70 emails and 3 months later STILL NO PAY!!!!!!!!!!

[SadisticPractitioner]

My original shop was set to Phillipeans by mistake. Turns out once the banking region is selected it can't be changed, therefore the bank was never verified bc obviously the banking was wrong and the shop needed to close as per Etsy requirement.. Now fast forward THREE months later and I still have no funds. Etsy is saying June sale was sent to the bank (the bank couldn't be verified!!!) Second sale they said I had to close the shop and open another shop so the funds could be forwarded there and every single time I inquire I get copy and pasted answers. I am literally having a nervous breakdown Etsy has already made over $1000 off me and I still have yet to get any help. Further, now they have stopped responding all together. CAN ANYONE HELP ME PLEASE??? Is there a number for Etsy? Is there an actual human I can communicate with instead of these bot type emails where they never actually look into anything and just copy and paste.. What is my recourse? Is there legal action?? What do I do??

[BagmakerSupply]

@SadisticPractitioner  :  Every eMail from Etsy support will have a link something like "I Still Need Help". Click on that link in each reply from Etsy (or actually reply stating that you still need help) to keep the report alive. You may have to do this innumerable times, before anything is done but do not give up. DO NOT open a new issue or contact Etsy multiple times about the same issue (doing so closes the one you already opened and puts the new one on the bottom of the pile).

Also, this is a seller peer to peer forum, not a way to contact Etsy, if that is your hope (although Etsy does sometimes post here).

[CryzalisDesigns]

How could you mix up Philippines with Canada? 

Either way, if you have sent 70 emails over 3 months without getting a real person or even a chance of receiving your money, that is at least 65 emails too many before contacting a solicitor 

[SadisticPractitioner]

Well I am human and make mistakes. Just loving all the salty responses lol. Thanks!

[SarahsSalvageShop]

I guess I am a bit confused? Why is your verification failing? This should be part of your set up. Maybe you should have not started selling before your bank situation was verified and set up properly? That said its too late now. Etsy does not get back to you faster if you send more messages. These verifications are set in place because some international sellers in certain counties like to drop ship/fake sell from another country but pretend to be from the United States or Canada. Maybe they think this in your case. You have no legal action. Etsy isn't obligated to send you funds if they cannot verify that you are who you say you are and they can't verify the bank is the correct bank account and not identify theft or any other various illegal practice. 

Have you attempted to re verify the bank account with the correct information? Have you received a test deposit. More information is needed before other etsy sellers can help you. 

[AmoreTreasure]

"This should be part of your set up."  Agreed and ETSY should require it.  As a former software developer, I gotta say that it's not rocket science for someone to program in a cross check that you can't list anything unless your bank is verified.  This is on ETSY and their poor design and development skills.  And not being able to modify the country when it was entered in error? Yet another example of a poorly designed system.

[NoFrogsAllowed]

Did you get a canned response to any of your attempts at contacting Etsy?  If so, respond to it with I still need help and then stick to that same message with that same response until you get somewhere.  Every time you send a NEW message you get shuffled to the back of the line.

[JDTotesnDolls]

This.

@SadisticPractitioner  Take one email and reply to that one.  State the issue clearly and conscisely.  Then use that email to reply again if problem is not fixed.

Also depending on the items sold considering the name of your shop, you may want to make sure they can legally be sold on Etsy. 

[Adorabilities]

It seems like opening a new shop might be a good idea -- at least you could make some orders and actually get paid while waiting for this to be sorted out. 

[DreamGreatDreams]

im so sorry you’re dealing with this, how frustrating!  so yeah, the “70 emails…” thing could  be what has slowed down the  help process. if they’ve stopped responding i would reply to one you’ve already received.

since it became difficult to find the links for support, i’ve collected them when sellers mentioned where they found help.  i hope one of these will work for you:

here is the link to the “how to contact support” from the seller’s handbook.

here is a link to initiate chat or email.

here is the link to request a callback.

or try this link or this link to email them.

if you do email them you *should* get an automated reply and once you do, you must reply to that email above the line of asterisks that their automated best guess solutions did not work. all you have to say is something like “i still need help” send the reply, and it should stay active.  it’s critical that you reply to the automated response you receive and don’t send additional emails thinking it will speed things up (this actually slows things down.)

keep in mind these may or may not work outside the usa during standard business hours (m-f & 8-5).

[AAANativeArts]

"...70 emails!" That is your problem. When you email Etsy with a problem, they routinely start with a cut and paste form letter with a I Still Need Help link near the bottom of that email. If you then send them another email, they see you did not use the I Still Need Help link in your first reply so they assume that solved that problem and close it. Then when you send a new email it is treated as a new problem, so you are moved to the back of the waiting queue, and the process starts again.

You have to reply from the I Still Need Help link in the first email until you get a satisfactory response. They may send you 2 or 3 canned answers before a real human actually addresses your specific question. They may take up to 10 days to initially answer your inquiry, depending on how many people are waiting for help at any given time.

If you get a Chat box (it's not always available) those are answered by workers in a 3rd world country reading from a script, so they can't help you with financial problems. They will just say they will forward it to a supervisor who can answer your questions, which they may or may not do.

The best thing to do is open one email inquiry, and respond only from the I Still Need Help link in that email.

If they actually closed  your account for some non-compliance issue, they can keep your funds for up to six months.