Can Sellers Galvanize Etsy to Make Positive Changes? (2023)

By: Ina Steiner

Sponsored Link

An Etsy coach who offers a course on selling on the handmade/vintage platform published a Youtube video last week where she discussed many of the concerns sellers have about the platform. She's encouraging sellers to speak out on social media platforms on Friday, August 25th, using the hashtag #KeepEtsyHuman, in an effort to galvanize the company to make positive changes that will help sellers succeed.

At about 2:49 minutes into the video, I was struck by a graphic that was purportedly from Etsy customer service to a seller:

"We understand that you're wondering about the payment account reserve that was recently placed on your account.

"As part of our efforts to keep Etsy secure, Etsy Support isn't able to give you the specific reason a reserve was placed on your account."

My mind immediately went to the Amazon bribery case and numerous reports that sellers pay for "Amazon annotations" - see the July 9th AuctionBytes Blog post, "Do Sellers Have the Right to Know Why They Were Suspended?" It seems Etsy may also be keeping sellers in the dark about certain issues they're experiencing that negatively impact their businesses. But we all see what that led to when it came to desperate Amazon sellers and allegedly corrupt reps.

We're not familiar with Starla Moore, but the video she posted is powerful. Thanks to readers for forwarding it to us - let us know what you think.

Comments (23) | Permalink

by: COVID-19

You can't galvanize. You can only leave.

by: pace306

EVERY ONE of these platforms see sellers as disposable trash.

They have no reason or care to make anything fair or even be responsible in any fashion that doesnt suit their needs

I wish the lady good luck - but without something (like a lawsuit) to compel them to ... they wont.

by: Lisa

both starla moore & pam duthie are outstanding. and etsy never tells you why or what is wrong with anything, ever. we'll see if this makes an impact. I am participating in this one..

by: LDWCallsOut

LOLOL!!! Powerful? Yeah, made me freakin' ROAR!

I notice the video never drops the R-bomb (you know, R-E-S-E-L-L-E-R-S) and the sad but true reality that most of the items listed on Etsy as handmade are processed through warehouses like the ones shown in the video's stock footage. This is the business model that most of their successful sellers are currently using, which has been allowed since Summer 2015.

Etsy has had issues with playing favorites (pEtsies) among sellers, lack of transparency, abysmal Customer Service, and hypocritical boosting of resellers pretty much from day one. But business problems need thoughtful business solutions. Posting in social media virtual ''Burn Books'' on one day this year won't cut it. Dump this one in the same circular file as the recent ''strike''.

by: Stone Cutter

*** Only if Quality Buyers leave Etsy ***

This past weekend I reported 7 shops to Etsy. Each of these shops had reviews from Buyers because these Buyers thought that their purchase was coming from the U.S., but instead, came from India. Sleazy Seller growth is everywhere on Etsy.

Etsy won’t change its ways until it’s Buyer growth stagnates. And if Etsy cannot find Sellers with unique products then they do nothing more then compete with Target and Walmart who will blow Etsy out of the water.

Sellers have no real leverage.

by: racheltreasures

IMO Etsy will not change anything as their management only cares about return on investment, stock price, and their shareholders.

I will continue to beat my drum....dump Etsy!
The major website stores (shopify, squarespace, bigcommerce, etc) make a website set up pretty easy. Shopify, which I use, has built in SEO, and many excellent apps for marketing (also for other tasks too).
I dumped Etsy a year ago, and I am no longer stressed out!

by: Snapped

Yeah, bot’s don’t “galvanize”. And their programming rejects diversity or diversion.

But it’s nice they’re serving refreshments. Those who don’t care for the kool-aid are welcome to a serving of placebo punch.

by: Dea

Etsy is no longer a brand for handmade, and sadly, I think buyers are now seeing this. Buyers see nothing unique in search because etsy is overun with POD, resellers and junk from overseas. Etsy has done everything to stop real handmade sellers from thriving on the site. Etsy wants short production time, not personalized, not handmade, gold forbid you do custom work that takes 2 weeks - you can just hit the road, anything that takes more than 1-3 days to create, sellers are punished for in lower search on the site. With the push for 'make an offer', just more proof that all they care about is their shareholder profits and corporate bonuses. Its pretty simple, etsy doesn't care if you are a reseller, as long as you make them money, your store will stay. Complain and all those wonderful people in the forums will not only bash you, but tell you to leave and seller someplace else.

by: GetAGrip

The real problem is the sellers who think that they can change something that isn't theirs. They rent the space and as far as etsy or ebay is concerned your noise and if you don't like it your free to find another site.

by: GetAGrip

@DEA

BUSINESS 101.....................Make money and keep the stockholders happy. Anything less and you are looking for another job.

by: Lisa

the difference between etsystrike and this: etsy strikers were mean and nasty and made it all about themselves and money. They hurt people who couldn't afford to strike, and referred to those people as collateral damage in public on the forums,reddit, and twitter. It was also headed up by a very successful etsian who is just an entitled housewife and actually has a successful website, and she got a lot of attention for it. all because of a fee increase that still is substantially lower than ebay or amazon. (booeffinhoo for her). The repercussions were quite a few of those shops never recovered, and have permanently been throttled. This is different than the (dumb) strike.

by: Lisa

LDW- POD is a much bigger issue than resellers.

by: pace306

@DEA

BUSINESS 101.....................Make money and keep the stockholders happy. Anything less and you are looking for another job.

