Forced Vacation Mode

[CraftyCowDesign]

Hi Everyone

On thursday my shop was put on pause last thursday for no reason.

This is the message I get in the dashboard : 

Your shop will stay in Holiday mode while we review your infoThis means you won't be able to receive new orders until we finish verifying your info (which usually takes up to 48 hours after you uploaded your document). No need to do anything else right now – we'll reach out if we need more details from you.

This is the message I get in the listings window (which is a different reason!):

We put your shop on pause.

Your shop has been placed in temporary Holiday Mode to help you manage your current orders or give you time to verify your seller or business info. While you can’t receive new orders right now, you can still edit listings or draft new ones.

--

I had 4 outstanding orders which I cleared that same day. I am a star seller, haven't shipped anything late in years. I post tracked. I respond to all messages promptly. I have no cases - in fact I've never had one, I haven't had any bad reviews - in fact the last poor review was literally years ago. I haven't had a massive influx of orders - just a steady trickle over christmas which i've been more than coping with. I've provided all the business/tax information which was all verified ages ago. I've not changed anything basically - was just getting on with it. 

I've spoken to etsy on chat an they couldn't tell me what the problem was, I also emailed them this morning but not heard anything back. 

Has this happened to anyone else? If yes how can I resolve it? All advice/insight massively appreciated. 

Anyone else experiencing the same issues?

thanks

Kate

[CraftyCornishMaids]

Etsy is re-verifying all UK info because of the change in UK law

have you put your UTR in the additional taxpayer ID field? does everything else match?

[CraftyCowDesign]

Thanks.Yes i've filled in everything they have asked for - everything is correct; was verified from last time they did it

[CraftyCowDesign]

I’ve not updated anything - all my business info is the same and it was verified ok last time. If they were re-verifying all the uk sellers then wouldn’t there be more people reporting this?

[BagmakerSupply]

@CraftyCowDesign: "... was verified from last time they did it" How long ago was that? The ever changing laws mean that eCommerce sellers need to be prepared to meet ever more stringent and more frequent verification and re-verification regardless of where they are selling.

Not defending Etsy but so many of these laws put the onus and cost for compliance on the marketplace rather than the governmental unit requiring it. That being said, Etsy does need to make the process more transparent and 'user friendly'.

[WeavingCraft]

Yes we are also facing the same issue and we do no understand what we have to do next to resolve it. 

[CraftyCowDesign]

sorry to hear - are you in the uk? I am - wondering it's to do with gspr?

[CraftyCornishMaids]

they are in USA, nothing to do with gpsr

[DaysofYoreTreasures]

@CraftyCornishMaids 
@CraftyCowDesign 

Maybe it is related to GPSR?

I just did a forum search and found multiple pages of posts about forced Vacation Mode since the 13th.

I also noticed this text (bolded by me) in the Seller details link, located underneath policies, for those shops that are designated as a trader:
(ShopName) is considered a professional seller, or trader, in the EU. What is this?
This seller has confirmed that the items they sell on Etsy are in line with all local laws that apply to their business.

The What is this? links to this article.
https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/5703129136407-How-Do-I-Follow-EU-Law-Regarding-Returns-and-R...

As confirmed in the article linked above, Etsy lists a shop as trader status in Seller details if they have selected Incorporated business under Finances > Legal and Tax Information.

They also display the Seller details worldwide for all shops, whether they ship to the EU or UK or not.

Upon checking the threads I found the affected shops were located all over, not just in EU or UK, and most (not all) had Trader status when I checked their Seller details.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

I have trader status ticked, as do millions of others

and have done nothing for gpsr on etsy, as I have current stock I am using for NI

I have no idea, why any of it would be related to EU safety standards

more likely to be some confusion over the correct business information, vs correct owner information

[DaysofYoreTreasures]

@CraftyCornishMaids 

Do you recall if this text has always been present in your seller details?
This seller has confirmed that the items they sell on Etsy are in line with all local laws that apply to their business.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@DaysofYoreTreasures 

mine says

CraftyCornishMaids is considered a professional seller, or trader, in the EU. What is this?

it does not have the business bit, because I am not a business, I am just a trader

If you are a business, you are also a trader and owner, you need your business and owner information separate and clear ..... which is where I have seen problems

GPSR is a requirement for traders, it's got nothing to do with whether you are a business or not

[DaysofYoreTreasures]

@CraftyCornishMaids 

That is interesting, thank you!

The majority of sellers reporting forced vacation mode in the last few days are located in the United States or Canada and they do have that extra text in their seller details.

I wonder how they have previously confirmed that the items they sell on Etsy are in line with all local laws that apply to their business.

Maybe that is what's causing the problem?

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@DaysofYoreTreasures 

the ones I've seen that are held up for more then a couple of days,

have done something like 

having two people as partnership, but uploading both or the wrong ID as the 1 shop owner

or putting a business tax ID instead of a personal, - or something else, confusing the business with the account owner

[DaysofYoreTreasures]

@CraftyCornishMaids 

ok, thanks for your time.

[pipeworkpieces]

I and a lot of other people are in the same boat as you see my thread titled wonder if any lawyers can help us .

[CraftyCowDesign]

I am open again - only found out last night because I got an order. Still no idea why it happened, what the cause was but glad it is sorted. Hope you all get your shops reinstated. 

[WeavingCraft]

Yes we also restored for 2 days only but today its again on Vocation Mode for verification

Is any one else facing the same issue ?

we are loosing our holiday sales takes many days to create visibility and suddenly Store is on hold I do not understand what etsy want to do..

Their is no credibility of sellers they suddenly hold the store 

Etsy if you are reading it please understand that we are small manufacturer verify what ever you want but is it really necessary to hold the store ?

[LemonCatShop]

hi. we are in the same situation. was put on forced vacation mode on Jan 27 2025. etsy said i have to re-upload government issued ID. which i did within minutes of getting the notification. anyway they still put the shop on pause. no pre-warning, no nothing. just switched the shop off and just in time before payday when we get a bump in sales. been selling on etsy for 15 years (since 2009) and updated all tax info a few months ago, they even called me to say everything is OK. and now this. i mean i understand the need for all the checks to avoid fraud etc, but its a bit extreme to just shut an existing shop, trading not just months or a year or so but trading for 15 years. we have repeat customers that would have had no warning. however etsy have us sellers over a barrell. and im near the line of beyond caring. we have our own website and another shop channel. anyway etsy just shot themselves in the foot cos they do this to sellers with good standing all the time. and dont get me started on non-existing CS. you can't call them and if you email, like i did (hahaha) still havent had a reply. so anyone who has this situation just sit tight and dont expect much. might get re-activated, maybe or maybe never.

[LemonCatShop]

UPDATE: just got a message from etsy that my shop is restored. so that was 3 days of zero sales. anyway i'll see how long this lasts until they want something else.