try again. Otherwise, you may end up with two copies in your store.

Tip: If you chose mockups for a POD design in the template, the wizard places your design on those mockups before creating the draft (Putting your design on the template's mockups).

Starting from scratch or from a template

Start from scratch or Start from a template opens the listing editor in create mode (address: /listings/new).

1. If you started from a template, choose your template from the Pick a template list in the window. If you don't have any templates, it says "No templates yet. Create one on the Templates page."
2. In the editor, choose a Category first. The screen says "Pick a category to start — this creates your draft." As soon as you choose the category, Protsy creates a hidden draft on Etsy and the editor switches to normal editing mode.
3. If you started from a template, the template's photos, variations, processing time, and personalization settings are applied as soon as the draft is created.
4. Fill in the other fields and save or publish (see Listing editor).

Listing editor

When you click a listing on the Listings page, the editor opens (address: /listings/edit/<listing number>).

Top section

• On the left, you see the listing's status (Active, Draft, Inactive, Expired, Sold out) and its title. Use Previous / Next at the top right to move to other listings in the catalog.
• On active listings, the View on Etsy link opens the listing on Etsy.
• The status button changes with the listing's status: Publish on drafts, and Renew on inactive, sold-out, or expired listings. To pause an active listing, use Pause in the ⋯ menu.
• The ⋯ menu also contains Sync to Shopify, Copy, Share on social, Create template, and Delete listing.
• The Ask AI button on the far right opens the AI assistant.

Warning: Delete listing permanently removes the listing from your Etsy shop. This can't be undone.

Steps

The editor is split into seven steps. You can jump to any step with the tabs at the top, or move through them in order with the Back / Next buttons at the bottom:

1. Photos & video
2. Category (and Attributes)
3. Item details (title, description, tags, materials, SEO & competition, How it's made)
4. Price & inventory (including variations)
5. Shipping (and Size & weight, Returns & exchanges)
6. Settings (and Personalization)
7. Review & publish

Photos and video

• Etsy accepts up to 20 photos and 2 videos per listing. A counter shows how many photos you've used.
• Drag photos to reorder them. The first photo is the main photo. When the order changes, a Photo order changed notice appears; save it with Save order or undo it with Discard.
• When you click a photo, the Edit Photo window opens:
  • On the Alt Text tab, you can write a description of the photo or have AI write it with Generate. Save it with Save alt text.
  • On the AI Edit tab, describe the change you want (for example, "white studio background, soft light"). If you like the result, press Use this photo.
  • Use Replace to swap the photo for a new one.
• You can select several photos and use Generate alt text on all of them at once, or apply a single edit description to all of them with Apply to {n} photos.

Note: The Enhance tab in the photo window (AI upscaling and sharpening) appears if it is enabled on your account.

Category and attributes

The Category field determines which attributes buyers can filter by. When you change the category, the Attributes list changes too.

In the Attributes section, you choose Etsy filters such as color and style. Some attributes take more than one value; these show (choose one or more) or the maximum number of values you can pick.

Warning: Like the other fields, attribute choices are written to Etsy with Save changes, Save as draft, or Publish.

Item details and SEO

• Title: Up to 140 characters. The on-screen tip: put your strongest keywords first, because Etsy gives the most weight to the first ~40 characters.
• Description: Has a character counter. Protsy warns you if the description is very short.
• Tags: Up to 13 tags, each up to 20 characters. Add them with Enter or a comma. Your empty tag slots show in the counter.
• Materials: Separate them with commas.

The SEO & competition panel evaluates your tags with real Etsy data:

• Check competition shows how many active listings compete for each of your tags and marks the competition as Low, Medium, or High. This is not a search volume estimate.
• The Listing health score (Strong, Needs work, Weak) looks at title length, tag count, description length, and photo count, and lists what to do under To improve:.
• ⭐ Superstar keywords shows low-competition keywords that AI scored for your store.

To have AI write the title, description, and tags, see the Ask AI section.

Price, stock, and variations

• For single-price products, entering the price and quantity is enough.
• Add options such as size or color with Add variation type. Etsy allows up to 3 variation types per listing. Using Etsy's built-in types is recommended; you can also add a custom type with Create your own, but buyers can't see custom types in filters.
• When typing an option, you can add the price next to it: Large : 17.90. You can also paste a comma-separated list.
• Use the Prices vary, Quantities vary, and SKUs vary switches to set what changes by variation. In the Combinations table, set the price, quantity, and on/off status of each combination.
• With Edit price, you can raise or lower the price of all variations in bulk, by a percentage or a fixed amount.
• In POD stores, the POD quick-start: apparel sizes × colors button adds a ready-made size × color matrix.
• Save with Save variations.

