what's going on with the reseller thing?

[#1]

I was unaware till now that a lot of things are not handmade? I understand vintage and screen printed shirts but soap is bought in bulk too and called hand-made. I am scared where it might be made and with what?

What is considered resellers ... I don't make my own antique bottles I dig them up and add graphics to them? I don't make my salvaged goods I just use them to make new things... I suppose if I blew my own glass from scratch it would be hand made. I don't have time for that ahahah.... If I sew something I still didn't weave the fabric but I could I love weaving!!! Then however I would have to charge 85.00 a towel ahahah

I have seen a ton of treasures this am with products that are all obviously store bought and the descriptions say hand-made.... This is a real eye opener. I suppose I haven't searched around enough on here.... But where is the line to draw here? I bought a bulk amount of tees from american apparel I was going to silkscreen on... It's this the same thing or no? I didn't hand sew the shirts at all..... but I also wouldn't say I did....

[ModernHermine]

For me it comes to food and cosmetic bath and body stuff I could care less what I bought as far as wearables and jewelry unless say it had lead in it?

Different cultures have different ideas of sanitation and contamination. What might horrify me might not other people.... Once I watched my mother in law dry out meat in an old car they had sitting out back.

They shut the doors and dried it. It was quite a sight. Not at all odd to them but it had flies and what not on it. GOD bless her I love her. But I didn't want to partake in the meat... I don't know maybe I am a huge jerk.... They laughed at my weak american stomach.....

[SelkieCrochet]

there used to be TONNES of bunny rabbit rings on Etsy which didn't even qualify as the 'charm on a chain' version of handmade - but I can't see them any more so maybe they are taking out some of those items?

[ModernHermine]

I still stick by my some other countries statement minus the world view sorry still

[SelkieCrochet]

but what's to say that there aren't some people in America who also dry out meat in the back of an old car???!!

[Former_Member]

If you are taking base supplies you bought and MAKING them into something else, then YES, you are making handmade items.

If you buy beads and make those beads into a necklace, the necklace is handmade.

If you buy the beads and resell the beads, as long as you are selling them as "supplies" and not under "handmade," that is ok.

If you buy a beaded necklace, however, and resell it as a "handmade necklace," that is re-selling, and that is NOT ok.

[ModernHermine]

They might and I am still not eating it ahahahah to bad

[ModernHermine]

Rosemary there are some places you can't' even drink the water in...Are you seriously saying all places in the world have safe resources if so... I don't know what to tell you....

I feel like you are looking for something hard in my posts that you will not find?

[Former_Member]

I feel the same way. There are so many wonderful points on this thread - I wish etsy would take it more seriously and shut down the obvious offenders. Even if they make lots of money off of the fees - that is no reason for etsy to support obvious offenders. Just look at the last FEATURED SELLER - Ecologica Malibu!!! Their items come from wholesalers in Bali and can also be found overstock :( That is certainly not handmade. How could that get past them! Its frustrating when you truly make something by hand and spend hours creating - only to have resellers become featured :(

[Former_Member]

Re quoting:
Original creator of etsy was quoted saying: Some day etsy will rival Amazon.


IF that be so, then reseller's would be in the fore front of etsy philosophy even now. Big money is etsy now. Stock exchange. Handmade is no longer the driving force.

Those handmade peeps still have their heart, minds and souls into their shops, promoting, marketing and building an Indie business on our own. I still believe in handmade.

[ModernHermine]

I would have to agree it is about making money for the top... But isn't that how it always ends up anyway.... It seems part of human nature. If they want to have re-selling parts and mass produced goods then just have a separate area for it. It's crazy otherwise and lacks honesty.

[Former_Member]

Ideas and Business Topics have threads regarding this topic with lots of information.

[SelkieCrochet]

Sarah Meas from SweetMeas says

Rosemary there are some places you can't' even drink the water in...Are you seriously saying all places in the world have safe resources if so... I don't know what to tell you....

I feel like you are looking for something hard in my posts that you will not find?

-----------------------

no, of course I'm not saying that - but I am saying that not everything that is made in America is automatically wonderful and of a better standard that you would find elsewhere in the world.

I am not a fan of sweeping generalisations (which you made - talking about items from 'different countries') -- that kind of talk really winds me up; though like I said, you have already apologised for that and that's the end of the matter.

I'm not sure what you mean by ''I feel like you are looking for something hard in my posts that you will not find?'' -- I found a big generalisation in the comment about 'different countries' but you apologised for that and that's the end of it as far as I am concerned.

[Former_Member]

Just a side note........ When I hear someone from USA saying they are done with the Imports, I agree! It has to start with those of us who LIVE here to make a difference and choose wisely as to what we are buying!
It is such a wonderful outlet to offer your handmade wares all over the world through Etsy!
There will ALWAYS be someone, somewhere in the world who will try and take advantage of the situation to label things handmade, when they are not!
Get in with a good team here on Etsy, make some friends, and get a circle of shops that provide what YOU need so you can support those who work so hard on being TRULY HANDMADE!!
Keep reporting the shops who do not adhere to the rules.....No one knows if you don't speak up!

[ModernHermine]

I think a lot of things made in the USA are tainted as well. Look peanut butter kills tons of people here and maybe even cantaloupes. I personally prefer to grow my own food and make my own cosmetics cause I am far too paranoid especially to buy out of my local area I even know the cows I get milk from and I like to inspect them thoroughly.

