" 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]

Big Cartel
Uncommon Goods
Renegade Handmade
Meylah
RubyLane
Zibbet
Shopify
Crafted Elegance

[AntsyArtist]

Wow, thanks for the list. I am off to investigate. :)

[IvoryCatCreations]

Nancy Whitney-ConwayfromAntsyArtist says

.
Wow, thanks for the list. I am off to investigate. :)
____________________________________________

While you are looking, let us all know if you see any of the dreaded bubble necklaces!

[ColorStyleDesign]

Great thread - I read every single post.

I reported several shops over the years that etsy pulled down. One quite blatantly selling Coach handbag knock-offs - that one was a no-brainer!

But it seems like the past year has brought on a surge of mass produced shops. I say - band together and make etsy become more responsive to this problem.

I understand they are caught between a rock and a "bib" necklace but come on! They gained a world-wide audience by being handmade and they need to stick to their original authenticity mission statement.

Trying to look at this topic objectively I see that etsy also could be sued if they try to push some shops off. Legally this looks very messy to etsy. Let's see what "wholesale" does for us all in the long run.

This has been the best thread ever! Thank you :)

[Former_Member]

Trying to look at this topic objectively I see that etsy also could be sued if they try to push some shops off.
........................

They actually do push some shops off. Happens more than you might think....sometimes to legitimate hand-crafters. And yet the blatant resellers thrive, in fact multiply which is why there are so many shops selling the SAME THING.

If it was just a matter of increasing, the shops would be different. The fact that they're offering similar/identical product is more troubling; it's "copycat crime", as in "Hey, she got away with selling XYZ, I can do the same!"

Hence the bubble necklaces, Hunger Games bracelets, lace baby petti rompers, sock-monkey crochet hats. Sure, they're all "handmade" by somebody...on an assembly line.

[Former_Member]

I have recently been on a real tear about this exact topic.i don't believe you can take a design, outsource the actual manufacturing and sell it on ETSY as "handmade". Etsy has very specific definitions, but a lot of people seem to be going around this. There is no way to compete and why would I want to? Also that "Chanel" logo on cheap jewelry, report it no action taken.etsty is not making it easy?

[Former_Member]

i don't believe you can take a design, outsource the actual manufacturing and sell it on ETSY as "handmade".
......................
Well, it's supposed to be made by the seller, or somebody "in their shop".

What about this: sellers who don't design anything, they go around collecting handcrafts made by MANY people in their country, and use Etsy as a selling platform.....search "Mexican clothing" for example. Shops with lovely hand-embroidered apparel, but obviously not done by the seller (quantities make it impossible). Mexican shirts and dresses are quite often on the first page of Kids Browse.

"Hand" made...yes...but not in the spirit of buying from the craftsman who designed and created the item.

[AntsyArtist]

Please, Linda, I don't want to look at any more bubble necklaces. :)

I think Etsy's terms are pretty clear -- this is from their help section:

What items are prohibited on Etsy?

Etsy's marketplace is limited to handmade items, vintage goods, and craft supplies.

All items listed in the handmade Categories must be made by the seller operating the Etsy shop (or a member of that shop).

We do not allow reselling of handmade goods.

Mass-produced items, though they may be technically made by hand in some cases, are not in the spirit of Etsy and may not be listed in the handmade Categories.

Non-handmade items in Vintage and Supplies must comply with additional policies for their Categories.

[Former_Member]

http://www.chanelreplica.com/

This is where you can report all "Chanel" merchandise on Etsy to get them off of Etsy if you really want to get rid of them. Their legal department will then contact Etsy's legal department, who will then remove those items.

[CindersJewelryDesign]

It happens every day that I come across mass produced rubbish on Etsy.
As an artisan that handcrafts all of my jewelry, it drives me mad to think that people are making money on Etsy from reselling imported items.
I work very hard on my store and marketing my label, it is so unfair to genuine designers, that we get overrun by companies selling cheap imported goods.

[Former_Member]

Jewelry would make me crazy. There's currently a lovely animal face necklace on the front page that is available in several Etsy shops. I imagine it is "handmade" in the sense that the sellers all purchased the same charm and put it on a chain.

To add to the previously posted list of hints that items might not be handmade:

18. Shop carries a variety of items that have no mastered craft in common, for example jewelry, knit infinity scarves, lace boot-cuffs, and crochet headbands. I'm more wary of a shop that has many different techniques all gathered in one retail area (accessories for example) than I am with a shop that has a focus on let's say crochet, selling everything from dish-scrubbers to shawls, all in crochet.

[Former_Member]

"I work very hard on my store and marketing my label, it is so unfair to genuine designers, that we get overrun by companies selling cheap imported goods."

This. But this is also why it's SO important to build a solid, strong brand with solid, strong products, and really take care of your customers. The kind of people that are willing to sell against Etsy's vision and terms are usually NOT the kind of people that offer the best customer service. Those of us that put our hearts and souls into our craft are the ones that really care about the customers and eventually we'll be rewarded for it. Just keep the faith, fellow artisans!

