Thousands of independent sellers on Etsy have gone on strike this week, to protest against a rise in transaction fees.

The strike comes after Etsy said the company would increase transaction fees for sellers from five per cent to 6.5 per cent, a 30 per cent increase, as reported by Retail Gazette.

More than 20,000 vendors have joined the strike, with many putting their online shops into 'vacation mode' for the whole week. Other sellers are keeping their stores open, but have added imagery explaining their opposition to the fee increase to customers.

A petition against the changes has reached 61,500 signatures so far. The petition also calls for Etsy to end its Star Seller programme, which it says is a 'passive aggressive' attempt to influence seller behaviour.

Etsy said the changes were being brought in to help fund additional seller support and technology.