DOES SUPPORT EVEN EXIST ANYMORE? Prohibited items still live and selling two weeks after reporting??

[#1]

Hello. Based on what I sell, I get recommendations for products, as I am sure everyone does. Here lately, I have seen many sellers (some new but many that have had multiple sales) selling prohibited items (live animals), and even though I have reported both the listings and the shops, they are all still up two weeks later?? What is the point of reporting if they do nothing? It is really irritating for those of us who follow the guidelines to get our shops overlooked in favor of someone selling items they know they shouldn't...I tried to reach out to a few sellers to let them know in case they were not aware and, of course, was accosted and called names...so at this point, all I can do is keep reporting. How long do they take to take action??

[BlueAgateFarms]

In defense of fertilized eggs, if they are chicken….kinda agnostic about that.  You can order fertilized eggs from a hatchery to incubate.  Still Likely not Etsy compliant,  Puppies, kittens, reptiles are a hard no.  

[MisfitFarmsMerch]

In my case it's isopods, snails, worms, spiders etc.

[ColorfulCastAndCrew]

@MisfitFarmsMerch - What live animals are you seeing listings for?

[MisfitFarmsMerch]

Isopods, worms, snails, spiders, and occasionally weird stuff like turtle shells

[ColorfulCastAndCrew]

Thanks for the information. Unfortunately Etsy doesn't police the site in any sort of logical manner, they seem to police it based on bad press and/or lawsuits. Items that could cause litigation, such as the amber beaded teething necklace situation, seem to get addressed but then in typical Etsy fashion they go overboard  and legit listings get caught up in the mix.

Unfortunately there are thousands of items sold here every day that aren't allowed, it appears to be the new norm now. I don't envision that ending anytime soon, in fact, I envision these "not allowed" items will eventually be dropped from the list and Etsy will basically become similar to Amazon, it's already well on its way.

[VintageRescueSquad]

Expecting etsy to take action within 2 weeks isn't feasible.

[StainedGlassYourWay]

Stop wasting your time trying to police Etsy, as Etsy rarely takes action unless an expose news story comes out, and then they take action for about a week...It's not our job to ensure Etsy's rules are followed.  It is Etsy's job, and they turn a blind eye if they make money off of the offenders.

[JDTotesnDolls]

I disagree with your thoughts on this.  Etsy does take action and it does not have to be because of an article.  I know because I tracked a few things out of curiosity.  Etsy did take them down.

And quit with the money idea.  Etsy has ousted many sellers who created a great deal of money for them because they broke the rules.  A few big shops come to mind.   

Try looking at the size of the site and think of what it takes.  Even Amazon and Ebay have these kinds of issues and they have more money than ....

Okay that's my rant.

[StainedGlassYourWay]

@JDTotesnDolls well I'm glad that you have been successful in getting some violators removed. However many other Etsy sellers have not had the same experience when they report shops or items. And if Etsy was that concerned about it they would hire enough staff to keep things in check much more than they are now. They could also easily stop some of the offending shops from even being opened with a tighter process on the front end when opening a new shop.

[OneEyeCatStudio]

"Try looking at the size of the site and think of what it takes."

If the size of the site is a problem for Etsy, there is no one but Etsy to blame.

Does Etsy show patience with sellers when they are overwhelmed by sales and cannot keep up?
No they don't.

But  @JDTotesnDolls  you are saying that we should accept that as an excuse from Etsy?

Come on.

[dayspringcollectible]

I have reported the same shops with items clearly not allowed, multiple times and still here after two years or longer.

[MisfitFarmsMerch]

What I don't understand is why these people don't just sell on eBay?

[dayspringcollectible]

That's an easy answer...because each site has its own customer base with many customers not on the other site.  If you want to maximize sales and exposure, you sell on EVERY site you can.  And if the rules state you can't, you try anyway until you get kicked off.  Even then, many will just create a new store and keep right at it.

[SugarTaffySoap]

@MisfitFarmsMerch  You did your part. It's up to etsy to do their part.

[Leyssales]

It is awful! Support must inactivate such listings!

[Jewels2at]

Looked up live animals...why would anyone want scorpions?  I could not find any info on Google as to what someone would do with live scorpions.

[EnergyPeace]

No point in reporting. Etsy won't do anything. 

[hopeandjoystudios]

I have heard sellers complaining here about their worms and fertilized eggs getting removed so it does happen. Etsy's response does depend on the channel used and whether or not they consider it a serious problem. They are not great at removing reported listings. I emailed them about my email being no longer active or accessible and got no reply for 6 weeks. I contacted chat and they passed me on and it was taken care of in a few hours. Just depends. If you are contacting complaining about "why do I not have sales" or some other trivial to them matter, you are going to get referred to the forums if they answer at all. That is their way of saying "read about it" in the handbook. I think I have had to contact them twice since 2007. I have seen people here talk of to me an astounding number of times they have contacted Etsy. I think they expect us to sort most things out ourselves if it is not a financial matter or something we can't deal with. Reporting is pointless unless it is something truly dangerous and may end up with them in a lawsuit.

[sweetserendipityvint]

good question - I have reported a shop that is basically selling the grocery store snack aisle - they list them as handmade - obviously they didn't make that 12 pack of Pepsi or bag of Dot's Pretzels.  I gave up but its annoying when you hear people say Etsy isn't what is used to be - that's because they are allowing items that go against their own policies and I know they can't check everything but when an item is repeatedly reported one would think they would check then.