Invasion of the Bubble Necklaces

[#1]

Is it just me or have others noticed an increase of mass produced items/resellers on Etsy particularly with this current trend of Bubble Necklaces for example? I reported until my fingers got numb :/
Should I bother or am I wasting my time? If I turn the other way does that just make way for escalation of the problem? (resellers)

[RivendellRocksSedona]

PS - I went to the last pages of results from a search for "bubble necklace handmade" and found some original, unique, one of a kind necklaces, made by individual one person type shops - how can they compete with the pages and pages of factory produced jewelry?

Is anyone at Etsy listening?

[Former_Member]

Read through whole thread. Nope, Etsy is clearly not listening. Yet somehow i want to believe that the buyer is not a total idiot and can make a differrence between handmade and mass production.

I am not sure i quite agree about the little bird necklace though - unless i am mistaken on what is being discussed: these birds are sold by jewelry findings suppliers and since they are rather cute they are used often - but in real handmade jewelry i think - i.e. shop owner bought the finding and made a piece. I think that's ok and fit the rules - as any jewelry that is made from ready made findings where seller designs the combinations. Or am i missing something here and being naive?

[Untwistedsister]

resellers are like a cancer that grows bigger and bigger until it takes over it's host. But I do think you'll be wasting your time. Etsy even did an article that included them as handmade and probably some are.

Just like 'shipping upgrade' listings are not suppose to be allowed..... when I first saw one and reported there were over 400. Next time over 600. That was maybe 6 months ago. Now there are over 1500. another cancer that Etsy should fix and find a way for us to legitimately offer more shipping choices and fees within our listings.

Life goes on..... meanwhile, I hope shoppers will find the treasures in our unique shops amid a sea of bubbles and such.

[Former_Member]

I don't know about not bothering, so much as perhaps finding a way to make your product stand out. If you make bubble necklaces in a unique way, then you may be fine. However, if you do not, then is there something else you like to make?

[Former_Member]

Now I REALLY need to know what a bubble necklace is!

[ElfinWorks]

I came across a blog that showed how these bubble necklaces are made step by step, and I think these are Etsy legal because they are hand assembled. It is probably impossible to prove whether or not any Etsy seller is the one who assembled all the assembled items in their shop, whether it is this design or some other assembled item which is based on a popular design.

If Etsy could find some way to make a distinction between the various creative process people use to make things, and whether or not something is an original design, created by the seller, it would help, but there is a lot of problems trying to find a fair way to do that.


People were saying that items that are more unique and better quality must really stand out in the sea of bubble necklaces. I don't think so.

I know form decades of experience selling jewelry and other entirely handcrafted items, that branding is important, and nothing undermines the perceived (and actual) value of higher end items, like being lost in a sea of inexpensive, cheap looking items. Soon after I began making and selling jewelry I learned that my pieces will not sell if I get a booth at the local flea market, even though it is attended by the same people who would buy my pieces at a local craft fair. People will not buy high end jewelry if it is offered in a dollar store.

[BiscuitCuit]

what a shame....

[Former_Member]

Eeep and yikes... it happens all the time and there is little anyone can do about it, or so it seems. I think it is worth it to point these things out if you feel like spending your time doing that and I feel like if enough people bring it to light, that something will get done.

But I don't spend time with that stuff myself. I spend my time doing things that I love and figuring out ways to promote my shop and stimulate myself and my business. That's more rewarding to me. :)

[Former_Member]

Well - funny enough the way out for us who sweat on each single thing joggling things around is to be above those re sellers - if only in price. As said abobe in a dollar store we do not selll and even if we do we cannot make profit.

I find this counter intuitive but everything suggests that,

[Former_Member]

Definitely not worth getting worked up about!

[LauraCColeCo]

I sold "brooch components" in my other shop, and would replace alot of the brooches with combs, and do cement work on them. There were some settings that I did the rhinestones on, and I realize that to alot of people that is not truly handmade material, and Etsy was sure to tell me that too. I was reported for not having handmade items even though policies state you can create a handmade item by using premade components. It was just to go along with this shop. Anyway, I was shut down and had to remove just about everything even though I spent alot of time on them. The issue is there are still hundreds of shops that sell "brooch components" and these bridal combs that are not handmade. Maybe they pick and choose, idk but they are still up with brooches but I cannot sell my brooches.

I look at it now and im totally okay with it because BowPosh is my baby and I create every single finished piece but its still not right that they allow so many.

[LauraCColeCo]

Sure I corrected my mistakes, but I dont think they can get everyone :(

[PiecesofMeCardsnMore]

ElfinWorks from ElfinWorks says Edited on Dec 5, 2012

People will not buy high end jewelry if it is offered in a dollar store.

_________________________________________________________

That one sentence sums up this whole issue.

My other shop sells jewelry, or at least it did at one time. I've neglected the shop and have done nothing to promote it in months. My jewelry is not high end but my daughter and I did create every piece by hand using purchased beads and components. Even at moderate prices ($12-$20) our items were lost in a sea of dollar store items. I finally gave up because it's not my first love. I also got tired of seeing sellers listing items for less than a dollar. When you look at their sold listings you see the same item over and over.

[Former_Member]

And the real problem is that resellers are invading every single category, Go look at the bridal clutches (one of my cats) under Weddings. Half of what you see is "handmade" in India and China and sold here for ridiculously low prices. My bridal sales completely died after they introduced the new Wedding categories, because it, too, is overrun with non-handmade crap.

