Etsy removed a 3-year old listing, thumnails not working, support not responding

[Danellys]

Hello fellow Etsy shop owners,

Is it only me or Etsy is having troubles recently? I am an Etsy seller for 9 years now and was riding the wave with Etsy all along while they were expanding. We had a lot of difficulties, but managed to deal with it all in the smoothest possible way, without harming our clients. BUT now it is pilling up and I am starting to get really really worried for the first time!

Firstly, I am having issues with the thumbnails which do not get saved since mid-January. I belive hey are implementing new features and this one is heavily affected. In my business, as well as many others I beleive, it is essential to showcase the exact details n the first picture. It used to work perfectly, now it doesn't at all. I read a lot of threads in the forums, other people are having trouble as well, but this doesn't get resolved for  2+ months now.

Secondly, they removed one of my BEST SELLING listing, after 3 years of oferring it, hundreds of handmade dresses, hundreds of 5-star reviews about it. The design, the craftsmanship, everything is mine. I received a template email without stating the real reason. I want to know why did this happen, take corrective measures or dispute it with them. This is heavily impacting my business and shop performance, my hit dress for the summer have been removed....

Last, but not least the visits, favorites, sales, everything is down. I pay more for ads, but for worse performance. I don't see any major competitor who is getting a market share of Etsy, but I hear a lot of colleagues complain about the same for months now.

I am a Star-seller and raised both issues with the support. I have a ticket about the thumnails. Regarding the second one they told me I have to be very serious about it... HOW can I not be dead serious about it when you delete my best seller!

In the dedicated chat for Star seller they said they will escalate it with a ticket to the relevant department, but guess what - no ticket, no escalation, no replies for 4 days now.

Anyone knows how can I understand the reason behind their decision for removing the listing?

Thank you a lot in advance!

[dayspringcollectible]

If it is your best seller, most likely other sites discovered it, stole your listing, and are selling it at a discount.  Do a Google photo search.  If you find it on other sites you need to file DMCA take downs for each of those sites and send copies of those to Etsy.  Otherwise, Etsy's bots will assume you are reselling, thus the removal of your listing.

[PlatypusDream]

The thumbnail adjuster has been broken for years. YEARS.

They rolled out a new tool, but that isn't working right either.

Just take the photos they way you want them to appear on Etsy, or modify them in another program before uploading them instead of struggling with a broken tool.

As for your other problem:

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360061329494-Why-Was-My-Listing-Removed-by-Etsy?segment=sell...

Just because the item has been in your shop for years doesn't mean it's immune to take downs for legitimate reasons. The most likely cause is that the photos have been stolen and are being reused on other cheap wholesale sites. It's up to you to police your own intellectual property - Etsy won't do it for you.

Good luck.

[VintageRescueSquad]

I agree. Do a reverse-image search and see if the removed listing was found on another wholesale site (like Aliexpress or Amazon). That is the reason 99% of the time. If you find it, you must file a DCMA takedown to that site, and give a copy of the takedown to esty to prove you are actively protecting your IP.

[ArtDollsbyJD]

You have to find where your photos are being used an issue DMCA notice then tell Etsy that you have.

As to the thumbnail, I have no problems with the thumbnail.  The only time I do is the photo I take which doesn't work.

Yours don't work because you are using vertical rather than square or landscape.  The thumbnail focuses on the middle.  The middle is different on vertical and again on square.  The thumbnail works best on square photos 4:3 

[cindylouwho2]

The beginning of the email, or the subject line, should tell you which policy your items were removed under. That helps narrow down the possible causes. It could be stolen photos, or it could be something else. 

Appeals can take weeks, unfortunately, but I would not appeal until you figure out why it was removed.