" I know you didn't make that."

[#1]

How many times have you scrolled through Etsy lately found shops full of items that you know they didn't make? For me, it's almost 3 or 4 times a day that I find a shop that sells items I have either seen in the Asian food market, the Dollar store, or items that 10 other shops have the exact same item with the same photos!

One of the draws to Etsy that I had a few years ago was that it was a collection of Indie crafters who were able to use the amazing Etsy platform to sell their art online around the world. It's a great concept! We work together as crafters to promote each other, support the handmade community, and enjoy the tradition of crafting. But increasingly Etsy has filled up with nonsense.

Am I all alone in thinking this? Honestly, I can take the feedback. I love Etsy. I love my shop. But I am just a little frustrated with this.

[Former_Member]

Want that curly bottom dress?
You might get a better price here:

http://stores.ebay.com/87sweetgirl/_i.html?_fsub=2879642013

[Former_Member]

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Kids-Clothing-Shoes-Accs-/171146/i.html?_ipg=&_from=&_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ssn=87s...

Curly bottom dress shop on Ebay has TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND girl's dresses in stock.

[TreasuresForAQueen]

For those who don't think reporting a shop will make a difference, let me tell you it very much does!!! Sunday I was searching for a gemstone ring for my mother and in doing so I am across a beautiful ring that was perfect. I clicked on it to look at the other pictures of it and upon seeing the other pictures I noticed in the background the packaging of a certain TV jewelry channel. You could even see the companies logo and tag still ON THE RING. I looked through more of her listings and become very angry when I discovered several more items from this same jewelry retailer that this shop owner was claiming to have handmade. I went to the TV jewelers website and gathered pictures of their logo, packaging, even a picture of how they display their products. Armed with this evidence I returned to the shop and not only reported the whole shop, I reported the individual items that were in violation. What made me sad was the fact that not all the items in this shop were commercially made jewelry, there were several items that were in fact hand made but because she choose to resell some items she bought off tv, I was forced to report her whole shop.
As I said this happened on Sunday. Yesterday I checked in and the shop was still there and I thought well at least I have reported it and Etsy has been made aware. By Monday however I was so pleasantly surprised to discover that the shop had been taken down. I know one shop is only a small victory but it's definitely a step in the right direction to letting these dishonest resellers know that the true artisans of Etsy will not tolerate their presence and will do whatever we can to have them closed. Keep Etsy for the handmade, vintage, and supplies.

[Former_Member]

Bravo!! Good job SavageAngel
........

Regarding the Curly Bottom dress....I was thinking about the Mapletree original dress, with the photo stolen and pasted on Alibaba....stolen photos can go both ways....mass-manufacturers can steal a photo of a handmade item, post it on their site, and offer it "for sale", then if they get a wholesale order they can figure out how to copy it in production. Conversely, resellers can steal photos from a mass-manufacturer's site and post it as "hand-made" (DaBomb) or they can buy a sample, re-photograph it and pretend they made it (my favorite jacket).

So I thought that maybe MyKidStudio, even though they've sold a whole bunch of dresses really fast since opening, and even though they have the same photos as 87 Sweet Girl on Ebay, well maybe they ARE selling handmade, and their photos were stolen by 87 Sweet Girl?

Well I went back to Ebay to relook at 87 Sweet Girl (25,127 sales....34,549 items currently for sale)...clicked on the "ME" icon...sure enough it takes you to MyKidStudio. Same company.

Also stated here:
http://www.quickerbuy.com/products/fuchsia-flower-girl-bridesmaid-dress-1-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-776505555

"COPYRIGHT © 2010 MYKIDSTUDIO INC, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PARENTS COMPANY OF 87SWEETGIRL"

Why would a business with 34,549 items for sale on Ebay (that's one big warehouse!), need to infiltrate Etsy?

[AntsyArtist]

This one just followed me:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/NY1NJ?ref=pr_shop_more

I am too tired to chase this stuff down. Just opened today and has 87 pages of shops he's following.Doesn't even pretend he makes the stuff.

