SEVEN DAYS. Will someone from Etsy support PLEASE contact me? I've been waiting for 7 days.

[SilverWishes]

I received an email that Etsy had removed one of more of my listings due to policy violation. No option to reply, debate, discuss, nothing.

If I'm a buyer, I can receive a callback within 60 seconds. (I tested. Twice.) As a seller there is ZERO phone support. I cannot speak to a person about this. I have to submit an email request. I have, and those have been either ignored or are marked closed. I've heard nothing from Etsy. Nothing. Obviously I know buyers are important. I'm an Etsy buyer too. But it feels like sellers and their concerns are ignored.

I've been a seller on Etsy for over 12 years with over 15,000 sales. I have a solid record of 5 star reviews and happy customers. During that time, I've seen the rise of copyright and design theft. This is affecting countless other artists, and anyone who has been a victim would agree that it's infuriating and at times disheartening as an artist. Overseas manufacturers steal our designs and even photos(watermarking helps but is not foolproof) and mass produce them in cheap materials to sell on Temu, etc. I've reported over 100 listings on Temu, and for every one I have removed, another 2 pop up. I hold US Copyright registrations; those mean nothing to China. Hobby Lobby is even selling one of my designs. I'm currently fighting that too.

I would be happy for anyone to visit my studio and watch the process. I don't unpack items out of a box and put them in new boxes. (That's another, separate problem that has become an issue on Etsy.) I make the pendants with my hands, at my worktable. 

Any thoughts? Has anyone else, as a seller, had problems and been unable to get help? If you actually did get help, will you please share the magic formula? And if by some miracle someone at Etsy reads this, will you PLEASE CONTACT ME? 

[OneEyeCatStudio]

What is very likely happening is that you are selling on another site using the same photos, or other sites are using your photos.
I would do an image search to see.

If that's the case, the mindless Etsy bots see this and assume that you are reselling. 

And, if this is the case, you will need to visit those other sites and get them to take down the stolen photos.

[SilverWishes]

Thank you for the response! Your shop is lovely:)

I do not sell on any other sites. Other sites definitely do steal my photos to sell cheap, unauthorized copies. I do visit those sites, often, and have them removed(or at least try). It's ongoing and impossible to completely stop them. 

Thank you for mentioning the point about Etsy bots scanning for the same photos on multiple sites and automatically assuming/removing. I wasn't aware of that.

[cindylouwho2]

Unfortunately, it can take more than 2 weeks to get these takedowns resolved. Star Sellers can be persistent with live chat, but everyone else has to complain here or on social to get attention. 

[SilverWishes]

Thank you for the info. This is a horrible way to treat sellers. I never quite meet all the metrics for Star Seller(the requirements seem a tad unrealistic to me, especially for one-person, handmade/personalized operations like mine). But I'm a long time seller with a solid track record and consistently excellent reviews from happy customers. I've seen all the changes over the years, some good and some bad. It sometimes feels that the original spirit of what Etsy was meant to be has nearly evaporated. 

I appreciate all of you who take the time to read through this chain.

[cindylouwho2]

@SilverWishes You are welcome! I am sorry Etsy does such a poor job of this. 

For most US sellers, the only part of Star Seller that can be unrealistic is the review requirement, which you have met. Messages can be handled by the weekly autoreply, and shipping delays can be handled by updating the order's ship-by date.

If you find you are struggling to meet your processing times regularly, you can extend them. I'm mentioning this because seller protection also hinges on shipping on time, as do many other parts of the site now. 

Good luck with the takedown! I hope it gets fixed quickly. 

[SilverWishes]

Thank you for the advice. I'm not a huge fan of autoreply, but may have to give it another look. 

Shipping times are a challenge. Sometimes I have a question about engraving and wait for clarification, or have another issue that requires a few days/questions/communications to confirm. Usually things are right on target. But with personalized and custom orders, sometimes things can go slightly differently than planned. If I have to ship a day late, I upgrade shipping at no charge and so on. Up to now, I hadn't stressed over the Star Seller thing too much; my customers are happy, sales were steady and I've built a reasonably strong foundation. Clearly I need to re-evaluate. I love your shop, by the way:) All of the gemstone colors and textures are beautiful!

[cindylouwho2]

@SilverWishes thanks for your kind words! I am downsizing my Etsy shop due to all the issues here, but still have a few gemstones up. 

You can extend each order's processing time once, so as soon as you suspect an issue, do it, and put the date out further than you think you could possibly need. The buyer is informed of the change, which sometimes can spur them to reply with missing info for custom orders too. 

While I agree that Star Seller is not a big deal for the most part, shipping late is a violation of Etsy policies, beyond Star Seller. Do it enough and your shop may be closed. Etsy doesn't care if the buyer is happy or you upgraded shipping for free; they only care that the package leaves your hands no later than the last day of the processing time. 

[GlassyFields]

@SilverWishes 

I've with you. I see an autoreply as a non-reply.

But there is a game aspect to Etsy (especially Star Seller) and sometimes it makes sense to master the game moves in spite of personal preferences.

Good luck.

[BeaconwoodDettman]

@SilverWishes You can request a call back from Etsy support - they do have phone support for sellers like they do for buyers. 

