Deactivated listing due to the color Amber

[ShadowsofLove]

Etsy just deactivated my best selling item because the color of a glass vial was listed as amber in color. It may take 10 days or more to resolve and that takes my top seller off my page. I changed all similar listings from amber to gold. It would be great if just one person looked the item before taking away a week more more of sales. 

[BootifulLabels]

If you have the word Amber in any of your listings, ANYWHERE including tags, titles and descriptions, those listings will be deactivated immediately after listing or renewing.  The bot scans listings as they go live and pulls listings with any words that suggest a violation of listing policy. 

You have two options,

• remove the word and try the listing again, or
• wait for an Etsy staffer to check the listing and reinstate it once they are satisfied it is not true amber. 

The process can take a week or more, and this is likely to happen again EVERY time the listing renews.

[GlassyFields]

@BootifulLabels 

Thanks ... I've been reading the notices about amber and have been a bit worried because I do use it to describe color w/o an issue.

But when I saw that it was when listing or renewing that was a clue I hadn't seen mentioned before. So I just went through my listings and removed the word amber - substituting with 'sienna', 'honey', 'golden', etc. It was a pain but probably less so than trying to get listings reactivated.

And it does bother me because I use glass that is named amber - actually a very common name for the color of glass and in some cases quite informative - e.g. the amber glasses that contain silver tend to be striking glasses. That's how they are described by the manufacturers. So by avoiding the use 'amber' I feel like I'm making my listings less informative. Luckily most of my buyers don't care about the more technical aspects but I do when I try to replicate something. Sigh. I hope I remember that 'honey yellow' is my code for amber when someone wants a set of the 'honey yellow' beads.

[SilverRiverDesignsWA]

I'm selling a pair of glass earrings which indicate amber color in the title.  They have not been deactivated.  What is the problem with selling real amber??

[BootifulLabels]

@SilverRiverDesignsWA 

The problem with Amber stems from a law suit lodged against Etsy by the parents of a small child who choked on a beaded teething necklace sold on the site.

It is a fairly recent change and involves amber beads being added to the prohibited items list.  The related search terms were then added to the listing filter program, which scans new and renewing listings for any mention of terms that suggest a listing violation.  As a result, existing listings will not be affected until they come up for renewal.  The filter scans listings as they go live, so new and renewing listings.  

[CrowVanity]

My experience is Etsy never reviews the deactivated listing.

[ShadowsofLove]

Yep, that's what I figured, but a week or more without sales for this item really hurts my sales. 

[BlueCatStudioShop]

Take NEW PICTURES, then relist the item on a new listing and don't use the word AMBER, use Honey colored, Rootbeer colored, anything but amber colored.

[BlackCatTheory]

Just make a new listing, omit the word amber. Even if etsy approves your listing and allows it again, you will be deactivated AGAIN every time it is relisted (sells) ... at least that is what sellers are reporting.

[CrowVanity]

Etsy threatens to close down your shop if you re-list a deactivated listing.

[AmazonCrystals]

And also if you edit the listing it's immediately deactivated.

[SilverRiverDesignsWA]

Please tell, what is wrong with selling real amber?  

[HollywalkPark]

I am wondering that too.  Is it now forbidden to sell any kind of genuine amber beads or jewelry?

[AndromedaEnterprises]

Etsy's answer to a lawsuit about a child choking on a necklace of small, amber beads.

Really not a useful solution since necklaces of the same size beads but different stones are also a choking hazard.  Also, the algorithm deactivates listings with the color description which is frustrating for a lot of sellers.

In my listings for small beaded crystals wands, I include a warning that they could be a choking hazard for young children.  I doubt anyone wants to be responsible for anything so terrible to happen to a child, so, It is not that hard to include a warning in the listings.

[BlueCatStudioShop]

@SilverRiverDesignsWA 

a baby was given an amber necklace to chew on by his parents, the baby died because it choked to death. Now we are not allowed to sell amber.

