Is it possible that new Transparency rules are on our behalf??

[mossycreekstudio]

I have pondered this for a long time... listening to everyone rant about the mass produced and resell items on Etsy. I have to believe there are some big legal issues for Etsy... if the policies were not clear at the time some one joined... how do they boot them and avoid lawsuits?

Sooo... if they are in fact going to police this, and lets just assume for a moment that there are buyers that want handmade... and they begin to shy away from the honest mass producers who follow the rules... perhaps this is the beginning of the process of booting the resellers and mass producers who don't follow the new rules.

Is it possible?

[kzannoart]

Sure..I'd like to think this is possible, however only time will tell on this one.

[heartsabustin]

Live the dream, sweetie - it might even happen.

I'm not gonna hold my breath, however. :P The resellers have been here for years, and I'm afraid they're here to stay. I see ADMIN faving things from the rotten scoundrels every day. The W Network put one one their Page the other day.

All I can do is make sure that MY shops are held up to MY standards, and not Etsy's. Apparently, my standards are better.

[PrairiePrimitives]

OP, when pigs fly!

[Former_Member]

Pretty sure they can boot anyone at any time without legal repercussions. This is a website that we use that they own. They are giving us the privilege of using their platform. It is not our right.

[JustForGiggles]

i ADORE your sunny-side optimism!!!

My mother was a seamstress in one little shop for 20+ years. She had a simple sign that said, "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone" and that's all she needed to excuse anyone IF she wanted to. I'm sure Etsy's got that covered, too, and it's probably more thorough than a printed paper sign. In fact, you probably agreed to it when you checked the box saying "I Agree" :~)

[SnarkFactory]

I'm not sure that a buyer will NOT buy something simply because it's manufactured. What I do know is that a buyer likes fast shipping. We live in an instant gratification kind of world, so the long wait times to get an item from overseas gives us (in the USA) a leg up.

I appreciate these new rules. I want to build my brand and business and to be able to use a manufacturer (to me) is the definition of success.

Though, I don't feel like every single shop owner that is doing better than me is my competitor. I'm not threatened by other shops because I believe in my items. Ranting and being resentful about someone else really only holds YOU and YOUR business back.

Also, cheap, mass produced items are cheap and mass produced. YUCK!

[Former_Member]

Reselling in the handmade category has never been allowed on Etsy.

Over the years I've noticed that many of the shops that have been reselling and have been flagged (with proper documentation provided) have been removed fairly quickly.

Having manufacturing assistance HAS been permitted to varying degrees on Etsy for a number of years. The announcement is simply putting the need to reveal this into a formal structure via the About page. In the past it was supposed to be disclosed but quite often wasn't.

Etsy provides you with the venue for your storefront. Its up to you to bring in your own customers through your marketing efforts.

If you are marketing your work to YOUR target customer then your shop should be fine. But if you are depending on Etsy to bring you traffic with over 1,000,000 shops (yes, that's million now) then I wouldn't hold my breath.

[JustForGiggles]

Dang IT!!!! One Million shops now, huh? Where do you get the #s from, Crochetgal? I've always been curious about how we know who's here. Last I read, we were at 800,000 and I couldn't remember if that was members or shops. But that was before the recruiting push. Looks like it worked!

[NewBrideCo]

I consider myself an artist with creative talents, and that alone puts my shop's products on top of mass produced items; Yes, I might sound too proud but, I'm confident that because I keep creating, improving, and adding more styles, my targeted consumers will notice my quality work.

Mass produced is for people who do not like unique handmade items;

I perceive that many artisans do not feel supported and respected when Etsy looks the other way and accepts many mass produced China based "artisians' who are really stealing some of our own designs and making cheap reproductions at cheap prices.

One of this two things will happen:
Etsy will shape up, and return to their original high standards, and continue supporting real artists who are offering unique handmade high quality items,
to keep their hard earned reputable image.

Or, will slowly convert Etsy into a cheap mass produced marketplace to target other kind of consumers, and in the mean time real artist will start looking for a new Market place who offers what Etsy did in the past.

We'll see what direction this new policies are going to lead us to.

Good luck to all of us.