[Former_Member]

You go Janet...That says it all. It just sucks our team member doesn't even take the time to see that we got their number...All we can do is report report report......

[Former_Member]

Nancy Whitney-Conway from AntsyArtist says
This one just followed me:

www.etsy.com/shop/NY1NJ?ref=pr_shop_more

I am too tired to chase this stuff down. Just opened today and has 87 pages of shops he's following.Doesn't even pretend he makes the stuff.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I get quite a few dress makers who follow me. It is like if you are going to copy have enough sense to not follow me...I really admire my fellow dressmakers but I would never copy them, and if I was going to copy them then why would I follow them? Cheaters!!!!

[Former_Member]

N1NJ just opened today and better get shut down tomorrow.
Just reported the entire shop.

[Former_Member]

You have to send us the link. You know how long the other one has been up and we have all reported it. Not like anyone is paying attention...LOL...

[Former_Member]

Nevermind my stupid. Got the link...

[Former_Member]

I am not sure when they will shut us down...So please all the folks who are against the reselling and mass producing convo me your email...

[Former_Member]

as i understand, this has been a long running problem. I am not sure what to think of the shops that sell handmade stuff that is basically two cheep mass-produced things glued together - on the one hand it is understandable to use things like mass produced chain for a hand made pendant, or mass produced findings, or even an artistic collage made of common things, but what ot earrings that are dollar store charms glued to dollar store posts? 'hand made' sort of, but also so mass produced. It seems a fuzzy border.

[Former_Member]

@Gabriel - I think we've agreed that 'handmade' is a confusing term, as many mass produced items are made by underpaid hands in sweatshops... so now we're focusing on 'resellers' who don't make the stuff themselves at all.

[Former_Member]

Looks like those nasty resellers are like a bad virus. They just keep making me sick and spreading!

I swear, I look away from this thread to actually work on new creations and come back to find a dozen more examples of why it's all in vain.

[AntsyArtist]

You are right, Crysta. I was so worked up about all of this, that I couldn't get to sleep last night. It takes so much time to amass the what's needed to report these resellers' shops and then we don't know if any action will be taken. We also don't know if our shops will end up in danger.

Does anyone else agree that Etsy needs to immediately stop taking on new shops, until this crisis is under control? Stop the flow and address the problem?

[Former_Member]

Today's "Trending " items include:

-sideways cross necklace (photo from Aliexpress)
-cat ears straw hat (entire shop available from Aliexpress)
-and a peach chiffon self-labeled "cheap prom dress" that you could get on Etsy, or else any of these places:

http://www.google.com/search?q=dave+and+johnny+8671&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=UMScUfzsBJKt4APlsoG...

[Former_Member]

My kids studio is greedy, Janet...that is why they are on Etsy.

[Former_Member]

Oh look! Here's the exact photo of the cheap prom dress (hey that's what THEY called it) on the front page of Trending Items :

http://www.simplydresses.com/shop/viewitem-PD1009398

Wow, they have "over 150,000" dresses in stock.

[Former_Member]

Thanks for checking the Trending Items.....I love looking there first since it is so popular.....just do what Angela says all the time report, report, report.

Please send mapletree2000 your email addresses before this thread disapoears so that we can reconvein in a safer more expressive place.

Have a great day today!

[DebiLynneFabric]

If Etsy doesn't have the manpower to police the shops, why wouldn't they welcome a team of volunteers that was dedicated to building a case against offenders with proof that they are not abiding by Etsy rules. It wouldn't have to be public for all to see, but I bet there are a lot of true Etsians who would be willing to do the work and then submit it to the Etsy board for review.

This is the reason I stopped selling handmade items at local craft shows. The promoters broke their own rules and allowed in cheap mass-produced goods. Now there aren't as many local craft shows. The real artists and crafters didn't go any more and the flea-market atmosphere didn't last long. The promoters needed the real crafters for "legitimacy".

Maybe Etsy doesn't really care as long as they make money. Hard to tell.

