Another error by ETSY to suspend my account!

[ChenDIYArt]

I have to say, ETSY is really ridiculous!

My ETSY account was wrongly closed a fortnight ago and on the 10th of July ETSY reinstated my account claiming that it was wrongly closed. But today, ETSY closed my account once again with the reason that they may permanently revoke your Etsy account privileges due to buyers opening too many cases in my shop recently.

Obviously ETSY closed my account by mistake, emailed the buyer to open cases, and now says it's because of my shop issues!

I am really angry about this, during the time my account was closed, there were many orders that I had completed delivery on, but was still refunded by the buyer opening a case, ETSY did not compensate me for this, and now they have closed my account once again!

I have to be disappointed with ETSY, that's probably why ETSY lost a lot of buyers, they closed a lot of ETSY shops in large numbers for the so called security of the market! Most of the buyers choose ETSY because they want to send a gift to someone within a specified period of time, and ETSY arbitrarily closes the seller's account resulting in the buyer not being able to receive the gift in time, very disappointed with ETSY!

I am requesting someone to help me? I'm really desperate, I've spent a lot of time and effort on ETSY and now it's inexplicably closing my account!

[ChenDIYArt]

I really need help, I've tried contacting ETSY and they haven't offered me any help other than sending me a template for closing my account!

[nineteen27]

why did etsy close your shop.

the first time.

there really is nothing we can do.

to help you here.

it is between you and etsy.

we can guess if you want.

were you using your own photos?

were they the manufacturers photos?

and then you just added words to them?

[ChenDIYArt]

I don't know, I haven't violated any ETSY policies!

[nineteen27]

you definitely did something.

that etsy or the bots did not like.

you have to find out what it was.

[ChenDIYArt]

Hello There,
 
We appreciate you taking the time to submit an appeal.
 
After a thorough review of your account and the information you provided, we have determined your account was suspended in error. We’ve gone ahead and reinstated your account.
 
In order to protect Etsy and our members, we have systems designed to detect any accounts that may be in violation of our Terms of Use. Occasionally our systems get it wrong, and we continue to monitor our systems to prevent such errors from happening in the future.
 
Your shop and listings will be visible in search within the next 20 minutes. We know this is a frustrating experience, and we apologize for the inconvenience.
 
Please let us know if you have any questions, we’re here to help!

This is the response I got from ETSY after my account was closed the first time!

[nineteen27]

but.

if you had no idea what you did wrong.

how could you file an appeal about it.

and yes i have seen those emails before about closing shops in error.

and then closing them again.

but my question is still my question.

why did etsy close your shop the first time and how did you appeal not knowing why it was closed?

[nineteen27]

plus.

i will ask these again.

were you using your own photos?

were they the manufacturers photos?

and then you just added words to them?

[ChenDIYArt]

That's what's so ridiculous, I told ETSY when I filed my complaint that I could provide whatever proof ETSY needed me to provide that my account was in full compliance with ETSY policy. Then they reinstated my account, that's what confuses me!

[ChenDIYArt]

All pictures were taken by myself!

[3LittlePixiesShoppe]

You know he could not have "definitely done something." It's so unhelpful for people to give blanket statements that aren't factually accurate. Our shop was closed in error at Christmas due to the use of auto responder. A bot had picked up the auto responder as spamming twice throughout the year and turned off messaging capabilities. Etsy reinstated each time with an apology for the overzealous bot. The third time it happened was during the busy holiday season. This fell under Etsy's three strike rule and they erroneously suspended our shop for a few days until I could get an actual human being to take a look at things and get them straightened out. Once again we received an apology, as well as reimbursement for refunded sales due to their mistaken closure. So before you start in on you HAD to do something know that it does happen. 

[ChenDIYArt]

I just can't find anyone who can really help me right now to help me, I've tried to keep contacting ETSY but no one has replied to me so far!

[nineteen27]

@3LittlePixiesShoppe 

 i said he did something etsy did not like.

it could have been a word that etsy does not like.

i have had items removed from search because etsy has shadow-banned certain words.

and they never told us about them.

it could have been a trade-marked name not knowing it was trade-marked.

it could have been the same photos that etsy found...

even though those photos belonged to the seller but they were selling somewhere else too.

there are a bazillion things it could have been.

but filing an appeal without knowing the reason why the sellers are closed down.

may get an apology and a re-instatement.

but the seller still has NO idea what the reason was...

so they could not change anything in their shop.

and they get closed again.

ps.

i removed the $9.  : )

[3LittlePixiesShoppe]

@nineteen27 

and to further clarify I received no communication or email from etsy regarding any of this, including the closure. 

