Etsy Shop Closed without any given explanation

[CandyCatz]

Hey guys,

I write from a friends account because for some reason Etsy would not allow me to log in to the help center with my current one.

eI run BADINKA, a festival clothing shop on Etsy. Just woke up to find my shop is suspended with no explanation in my inbox. I'm filling out the appeal form but need clarity.

To answer the question about actions taken: I've reviewed Etsy's policies, checked my shop thoroughly, and found no obvious violations.

Can someone from Etsy support please shed some light on this? Has anyone been in such situation?

Thanks,

Chavdar

[CryzalisDesigns]

That is harsh with 45.000+ sales, looking at your listings it looks like several websites including aliexpress have stolen your photo's

So that is most likely the reason behind your shop closure as the bots would see the same images being used elsewhere and assume you are reselling.

Start issuing take downs on these sites and send everything you find, including copies of the takedown reports you have issued and it will not hurt to add a link to a video to show you are making these items.

You can also start reporting these websites who stole your images to google and seeing the amount of business they may have lost you and now your shop, maybe it would be an idea to get the assistance of a lawyer. 

[CryzalisDesigns]

Walmart also has some of your images and have undercut your price by at least 70%

You can issue a takedown with them directly for taking your images

https://www.walmart.com/help/article/claims-of-intellectual-property-infringement/6171b9ac00384f3f92...

[CandyCatz]

Thank you for helping me with the possible reason. We have had similar issues, but Etsy always send an email stating that some of the listings are violating hand made policy and after giving them screenshots and videos showing the design and production process they have returned them back.

This time I have not received any kind of information. Just a permanent suspension without any warning.

Also, I am in a collaborative agency model and we are a few Etsy sellers who use the same Company info, bank details etc. One of the small shops of my colleagues that was selling very different products got shut down a month ago due to IP violations( Superbadclothing) and I was wondering if that could be a possible reason for a shut down of my shop one month after that? What do you think?

Thank you again for helping out.

[audreytherese]

Sharing company/banking/IP address information with other accounts is inherently a bad idea. Yes, your shop could absolutely have been shut down just for being associated with another shop that was shut down. Just like your friend's account you are posting from now may be at risk, if they weren't already. 

[CryzalisDesigns]

If you are using the same name, bank info etc.. you are at risk of having them all closed down.

You need to get ahead of this. Gather as much information as you can and lodge the appeal, it would not harm you having a lawyer on your side because of the size of your company as this must be causing a severe loss and could have a knock on affect if your other shops are still active on Etsy under the same name

[BootifulLabels]

The shop you are writing from appears to be festival/special event costumes. You also mention further down that the closed shop was selling festival garments as well.  This may be a contributing factor as Etsy rules are that you can't sell the same type of items in two different shops.  In addition, in the shop you are writing from the About Me blurb talks about you designing garments but makes no mention of you actually making them, and there is no Production Partner listed, so presuming you used similar wording on the other shop, there could be confusion about whether these are your own work.  Add to that the fact that your designs seem to be all over the internet, I would suggest you take action to have any copycat items removed (especially those who use your exact images) from all those other sites.

[CoquetteBath]

exactly what I noted below! Should have read more before posting.

[OneEyeCatStudio]

"Etsy rules are that you can't sell the same type of items in two different shops."

Actually that is not true.
I have two jewelry shops and have consulted Etsy on this. 

The exact rule is that duplicate shops are not allowed. Selling the same items in more than one Etsy shop is what is not allowed.

"Not create duplicate shops or take any other action (such as manipulating clicks, carts or sales) for the purpose of shilling, manipulating search or circumventing Etsy's policies."

https://www.etsy.com/legal/sellers/

[CraftyCornishMaids]

You can't sell the same type of things in 2 different shops

so if you are a company with a company bank account, you can only sell festival clothing in 1 shop

there have been a few posts bout this recently, with ceeamic sellers

It seems etsy is spreading it's sights, and clamping down on the 1 shop rule
- you can have more than 1 shop, with a company and bank account, but they have to sell different things

[CandyCatz]

Thank you so much for helping out! 

Regarding selling same category products we have done that under the same company name but different shops since 4-5 years now and Etsy has not raised it as an issue. The main reason behind it is that they are separate brands with different designs, different styles, different photography and different design teams. The only similar thing is that they are both clothing.

Our best guess is that the bots that CryzalisDesigns was talking about have found something that is a copycat and exists on Aliexpress or somewhere else and due to the shutting down of the small t-shirt shop I mentioned, we are on a final strike basis with all shops.

We appealed and we will try to get in touch with Etsy support and I will keep you updated. Thank you so much for the support.