[Former_Member]

This whole thing makes me so mad!
I make jewelry which is an over saturated market here on Etsy already. On top of that I have to compete with resellers? Just not fair. I don't do my own lapidary nor I make my chains, but I am a metalsmith and make basically everything else: I set my own stones, I do my own casting (from a mold I made from a wax I carved), I do my own soldering, forming and finishing.
I understand that a lot of jewelers on Etsy don't do all that, and that's okay and don't think any less of their art. It just happens to be a different style.
I can't remember who said earlier on this thread that putting a ready made pendant on a ready made chain does not make the item handmade... and I agree a 100%. Beading and wire wrapping takes some time and creativity on putting everything together (not as much as metal smithing, but they don't lie about it and their prices reflect that). And yes I have to try to compete with them, but I don't think it is unfair.
I started to sell in Etsy because I believed it to be a marketplace for handmade things (and vintage and supplies too). I really don't appreciate being put in the same bucket as resellers who sells cheaply made (I am talking about resellers claiming to sell handmade, not vintage or supply sellers).

On the whole "different countries" thing. I don't think Sarah Meas meant anything bad by it. I am from Brasil and I know (and it doesn't offend me) that the US and the EU usually (not always) have higher standard for things... It is what it is.

[Former_Member]

Well I'm a little confused here. It's hard to see the squirrel in the wholesale picture. I've tried to look at it very closely and as zoomed as possible. They seem similar but not identical.
The one in the listing appears to be more finely detailed.
Perhaps the seller did buy the squirrel wholesale but it doesn't make it a necklace.

Does every one who sells jewelry make their own beads? Or forge their own metal?
Or what about those who take existing items and alter them, is that classified as cheating? Last month I purchased a journal. Am I to be offended because the seller used an existing book cover and paper they didn't make? Basically everything they used was made by another manufacturer. Yet they pulled all these pieces together to make an absolutely fabulous item.

I would suspect only a very small minority of sellers make everything from scratch. I admire those who truly do make everything from scratch like soap, metal workers, and glass blowers to name a few.

There is a big difference between hand-crafted and hand-made. But that's just my opinion. Take it with a grain of salt.

[Sassydoodlebaby]

HI,

Today i worked on a infant headband, it took me 2 hours to make it, none of the parts are hand made, they were all just sitting in a pile. I cut them, sized them, glued them, sewed them, arranged them, designed the look, so to me this is "handmade" It's handmade senergy!!! The headband ended up having over 15 items to give it the final look, and is being repinned over and over on pinterest. I don't know but to me this is totally handmade. I wouldn't sell a onesie with a pre made bow attached to it and call it hand made though. I think anything that takes time and energy, design and thought to put it together to make it something it wasnt, has got to be called handmade.

[Sassydoodlebaby]

or yes, probably a better term, handcrafted!!!

[ionesAttic]

coming from the viewpoint of a Mostly Vintage seller...our guidelines have been set by our team and by administration.
If a vintage item is altered in any way, other than to restore it to its original state, ie: adding a coat of bright paint to a picture frame or reworking a vintage clothing article it is to be listed Handmade.

Often you might see tags, Handmade followed by Vintage.

[Sbb1]

I have not read all the comments here (still reading), but I agree with many of them. I hand draft my own patterns for my items and the fabrics I use are of high quality. I mention this in my listings. I share pics of my home studio and many shots of my work in progress on my FB page to my small following there. When I began to get more involved with my shop some months ago, I was very surprised to see so many (don't mean to be offensive, please forgive me but..) cheaply made items, worked up quickly and sold dirt cheap to make a quick buck. I see all these things, but i never let it phase me or what I'm doing. I didnt join etsy to make quick cash, sure its nice when you land a sale, but for me it's awesome that that person admired my work enough to buy it whether they have a use for the item or not. I love applying all my mastered sewing and designing techniques to my items, it increases the value and makes them long lasting. I get convos sometimes on here I know are from other sellers, I just answer them politely and keep it moving I have no time for those silly games. If a person understands who they are designing for (target market) and are handcrafting their handmade items, passionate about their work and pricing their precious items professionally and fairly they wouldn't be worried about the next seller's earned provisions. And to think that some of the items on here are not even handmade is horrible. I think etsy is an awesome handmade platform and I believe they are doing all they can to weed out anything that jeopardizes the integrity of what handmade is. I believe it's not an easy job and we all have to do our part to help. Sorry for the book.

[Former_Member]

Oh No! Please dont stop buying things from outside USA, I live in france and most of my sales are to the US. I really, truly, absolutely hand make and hand knit my products, I even have my own sheep so could spin my own wool if you like (lol). I love you American cousins of mine, dont stop visiting my shop or other genuine europeen shops just because a few people spoil it for the rest of us!

[khmetalwork]

@AlfieJayne - if I drank tee, I'd buy that teapot cozy in a second...love the pom pom

[ModernHermine]

Now spinning your own wool and then knitting it is a super kind of hand-made, especially when you know the sheep!!

[Former_Member]

My 13 year old son and I were working on a large log tealight candle holder order for a wedding. He ended somehow getting the drill bit stuck in his leg and ended up in the hospital and he had to get stitches. So, with that said, we are handmade and I can now say we have put our blood, sweat and even a few tears into making things. :)

But, my question is, on some of our glass wedding centerpieces with the fake flowers, I don't make the flowers, I buy them. I also buy the ribbon and the clear rocks. I try to think what would look pretty and arrange them and change them up, but I don't personally make the things that go inside the glass vase. I count that as handmade as I bought each thing and I spent a lot of time trying to make something others would like. Does that count as handmade? It is a shady area for me. I also don't make the floating candles or underwater candles.

But, as to our log items, we pick out the logs, we cut, drill, sand, top coat, everything. :)

I hope my stuff all counts as handmade as we try so hard to make things others will like.

[Pintody]

Ok now that isn't true about the soap. I have a bath and body shop here and I assure you I make all of it. Including my lotions.
I know there are shops on here that buy in balk and sell soap but I am sure it is all safe.
You buy soap from a grocery store and you don't know where that comes from at all. Check out the ingredients