Etsy removes a listing claiming it is not handmade!

[#1]

Etsy just removed one of my listings claiming it is not handmade. I sent them a message saying I make it and I can video me making one for their entertainment and send it to them. This is absolutely stupid, Etsy lets billions of AliExpress junk on the site and ignores them and then decides a cat toy wand I make. And I bed their board wonders why the stock price for the company has gone from $300 to $58 in about 2.5 years.

Anyone know a way I can call support or get a chat support with them since emails will take forever and I want to get the listing back up?

[GroundZeroCreations]

I took a quick google image search of some of your main images. It found some on Chewy, Ubuy and Amazon. Bear in mind that I did not look at a lot. I am wondering if these AI image bots are deeming it to be the same because it is "almost" identical? Because some of the images at a cursory glance look the same but a closer look shows it is not the same image. That could at least make a little sense for all the nonsense going on with listing takedowns. 

[CoolCyberCats]

Not of the one there is an issue with. The images on Chewy are because I used to sell to them, but in COVID has a fall out with them and I broke ties. Amazon because I sell there too, my items and resell 2 brands of toys there. But the Chewy images are no longer ON their site linked to anything since they have not had my items for a couple years. They are "ghost" images on search, but there is no live page showing them.

[CoolCyberCats]

@GroundZeroCreations  I never heard of ubuy! Can you post a url to one of the images there so I can see it? It did not come up in my image search. Of course I was searching for the exact item they killed, you likely searched a different item and I want to see if someone took one of my images. Thanks!

[CoolCyberCats]

Guess the best way to get the item back out without directly relisting it (it is a wand) is to change it a TINY bit, like cut 1/4" off the length, thus it is a NEW wand and not a relist of the one they insist is in violation of the handmade rules. Then alter the new listing to state the length and emboss my name all over the images for it when I take them. It is stupid I have to do this.

[GroundZeroCreations]

@CoolCyberCats I really don't recall which listing was found on Ubuy. I just randomly clicked the first image on a few. I had never heard of Ubuy before either.

I am sorry. I wish I could recall.

[CoolCyberCats]

Well, I sent them the video of me making what they removed as handmade violation. This is stupid. The people in the super-secret "team" (as the support person calls them) do not seem to give a fig about proof it is handmade and they will not communicate why they think it is not. 

[feltplanet]

@CoolCyberCats Give them a few days. I had a couple of items taken down. Chat couldn’t help but escalated it. First email said, we confirm it is not handmade. Sent pics to support that they were handmade. They were put back up and received an apology email within a couple of days. Good luck!

[MeggiexStore]

I’m in the exact same situation. I recorded a step by step video tutorial for them of me making my product from scratch and they just responded the usual ‘please review our handmade policy’. Literally ridiculousand if they just watched the video they would see that it’s handmade!! 

[pennyemporium]

perhaps one of these links may help you:

callback feature:
https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?segment=selling#issue_sell_manage_listings-callback

email:
https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?segment=selling#issue_update_account_email-contact_selec...

[CoolCyberCats]

I guess I'll wait it out a git as some have suggested. If it is not resolved, I will relist them with a tiny alteration, so they are not the "same" item.

I also refuse to click the "Ok, I got it" in the big yellow banner on my listings because I did nothing wrong. That banner can stay on my listings page till the cows come home. *sigh*

[BagmakerSupply]

@CoolCyberCats: "... I will relist them with a tiny alteration ..." How do you know what the trigger was that flagged your listing? Or that your alteration will "fix" the issue? You run the risk of being marked as a serial offender.

Since Etsy is now also factoring descriptions in search, they along with titles, tags, and materials (and possibly even alt tags if you are using them) are all probably being checked. And the bots are also "reading" images.

[treasuredcharms]

You can do that, but the real issue is that Etsy is issuing violations to our accounts that can impact visibility, algorithm in search, and if we receive enough that aren't resolved in our favor they may suspend our accounts.  Of course this isn't going to happen with one violation but the point is that Etsy is not even responding to us and it sounds like this will continue to happen more frequently as they increase the use of AI bots to take down listings that have similar pictures elsewhere on the internet.  There needs to be a way for us to appeal these takedowns and get a real human to look at them.   