[Marmalady]

"we have done that under the same company name but different shops since 4-5 years now and Etsy has not raised it as an issue. "

Just because you have managed to stay under the radar for 5 years or so does not mean that it all is Etsy-legal. 
Etsy bots seem to be catching and closing a lot of shops recently for various different rules.

But if you are using the same overall company name and company bank account for multiple shops, Etsy will see them as connected shops and so if one is closed for rule-breaking all others are likely to be closed also.

You can appeal -- but  if they let you reopen Etsy might insist on you completely separating your shop from the company name / banking etc

[CandyCatz]

I found something. I see on this link that Etsy is kind of encouraging small businesses to open multiple shops when "The strategy you use with your shops should reflect the unique needs of your business. If you want to introduce a new line of products that is very different from your existing brand, a second shop may be useful. "

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017604474-How-to-Open-a-Second-Shop-on-Etsy?segment=selli...

That was just the advice we were following when having multiple ideas. What do you think?

[CraftyCornishMaids]

Etsy......

If you want to introduce a new line of products that is very different from your existing brand

You ....

Regarding selling same category products we have done that

That definitely could cause a problem

[Marmalady]

"A different line of products" usually means a totally different products -- not variations of the same type of product

For example I have multiple shops:
this one for edibles
another for my crafts (crochet, cards and occasionally other different crafts)
another for destash -- various sewing / crafting supplies that I have either inherited or had for many years without using
yet another for vintage china

All widely different types -- whereas your "different shops" all seem to be festival clothing or similar. Etsy might well see them as too similar.

[VINTAGEbytheMAGPIE]

@CandyCatz  What you may have done in the past may not wash now with Etsy.

Yes you can have more than one shop on Etsy but each must sell what Etsy see as different products or in different categories. Based on the info you have supplied here this may be part of the problem.

Sellers here are trying to help by pointing out some of the issues with your current business model. Please bear in mind potentially, there may be more than one reason this could happen and Etsy will never directly explain.

This means it's a process of elimination on your part to find out why. Etsy policy here is to close all  linked shops. So it is in your best interest to clean shop and look to resolve any policy violations with all remaining shops before this happens.

[CoquetteBath]

@CandyCatz 

so I get that you are not posting from your shop due to an issue.

but this shop is also going to get scrutiny now, and given no one is listed as a maker and there is no production partner listed...and the items ARE not something the average person can do at home....

this shop may also be getting some attention. JMO.

[GlassyFields]

A group sharing financial information ... that sounds dicey to me. What prevents the owner of the account from absconding with the funds? What prevents a refund for one shop being taken from the shared funds? How is this reported for tax purposes? The owner of the financial account will get hit with the tax burden from that revenue on their taxes. The other group members won't show income and if it isn't reported and they are caught, it will look like tax evasion.

Maybe your group has this all figured it out, but sounds risky. 

[JDTotesnDolls]

I see a website that says has thousands of designs.  That does not fit the Etsy guidelines.  Designs are to be created and made by the owner or member of the shop and if needed, made by a Pod to help with selling.

If the website belongs to your friend it appears the shop is not trully handmade by Etsy's criteria.  

This is really something that she/he will have to take up with Etsy and prove they are designing the items.

From a cached version I don't see a mention of a POD or help with manufacturing.  With so many items that seems to ouststrip Etsy's guidelines.  

I don't know.  It just seems to me that your friends shop and even your shop don't seem to fit Etsy guidelines but really that is up to Etsy.  

[OneEyeCatStudio]

"That does not fit the Etsy guidelines. Designs are to be created and made by the owner or member of the shop and if needed, made by a Pod to help with selling"

For years now Etsy has allowed a seller to have their original designs manufactured. In a factory. The seller just needs to disclose the manufacturer.

[heavyistheheart]

" It just seems to me that your friends shop and even your shop don't seem to fit Etsy guidelines but really that is up to Etsy.  "

Glad someone said it. I agree

[CandyCatz]

Thank you guys for all the info, we would most certainly consider everything, analyse our accounts in details and see if we can improve anything so that we can be more transparent.

The truth is that we don't have anything to hide. We may have made some mistakes along the growth of our shops and the production team may have expanded a lot, but we still design and produce everything ourselves. We would be glad to welcome some scrutiny if it is done by staff members of Etsy, with whom we can discuss the issues and improve upon them.

We love Etsy, because it has given us a really incredible market and it has been a kickstarter platform for our business and we would love to continue to expand along with it and to follow its rules. All we wish was that there was a bit more of the human interaction. 

We would continue our communication with Etsy and will keep you posted.

Thanks to everyone who tried to help us out!