Deactivated listing due to the color Amber

[#1]

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. 

[LunasLuxe]

I has posted about this too. Luckily it was reposted but boooo. 

[LycheeKiss]

I already know this crap over and over and over. Nothing new, and NOTHING real amber. The color is actually named "amber" by American manufactures and companies, they use the name of the color, not the real amber stuff. I already rename everything quickly before I received the message on time. Now today It happened when I relist one of the item. There's no word "amber" in my listings, zero! I think the problem is etsy doing their job to get rid of it by looking at the photos and checking similar with new words. 

I wish all sellers to stop selling baby and all buyers to stop buying child jewelry because one of the buyer asked me to make smaller bracelet and I had to cancelled and refund because Im not responsible for the baby's accident, plus I will never sell baby's size at all so watch out. A buyer never response to my message about the warning. I believe a buyer will feel guilty or will blame my shop.  I knew this way before the amber. Again, jewelry is not good for baby teeth or toys. 

[AndromedaEnterprises]

Some of my listings have been deactivated when I try to edit or renew them and I receive an email saying it is because I am using amber  chips when I don't use any form of amber including the color in the listings.  Every time I try to revise or renew them, I am charged and it is immediately deactivated.  After  a month of this, my listings are only getting reactivated by support but overall issue is not resolved.

[AmberShopByMajor]

Unfair terms for all amber sellers by etsy!

Good afternoon! i am very upset and at the same time disappointed with etsy fair* terms for all amber sellers.
I want to know a reasoned answer why not all sellers have the same rules?
Since March, I have been no longer allowed to sell anything related to amber bestselling items.
Interestingly emphasize that these etsy rules only work for etsy sellers, and nowhere else in the world, on any other sales platform.
I want to know why I can't sell amber beads and amber pendants, amber rings, and other things if other sellers can do it !? Why such dishonesty and discrimination?
All my listings are deactivated by etsy, but at the same time others can sell exactly the same amber items, the same size and the same amber jevelry? Here are screenshots from today etsy seerch results(attached)

*amber pendant* 37,662 listing results,
*amber beads* 44023 listing results
*amber bracelets* 13377 listing results

Lots of these sellers of selling these beads are Your honored star sellers!!
Is it fair?

I opened a store for etsy 6 years ago, now unfortunately I have to close it because etsy no longer allows me to sell bestselling items, although others can do it.
Also 8 of our employees will have to be laid off because the etsy business is over, its really sad...

It is interesting to note that exactly the same products, in exactly the same size and for the same purpose, made from other precious stones are allowed to be sold.
Under fair competition law and international trade rules, it is an etsy unfair restriction of competition.

I have read all this section
(You can read more about this policy here: https://www.etsy.com/legal/prohibited#Q5)

which etsy sends me every time to email but unfortunately there is no mention of all amber bans on all types of amber items.

So, the main question still is why I can't sell amber beads and amber pendants, amber rings, and other things of amber if other sellers can do it !? Why such dishonesty and discrimination?

Aigars M.

Coppy of Your sent info about deactivated items...*

*This is an automated notice from Etsy’s Marketplace Integrity team. Our system has deactivated one or more of your listings as potentially being in violation of our policy prohibiting regulated items.

We are in the process of reviewing your listing(s). In the meantime you can view your deactivated listing(s) here.

Etsy prohibits the sale of highly regulated items, including (but not limited to), necklaces, bracelets, or anklets composed of a string or strand of small amber beads, chips, or nuggets smaller than 1.25 inches.

You can read more about this policy here: https://www.etsy.com/legal/prohibited#Q5

[RusticBucketsSouth]

Would you be prohibited from seller “ambe” and leave off the “r”?   You would still be found in searches!  A weird work around but might work.  Once buyers see your color they know what it is.

[BeachwoodStreet]

I was deactivated for wording in the description " this genuine sea glass bracelets includes blue, green and amber brown color sea glass.

I'm changing it to honey color. It funny, but its not, because those of us who are artists' recognize amber brown as a warm color. I'm changing it to honey brown - which is a strange color to describe the color of a beer bottle. Etsy is understaffed and has no review process in place before they approve a shop. Its makes me crazy. Even the old days of craft fairs, we were juried or selected on our quality of our handmade items.

Etsy is paying because a baby was choked to death on a necklace that was sold and not as pictured. There was fault on the caregivers too. But not allowing the use of the word amber is knee-jerk reaction. And I would like to think that the robot could review the listing prior to charging the shop for the listing.

[AndromedaEnterprises]

Yes I got charged for several attempts to relist some items before realizing that I had used the word amber in the description.  I spaced on the fact I had done so and didn't think that was the problem for weeks of struggling to figure out the problem.  Etsy was nice enough to give me some free listings tho.

I sell small beaded crystals that I add a warning in my listings saying that they are a choking hazard for young children.

This seems much more sensible than banning amber when necklaces of different stones of the same size are also hazards. 

Banning amber is a stupid and unproductive exercise causing unnecessary headaches for many sellers.

[DesignsByRusticChic]

I agree totally! Has happened to me 3 times for using the word amber to describe the color of glass and crystal bead jewelry! Yet, there are thousands upon thousands of listings for Amber Jewelry, Amber Beads, Amber Chip Beads, with no problem. I just don’t understand.

