eBay sellers take heart! The Consumerist is reporting that sellers on Etsy.com are even more unhappy than you are. Apparently Etsy, a major marketplace for crafts, is shutting down stores at the first hint of complaints from buyers and sending the complaining buyers FBI Cyber-Crime forms. The purpose of these forms is to report the offending seller to the FBI for possible investigation.
Here’s a couple of the complaints quoted on the Consumerist:
A [buyer] DID complain about me – a week & a half after the purchase date for not receiving their parcel, & I’m in Australia & he’s in the US! Instead of referring the buyer to me, giving me the benefit of the doubt or explaining on my behalf that assuming non-delivery was premature, Etsy banned me & issued the buyer with an FBI cyber-crime form to complain about me!
This actually happened to me around Christmas time. I had a customer request a Custom Order & then Subsequently change her mind. I refunded her payment & never marked the item as shipped. About 2 months later I got an email from Etsy saying I did not ship an item and the Customer was furnished with the FBI Cyber Crime thing & my account would be suspended if I did not respond. I responded to the email explaining that she changed her mind & the Payment was refunded. About 2 days later I got the same email & responded again explaining what happened. I even contacted the buyer (nicely – & asked if she was unhappy in any way with the way the transaction had been concluded & to doublecheck that she had received her refund).She said she had received her refund promptly & was very satisfied since it was she who had backed out of the transaction. She said she had not reported the transaction to Etsy in any way. In fact, she had left me Pos. feedback previously.
You would think that Esty would be taking full-advantage of the unrest at eBay and rolling out the red carpet for sellers.
Get your eBay listings to appear in the Google search results and watch your sales soar!
Download your copy of Beyond Best Match today!
Comments
RSS feed for comments on this post. | TrackBack URI
26 Responses to “Sellers at Etsy.com are Even More Unhappy Than Sellers on eBay”
Leave a Reply
[...] Whitman’s political aspirations (and advancement), and Auction Insights are reporting that Etsy.com is severely annoying sellers by suspending them and issuing Federal Cyber-crime report forms to buyers at the merest hint of a [...]
Oh Boy..Well, Please anyone that wants a great place to sell and buy check out Bonanzle..I am having such success there. Great sales, buyers and a fantastic community…
I really like eCrater it is 100% free, items automatically go into Google, very easy, user friendly and clean operation; and Bonanzle is my second pick. I was considering Etsy in the futured after I put a few craft items together, but I think I will just create a new category in my eCrater store
I have really bad experience with Etsy! I am selling family handmade clothing there, and Etsy thought I am doing mass production and deleted my account without any notification. I then took photoes and trying to provide evidence to prove items are original designed and handmade. But they NEVER reply me! I got customers writting to Etsy proving that I did custom order for them so that I am not possible a mass production seller. But Etsy just ignore everything and really gave me a bad bad bad experience!
Finally a few cracks in the armor that etsy has wrapped itself in. Some of the staff are extremely abusive towards sellers. I pulled out of etsy nearly 2 years ago because of the abuse heaped on us by the staff after 1 complaint in over hundreds of transactions. The complaint was frivolous and from a competitor. A buyer saying they hadn’t received something when the delivery confirmation showed they had.
I’m selling well on eBay and I think I will stay there. Who needs a site like etsy??
I want one of those FBI cyber crime forms for Ebay.
That is not cool. I sell on eBay from time to time, I have joined etsy, but have never sold on there yet. I don’t think I am going to.
There are starting to be new avenues to sell your art and hand made items on, like a new one that i heard about coming out late this winter or early spring called Zamboozille.com which is supposed to be really good or what I have heard anyways. People are starting to get choices so the giants better watch out.
Your story about Etsy sounds quite scary and it seems to be not such a friendly place for crafty sellers who are in search of alternatives to eBay.
I literally filed a lawsuit against Etsy, I have had my shop open 13 months on etsy, my feedback is 100% positive, and then I recieved a email from etsy stating they deactivayed my account for inappropriate content in my shop??? I sell dog boots!!!
