Has Etsy abandoned Pattern?

[ShadowGalleryShop]

It seems that Etsy has abandoned Pattern. When you click on "Pattern Help" in the Pattern Dashboard, it takes you to a page that says "uh oh" this page doesn't exist. When I ask Etsy Support for help, they say to contact Pattern Support....but there is NO Pattern Support that I can find.

Also, little things, like the Linking product photos to variants doesn't have any effect on Pattern, but it does on Etsy.

The custom email address doesn't save, and nobody can help me since there's no support.

The images in the search results are a little blurry on Pattern, but are crystal clear on Etsy search results.

And now, Etsy has Hover, so you can create a custom domain that forwards directly to your Etsy shop. Scary, since the idea of Pattern was to create a custom domain to create a shop powered by Etsy.

It just seems like Etsy has stopped trying to improve Pattern or even help its current users, and is just keeping it around so they can cash in on the monthly subscriptions Pattern users are paying.

If Etsy is abandoning Pattern, or worse, shutting it down, I would like to know because I'm currently paying for all my advertising to send people to my Pattern site, not my Etsy shop. And I will lose those followers/name recognition if Pattern falls by the waist-side. Not to mention it would be a complete waste of money trying to build up my brand/customer base for that website.

[AtMemoryLane]

You seem to be frustrated.  I am going to make a suggestion...

Try to use the chat if you have it available.  Be sure to start your conversation with "Please put someone on that is knowledgeable with Pattern."  or something to that effect.

If you do not have chat available, then try to use ANY way you can get into etsy help...if the pattern slot is acting stupid then go to ANY other avenue at all and start the conversation in the same manner.  Do not allow etsy to not honor your requests for help.  Be adamant, but polite.  If one avenue does not work, then try another.  You pay for this pattern site, so do not let them rob you of your ability to use the site...because that would be fraud.

[stufforama]

Pattern is very frustrating, it has not been upgraded since launch. The majority of the features available on Etsy do not transfer over to Pattern, unfortunately. Etsy's support in general is non-existent unless you happen to be online during their operating hours and are able to access the chat. If you can get into the chat, ask for someone in the Pattern Department. You might look into other website providers such as Shopify or squarespace, you should be able to transfer your domain from Etsy to whatever provider you decide to go with that might be better suited for you and your needs. 

[ShadowGalleryShop]

I actually had a Shopify site a few years back, but I switched to Pattern because I hated having to pay PayPal to manage checkouts/process payments, and then the WORST part that drove me away was that I had to calculate, collect, and remit sales tax for each sale myself. Maybe there's an App now with Shopify that handles Sales Tax...if they had that I would switch from Pattern in a second. The main reason I am still sticking with Pattern is that Etsy handles the Sales Tax stuff so I don't have to worry about it. If Etsy keeps ignoring their Pattern users and failing to make upgrades, it might be worth switching back to Shopify....I HATE that Sales Tax stuff though.

Would be cool to have a Shopify store to connect to Facebook Marketplace and Instagram Shopping, but this year Facebook made it a requirement to have your checkout through Facebook/Instagram...so I don't know if I would be able to offer POD products from Printful like I do now. I guess I have lots of research to do... 😕

I agrre...It seems like Etsy setup Pattern years ago and just left it alone after that...they choose not to help the users or maintain it, but still enjoy collecting the subscription fees. I think it's almost criminal. What's even sadder is nobody at Etsy can help...they say to contact Pattern Support, but that means they don't even realize there is NO Patter Support...maybe it existed before but it doesn't anymore. So I don't know how Pattern even still exists if there's nobody who knows how to help or maintain it. I guess it's just on "autopilot" and the autopilot is outdated.

[ShadowGalleryShop]

PS. When I got on a chat, I DID ask for Pattern Support, and they said they'll transfer me to an agent who can help, and just to wait a few moments. I sat in front of the screen for an hour and nobody joined the chat...I kept asking if anyone was there, but I got no response. I just gave up and started trying to find answers here, where people actually try to help each other. BTW, I also emailed support asking how to contact Pattern Support...that was a few weeks ago and I haven't gotten a response so I'm just assuming Pattern Support doesn't exist anymore but nobody at Etsy wants to admit it because that would be a bad thing for customers.

[stufforama]

I think it's time to write a letter and cc it to the Board of Directors. I'm working on a draft right now.

[ShadowGalleryShop]

I'll do that too. What email address are you sending it to, and how do you cc it to the Board of Directors?

[stufforama]

I'm mailing it to Etsy Corporate Offices:

55 Washington Street, Suite 512, Brooklyn, New York 11201

[ShadowGalleryShop]

Thanks for the address! 🙂 I hope they take it seriously when they get feedback at this address, because Esty chat support and email support doesn't seem to care ever...they just say they'll look into it and you never hear back from them.

Are you hand writing your letter or typing it? Also, maybe there's a way to start a petition on here in the forum or through an email chain...and then copy and paste that into the letter we send to the corporate offices. I'm sure we wouldn't have any problem getting most, if not ALL, Pattern users to electronically sign a petition for improvements to Pattern. What do you think?

[AbstractIsArt]

Hello, I'm curious about how this ended up getting resolved. I'm having the same issues. Unable to reach Pattern support, and been paying fees for a service that is not functional to my business

[ShadowGalleryShop]

I think that would probably carry more weight than just you and me sending 2 letters.

[AtMemoryLane]

I think that is a great suggestion, @ShadowGalleryShop....the more the merriier.  And you are right, it most definitely would carry more weight if  there was a group of us, rather than just one or two.

[stufforama]

I'm typing my letter. I don't think Etsy support has been trained to deal with any questions about Pattern. I also noticed they removed the "Channels" section on the new listing form, which means I can't list any "Pattern Only" items anymore. I sell new items that are not made by me  (Corporate made items) so they don't qualify for Etsy listings, which is why I signed up in the first place. 

I think Etsy is probably doing away with Pattern as it is not as profitable for them. If someone checks out as a guest they only charge you the listing fees and the processing fees. Only if they are signed into Etsy or use their Etsy profile, are you charged the same Etsy fees: listing fees, the processing fees, the offsite ad fees, and the transaction fees. I think they figured out a long time ago it wasn't worth their efforts and are just taking the Subscription but not improving or putting any more money towards it.

[funkydreamsmosaics]

Considering I started this group because Etsy didn't have good Help back at the beginning of Pattern, I think Etsy stopped putting effort into Pattern shortly after its release.  

Over the years, sometimes you could get good help from them, often not.  So this group was born.  

I feel like it must be at least somewhat profitable, or they would have closed it by now (a la Etsy Studio) but they have clearly decided not to do anything else with it.  I think they are just letting it wither away.

[AristocratAttire]

Same issue, can't create the email...wheels just spin and nothing happens.

[ShadowGalleryShop]

Product videos don't show up on my Pattern site. Anyone know a solution to this? Please don't recommend contacting support, because Pattern support is non-existent.

[printJAMaustralia]

Any update with Pattern?

I attempted to launch a site tied to my Etsy store - seems like any settings or changes to the Pattern theme doesn't update, so i didn't end up going live as a result.

Really want Pattern to work as I don't want to have to build another shop on a another platform like Shopify. I would use this service if it was supported...

[funkydreamsmosaics]

When was the last time you tried?  They seem to have finally fixed the update issue.