Etsy Holding My $7,000+ for 6 Months – No Resolution from Etsy Support

[madebysandyy]

Hi fellow Etsy sellers,

I’ve been selling on Etsy for about two years without any issues, but for the past 6 months, Etsy has been holding more than $7,000 of my earnings without providing a clear resolution. I’m hoping to share my experience and see if anyone has had similar issues—or found a way to resolve them.

The issue:

• I changed my bank account six months ago to a new bank account I opened up to help manage my small business finances.
• Etsy required me to verify my bank account/s, which I've done successfully (more than 10 times now).
• Each time Etsy attempts to deposit my funds, I receive an email that it failed, and the funds are returned to my Etsy balance.
• My bank has confirmed multiple times that there are no issues on their end, and I've been successfully receiving payments from other selling platforms (like Shopify).
• Etsy support has been completely unhelpful—they keep telling me to wait to see if my funds are deposited (after already months of waiting), re-enter my details, try a different bank account, and repeat the process. They now end chats abruptly and cut me off when I try to contact support and explain my situation.
• They say there's no manager I can speak to, and that the higher team can only be contacted by email, however emails go unanswered and I receive generic responses that I've received multiple times before. Actually, one of the first times I contacted support, they raised the issue to Etsy's Trust and Safety team, and I DID receive an email from them (even though it told me to do the same thing the support agent told me to do - which was try a different bank account). I replied to the email which was never replied to. I emailed them a few more times after that, but never heard back.

This isn’t just a minor delay—I have been waiting half a year to access money that I have earned (don't even mention the cut that Etsy takes from each sale). As a small business owner, this is severely impacting my finances and ability to pay for basic living expenses such as rent and groceries. Etsy’s lack of proper seller support and refusal to resolve this is completely unacceptable.

What I've tried so far:

• Repeatedly verifying my bank details (successful each time - until the most recent time, they have not verified my account and it has been almost a month now).
• Contacting Etsy support dozens of times.
• Asking for a higher-level escalation (denied).
• Confirming with my bank that the issue is not on their end.
• Considering legal action and filing complaints with the ACCC (Australia), the BBB, and the FTC (USA) but I'm not sure how to do this and would definitely prefer not to.

Has anyone else been through this ??

If you’ve been through a similar situation, how did you resolve it? Does anyone have recommendations for getting Etsy to take action?

If Etsy doesn’t resolve this soon, I'll have to further escalate this situation

Thanks for any advice or insights you can share!

[PieceByNumberQuilts]

I’m sorry you’re in this situation, it must be terribly frustrating.

I wonder, however, if at least part of the reason is due to the fact that many (all?) your products are accessories for a specific figurine, for which the trademark belongs to another company.  You used that name in your titles and tags, so it’s possible the company has filed a complaint with Etsy. Sellers of accessories for Barbie or other known dolls have to take great pains NOT to use the trademarked names, and use only generic phrases like “fits 12 inch fashion dolls.”  In other forum posts, sellers who used the trademarked names in titles, tags or descriptions found their listings removed or shops suspended.  So it may be with this particular figurine.  Please know I’m just hypothesizing here.

What I really don’t understand is why Etsy never seems to make clear to sellers WHY their shops and/or money are suspended (at least from what I read here in the forums).  Maybe there are legal reasons, but it is really unfair to the sellers involved to just keep them waiting, waiting, waiting for nothing to happen.

[madebysandyy]

Hi and thank you for your input!! I believe my case is not related to trademarks issues or my products being for a specific figurine. My shop is still active, and my listings have never been flagged or removed.

I'm sure the issue is with Etsy's payment system—my bank account has been successfully manually verified multiple times by Etsy, and they're able to attempt deposits. However, Etsy keeps saying the deposits are unsuccessful for unknown reasons. My bank cannot see any payment attempts and there has been no proof provided on Etsy's side that deposit attempts have been made. Each time this happens, I have to go through the entire verification process again. It’s been super frustrating trying to communicate with Etsy support, and no answers have been provided over the last 6 months

[madebysandyy]

Either way, they can't just take a huge cut of each sale I've made on top of not paying me for the work and effort I've put in, and all the shipping costs I've had to cover out of pocket !!

[PieceByNumberQuilts]

@madebysandyy  Please, I was simply offering one possible facet.  When I looked at your shop, it’s on vacation, but perhaps you did that and not Etsy. Perhaps it came across as accusatory, which was not my intent.

I wish you all the best in getting this resolved with Etsy.  What they’re doing is absolutely not right.

[mommawhazelsquilts]

If I were going to guess, I would say it is the IP.

Does Etsy ever give the REAL reason for what is done?

[madebysandyy]

@ PieceByNumberQuilts

Oh noo, I didn't interpret your comment as accusatory at all, and didn't mean to sound defensive in my reply. 