Four dog boots per set, what could be inappropriate ablout that? I even went as far as to get state licensed, insured, a tex ID number, and became a LLC.
When I tried to respond to etsy customer service, a automated reply stated I would hear from a LIVE person in 3-4 days, it has been 3 weeks, and no other responses from etsy of any kind.
I am an Etsy seller and yesterday my shop was suspended without warning.
I sell vintage and was asked for information on my supply sources and how I judge an item to be vintage. They said “we are concerned that your items may not comply with our policies to be more than 20 years old.” I replied and was subsequently told my reply was not acceptable and my selling privilages were suspended.
I then sent a mass of material with links to my published articles, and the 10 year account I had on eBay with a 100% feedback Top Seller rating and thousands of happy customers. The articles showed I was an expert in my field, well qualified to judge whether an item is vintage or not. I asked which spcific items in my shop they were unhappy with so I could give them specific information.
I got a vague reply telling me that despite all the info I had sent I was still suspended. They told me that they were aware that the kinds of things I sold could be easily replicated and that they could not restore my selling privilages for this reason.
I am assuming that some snitch flagged my shop because they suspected one or more items broke the rules. Etsy says it will “work with sellers to put things right” but no one has offered me that opportunity.
I have still not been told which specific items have been objected to. The inference is that every item in my shop, which varies from 100 to 20 years in age, was a fake.
I have been tried and convicted without having been shown any evidence or even the nature of the complaint. The so called customer service person just keeps coming back with these vague platitudes.
I have now asked for the matter to be escalated to a senior manager who is capable of more balanced judgement.
I was happily selling on etsy for a while, and then my shop was “de-activated” with no explanation from anyone, ever. My customers were all happy, and I never got bad comments.
My Etsy account was also “de-activated”.As of May 2011. I did e-mail Etsy and they did reply by saying my items did not look handmade by me. Asked me to take pictures of my items explaining in great detail how I make my items piece by piece and If I work alone on my crafts. What the F’k ?? Yes of course I make my items and yes ALONE. Some one flagged me due they think perhaps my items are not all handmade by ME. But other sellers on Etsy are still there for YEARS after selling things that are a No! No! on Etsy!!
My experiences with administration of etsy is by far and away the most abusive experience I have ever had. I had my shop there for 4 years, during which it was “de-activated” repeatedly with no notice or warning. They even demanded that I give them, in writing, full descriptions and details of how I make my jewelry! I wire wrap beads for goodness sake! Then they demanded that I send a picture of myself wire wrapping the beads! Tell me this is not discrimination! I received on average at least one threatening email each month. They think they’re the only game in town-I really hope someone comes up with something else, and soon. They abuse their power the likes of which I’ve never seen before. Keep in mind that they are abusing, for the most part, individuals that are making craft items at home for extra money in a tough economy. These are not big business people. The abuse is over small change. Finally, you can be certain that the big etsy sellers aren’t being harassed. I was warned that if you make one of their cash cows unhappy, etsy will run you off. My woes started when I returned a purse to an etsy cash cow. I tell anyone who will listen to stay away from etsy. The administration is abusive.
I WAS THINKING ABOUT TRYING TO SELL HANDMADE JEWELRY ,MADE FROM SEA GLASS BUT AFTER READING A FEW OF THESE BLOGS I DON’T KNOW IF I SHOULD ,I JUST STARTED MAKING THIS JEWELRY ,I HAVE A LOT OF SEA GLASS AND THOUGHT I WOULD GIVE IT A TRY,I AM A MEMBER OF EBAY I REALLY DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO ANY ADVICE WOULD BE WELCOMED
My store was also suspended and went on my own but no luck! alot of work and super expensive! I am now the founder or TrEmbu and looking for ideas, pointers of how and what makes a better social eCommerce website? like tools, etc. Making a place where no one is left behind nor abused. Any ideas are greatly appreciated since are making the website now!