[ClaimYourselfJewelry]

Sometimes you get lucky and the listings get reactivated (if they don't violate any policy and got removed by mistake) if you find someone from the assistance who is willing to actually read your messages  but most of the times is an exhausting and frustrating experience, no one replies or they just past and copy standard replies. 

[ClaimYourselfJewelry]

Reposting the listing may lead to the same result, until you figure out the exact problem I wouldn't make a new listing...

[GattaneroDesigns]

Its really annoying when this happens, its so obvious when things are bought from chins and resold as handmade. I look at similar products to mine and the price others are charging wouldnt cover the materials for mine. Its all about money with etsy. 

[CostureroReal]

same happened to me for the 3rd time now, I feel drained, Etsy need to protect better their handmade stores. Once you flag by error one store, put it on a safe zone so it do not happen again. I feel betrayed by etsy

[threelayers]

Same here. On the pictures it is me - my face and hands. I have high resolution photos, listing is over 10 years old.  They reinstated the item and then it was sold, I renewed and they took it down again! customer support is not helping at all!

[PirovskiStudio]

It also happened to me that they removed a listing that I had sold many times, and in fact the photos when copying the listing are always different, because you cannot make the same carving (bird) exactly like the previous one. 
Yesterday I first chatted with some bot, then he transferred me to a human, but he wasn't much help, he said he was going to give the information to a team to check things out. 
And also, it says that there is an email as an explanation of why and what I violated, but in fact there is none.
I have been selling these birds for more than 10 years now, actually this type of carving is not very popular and few people practice it, even fewer do it like me.  Actually, I haven't seen birds like this on Etsy. I'm talkin about "fan carving".

[CoolCyberCats]

I hate Etsy support. I believe their goal is to walk you in circles. I got an email form another support person today replying to my email with the video of me making it and they just say why they cannot reinstate it the suggest I study the rules. WTH. Like they did not even look at the video, or read my email where I told them how many parts it has and that I source all parts in the USA. I'll not tell them where I get the materials if that is what they want, that is not their business, like I would never post a video of me making the items on the listings so others can reproduce what I make. Etsy support is proving to me to be worse than amazon seller support and that bar is extremely low. *grrrr*

[threelayers]

Same here, there is my face on this listing pictures and my hands. This is complete nonsense. Listing was reinstated. After it was sold I renew it and they took it down again!

[TraceyGurleyArt]

I remember way back when, if Etsy thought you didn’t make it, they would require proof like you sent.  It has become soooo ridiculous!!

[LilMissSweetPea]

I have not read through all the comments, so this may be a duplicate, click here to receive a call back:

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?segment=selling&fbclid=IwAR3XJULkao3ZPR8XcOEf2A7143n87Xt...

Support and chat are ABSOLUTELY USELESS. Both told me they could not help me. I had 5 items taken down in the same week with 3 different reasons. I was given this link by someone on the forum and it was the only way I got help. Someone will call you back quickly, record your issue and a real person will check and email you their decision. All 5 of my items were cleared, one was even for prohibited materials, it was a baby swaddle and headband!! Bots are out of control, and I was able to relist all my items, which they didn't re-activate. Good luck!

[CoolCyberCats]

They just tell me "the team" removed it and the support people you can talk to or chat with then say "I can do nothing, the "Team"....." but when you ask to speak to the team, they say they cannot. *rolls eyes*.
It is total junk. I would not cry if the Etsy stock fell another 75%. Perhaps they would suddenly decide they need to realign with the honest sellers here and try to repair the damage they have done for years.

[LilMissSweetPea]

@LBClothingStudios  - I have a new problem. They steal my model photos, remove the watermarks, and photoshop a completely NEW FACE on to the baby models. I have some on Amazon now, showing my photos, but the face is different so Amazon refused to take them down when I filed DMCA, because it is now not an identical photo! Same with AliExpress, I have 2, refused, because the facial features are different, even though the rest of the photo is identical.

[EastWestDesignsFinds]

Can we contact etsy legal team? I sell same items on ebay and Amazon and bots removed my listings stating item exists on amazon!!! Its my own listing. This is upsetting. Provided proof with video and pics of me making these but got an automated reply:(someone human has to help