Shipping, returns, and other details

• A Shipping profile is required to publish a physical listing. Profiles are managed on Etsy. Enter the processing time in the Processing min (days) and Processing max (days) fields.
• Size & weight is optional and useful for calculated shipping.
• In the Returns & exchanges section, choose one of the return policies you've set up on Etsy.
• In the How it's made section, answer the Who made it? and When was it made? questions. If the product is a supply or a tool for making things, check the This is a supply or tool to make things box.
• In the Settings step, you can choose a shop section (+ Add new section… creates a new section on Etsy instantly) and set the Auto-renew when it expires and Feature this listing options.

Personalization

In the Personalization section of the Settings step, you define the questions the buyer answers when ordering:

1. Press Add question and choose a Question type: Text, Dropdown, Photo upload (labeled), or Photo upload (unlabeled).
2. Fill in the Prompt buyers see field and the optional Instructions field. Instructions can be up to 120 characters.
3. If needed, check Require buyers to fill this in, and set a character limit and an extra charge.
4. Press Save personalization.

You can add up to 5 questions. Etsy allows only one photo upload question per product.

Saving and publishing

When you change a field, the Unsaved changes bar appears at the bottom of the screen:

• Preview: Shows how the listing will look on Etsy.
• Discard: Throws away unsaved changes.
• On draft and inactive listings, Save as draft (saves without publishing) and Publish.
• On active listings, Save changes. The change reaches buyers immediately.

Before publishing, Protsy checks two things: the price must be greater than 0, and the listing must have at least one photo. You're then asked to confirm the question "Publish this listing to your Etsy shop now? It will go live immediately."

Tip: The last step, Review & publish, shows the title, price, quantity, tags, category, and photo count at a glance. Missing fields show Not set.

Ask AI

The Ask AI button opens the AI assistant panel next to the editor. The panel opens focused on the step you're on; use the chips at the top (Photos, Title & tags, Description, Price, Shipping, Video) to change the area it works on.

Type your request or choose one of the ready-made commands:

• /create-title-description: An SEO-friendly title and description
• /create-tags: Up to 13 Etsy tags
• /create-image: A professional product photo
• /create-video: A short video from a product photo
• /create-variations: Suitable variations

AI's suggestions arrive as a card (for example, Suggested changes, Suggested variations, Suggested shipping & returns). When you press Apply, the change goes into the form and the message "Changes applied to the editor — save to publish." appears. If you don't want it, press Dismiss. Nothing is added to the listing until you select the generated photos and press Approve & add.

Tip: You can also speak your request using the microphone next to the message box.

Social sharing

In the editor, use Share on social in the ⋯ menu to share the listing on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or YouTube, or use Plan posts… to schedule it for a later time. Planned posts appear in the editor on the Planned posts card. For connections and sharing details, see Integrations.

Scheduled publishing

You can have listings that are sitting on Etsy as drafts go live automatically at a set time.

1. On the Listings page, set the status filter to Draft.
2. Check the boxes of the listings you want to take live.
3. Press the Schedule button that appears in the toolbar.
4. If you selected a single listing, choose the start date and time in the Schedule this listing to go live window.
5. If you selected more than one listing, the Schedule {n} listings to go live window also has:
   • Publish per wave: How many listings (1–5) go live each time.
   • Wait between waves: 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, or 24 hours between waves.
   • The Publish plan preview shows what time each listing will go live.
6. Press Confirm schedule.

Times are entered in your own local time and must be in the future.

Note: Scheduling is an approval action. When the time comes, the listing is activated on Etsy without asking you again.

Managing the publishing queue

When you choose Scheduled in the status filter, the Scheduled queue opens. Each row shows its type (Go-live or New listing) and status (Scheduled, Publishing…, Published, Failed). From here, you can:

• Reschedule or Cancel a single publish.
• Manage a wave group with Pause, Resume, or Cancel batch.
• Cancel all scheduled publishes in this store with Cancel all.

Bulk actions

When you check listing boxes on the Listings page, the selected count and bulk action buttons appear on the left of the toolbar. The box on the left selects every listing that matches the active filters (not just the ones on that page).