August 2011
ETSY TREATS SELLERS LIKE CRIMINALS.
BUYERS CAN’T DO ANYTHING ABOUT ITEMS NOT RECEIVED.
Etsy prides itself on specializing in hand crafted items and true vintage items but Etsy staff will just close down your store arbitrarily without reason.
I’ve been selling on Etsy for almost 2 years, 100% feedback, when all of sudden, they closed my shop without notice. Apparently, someone thought my items weren’t vintage, but they are real vintage, and I have documents to prove so. But Etsy staff didn’t ask me. They just closed my shop because one person thought differently. I don’t know who that person is, whether Etsy member or an Etsy staff.
Regardless, I’ve talked to other Etsy sellers about this, and apparently it’s very common. Etsy will abruptly close your shop without cause or notice. Extremely frustrating if you’re a seller.
More frustrating is, there are tons of new items, be it designer handbags like Tory Burch or cheap made in China stuff that you see on eBay, but those sellers are allowed to stay (because those new items get sold quickly on Etsy in mass quantities, which means Etsy makes money off of them) while true vintage sellers get pushed to the side.
Where’s the justice in that?
And good luck if you’re a buyer and don’t receive your items. Etsy doesn’t want to get involved in buyer-seller disputes, so they make you duke it out with the seller directly. This means you can’t call Etsy customer service to complain (phone number was un-listed for a long time and now that people know Etsy’s phone number, they don’t answer it). And you could email Etsy for help, but they don’t respond. You just get the automated response…..”we’ll invesitgate this further.” But nothing happens.
ETSY IS BAD FOR BOTH SELLER AND BUYERS
Etsy Also closed up my shop for no reason , without any warning at all and will not respond to any email I send them. I had no negative feedback whatsoever and did nothing wrong. They just all of a sudden deactivated my account. Never will I sale or buy on Etsy Again ! I hate Etsy !
Etsy closed my shop down on Sunday, it’s Wednesday. I’ve emailed them over 10 times,left messages on their facebook page and no one has responded yet! I got no notification, no email. I don’t know why or for what reason I was suspended. I am muted also…can’t even convo admin to find out why. Sucks….I’m looking into my own website. I have over 1000 sales, 100% positive feedback. what’s up Etsy??
Had TWO shops on etsy. Perfect feedback, hundreds of sales. I wrote this whole long story and put a link on my site. But basically it’s the same thing everyone else has said. For no good reason what so ever I was muted, then perma muted, then kicked off.
After the first muting I started emailing them. That started last FEB! STILL no answers. (They booted me in April.) All I get is auto responders telling me they will get back to me as soon as “humanly possible.”
Guess no humans actually work there.
NO matter. Etsy is dead to me now. I can’t even SHOP there if I wanted to. And I don’t. But how stupid is that? Anyone they boot can’t even spend money on etsy?
How is that good for business?
Artfire is so much better in so many ways.
Lots of former etsy people have moved over there.
To all those with etsy’s boot print in your back side?
Don’t even look back. Lots of other such sites now.
I SELL COMMERCIAL SUPPLIES FOR A YEAR & 100% POS. FEEDBACK
THEY JUST SUSPENDED ME FOR NO REASON!!!!
Some day, mark my words, these sites be it Ebay or Etsy, are going to mess with the wrong person (It ain’t me). With the current economic malaise, it’s the perfect storm for this. That said person is going to go postal and it will not be pretty.
