Issue with Handmade Product Removal and Star Seller Badge

[ArtKesh]

Hello everyone

I wanted to share my recent experience on Etsy. One of my products, which had good sales, was removed from my store, ArtKesh, with the claim that the product is not handmade. This is not true, as I make the product myself and take the photos for it. Due to this issue, my star seller badge was removed, and I was warned that my store will be suspended if there are any further violations.

Has anyone faced a similar situation where their product was removed based on a false claim? How can we ensure that our stores won’t be suspended due to false claims from competitors?

I would love to hear your experiences and advice on how to handle such situations.

Thank you for your support
ArtKesh

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

There are hundreds of similar posts where the genuine maker has their item taken down as not handmade.  This is because Etsy is doing a sweep of the internet looking for duplicate listings in order to try to curb reselling.  Unfortunately, your listing information and probably your photos too have been stolen so they are for sale elsewhere and so Etsy has removed your item. 

You need to respond to the email you received providing evidence that you are the maker and issue takedown notices on the sites where your item(s) are found.  You may find more which you will want to stop in case Etsy deactivates another one of your listings. 

You can do a search of the forum for similar posts to see how the sellers have handled it. 

All the best

[GlassyFields]

See if other selling sites have stolen your photos by doing a reverse image search. File takedown notices with the websites where you find your images.

Sadly, photo theft is common and results in images appearing on sites like AliExpress, Temu and Shein while the actual creators end up looking like they are reselling.

[DragonflyDreams1]

Sorry to say it but I think you will continue to have issues. I randomly reverse searched two of your listings and both are for sale on other sites. One of them is for sale from another shop on Etsy that is located in the same town as you reside. 

[LeParisMetro]

You sell the bags with no personalization,  which would be fine if you personally made the bag…. But in your description, you admit that you do not make them.. they are made by others locally.   That could be why those items were removed.  They do not meet the definition of handmade so those take downs would be correct.

[TheVintagePineapple]

Looking at several of your wedding/birthday basket listings, there are quite a few other Etsy shops selling the same baskets with the same pink and white pompoms that are shown under the ''you may also like'' section of those listings.   Even though they're supposed to be personalized, if Etsy sees so many other sellers with the same product and sometimes the same photos, they may eventually become suspicious about your baskets, too.  Selling them with the choice of ''only pompoms'' and no personalization would be considered reselling.  

[PrimFun]

You are not making the bags according to a listing I looked at.  You need to list all those people helping you in the about page.

That includes the rugs too.  If you are not at least designing the rugs they cannot be sold on Etsy unless the makers are listed on your about page.

I see no about page where you can demonstrate you are making the items in question.

With the items taken down, check to see where the photos have been taken and then issue DMCA.  Let Etsy know.   

[BagmakerSupply]

@ArtKesh: Are you sure that Etsy told you "that the product is not handmade" or was it for violations of the creativity standards?

In addition to some of the suggestions made by others, after spot checking a few of your listings you should consider yourself lucky that Etsy has not shut down your shop. For example, one listing says "Made by ArtKesh" and also says "Lovingly woven by friends and family". On Etsy, only one of those statements can be true. "Made by" means by you personally or someone listed by name in your About section (which you do not have). These are the kinds of technical violations that get shops suspended and / or closed.

Now that you are on Etsy's radar, you may want to reread the various rules and standards and do some housekeeping to your listings so that they comply with what is allowed on Etsy.