[AntsyArtist]

It shouldn't be so hard for Etsy's moral board or whatever to make these determinations, when sellers and buyers report a shop/item, with the proof Etsy requires. In effect they already have a team of volunteers doing this -- but still isn't working.

[WhiteApartment]

I may just be overly emotional from the past few days' events, but this thread had me tearing up out of frustration and sadness. I am brand new to Etsy. I finally got the guts to open shop earlier this month...and I haven't even had the chance to list most of my items yet. I can't compete with big box or resellers in the slightest. I am a one woman shop (who still is working full time days) making jewelry pieces that I design and make myself, plus bridal supplies and gifts to make that special day just that much more special. I put a CRAZY amount of time into each piece. I'm not complaining--it's what I love to do. But obviously that means my prices are higher. I can't sell one bracelet for $20. My cost for supplies alone is more than that!

I came to Etsy because I thought that this was a place for genuine artisans like myself. I was so excited to finally be able to get my pieces out there and be able to spread a bit the joy and love that I put into my work. But then I get into the forums and really dig into the sections all I see over and over are resellers and mass-produced items. I can say until I'm blue in the face that I'm completely hand-crafted, but they're all saying that too. Yes our customers are looking for handmade, and yes I hope they're smart enough to tell the difference. People come to Etsy for handmade. Most buyers I've spoken with, including myself before I really got into this, give sellers here the benefit of the doubt, because we're not looking for or expecting mass produced to be here. And if reporting shops even WITH evidence isn't working....

/sigh. I don't know. All this to say, I'm feeling extra discouraged. Maybe it's too early in my Etsy career to feel this way, and like I said before it's probably just amplified by Monday's tragedy, but this whole situation has just gotten me really, really, down.

[AntsyArtist]

Please don't despair Stacey. The best thing Etsy has going for it is this wonderful community of artists and crafters who feel they same as you. I am not doing a booming business, but I am happy at what I do. Most Etsy shoppers appreciate our efforts and expect to pay fairly, for that.

The problem we must fight is the onslaught of resellers who are bringing down Etsy's grand reputation. We don't understand why Etsy admin shows no concern for the future of their organization. Most of us will keep reporting the fake shops and pray we can hang on to the Etsy we've always respected.

[Former_Member]

Stacey, our hearts are with everybody in Oklahoma. It's absolutely tragic.

Do not lose hope for your fledgling jewelry shop.

In their costing videos, Etsy urges sellers to reach for an upscale target customer.

That customer can overlook a few shops selling junk, but if you have to wade through page after page of counterfeit handbags, dollar-store jewelry (how about twenty-cent bracelets?), one-size-fits-all fast fashion identical to the stuff selling in street fairs and flea markets, self-named "cheap prom dress", photos lifted from DHGate & Aliexpress, PDF files that are copies-of-copies-of-copies, home-furnishing products we've see in the catalogs that clog our mailbox, and cartoon-character items breaking copyright law...

Hopefully Etsy has reached a "tipping point" where they can no longer look the other way.

[CactusCurio · Accepted solution]

Hi team,

As a reminder, the Etsy Success team is not a place that condones the "calling-out" of members on Etsy. Please refrain from sharing individual shop links within these threads. If you believe shops are operating outside of Etsy's policies, please report them via the individual listings you deem to be suspicious. That is truly the best way to ensure an Etsy employee will personally review the listing against our policies.

Each of your shops deserve to be seen and valued for their unique offerings, and a huge part of that is finding your target market. In every marketplace there is competition, but as a seller, you have a unique opportunity to connect on a very personal level with your buyers. Your selling proposition needs to be distinctive to your shop. In case you haven't seen it, here's a link to a great Seller Handbook article that you might find helpful in order to do just that: https://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2013/5-steps-to-stand-out-from-the-competition/

If you want to learn a bit more about the process by which our Marketplace Integrity team reviews flagged shops, you can check out this article:
https://www.etsy.com/blog/news/2012/a-closer-look-into-marketplace-integrity/

Thank you for being gracious and intentional with the way you operate on Etsy, and within our team. I'm continually amazed by these discussions and the diligence each of you express.