OR you could just do it the OLD FASHION WAY and make money (or in this case a commission) off the items you or your sellers actually sell and NOT off the stock itself ..... the more you sell, the more you make, NOT the more you lie cheat and steal the more you make.

just a thought.

by: LDWCallsOut

@Lisa -- based on your comment, I see a parallel between the social media "Etsy was mean to me" tell all on Friday and the strike. The person who created the video linked above is no longer an Etsy artisan seller. Now she makes her $$$ by "coaching" Etsy sellers. If Etsy goes down, she swirls the drain right above them. I've viewed some of her other YouTube videos where she is basically quoting Etsy's policies, chapter and verse, including the misinformation about what can be sold on Etsy. I can understand why critics consider her Etsy's simp.

Any seller who follows her suggestion to "speak out" on social should consider the risk of Etsy identifying them and any possible consequences that might result. You know, what you called "repercussions" above.

The only thing that moves a publicly held corporation like Etsy to action is the threat of legal issues. I am wondering why the "Alpha" pack doesn't hire the services of some hot shot attorney to see what can be done about Etsy messing with sellers' funds and listings when no rules are being broken. There are methods to bring about change more "powerful" than inviting a bunch of Etsygirls to virtually cry in public.

by: Stone Cutter

*** Know your data ***

@ Lisa

You say….”This is different than the (dumb) strike”

That “dumb strike” sent shock waves through the media and had extensive coverage on multiple media platforms.. Even CNBC covered the issue while the stock price took a temporary dump.

The comments made concerning “The Strike” was that Sellers from all the major platforms….Amazon, Ebay and Etsy were complaining about high fees, which could be a concern for investors if perceived that Sellers are not happy.

Say what you want about those “mean girls”. It was those mean girls who forced CEO Silverman to make a public statement to investors concerning the Strike. And his comments, I found, to be very cold hearted. His stress was evident.

by: quirkyantiques

@LDWcallout "The only thing that moves a publicly held corporation like Etsy to action is the threat of legal issues". Interesting you say this as I've just seen on the forums an email I don't think I got from Etsy outlining how you can opt out of their soon to be binding included in TOS "arbitration". Many sellers are saying this is the first time they've heard of this and implementation is 2 days away. I immediately mailed them my opt out. European sellers took Etsy to court over enforced mandatory off site ads and the European Supreme Court sided with them. Enforced offsite ads are no longer legal in Europe. This class action lawsuit against predatory practices would not have been possible if this arbitration clause had of been implemented over THERE. I can see why Etsy is trying to slide it in here now. I think I read somewhere their biggest profit comes from the online selling equivalent of junk fees.

by: Lisa

actually the dumb strike did nothing but piss etsy off and put hundreds of shops on perma throttle.The only shock waves were XXXX got free media attention to her website. she has been on etsy as long as I have, oh and yes, she and her coven are way beyond 'mean girl' status. They literally harassed other sellers.

***knowing data*** what did the strike do to get fees lowered and offsite ads eliminated? NOTHING

and the mail in campaign? pretty safe bet all that waste of paper went straight in the recycle bin. Even though etsy probably took names and dinged their citizen scores. well played.

this is different, more passive.

if you are a us seller, you agree to arbitration with the tos. you can opt out, but i do foresee perma throttle for you.

starla is well loved by most of us and is so not considered a simp. she actually is employed by erank. im not sure what items you say she said were misinformation.
I know she closed her jewelry shop because of post pandemic reasons, did she close her POD shop too?
regardless, for me i think pam duthie is better. Her seo technique is easier for me to understand. I'm obviously not as smart as all of you.

but all that said, even though a couple of you are really bitter, It is time to reorder cards, tags, stickers, bags, and i am removing the etsy verbage. Planning ahead.

by: quirkyantiques

@lisa " you can opt out, but i do foresee perma throttle for you.".
Sorry but this is fear mongering nonsense. I opted out in writing 10 years ago when Ebay and Paypal had to give us that option before binding us by TOS into giving up our legal rights. At the time the Ebay forums were full of people terrified to do it in case they too got "throttled". I went ahead and did it and my account was never affected-I suspect because I had retained my ability to sue them rather than signing that away out of fear.

by: sammy37

Something is really going downhill with Etsy. I've been selling for years, not my first platform, due to the limitations, (vintage, etc) but all went well. My neighbor opened up an account almost 10 years ago, just to sell odds and ends. I don't think she's sold anything over $20, and never reached the $600 taxing threshold. She just sold a $18 item, and they put her account on vacation, pending further verification. I checked, her id shows verified, and her bank account is verified. She mails everything promptly and has had no complaints.
I really don't understand this.

by: Lisa

they are 'reviewing" her, it's silly.

well, etsy is a different animal than ebay. so wait your two months and see, remember it is in the tos right now etsy reserves the right to pull you out of rotation at any time for any reason.

that said, who cares. I think if Ina got her hands on the latest survey, you kind of get a feel where etsy is going... allegedly, you know the type you have to sign an NDA.

My best advice is maybe now start working on plan B if etsy is your only basket.