AuctionInsights » Industry News & Analysis

Etsy Still Dropping Sellers

Doug Feiring — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 22:09:00 +0000

I’m astounded by the number of former Esty sellers that continue to comment on a post I put up some time ago discussing Etsy’s alleged heavy hand with merchants who use the site.
Another (former) Etsy seller recently wrote me to discuss how they never even received a warning and/or a chance to respond before their account was terminated:

I noticed you wrote an article about Etsy some time ago.

I am writing to you b/c of another Etsy issue.
I’m a single mother, who instead of collecting welfare, or other handouts I had an online ETSY shop to make money and support my family.

Yesterday (without warning) my account was deactivated. The way I put gas in the car and feed my family was suddenly gone. I didn’t receive an email explaining where I went wrong, nothing….My account just vanished.

I am unable to retrieve my listings to post elsewhere and I am unable to retrieve my financial info.
I have been dismissed as a non factor.

Etsy has it plastered all over their site about how much they care, and how fair they are. But I am not the first or only Etsian to have this happen. In this past year there have been hundreds who have suffered unexplained account deactivations at the cold, uncaring hands of Etsy.

They promote themselves as the caring handmade community, but I have found that this is not the case.

I am contacting many media sources about this matter. abc, cbs, fox, my local papers and more in an attempt to collect other Etsians who have had their contracts breached and financial info held hostage.

We need to be heard. This type of unfairness should not be silenced or dismissed. My goal is to file a class action Contract Disagreement Civil Suit and ultimately get some site rules adjusted.

If there is any way you can help me use the Power of media and press to spread the word it would be greatly appreciated.

I can provide you with Etsy TOU’s and direct quotes from Admin that state all members are given warnings and clearly informed when rules are broken to avoid miscommunication. This is obviously not the case as I have yet to now why I was deactivated.

Does anybody care to leave a positive comment about Etsy?

eBay Removes the Google Penalty

Doug Feiring — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 00:51:55 +0000

I’m pleased to report that it looks like eBay has decided to stop plastering links to other sellers’ auctions above the descriptions on listings presented to customers who arrive from the Google search results. They still stick this box at the top of the listing:

…but I think I can live with it.

Almost makes me think that eBay is listening! (If you are, thanks eBay!)

Health Care Reform Bill Included Tax Reporting Requirement For Online Sellers

Doug Feiring — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:33:38 +0000

Buried in the 2,409 page health care reform bill was a new mandate for Half.com and other online systems that process credit cards to report the earnings of merchants who conduct more than 200 transactions and sell more than $20,000 of product per year.

According to an email I just received from Half.com:

We’re writing to let you know that starting with transactions occurring on or after January 1, 2011, new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations require Half.com (and other businesses that process payments) to file a Form 1099-K for all sellers with more than 200 transactions and $20,000 USD in sales per year.

Question is, will PayPal be implementing a similar policy? If so, how will they differentiate personal transactions from business transactions?

eBay Subject of Antitrust Monopoly Lawsuit From Small Sellers

Doug Feiring — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 00:31:30 +0000

An antitrust lawsuit has been filed in San Jose claiming that eBay is abusing its status as the internet’s online auction monopoly against small sellers. According to a report posted at Courthouse News Service, the suit claims that “eBay is abusing its monopoly power by implementing an unfair and discriminatory policy that is ‘destroying the business and livelihood of many well established, small eBay auction sellers.’”

This new policy is the requirement to maintain a 1 or 2 star Detailed Seller Rating (DSR) of no more than 3 percent of all Item as Described feedback ratings, and no more than 4.0 of the Communication, Shipping Time, and Shipping and Handling Charges. These were implemented on October 1st, 2010.

The class action lawsuit claims that these particular policies “undermine the ability of small auction sellers to compete with larger sellers.” The complaint alleges that “large sellers are often exempt from DSR penalties that small sellers are subject [to] and/or have a much better chance of rehabilitating their DSR ratings due to the volume of transactions which they conduct.”

What do you think? Is eBay’s DSR policy discriminatory against the small seller? If so, so you think it was intentional?