Help! I am at a loss how to contact Etsy reg their removal of some of my listings totally wrongfully

[OrfeliaLighting]

I am utterly disgusted to have received a notice from legal that some of my listings are not designed or made by me. ALL of my listings are designed and handmade by me and I have every possible proof but legal said I am violating their rules, implying I am reselling something I did not design or make. What infuriates me is that they dont even tell you 'if you feel this is not the case, please contact xx' and I've been looking for an hour they just dont allow you to contact them to defend yourself. What to do please help, being an artisan is already hard enough, tough times, I really dont need this type of wrongful unfair allegations..

[CraftyCornishMaids · Accepted solution]

are you saying the contact xx doesn't work?

there is legal@etsy.com,

or, you can log a ticket from your dashboard - community and help - contact us - keep going until yu get to "i still neeed help", when you get the automatic reply, reply to it, saying it's not fixed and you still need help..

Take photos of your workshop, and of you making things, and attach them.

[OrfeliaLighting]

Tons of thanks for your reply. I did what you said and am crossing my fingers that they reply.. And thanks a lot for the email address, it was nowhere to be found.. Bless you

[PrintsxCharming]

@OrfeliaLighting - if you don't me asking, what happened with your case? 

[KatieWallDesigns]

In the same boat here and I completely agree on this: it's infuriating. To put it mildly.

We have listings removed twice in few days (2 listings each time) and the best part is that both times I personally opened a ticket to find out why genuinely a product: designed by us and made-to-order item in our workshop is being deactivated. Both times an auto response was sent and here is the kicker quote from that email: 

Can I appeal my listing(s) suspension? 

No, your listing cannot be reinstated. 

I'm at a complete loss what to do and why it has happened.

That being said, the email to contact them probably is integrity@etsy.com because it's not a legal matter.

It's been over 2 weeks since you opened this thread, did you have any progress on the matter?

[PlatypusDream]

@KatieWallDesigns 

A quick reverse image search reveals multiple other websites using identical photos to the one in your shop.

This can lead Etsy to believe that you didn't actually make your item, but are reselling.

It looks like you need to pursue your intellectual property rights with those other websites as well as contacting Etsy about your items.

[KatieWallDesigns]

@PlatypusDream 

I hear what you're saying. If the 'webpage' you refer to are other marketplaces, then it's us selling there too (not putting all eggs in one basket type of thing).

But if it's a standalone webpage or Ali Express then it's either talking to a wall or requires time and legal cost without guaranteed results.

What strikes me about this situation is that if Etsy has concerns about our product design/production then removing without ability to appeal the decision is absolutely awful way to go about it. Our workshop is actually less than 2 hour drive from Etsy Dublin office so we can be visited in person to have a chat about design, production and other topics.

Even here on Etsy we have several of our designs closely copied and nothing we can do about that either (IP claim goes to IP counterclaim and we're back to expensive legal cost that small operations can't afford).

< Edited names to "other marketplaces" >

[PrimFun]

Legally Etsy has to take immediate action to remove the item.  That's on the legal side.  They are the messenger only.  If they don't remove they could have their own legal issues for not complying.

If this is copyright issue then file the counterclaim if the other party does not supply you with a registration number.  That puts it back into the other's court to pursue legally.

Unfortunately you will need to be proactive on this.  Etsy has done their legal part,  Now you must decide how to handle it.

It may mean talking to a lawyer if only to find out what can be done.

Can you register your designs?  That may be the way to go.

Or do you need to simply reinvent over and over again when a listing is removed. 

And with your designs did you do the homework to find out if any similar items are registered under copyright?  All countries agree to abide by each others rules of design, trademark, copyright and patent. 

I hear your frustration and wish I could offer more than this but it just sounds like you will need to decide what course you wish to take.   

