Items listed as “sourced by” when it should be “designed by”

[ThePerkyPencil]

With the new changes Etsy just announced, I was checking my items and nearly all now state that they are “sourced by” which I believe is incorrect and gives an inaccurate statement to any potential customer. 

My shop can be found here: https://theperkypencil.etsy.com and I make mainly stickers and stationery. I hand draw/design everything but then have them printed by professional manufacturers who send them back to me as a completed product. 

Shouldn’t these items be classified as “designed by” instead of “sourced by?” 

I did notice that when the category of my items are switched from “stickers, labels and tags” to “laptop decals” they show up correctly as “designed by” but I really don’t want to go through and change everything plus that is a less accurate category description. 

Am I wrong to believe that my items should be classified as “designed by” and is it worth contacting Etsy support?

Thank you for any suggestions you may have!

[FancyTogs]

Have you filled out the new questions in Details > Core Details on the listing?

Lawrence (Clare's other half)

[ThePerkyPencil]

I did look at the core details again but the only options I get are "who made it", which would be my production partners so I click another company or person and then "what is it" which would be a finished product.  I wish they had a choice for "who designed it" because that would be ME lol

[FancyTogs]

@ThePerkyPencil 

Keep scrolling down to the new questions!

Lawrence

[NanaLetha]

I see made by on your listings 

[ThePerkyPencil]

Thank you, I did go through and change some of them to a different category so I'm guessing those must be the ones you clicked on.  I'm just really hoping to avoid having to do that for ALL my listings, plus it's not really the best suited category either.  

[ForeverWindingWool]

@ThePerkyPencil,  I wouldn't recommend that you change categories. Right now, it is most important that your items show up in the customer's search results when they search for exactly what you're selling. If your item shows up in the wrong category, someone will scratch their head, wondering why Etsy is showing them something they didn't ask for (again).

Give this whole new labeling that Etsy is rolling out time to get corrected.  Is it annoying?  Yes.  Will it get ironed out?  I'm pretty sure Etsy will fix it...eventually.

[NeilBarrPhotography]

I had to change my calendars to "Who made it? - I did" even though they aren't technically - and I always had the production partner listed, to get rid of the misleading "Sourced by..." label.

They are photographs taken by me. The design is 100% by me. I sent the designs to the production partner, approved the prints and wrapped the finished product. The "Sourced by..." was annoying to say the least. Now I have to lie and say I 100% "Made this" just to get "Designed by...".

It's bonkers. 

[ThePerkyPencil]

That is my exact scenario so I totally understand the frustration.  Why do they make it so difficult?  

[BagmakerSupply]

@NeilBarrPhotography: If you designed it, then by Etsy's definition you have "made" it with the help of a production partner. It has essentially been that way ever since they allowed production partners.

[SmudgePlant]

Here's the definition of "Designed By":

Designed by a seller
Sellers’ original designs that are produced or printed by a third party or offered as a digital download.

https://www.etsy.com/legal/creativity

Sounds like exactly what you do.

[ThePerkyPencil]

That's what I thought too! I will give it a bit and hopefully Etsy will get things squared away and make the correct changes. Fingers crossed!

[SmudgePlant]

I also noticed a few of the items I looked at are also labeled as "Party decor for gatherings and celebrations." right under the "Sourced By."

[ThePerkyPencil]

@SmudgePlant yeah, that's what Etsy populates as the main category for "stickers" for some reason.  If I put them under laptop decals, it switches to designed by.  But it's literally a sticker so I'd rather keep it in that category if I can lol

[SmudgePlant]

That is so odd that they consider them party supplies. I mean, I'm sure they could be but I don't think that's their main purpose.

Congratulations on your success despite everything.

[FancyTogs]

Core Details > Scroll down past "when was it made?" to the new questions:

How does your shop produce this item?

• It's made from scratch
  My shop makes this item using only raw or basic craft materials, such as fabric, clay, resin, glass, etc.
  Examples: A chair made from wood; ceramic pottery thrown on a wheel.
• It's assembled from purchased parts
  My shop assembles this item using some commercially available supplies, components, or parts, such as jewellery charms, patches, etc.
  Examples: A necklace chain with jewellery charms attached; a denim jacket with patches sewn on.
• It's an item that my shop alters
  My shop alters or customises a commercially available base item, such as a t-shirt or mug.
  Examples: A tote bag with flowers embroidered on it; a piece of furniture reupholstered with new fabric; a tumbler with a laser engraved design.