My jewelry shop has been here the longest of my three, and I refuse to give in. I love making purses, and I love making soap, but heartsabustin is my baby. Bring it on, resellers - all it's done is make me up my game. *puts on game face* :D

[Former_Member]

What elfinworks said:

came across a blog that showed how these bubble necklaces are made step by step, and I think these are Etsy legal because they are hand assembled. It is probably impossible to prove whether or not any Etsy seller is the one who assembled all the assembled items in their shop, whether it is this design or some other assembled item which is based on a popular design.
.....

One of the bubble sellers also "makes" the peacock necklace, the sideways-cross bracelet, the Katniss necklace.... 100 pieces in stock of each... 400+ designs....total 40,000 "handmade" pieces of jewelry.

[ElfinWorks]

Half of what you see is "handmade" in India and China and sold here for ridiculously low prices.

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Many of those sellers may be individuals living in those countries. Minimum wage in many areas of India is about $2 a day and in China even less. I can't compete with wages like that, and couldn't even if they are 20 times higher, but I also feel good knowing that people who are living in impoverished conditions beyond our darkest nightmares are getting a chance to improve their lives through Etsy.

Globalization and cheaper labor in impoverished countries has been a problem for manufacturers in wealthy countries across all sectors. That is a different problem than handmade by the seller or not handmade by the seller.

[Former_Member]

I have no problem with any seller, anywhere in the world, selling whatever they make at whatever price they choose. I worked for years in Asia, I have family in Africa, I wish the best for everyone to improve their lives.

That being said, I believe it's only fair if everyone plays by the same rules, and it seems as though some of the Etsy rules are being lost in translation.

I have a problem with a single seller offering 40,000 "handmade" pieces of jewelry, no matter where it's coming from.

I also object to sellers "using" incorrect tags to promote their items....it's not fair to tag hundreds of kilim pillows "Christmas pillow", to get on the first page.

This hurts the integrity of Etsy.

[Former_Member]

This really bothers me as a good friend who makes, designs and sells wedding dresses on etsy was kicked off because etsy said she couldn't prove that she wasn't reselling. They asked her to provide her patterns and explain the process... She explained the process three times, but didn't want to give her patterns away (I feel that is justifiable ) well they kicked her off etsy, and closed the shop.

This bothers me because I know her, I have watched her sew in high school, I was there when she opened up her shop I sold her insurance and I have watched her fashion shows.

Boo to the bubble necklaces.

[ElfinWorks]

It does seem there is a point where a popular design that is assembled from components, should be considered an item made from a kit. I agree that the rules should be based on principles that are evenly applied. Maybe there is so much diversity here that is hard to do.

[VintageCarolina]

GlassBeach - it really is odd that they don't allow craft related services on here as those are "hand-made" so to speak...at least a lot of them would fall into that category.

What has always driven me crazy is all the digital download listings in vintage... seems like no matter what I'm searching for I have to dig thru pages of those. I'm sorry but snagging a vintage image off the internet doesn't make it an item that should be listed in vintage!

I guess we all have our little areas of annoyance!

[Former_Member]

OK. This is embarrassing, but I don't even know if I know for sure what a bubble necklace is. Looks like I should search it.

[VivaRevival]

Yeah I reported a lot of bubble necklaces months ago. Nothing happened apparently...

[MythOfTheWild]

Etsy does actually do things about resellers, but there's only a finite number of people working on that aspect of Etsy, and with people reporting until their fingers get numb, it creates more and more reports which need proper investigation. An Etsian's word doesn't necessarily ring fact, it could just be jealousy - that does happen. So Etsy contact the seller that has been reported, asking for proof that they made it themselves, and asking other questions, and they will base their decision on that. Even if a reseller IS a reseller, if they answer everything correctly and lie all the way through it, Etsy cannot shut them down, because they don't have solid proof or a suspicion.
It takes much longer than a month for a report to be dealt with, because of the sheer number of reports and other messages they get. It could take several months for them to finally get to your report.
You shouldn't waste your time reporting the same seller over and over again, one report IS enough, but it CERTAINLY isn't wasting your time to report other sellers. Etsy is TRYING to battle the resellers, but they just keep popping up, and they can be very clever. Keep reporting. If everyone gives up reporting them, then how will they ever be caught?

And for the people who say that Etsy allows resellers, they DON'T. It's not something they want on this community, because it harms everyone else who are selling on here, and people up and leave, and customers won't come. It's quite simple, and even if you want to believe that Etsy is all about money, like I said, they will end up with a sullied reputation, no customers - be they buyers or sellers - and everything will fall apart. So even if you look at it from a financial standpoint, it doesn't work.

[TerraRhapsody]

To be honest, this is the first time I've seen a bubble necklace- really not my kind of jewellery :B Bleugh.

Anyway, I've done my fair share of reporting on etsy- mainly for scrabble tile pendants where people had stolen the images from various art websites and communities (one of which I have an account on) and proceeded to report the image theft and jewellery reseller, but unfortunately, nothing was done about any of them except for about 2 listings where the artists themselves came and demanded their removal.
Alas, etsy probably can do nothing when the artist doesn't come forward to shout about it, as is the case with the art websites where they need absolute 100% proof that the image is someone else's.
The world can be annoying sometime

[Former_Member]

I started this thread where I listed several availavle from a wholesaler from China
http://www.etsy.com/teams/5002/etsy-success/discuss/11496411/