Your response came off extremely sarcastic and non-helpful with the "If I had $9..."  remark.  And you followed that up with "You definitely did something." 

I'm here to say there is a possibility he did NOTHING so get off the Etsy bandwagon. They make mistakes too.

@ChenDIYArt contact the BBB. I submitted a complaint to them which received immediate attention and it was how I finally go in touch with a human.

[nineteen27]

@3LittlePixiesShoppe 

but somehow at some time.

you found out the reason why.

and were able to get etsy to fix their error.

but this seller has no idea.

and appealed before knowing why.

there is a difference.

[ChenDIYArt]

@3LittlePixiesShoppe   BBB? Thank you for your help. Can you be more specific?

[3LittlePixiesShoppe]

@nineteen27 

It's going to take getting a person on the phone which not every seller is able to do. 

90% of tickets get answered with a boiler-plate response and aren't actually looked into. 

This is an etsy issue. Every single person that sells here should have access to live support and when shops are suspended they should be forced to communicate which is not the case. We had zero communication from anyone on the initial suspension and no clarification until I got a human on the phone. That's an etsy issue not a seller issue. You can't give someone half the tools they need and then tell them to build a house. 

[3LittlePixiesShoppe]

@ChenDIYArt 

I'm guessing you're from overseas. BBB is the Better Business Bureau. Do a google search on filing a complaint with them and it will outline the steps. 

At the end of the day it's Etsy's playground and they can do whatever they want. As a seller with over 100K sales it taught me not to put all my eggs in one basket because Etsy doesn't give a flying fig about any of us. Even those of use that pay them tens of thousands of dollars a year in fees. 

[ChenDIYArt]

@3LittlePixiesShoppe  You're absolutely right, I'm not a seller from the US, so I'm feeling desperate!

[NanaLetha]

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/6298920789271-How-to-File-an-Appeal-for-a-Permanently-Suspen...

[ChenDIYArt]

It didn't work, ETSY reinstated my account and closed it again!

[ChantillyAvenue]

@ChenDIYArt 

I hate to say it, but you're going to have to appeal again.  You're not the first person who's had their shop suspended & reinstated, only to have it suspended again.  There has to be something triggering their bots.  I would be trying to figure out what that could be while I waited for a response.

[CoquetteBath]

BBB is the Better Business Bureau.

which is not a government agency. And it has no teeth.

so why folks say 'contact the BBB' as if it does & can....is a misconception. It is a trade group. They charge folks for membership. I bought into that when my retail store was new, thinking that it was a badge of honor. Then I dealt with a few local business, that had that BBB plaque, and they were anything BUT exemplary. So I did a bit of research.

Now this is also 15+ years ago, but they still aren't a government group.

Also the OP is in Hong Kong. Not sure even the BBB can advise someone who is not a US citizen.

Just for another perspective.

I'll sit on the bench with @nineteen27 . While there ARE situations where someone's shop is wrongly closed...now we have 2x and the OP doesn't know 'why'. Etsy will generally not tell you why. They leave it up to the seller to know the laws/intellectual property/what is handmade/etc...

not helpful, agreed. But, they open themselves up to major legal risk by doing anything more than that.

OP, I would suggest that you ask someone you know, that you can show the photos, etc. And then do a sleuth via reverse search and see if you can find anyone using the same photos, etc.

that's been a cause before. Sometimes people use stock images because their item will look 'like' that item and they don't see the concern. This pro images are nice. And I get it. My photography is generally less than stellar, but I do keep trying. But if that's what happen (and not saying it is, just proving a scenario I've seen happen before)...then Etsy will close the shop down thinking it is a reseller.

and unfortunately, no one here can help you with this. Follow the steps & good luck.

[ChenDIYArt]

I appreciate your reply, wouldn't have come here for help if I wasn't so desperate!

[ChenDIYArt]

Even if my issue isn't resolved, I like to be able to bring it to ETSY's attention so that more sellers can be dealt with fairly!