I'm co-owner of a handmade dice shop that opened late last year and we ended up going for the "list and then immediately deactivate" option. We didn't seem to have any ill effects from that (we did get hit with the withheld funds thing but that seems pretty standard for new shops). Afaik there was no other way around it at the time, although that admittedly might have changed in the last year.
But of course this is just one anecdote and we all know how random Etsy can be with their interpretation and enforcement of their own rules. Ultimately if you open a shop there you just have to accept some level of uncertainty about how they're going to react to absolutely anything you might do (or in fact not do).
Good luck with your shop, but remember! Never rely on Etsy as a single source of income, it's way too easy for them to pull the rug from under you at any time.