• Schedule: Schedules the drafts in your selection to go live (see Scheduled publishing). Appears only if the selection contains drafts.
• Plan posts: Plans social media posts for the selected listings.
• Sync to Shopify: Sends the selected listings to your connected Shopify store. New products are created as drafts on Shopify; previously linked ones keep their current status. You can send up to 50 listings at a time.
• Editing options (table view only): applied to all selected listings at once.
  • Price: Set to, Change by %, or Change by amount. Percentages and amounts are calculated from each listing's own price, and on listings with variations they're applied to each variation separately. Enter a negative value to decrease.
  • Stock: The same quantity for all.
  • Description: Replace description or Insert into existing.
  • Category: Moves the selected listings to an Etsy shop section.
  • Variations: You set up a variation structure once, and it's applied as-is to all selected listings, replacing their existing variations.

Warning: Bulk editing writes directly to the listings on Etsy, and there's no undo button. Try it on a small selection first. When the job finishes, a message tells you how many listings were updated and how many failed.

Bulk import with CSV

To create many products as Etsy drafts at once:

1. Choose New listing → Bulk import (CSV). The Import products from CSV window opens.
2. If you'll be entering variation prices, first download the Protsy template with Download template and fill it in. You can also use Etsy's own export file.
3. Upload your file with Choose CSV file. Protsy checks the file (Checking your file…) and shows how many rows are ready. Problem rows are listed with an Error, Warning, or Skipped status and the reason.
4. Press Import {n} listings.
5. The products are created as hidden drafts in your Etsy shop. You're taken to the queue view; you'll find the created drafts on the Listings page under the Draft filter. For long files, the remaining rows finish within a few minutes.

Each row requires: a title, a description, at least one photo link, and a category (an Etsy category path or category number). The template also supports up to 20 photos, 2 videos, a shop section, a single text personalization question, and four pricing modes: single price, option difference, combination price, or additive with exceptions.

Warning: The file can be at most 5 MB and 500 rows.

Tip: If you upload the same file again, rows that were already imported are skipped and only the missing ones are completed. You can safely rerun an import that stopped partway.

Shopify listings

If your active store is a Shopify store, the Listings page shows your Shopify products.

• Status filter: All, Active, Draft, Archived. The Category menu filters products by Shopify collection. Use the Sort menu to sort by most recently updated, title, or price.
• You can select products and send them to your connected Etsy shop with Sync to Etsy (up to 50 products at a time). Before sending to Etsy, you need a shipping profile on Etsy, and both stores must use the same currency.

When you click a product, the Shopify product editor opens (address: /listings/shopify/<product number>). Tabs: Photos, Details, Pricing & stock, SEO, Organization, and Personalization.

• You can drag photos to reorder them, upload photos or videos, generate alt text with AI, and edit a photo with AI and add it as a new photo.
• Define up to 3 option types with Add variations. Saving replaces the product's existing variants on Shopify.
• On the SEO tab, you edit the page title, meta description, and URL handle; on the Organization tab, you edit the product type, vendor, and collections.
• Ask AI is available in this editor too. Open in Shopify admin and View on store open the product in Shopify.

Warning: If you can't edit stock, your Shopify connection is missing inventory permission. Reconnect Shopify (see Integrations).

Frequently asked questions

Does a listing created by AI appear in my shop right away? No. Protsy creates the listing on Etsy as a hidden draft. Buyers can't see it until you press Publish in the editor or the scheduled publishing time arrives.

I made a change in the editor. Why doesn't it show on Etsy? A change is written to Etsy only when you press Save changes, Save as draft, or Publish.

Why can't I add more than 20 photos? Etsy accepts up to 20 photos and 2 videos per listing. Protsy doesn't add files beyond this limit and lets you know with a warning.

Why does the wizard ask me for a template? The wizard doesn't guess category, price, variation, and shipping details; it takes them from your template. Once you create a template, every new product comes ready with these details. See Templates.

The wizard said "Etsy refused part of it." Should I try again? No. The listing is already sitting on Etsy as a draft. If you try again, a second copy is created. Open the listing in the editor and complete the missing part.

Where do I find the products I imported with CSV? On the Listings page, set the status filter to Draft. For long files, it can take a few minutes for all rows to appear.

Related chapters

• Getting started: Account, plan, and connecting your store
• Dashboard and Settings: Store sync and store settings
• POD: Designs, Mockups, and Studio: Creating listings and mockups from designs
• Templates: Listing templates and shipping profiles
• Protsy AI and Insights: Protsy AI chat
• Integrations: Shopify, social media, and other connections