When that day comes, I hope they don’t get some innocent secretary, or low level workers. I hope that if anyone gets hurt, it’s those who are truly responsible for screwing over innocent people. Trust me, they don’t care what your situation is, or how much money they have cost you or thousands of other people. They flat out don’t care, and when it comes to their existence, neither will I…
I had no idea that there were so many of us all in the same boat. I began selling on etsy three years ago, after leaving ebay. I thought ebay treated sellers bad! They have nothing on etsy. I was a member three years, had lots of positive feedback, 100 % no buyer complaints, no paypal complaints. And I woke up on sunday morning to a closed shop. I still have no idea why and this happen mid october 2011. I called and left messages, and never got a responce. I also emailed 7 or 8 times, and after three weeks finaly got a form email, saying I was suspened, do to infractions. I still have no idea what they were as the email did not say. Over the past year, I had been picked at by them, asking from pics of me making my items, which I sent, and then all seemed fine. Anyone can take a look at my shop and see they are handmade. Its plain for any to see. I used to think ebay was bad, but at LEAST they tell you WHY or WHAT you have done wrong. The etsy community is not really a community, its a dictatorship. Your sales are up to them, the privlage to sell on thier site, is to pay lots of fees to renew and renew and renew, only to get suspended for no apparent reason. I think within a few years, they will be losing lots of sellers, and end up like ebay, no sellers!!!
Accused me of mass producing items. Selling on Etsy since 2008 (sold less than 200 items), selling an average of less than 0.156 items per day, math and logic do not add up. Account suspended after listing more than I ever have in the past during peak season. Still want payment yet keeping all listing fees which come to more than the bill. Left me with no way of knowing how much I truly “owe” or a way to pay. Resellers and counterfeit items abound on Etsy while they shut down legitimate shops. I have great concern over reputational damage and my customers who recently purchased through my shop on Etsy. Stolen designs, made and resold by other members. Guilty until proven innocent. Responded to emails, but seemed like no matter what I did or said it was futile,so didn’t bother with photos or videos, ridiculous. I will be glad to show you how I created these earrings, I’ll bring my supplies, tools, everything…in court!
I can now see that Etsy is not the company I had thought when signing on 2 years ago. My site was also shut down without warning stating that I do not make my own items. Etsy requested pictures, report etc. I cannot believe the unprofessionalism of this site. They are not listed in BBB, should have checked before – now it is obvious why.
I’m sure it is a blessing. I won’t wait for thier reply, I will just terminate my account. Obviously Etsy makes a pratice of unwarranted suspensions. STAY AWAY FROM ETSY ;D
Seriously, I sold handmade felt balls, felting supplies, and feling jewelry on etsy for almost 4 years and made 2700 sale. And out of the blue everything”s gone because they suspended my shop. Without any explanation nor reply. Seriously. Boycott etsy and will not refer friends there anymore. Move to my lovely artfire and enjoy my google search benefit. Highly recommend all etsy seller open store at artfire and better back up all buyers’ record and picture info
I had two shops, both deactivated over night, no explanation, no nothing.
A customer claimed her order was lost in the mail, and we refunded her transaction. Two months later she contacted ETSY stating she had not received her refund, alas, PayPal showed otherwise. We sent proof to ETSY, and every week, for the past month, have been dealing with an incompetent ETSY employee who couldn’t open the file, couldn’t read it, this, that… after four weeks, she decides to shut me down. Regardless of the reasons ETSY might have, it is unexcusable that one sends 23 emails asking why was one shut down, and get not one reply back… ETSY Trust& Safety, ETSY Customer Service, ETSY Help.. its like they have vanished! It is very frustrating and dissapointing, because if you try hard to be part of the ‘team’, and drink the kool aid, you are oblivious of the real issues ETSY has. Any seller that has a business, and it is a crafty business, meaning there is nowhere else to sell, and you invest in ETSY, business cards, promotional material, building tresuries, being in teams, yada yada yada… placed over 500 ads every month… and they took their nice commissions off my sales daily… I mean, I did my part in feeding this monster… and arbitrarily a ETSY employee who is clueless at what she is doing, shuts your store down, no heads up, no questions, no nothing, and then they do not even send a reply, 23 emails…??? not one note back. What is one to do? try BBB, they will tell you they can’t get involved because it is an online website.. try getting your fees back by opening a PayPal claim? PayPal states they can’t get involved… so basically, ETSY monitors the sellers.. but who monitors ETSY? They are running amock, collecting ad fees and then shutting business down without being held accountable by anyone.