I actually put my shop in vacation mode myself as I'm starting to lose hope that I'll ever receive my funds

[BlushandRosie]

My money was held for months as well. I had to keep on them in the chat. It took almost two months to get a response from someone that was able to release my funds. Apparently there was just some glitch.

I kept trying to tell people here there was some hold on my money and kept telling me Etsy policy acting like I didnt understand the policy when that was not the case.

[madebysandyy]

That sounds like such a headache!! The past few times I've chatted to Etsy Support they just say something vague like "Ok we will look further into it and contact you back by email. Bye now" ?????? My experience with them has been so ridiculous.

[BlushandRosie]

@madebysandyy  I finally got the email contact almost two months after opening a ticket.

I was about ready to get a lawyer myself...

Im a roll with Etsy but this has soured me. Almost two months for a resolution is ridiculous. All my info was verified, etc too.

[petgirlvintage]

It will cost you money, but I would have an attorney send a letter.  You're talking about $7000 being held for 6 months!  That's simply preposterous!

[cindylouwho2]

@madebysandyy It's cheaper and easier to just open an official dispute under section 11.C: https://www.etsy.com/legal/terms-of-use#arbitrationagreement

Not sure where you are located, but you may also be able to find very cheap or even free legal support for small businesses. Good luck! 

[madebysandyy]

@cindylouwho2 

Thank you for that information! I'm from Australia so I think Section 11 doesn't apply to me.

But I have just sent an email to Etsy related to Platform-to-Business as per Section 12?

I'm not sure if I did it correctly but hopefully they respond unlike previously haha!

[cindylouwho2]

@madebysandyy you are welcome! The section 12 procedure is the same as section 11, if Support has already failed you - which they have.

Please let me know how it works! Feel free to contact me at my website if that works best for you. Good luck!

[hopeandjoystudios]

I'd have switched back to my former bank account if it was still open months ago.

[madebysandyy]

Yeah I've definitely tried that (multiple times as well) but they say deposits are unsuccessful there too which makes zero sense to me

[ChillwolfArt]

@madebysandyy  I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. It just blows my mind when there are financial issues, and there is no HUMAN Phone Support you can speak with.  Any company who deals with your finances should have this, especially since you are providing them with private, sensitive information. 
This may not have anything to do with your problem, but at one time, there were Sellers who came to the Forum, stating their deposits were not making it (bank saying it's not their problem, Etsy saying it isn't theirs either). In these instances, there was a coding error having to do with checking vs. savings. I wonder if this has anything to do with your problem, due to your statement about funds being returned to your Etsy balance.

-Etsy required me to verify my bank account/s, which I've done successfully (more than 10 times now).
-Each time Etsy attempts to deposit my funds, I receive an email that it failed, and the funds are returned to my Etsy balance.

You've verified successfully more than 10 times? Ridiculous.
_________________________

@thatregina  Can you please assist the OP, or direct her to someone who can. Thank You in advance.

[madebysandyy]

Thank you for your support and for bringing up that past issue with checking vs. savings—it's definitely something worth looking into.

It’s so frustrating not having any helpful support from Etsy for something as people's payouts.

[SugarTaffySoap]

@madebysandyy  Hopefully, a forum moderator can help get your post in front of the appropriate team.  This is just terrible to hear about.  I'm sorry you're going through this.  

[madebysandyy]

Yeah I've been so back and forth for the last 6 months thinking it would be resolved quickly since Etsy is such a large and well-known company and I finally decided bring my situation to forums/chats because I really don't know what to do anymore...

Hope this gets the attention of someone from Etsy who'll help

[ThePurplePuppy]

One thing no one has yet mentioned is your CC on file. Has it expired? If so your deposits will bounce back just as yours is doing.

I would check my CC on file and if that is not it I would do as @petgirlvintage  said and consult an attorney. That is simply too much money to just "lose".

[madebysandyy]

Noo all of my information is updated and my cards don't expire for years.

Yeah definitely too much to just let slide

[weekendjewelry1]

One more vote for 'get an attorney pronto'. Somehow I bet Etsy will manage to unlock your funds if an attorney is going to (1) go public and/or (2) sue. It'll cost you but I bet not all that much (???) - be sure to discuss that ahead of telling the attorney to go ahead. But I would definitely hire one. 

Please come back here and keep us posted, if you're willing.  It would be a kindness - we are all vulnerable to this!

[madebysandyy]

I believe getting a lawyer/attorney is the most expensive option out of all the ones I've seen unfortunately but it looks like I'll need to be in contact with one soon.

Hiring an attorney and receiving initial consult can cost thousands of dollars alone.

Yes, I'll definitely stay active on this post until the issue has been resolved.

It's such a shame so many sellers have been through the same issue... Not even sure if all of their cases have been solved either.

[Beadcomber]

@madebysandyy       Does your bank account name match your Etsy banking/financial info name? I had issues when I changed bank accounts and because I used my shortened name before which wasn't an issue, the bank account had my full name and didn't work, it bounced back my funds into the payment account until I changed my name on Etsy to match the bank account.