It's a curated set of purchased goods

• My shop curates a themed assortment that includes some commercially available goods.Examples: A spa kit that contains a candle, face mask, herbal tea, and other goods curated by my shop; a father’s day gift basket with a chocolate bar, tumbler, notebook, and other goods curated by my shop.
• It's a natural material
  My shop finds or cultivates this item from nature.
  Examples: Crystals, plants, shells, etc.

What tools are used to make this item?
Select all that apply.

• Handheld or hand-guided tools
  Examples: sewing needles, paintbrush, sewing machine, table saw, etc.
• Computerised tools or machines
  Examples: laser printer, computerised embroidery machine, Cricut machine, CNC machine, 3D printer, etc.
• An AI generator
  Examples: Midjourney, DALL-E, Canva AI, Chat-GPT, etc.
• None, I don't use tools

Lawrence

[ThePerkyPencil]

Thanks Lawrence, unfortunately, when I choose "another company or person" made it from the "Who made it" drop down, the options you listed above are not visible.  If I change it to "I did" under the "who made it" drop down, then I can see what you're talking about.  

[FancyTogs]

@ThePerkyPencil 

It has changed in the few hours since I posted that. They are hacking the code on the fly, and over the weekend. There are more questions now, but those are only for made by seller or member of shop.

When I fill in as:

• physical
• made by another company
• finished product
• 2000 - 2024

I then click on add production partner and get another popup with more questions

Are you filling out all of the production partner questions? :

About your partnership
This will only be shared with Etsy.

• Why are you working with this partner?
• What is your role in the design process?
• What is this partner’s role in the production process?

Lawrence

[FancyTogs]

@ThePerkyPencil 

I got it wrong.

The Core Details questions have not changed.

I copied them over to the forum incorrectly last night. I formatted the 4th answer option into a heading making it into a separate section.

I should have realised that Etsy working on it so fast and over the weekend was unrealistic.

Apologies for the confusion.

Lawrence

[TheAtticRooms]

@ThePerkyPencil I have exactly the same issue. I have several greeting cards which I designed from scratch and then have professionally printed for me and then the cards are returned to me. They were all listed as 'sourced by' and it bothered me so much I have temporarily deactivated them. The only way I could get them to show 'designed by' was to lie and say I didn't use a production partner for printing. If I have to lie to a buyer to get the correct information to show, I felt I was being misleading and I feel uncomfortable about that so deactivation for those items till I figure out what to do was the only option. I have filled in the survey about this and also sent a message to Etsy but not holding out much hope of a reply! I feel your pain and am glad it's only a handful of items that I took down. Hope we get this sorted and soon. 

[BagmakerSupply]

@ThePerkyPencil: Your situation seems more difficult to understand. 'Sourced By' should basically only include items that are listed in a way to make them appear to be 'Supplies'.

However, looking at Etsy's definition of handmade, if you designed the item you probably should be listing it as 'I Made It' and then include the production partner information at the bottom of the popup. Then those listings should show as 'Designed By'.

[ThePerkyPencil]

@BagmakerSupply That was a great idea!  However, when I changed it to "I made it" and kept the production partner, it still says "sourced by."  

I even took it one step further and took off the production partner and strictly put I made it from scratch and STILL it remains "sourced by." So I believe the issue is the category.  

"Stickers" are, by default, put into the "paper and party supplies" main category.  If I change it to "laptop decals" which fall under Etsy's "electronics and accessories" category, it changes to "designed by."  

So as far as I can tell, anything that is placed under the "paper and party supplies" category is automatically showing up as "sourced by."

I chatted with Etsy support yesterday and she was unable to help and escalated my request to someone else who is supposed to be emailing me at some point.  

[ThePerkyPencil]

@FancyTogs 

Thank you for all the suggestions!  I tried this as well, answered all the questions but still listed as "sourced by."  I'm now convinced that it is "paper and party supplies" category that is automatically designating any listing as "sourced by" no matter how these boxes are checked.

If I change it to a different category, problem solved!  Aside from the one major fact that a sticker is a sticker and should be categorized as such for easy and reliable search ability.  

[FancyTogs]

Etsy should not be hard coding how a seller makes anything based on the "paper & party supplies" listing categories (or any other listing categories).

That is terrible code design.

They are dictating based on invalid assumptions, instead of letting the seller indicate how they operate.

It's almost as if they don't know what sellers actually do on Etsy.

Lawrence

[artbyjocelyn]

I agree. My photo wall calendars automatically say Sourced By when they really are Designed By me with prints of my own images I shot and edited.