[KatieWallDesigns]

@PrimFun 
I'm sorry. My reply to @PlatypusDream and a little rant has derailed the conversation into something else (legal/copyright area).
My current issue is same as the OPs - several listing removed by Etsy, because they think it's NOT handmade. Where every single decal is both: our original design and made-to-order by us in our workshop. How else we could offer custom colours and do adjustments if we're a reseller? Our reviews are full with people thanking for custom changes they requested. Etsy also sees where we're sending our decals from, so it's clear we're not a dropshipper. 

On top of that there are NO way to appeal Etsy decision to remove the listing, which in itself is crazy:

"Our decision to suspend your listing(s) is final and may not be appealed"

[Former_Member]

Best to start your own post, not hijacking another seller's.  

[SugarTaffySoap]

They used the word "suspend" in the  email to you??  When you look under your removed listing it should say "Deactivated by Etsy"? Was there certain prohibited words you weren't supposed to use in the listing? I need more info. 

[KatieWallDesigns]

@SugarTaffySoap 

 Thank you for your reply.
Yes, the 4 deactivated listings say "Deactivated by Etsy" in red and cannot be reposted (I wouldn't do that anyway until this is resolved)

The title of the original deactivation email is: "Policy violations in your Etsy shop"

Email main text:

"We're getting in touch to let you know that we've deactivated one (or more) of your listings because it violates Etsy's Seller Policy regarding what can be sold on Etsy (it does not qualify for sale as a craft supply, vintage item, or handmade item). You can see your deactivated listing(s) here.

We refunded the fees for the listing(s) we removed. If you have outstanding orders for any deactivated listings, you may ship or cancel and refund them."

Then it goes on with all the links to their seller policies and help sections. Since we're selling handmade that could only mean Etsy thinks our decals are not handmade.

For example this is a title of one of decals deactivated:

Creative nursery corner tree wall decals with personalized baby name and birds White tree decals Wall decoration Wall tattoo KW006_2

No prohibited names / words that I can tell. All of the designs in the store are listed in similar fashion. These designs were listed in late 2015. So almost 7 years later they are no longer handmade.

[SugarTaffySoap]

You received a "form" email. They have an automated system that detects certain listings and deactivates them. Sometimes in error. So did you contact chat support to put a ticket in for you to have a tech review your listings? And the tech emailed you and said your listings were "suspended" and decision is final??? 

[BluKatDesign]

I would fill out your about page with a description of how you design and make your items with photos of you and your shop. This will also help you get more sales. Good luck, I am getting the runaround from Etsy on another issue.

[KatieWallDesigns]

@SugarTaffySoap 

Yes, I did a follow up violation emails by contacting the support - twice! Once using "contact us" email form and second time via actual support staff that opened a second ticket for me.

Both tickets got an email with the following:

Thank you for reaching out to Etsy. This is an automated message from Etsy’s Content Moderation team with some more information regarding your recently suspended listing. Our decision to suspend your listing(s) is final and may not be appealed, but we’ve provided some common questions/answers below for your reference. 

I get that it's automated response but the key phrase there is "may not be appealed". I also get that it's their house and their rules, but the fact you cant appeal and prove it was an error is unheard of. No attempt from them to find out any details about our operation whatsoever before taking this drastic action.

This is when I got onto forums and apparently this is not an isolated incident...Sadly OP has not responded if she got the issue resolved (one of main reasons I joined this thread).

[SugarTaffySoap]

You received an automated message but here's what Etsy says:

"Etsy’s mission is to keep commerce human, and this mission extends to the work of our diligent Trust & Safety team. So while we intend to leverage technology to assist in our enforcement efforts, we believe content moderation at Etsy will never be fully automated - that is not our goal. Rather, we will continue to leverage a combination of automated monitoring systems and human review to detect potential policy violations."

Based on the above, it doesn't appear that an actual "human" reviewed your deactivated listings. 

[StudioHausEssentials]

I am in the same situation. Nonetheless, there ae many active listings similar to mine. I am starting to believe someone reported my content. 

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