[CrowVanity]

I have had at least two pieces of my jewelry deactivated by Etsy claiming it was a prohibited substance! NONE of my jewelry pieces are genuine AMBER!

Etsy has "amber" listed as a gemstone option.

I use "amber" as a descriptive word for colour!

IE Amber coloured beads

I take great care and time and effort to describe my listings; so it is especially frustrating Etsy is wasting my time by willy nilly deactivating my jewelry listings unfairly!

I would suggest their 'team' take 2 seconds to actually look at the listing photo and/or description rather than arbitrarily deactivating  listings for NO legitimate or fair reason! Amber is a colour!

[AndromedaEnterprises]

Right now the algorithms will deactivate your listing every time you try to revise or renew it.

I was using the description: dark, honey amber and just removed the word amber,

Unfortunately, it took several weeks to figure out I had even used the word, because I usually don't just for descriptions for one shop section listings.

[DesignsByRusticChic]

Back in the day, you could actually talk to a human in the United States via phone if you had any issues. Today, you reach a representative in a foreign country who doesn’t even understand some of these terms. Besides waiting for days for a reply, it is often not even relative to the issue. So frustrating! I miss that Etsy! 

[CrowVanity]

I have had at least two pieces of my jewelry deactivated by Etsy claiming it was a prohibited substance! None of my jewelry pieces are genuine amber!

Etsy has "amber" listed as a gemstone option.

I use "amber" as a descriptive word for colour!

I.E. Amber coloured beads

I take great care and time and effort to describe my listings; so it is especially frustrating Etsy is wasting my time by willy nilly deactivating my jewelry listings unfairly!

I would suggest their 'team' take 2 seconds to actually look at the listing photo and/or description rather than arbitrarily deactivating  listings for NO legitimate or fair reason! Amber is a colour!

[JanetsCrafts]

Three days ago I had a bracelet deactivated because I described the golden brownish beads as amber.  The word was in my description and in my tags.  Etsy says it may take up to 10 business days to review it.  When this problem started a couple months ago, I searched my listings for the word amber and found only one piece, which was a pendant using brown, gold, amber beads.  I corrected it.  Now this other one popped up.  Why didn't it show up before when I was checking?   It deactivated when I was renewing the listing.  They moved it to my inactive file.  It is only one listing, so I'm not freaking out, but I feel badly for the other sellers whose entire shops have been impacted.  Can you still sell  genuine "amber" beads in your jewelry, or is it just certain sizes?  Any bead could be a choking hazard.

[BootifulLabels]

Can you still sell  genuine "amber" beads in your jewelry, or is it just certain sizes? 

The rule is for certain sizes only, but the reality is that the removal is fully automated.  The listing filter bot searches for the word amber and removes everything it finds.  The search occurs as the listing goes live, which means you can expect this to happen each time you create a new listing with any mention of the word amber in it, as well as anytime an existing listing renews.  Probably 90% of the removals will eventually be cleared and reinstated, but if you don't want this to keep happening, removing all mention of amber is the only way to prevent it.

[JanetsCrafts]

So when this bracelet gets cleared and becomes active again, will I be able to edit out the word amber; will the bots deactivate it again, because I messed with it?

[AmazonCrystals]

The minute you edit a live listing with the word amber in it, thet bots immediately deactivates it. However, you can edit the deactivated listing so when they finally get around to checking it, you don't have to do that.

[DesignsByRusticChic]

I had 3 jewelry listings deactivated because I used the words ‘amber topaz ‘ to describe the color of the crystals or beads in my title or in the description. None of them were made with actual amber. I did a search on Etsy with the words ‘amber topaz’, and thousands of listings came up with Amber in the title. Some were actual amber, others were amber glass, Amber topaz, etc. This is really frustrating because nothing that I listed contained Amber Beads. Although, there are many listings with actual amber beads in different sizes, including chips, which apparently are prohibited, so I don’t get it!

I don’t understand this at all. I contacted Etsy and they reinstated both listings, but the one I tried to post yesterday was deactivated yet again. That one was with Amber topaz crystals. Anybody have any suggestions or insight into this issue? 

[BootifulLabels]

@DesignsByRusticChic 

Use another term for the colour, burnt orange, honey, etc.

You cannot avoid listings with the word amber being removed.  The system is automated, it pulls any listings that include the word and refers them to a staffer to double  check and reinstate if the listing is not in breach of policy.  This will happen every time you add a new listing, edit an existing one and republish it with the changes, or when a listing sells and renews, or expires and renews.  If you feel you really need to use the word, you will have to be prepared to experience delays on those listings being available to buyers.  It would be like selling on a fully curated site, where you upload listings and have to wait for them to be checked before going live.

[HandmadeByHaudrum]

I just had this happen to me....a necklace listing with genuine amber cabochon in it. So i cant exactly change the tags....is there any change of getting them to refund the listing fee and how do I go about that?

I know its a small fee but I feel it is deeply wrong for them to charge me for something I am not allowed to sell...

[DestinoJewelry]

Glad to have found this thread. As soon as I listed a necklace containing Baltic amber, it was deactivated as a potentially "hazardous material." Wasn't sure what was flagged because it also contained some other gemstones and I hadn't heard about the amber problem until reading this.

Here's the thing, though - as of 2 minutes ago there are 235,227 active listings for "amber." What the heck???

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