[OnePrettyDaisy]

I had one listing that I missed when I took out the color descriptor of "amber" in several of my listings (I don't sell anything with amber gemstone, but many of my glass beads had amber in the color name). On this listing the term was nestled in the middle of my description and I missed taking it out after the warning last month. Well, Etsy bots found it yesterday and deactivated the listing. It has allowed me to edit the listing and take the word out, but it's still deactivated. So I'm waiting on their review . . . And, then, I guess, figure out what to do with it if it doesn't get re-activated. Grrr.

[DesertChains]

@SilverRiverDesignsWA  Etsy was sued because a child was strangled by a necklace that had amber beads and was sold by an Etsy seller. The amber beads didn’t cause the child’s death, but Etsy has decided to ban amber beads under a certain size, 1.25 inch diameter if I remember correctly.

In a rather heavy-handed way, any listing with the word “amber” is being deactivated upon publishing or renewing (right after the seller is charged the listing fee).

[SilverRiverDesignsWA]

Thank  for for your replies.    Whether child choked or was strangled on an Etsy seller's necklace, that is a sad story.  I now vaguely remember it. 

I initially thought it had something to do with putting amber in same category as ivory.

I still have not had my amber colored earrings deactivated and have been trying to sell them for quite a while.

[AndromedaEnterprises]

Banning amber rather than dealing with the real issue: child choking hazards is stupid and unproductive

Adding a warning in the listing for anything  dangerous us the solution 

Necklaces of similar small beads sre still a hazard 

Buyers should be aware and make appropriate listings

[HarrachGlass]

Yes, I just had a large yellow fused glass pendant deactivated because I used the word, amber, in the tags. The pendant necklace definitely doesn't have any small amber beads. The pendant just has sort of an amber color. I deleted that tag so hopefully I will get the listing reactivated soon.

[LysAndRose]

@DesertChains  Oh boy... I heard about that story... However, when you read their policy, there is absolutely no mention of the word "amber" anywhere, so how could someone who wants to open a shop know about this, just by looking at it? We all got the warning, yes, but it was only in an email as established Etsy sellers.

And, if they are so concerned about children safety, why not banning children jewelry altogether then? For there is a very fine line between "amber beads necklace" and "bead necklace", if one wants to push it that way, since in their email they say "including (but not limited to)". Where does this end?

[GraniteMountainGems]

I don't even make children's jewelry, in fact I state that I don't in my Etsy shop. But they are deactivating EVERYTHING amber. I happened to have sold out all my (few) real amber jewelry pieces a while back, I guess I can't list any new ones here. I just had a listing deactivated that I missed the word amber describing the color in the description.

[VintageGiftsEE · Accepted solution]

You can not use word Amber and you can not sell necklace or bracelet made from small Amber beads . Nothing about earrings so I think you can sell them @SilverRiverDesignsWA 

I have one bracelet made from Amber in my shop , it was made from big size beads so I can sell it but I do not know how . I am afraid , if I put Amber in my titles and tags it will be deactivated .

[CartersJewels]

Hello community. I sell vintage jewelry which I know is a saturated market. I've been a seller on Etsy for 6 years and have slowly grown my listings and sales with determination to succeed and all was going well for my shop. However, for nearly 2 months, I've had no sales even though my views and visits have increased. I even checked to see if my shop was accidentally put in vacation mode somehow, which I've never done a vacation setting...it's that bad. Like many vintage jewelry sellers, my shop was given a warning to remove the word "amber" due to Etsy rules regarding teething beads and child health safety issues. I have used the term "amber glass" to refer the color of rhinestones for years and when Etsy sent my shop the amber warning, I corrected all my listings to remove the referenced glass color. My shop has not had a sale since then. I'm totally at a loss as to how to continue selling on Etsy or if my shop is in violation. Any advice from the community?

[CloesCloset]

I had a glass necklace deactivated where I used amber in the description to describe the color... it took about a week, but they did reactivate it once a human looked at it.