[eileenkeay]

Oh Oh Oh ....Miss lace are you really handmade this???? Wow ....I had nothing to say at this very moment hope that someone somehow know what you're doing? What a sexy store full of reselling items...............haha ......wow!!! Not much to say though!

[Former_Member]

Eileen,

If you are referring to the shop that has so called handknitted socks with detachable bows that was on the FP this weekend, you are right to be suspicious since they are not handknitted, but purchased and resold.

That shop has been on my nerves for quite some time. I knit socks and can not knit anything like that in a short period of time or purchase the materials cheap enough to even cover the price that those are selling for. It really steams me that this is allowed.

[ionesAttic]

I have reported a shop that clearly sells newer items from Victoria's Secret to Kate Spade and other designers that have not been "on the scene" for the twenty years that is required for vintage....and they're still there with same items.

[Former_Member]

Barbara, as a Victoria's Secret corporate alum, this is interesting to me...some VS items COULD be vintage, as the original company (in San Francisco) was established in 1977.

It was sold to The Limited and turned into a mall chain in 1982. Some of the styles that my colleagues and I developed in the 1980's are still being sold, so it's difficult to determine the date of some pieces. HOWEVER, the "Pink" label was started in 2004....and sure enough, there are "Pink" items for sale here on Etsy!!!!

Vintage? NO
Handmade? NO
Supply? NO

Plus, some of the shops selling this stuff opened their Etsy shops in the past few months. This is the big problem: the longer it takes for Etsy to shut down these junk stores, the more explosive the growth will be.

Not just incremental growth, exponential growth, as word gets around virally about what is possible to get away with.

[MarpesiaAndCo]

It's seriously frustrating because most of us have a full time job, and then there's what we make which is part of who we are! Finding time to design, make, photograph and list things... it's really time-consuming and I sometimes have to choose between having a social life and making new things. It's a choice I make because I LOVE making jewelry. This shop means so much to so many of us and that's supposed to be the great thing about Etsy. It's supposed to give people who have a skill a platform on which they can sell.

I live on a tiny island in the Med and I get almost all my materials from the US or from the UK - I get no shipping deals and I spend a fortune on tax and duties...you know....added costs. I also don't buy in bulk because a huge percentage of what I make is OOAK. AND I can't afford to buy a zillion headpins at once. I'm sure this is the case for most of us. And then I come across the freaking bubble bib, 2 birds on a twig and the leafy thingy... it drives me crazy. How can I possibly price my jewelry competitively? Why should I? It's just me, myself and I trying to make pretty things for someone who will appreciate them. But if you're looking for a quick gift and you want a simple necklace to be delivered to your doorstep, most people will say... "but this is pretty too, and I'd save $10". Which robs all those people who have passion and work hard of a sale.
wow. rant. lol!

[IvoryCatCreations]

Martina...rant yes but a good one! Every time I open the etsy web page and look at the recently listed... it is the same necklaces and earrings over and over. If we can see it why can't the people who have made the policies and are supposed to be policing shops see the same thing?

[Former_Member]

Instead of:

Handmade, Vintage, Supply, WHOLESALE

Etsy should have:

Handmade, Vintage, Supply, OOAK

[IvoryCatCreations]

Amen to that!

[Former_Member]

Shops like this make me sick: https://www.etsy.com/shop/HolidayDIY

Etsy is loosing credibility quickly!

[Former_Member]

Thanks, Linda!

Of course it won't happen, because they make more money with wholesale, but long term they could maintain integrity with OOAK because it is almost guaranteed to be handmade.

I would be willing to pay a higher listing fee for OOAK, because even though it costs more (per item) to create OOAK, you can charge a higher selling price for exclusives.

[Former_Member]

Veronique:

....367 items, 20 to 30 pieces each available, all from Aliexpress and DHGate
.....448 sales and 20 feedback (at 90%)

How hard is it for Etsy to write an algorithm to be alerted automatically when things look that badly out of line? Answer: not hard. But easier to look the other way and collect the fees.

Reported.

[Former_Member]

PS: 448 sales in exactly 3 months since opening shop

So let's see which clues we have (again, not individually, but together they should raise eyebrows)

*multiple shops selling identical items
*sudden enormous surge in availability of newly trending items
*shop inventory impossibly high for as ingle maker
*total sales per day too high for a single maker
*items are high value/low shipping rate/unbreakable product
*price too low (less than raw materials bought in USA)
*one size fits all
*no custom orders
*language inconsistency
*huge amount of sales in very sort amount of time
*brand new shop instantly successful
*lack of shop personality (no Policies page, no About page)

I'm not a jewelry maker, but if I were I'd be livid.

[Former_Member]

I had a great suggestion from a reader on my blog over the weekend that we set up a team for verified Indie Crafters who work to support each other, report frauds, and have a team logo that we can add to our listings that let buyers know this shop has been verified as a true crafter. I put together a post about it on MorningTempest.com and I am looking for ideas and input. Let me know what you think?