Desperate Request for Help – My Shop SHMILYGiftsGoods Was Wrongfully Suspended

[Lulaworkshop]

Dear Etsy Support Team, I’m writing this email with a very heavy heart.

My account, SHMILYGiftsGoods, has been permanently suspended, and despite all my efforts to appeal, including several heartfelt emails to the Trust & Safety team, I have received no response. I fully respect Etsy's mission to maintain a safe and fair marketplace. But I believe a grave misunderstanding has occurred, and I’m pleading for a chance to be heard.

My husband and I are handmade creators based in Vietnam. We built our small shop with care and honesty, pouring our hearts into every piece we make. SHMILYGiftsGoods is more than a business. It has been the lifeline of our family. It allowed us to provide for our little girl, pay our bills, and live with pride through our own creations. Losing it has meant more than losing income. It has meant losing hope.

Last month, my account was suspended once due to what I believe was a system error. That suspension caused some confusion and delayed updates, but I fulfilled every order during that time. Even while locked out, I continued shipping products on time and communicating with customers. I did not receive a single case. To this day, my shop holds nearly 50 five-star reviews, proof of the satisfaction and trust I’ve built with my customers.

I have never violated Etsy’s handmade policy. All of our designs are original and made entirely by me and my husband in our small workshop. They are unique, thoughtful, and created with love, the kind of work that reflects the very spirit of Etsy.

You can see a collection of our product designs and behind-the-scenes process here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xXsz0euoiKeDXcnfd3Rl4CuCLhnNEnbM?usp=sharing I’m not asking for special treatment. I’m asking for fairness, for Etsy to take one more look and consider whether a mistake has been made.

I am ready to comply with any guidance and prove that my shop belongs here. I’ve given Etsy my best, and I believe SHMILYGiftsGoods has brought genuine value to the marketplace.

Please, I sincerely ask that you help me forward this case to the appropriate team or let me know what I can do. This is not just a job to me. It is the only hope my family has. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your time and understanding.

With deepest sincerity,

Lan Anh Bui

Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SHMILYGiftsGoods

[ThePurplePuppy]

You are not talking to Etsy support here--we are just other sellers just like you --therefore all we could do is guess what the problem might be. To contact Etsy you need to go through your dashboard and request help by opening a ticket.

The shop you are posting from is open and operating. I will not click on links --never--not even here in the forum so I need to ask if this is a different shop? IF so that may be the problem as you need to disclose all shops in each shop and I do not see another shop disclosed in this one.  I do not know how strict etsy is in enforcing this.

Also--were you perhaps selling items with a trademarked theme such as Disney, etc?  To do that you need licensing.  Did Etsy send you an email saying the reason you were shut down--sometimes they do and sometimes not.  Hoping you can get this sorted.

[GlassyFields]

Also check to see if your images are being sold on other sites. If that is the case, Etsy may believe that you are reselling. Issue take-down notices if your images that are yours have been stolen and used elsewhere.

[LynnsLittleShop]

@ModKenneth, This is the second shop based in Viet Nam, that Etsy has closed abruptly, that we have sellars posting today. Since Etsy is separating itself from Paypal, do you think since these two shops had paypal, could they have been mistakenly closed? The other shop is  JangHandicrafts .

[PrimFun]

@LynnsLittleShop   They don't have PayPal. Vietnam has Etsy payments

[TBQSC]

Has nothing to do with PP, but everything to do with shops reselling items they did not design or hand make themselves!

[PrimFun]

Your link does not work. 

Your current shop you are posting from?  The other shop is not listed in the public profile as is required.  Your about page should list all who work in your shop.  The shop lacks policies for selling to the EU/UK.  Toy items have to pass UK/EU/US guidelines for toys.  Wooden items are hard to sell internationally unless you have certificates for exporting/importing.

These things may have been a concern to Etsy especially if the photos of items from the other shop have been found outside of Etsy on other sites.  If they have been found on other sites then you need to issue a takedown notice and let Etsy know.

How to File an Appeal for a Permanently Suspended Account – Etsy Help

Take time to consider what Etsy might be looking at.  Photos?  Then file the appeal.  Hopefully you will get someone who will take the time to understand.  It is also possible this is a mistake.  That does happen but not often. 

[LynnsLittleShop]

I just googled a shop in Vietnam and she has Paypal enabled, doesn't Etsy payments include Paypal?

her shop name is Lotusvietnam

[CoquetteBath]

As mentioned, you aren't speaking with Etsy admins or others, just fellow sellers.

but...not sure why the other shop was closed, but this one, that you are writing from, is clearly missing a lot of information that is required.

for example: you are listed as an owner. Do you  make everything yourself? Or do others help? ANYONE who helps with the making of any product is required to be listed in the shop, along with what they do.

your mention your family business (another reason I believe more than 1 person...) is into leather work. I see none of that in the shop. You do mention wood items, but those photos look pretty professional! If you took them, kudos, but...they seem a bit odd with the provenance of a little business outside of Hanoi.

Just my thoughts.

[LastCentury]

your link does not work for me but...

Are these your shop items on Pinterest?
https://ca.pinterest.com/SHMILYGiftsGoods/gift-for-kids/
https://ca.pinterest.com/SHMILYGiftsGoods/mothers-day-gift-idea/
https://ca.pinterest.com/SHMILYGiftsGoods/fathers-day/

these pins all link back to your closed shop. 

since we can't see your etsy shop, we can only guess.

Have you appealed the closure?
Have you been responding to their emails?

[Lulaworkshop]

Hello, I am very grateful that this topic has received so much attention and encouragement. Let me explain a few things, about 2 years ago when I started a shop associated with this account on Etsy, my products were not selling and I forgot about it, recently when I wanted to sell again on Etsy I had difficulties and could not update the payment method to pay the due fees. So I opened a new shop (SHMILYGiftsGoods) I sell items that are designed by myself with good quality (through customer reviews) and self-taken photos, not taken from anywhere. After the SHMILYGiftsGoods shop was locked, I tried to log in to this old account and luckily I was able to add a payment method and pay the due fees. Currently I have this shop running but I want to restore the SHMILYGiftsGoods shop which has a good history of sales and customer care. I have sent so many emails that it could be considered spam but no one has responded so I hope this topic can reach Etsy support.
I know that many Vietnamese sellers have done bad things, but that doesn't mean all sellers are like that. Give honest sellers like us a chance to prove it!

[BagmakerSupply]

@Lulaworkshop: "I have sent so many emails ..." DO NOT open a new issue or contact Etsy multiple times about the same issue (doing so appears to close the one you already opened and puts the new one on the bottom of the pile). Every eMail from Etsy support should 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 otherwise Etsy will assume that it is resolved. You may have to do this innumerable times, before anything is done but do not give up.