@cindylouwho2 When you say "Unfortunately, it can take more than 2 weeks to get these takedowns resolved" - do you have access to data that shows you the turnaround time for deactivations to reactivations after a request? Etsy would have that data, but I don't think any of us sellers do.

[OneEyeCatStudio]

I don't have data from Etsy, but from what I read in the forum, 2 weeks sounds about right.

[cindylouwho2]

@BeaconwoodDettman "do you have access to data that shows you the turnaround time for deactivations to reactivations after a request?" Yes, I am aware of hundreds of these situations. The only way to speed it up right now is get forum attention, or social media outrage. 

[JDTotesnDolls]

An auto reply is standard as it is in many businesses.  Reply back to it that you still need help.

Etsy will not tell you the reason why.  Most likely reason is that it is considered giving business advice and therefore Etsy has most likely been counseled not to give such out by their lawyers.

Etsy cannot get involved with anything that has to do with IP.  That is why the seller has to be vigilant to takedown any photos that have been stolen.  And many have said it a huge undertaking and draining of spirit to have to pursue.

I wish I could help you more by giving you something that will move it along quicker but alas I cannot.  

Best wishes

[SilverWishes]

Can you please give me more info on how to access phone support for sellers? I’ve been all over the wonderland of help topics and have found no option to request a call back, and certainly haven’t found an actual phone number to call. The buyer support folks who called me back informed me that there is no phone support for sellers and that I have to email. Which I did. The first email I sent was 7 days ago. No response. Thank you for any help!

[cindylouwho2]

@SilverWishes sent you a message. Remember to reply back with an emoji or something, and you have met Etsy's requirements
; - )

and check here to make sure that your initial ticket is still open: https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-gb/requests?segment=selling 

[SilverWishes]

I do try to find and fight the IP thieves, daily. They pop right back up. I could spend hours every day trying to get them removed. I’ve resigned myself to that ongoing battle. You’re right, it is draining and disheartening as an artist. And infuriating, in my current situation.
Thank you to all for reading my venting!

[SkylarnMe]

I just wanted to say your items are absolutely beautiful!!  

[BrooklynStVintage]

@SilverWishes  I absolutely love your shop, what beautiful spiritual items. It would be hard to choose they are all so special!

[SmudgePlant]

I looked this up before and just browsed through it (and then I forgot about it) but it might help you.

There is the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, iprcenter.gov. They have something called IP Protect to help small and medium sized businesses. They also have a link to a Michigan State University guide to brand protection for small and medium sized businesses.

https://a-capp.msu.edu/guide-to-brand-protection-for-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises/

You are someone who Etsy should be championing, not ignoring.

[SilverWishes]

Thank you for the info and link! I'll look into the site. There's definitely a need for a service like that. Unless you're, say, Disney and have stacks and stacks of lawyers:)

I really appreciate the kind words, suggestions, and help!

[SugarandSpicePaper]

I had the same thing happen today!! It was an old listing for a Signature Drink signs that's been selling for years. I'm not violating any policies, etc. These random bots are just shutting down listing for no reason.  I'm also a top 1% with 20,000 sales and I can't get anyone from Etsy.  Etsy has definitely gone down hill the past several years.  With the higher fees, lack of help and now low sales, I would leave Etsy in a heartbeat.  But unfortunately no other platform has this traffic  

[BeaconwoodDettman]

@OneEyeCatStudio I do too, posts like "Etsy deactivated my listings!" are common. However, some of those deactivations are correct, some are incorrect, and none of us have any solid data about how many there are of each (Etsy does, but they don't post in the forum LOL). 

To really measure how long it takes to get an incorrectly deactivated listing reactivated, we would need Etsy's data. Relying on forum posts is risky, I don't even know how many sellers know the forum exits, and even if they do, a smaller number actually post here. 

The last time I had a Vintage Mini Lane Cedar Chest deactivated, I contacted support, explained the Lane Cedar Chest recall is for full size ones, not minis, and a few hours later it was back up. It was very easy. 

On top of that, I listed a couple Mini Lane Cedar Chests this week and they weren't deactivated at all, so someone at Etsy must have made an update. 

[cindylouwho2]

@BeaconwoodDettman "Relying on forum posts is risky, I don't even know how many sellers know the forum exits, and even if they do, a smaller number actually post here." - yes, this is only a small slice. That's why I go by the emails I get every day (asking me to help them), reports on Reddit, Facebook groups, social media, Etsy Messages etc. as well as forum posts here. 

Having the discussion offsite means I can get screenshots of communication with Etsy, proof of tickets, screenshots of the removed items etc. 

Please note that since Etsy doesn't link first-level support with the takedowns directly in some cases, Etsy's own stats on the matter will be flawed as well. If you think Etsy has accurate data, you are as wrong as people who only follow what is said here in the forum LOL

[KrissyEwinsArt]

I’m in the same boat right now with a wrongfully removed listing. It’s been 22 days that my current help ticket has been sitting ignored and not reviewed by a real person. I’ve contacted the live chat several times asking for it to be escalated but I just get brushed off. It’s very very annoying. Hope this gets sorted for you soon, I haven’t worked out yet if there’s a trick to getting faster help 

[IntheWitchwood]

Same boat too, 34 days of no response so far and second time this listing has been wrongfully removed after already being assessed and reinstated after 4 months wait the first time.