Listings Deactivated by Etsy (incorrectly identified)

[IndyConcealment]

Today 8 of my listings have been deactivated by Etsy for "One or more policy violations". After reviewing the email stating the reason for deactivation, none of these listings are what they have been identified as. The email i received is shown below. The items that have been removed are Kydex Holsters and Trigger Covers/Guards for pistols, NOT any of the listed items listed in the policy violation email. I have followed the process to challenge the "violation" claim. Not sure how long Etsy takes for issues like this but the 8 items that have been deactivated are among my top sellers. Is it possible to speak to a person? This happened to an item a few months ago and i followed the same process. The "help" I received was an automated response stating that they have reviewed my listings but are unable to proceed with reactivation due to the items being one of the items (shown below) in the email i received. Any and all help would be MUCH appreciated.  

Etsy prohibits the sale of weapons, including (but not limited to):

• Guns and gun parts
• Accessories for assault-style weapons
• Imitation items that closely resemble real/live weapons or munitions
• Ammunition, including inert shells, casings, and projectiles (regardless of how they are presented)

[CappuccinoLace]

 including (but not limited to):

Says right there. including, but not limited to.

Basically, don't sell anything weapon related.

[IndyConcealment]

The items that have been deactivated do not violate any Etsy policies and especially not this one. As the email states, they have been identified as a weapon. The items are not weapons of any kinds. I had to deal with this before and it was found that the item they deactivated was falsely identified. Was hoping that someone had some advise on how to deal with this quickly and not through an automated email process.  

[VibeEnvy]

Not limited to could mean guns, gun parts, gun accessories. Which is the first word of the next part of the rule, it's not a far leap to assume gun accessories may be included. Also they said assault "style" weapons not specifically assault weapons by definition. Etsy speaks their own language and you have to read between the lines and then read between those lines even more.

[SugarTaffySoap]

If you already "challenged the violation claim with etsy" and are waiting, what do you need from us sellers in the forums?

[IndyConcealment]

@SugarTaffySoap  As mentioned above, I am seeking help outside of email support. I found chat support and they routed me to email support.

[CreativeARTifacts]

I think you can explain what it is used for and be specific that it won't fit any assault weapons, plus locks for protection.  I suppose the "not limited to" could be used as a blanket excuse for the employee deciding to reactivate or not, especially if they are unfamiliar with the difference between an assault weapon and a trigger guard. I have no idea who or how they decide to reactivate a listing, maybe it's whoever reads your email first. If you can FIND a phone request you'd possibly have a better outcome.

One of my gun charms is deactivated which has happened in the past and I've explained to etsy that it's NOT real and then it's reactivated. I believe the first time I included a link to hundreds of other gun charms and asked if they'd all be deactivated as well.  However this time I still haven't even received the "why" deactivation email and that was August 1st.  I have two support requests and all it says is that the support request is complete and if I need further help create a new request.  If they just ignore me am I suppose to go away? 

I looked at your listings and it seems you don't even use words that would trigger a deactivation unless "firearm" would be the trigger, in which case we're out of vocabulary for everything.  I use to sell shell casings which were deactivated across etsy, but now they're popping up again.  Apparently etsy doesn't have a problem with a bullet altered into a necklace or keychain, even though it sure looks like they "closely resemble" an actual bullet.  Honestly I don't get it because there are shops that are unique and ONLY create with bullet parts.   

Good luck to you.

[IndyConcealment]

@CreativeARTifacts  I agree, the Not Limited to part could be used as a blanket excuse for weapons. As the email states "Etsy prohibits the sale of weapons, including (but not limited to)". It appears they have been identified as a weapon. 

[AAANativeArts]

A human should automatically review them within 10 days, and if it is an error, they will reinstate them.

[IndyConcealment]

@AAANativeArts  Thank you. Im confident that the items will be reactivated. I was just hoping that there was a faster way to come to a resolution. A live person that could help with this would be great. The email process is lengthy and results in lost sales.

[SugarTaffySoap]

@IndyConcealment 

For call backs on the weekdays you can go through your Shop Manager>Community & Help>Contact Us>Selling on Etsy>(select appropriate dropdown)> I Still Need Help>... Call backs are 7a.m. to 9pm eastern time.

[nineteen27]

 The items that have been removed are Kydex Holsters and Trigger Covers/Guards for pistols.

i see both of those in your shop.

did etsy put them back up?

[IndyConcealment]

@nineteen27 No, they haven't put them back. I have 8 other Trigger Guards for various pistols that they removed. The one Trigger Guard that is left active is out of stock right now. Not sure why they left it up. Maybe because it's OOS. 

[nineteen27]

i do see you have the pink and green one... in that combination... in stock on that listing... so it is not out of stock.

[lovesknitting]

I don't get this and wonder who the people are that decide the items should be deactivated and not re-listed. I have a hand knit cape (my shop is lovesknitting) and a jacket with tags that the department store closed in the 1980s. I could not get a response from Etsy.

[AAANativeArts]

@lovesknitting

It's not people that deactivate them. It is a computer AI script called a bot. They only recognize words and not context, so they often get it wrong.

[PlatypusDream]

@IndyConcealment 

From Etsy's rules:

https://www.etsy.com/legal/policy/weapons/207958817249"

Etsy prohibits the sale of the following:

• Guns and firearms, including individual parts
• Gun and firearm accessories, including those that affix to the gun in any way"

IF your items affix to a gun in any way, they aren't allowed.

This is most likely why you aren't getting traction from Etsy.

Also note that every listing you create MUST be a tangible item for sale. You can't make listings for "out of stock" items on Etsy.

[IndyConcealment]

@PlatypusDream The Out of Stock item that i have is literally the only one of this item type they didn't remove. lol. Additionally, many other people sell the same items on here and have been for years. And the last time this happened, they reactivated them stating they had been falsely identified. I just reached Start Seller status which i am assuming triggered a sweep of my shop which is when there bots identified these as weapons being that all of them have actual gun names in them.  

[TinTeddy]

I don't know much about guns, but isn't a holster a "gun and firearm accessory"?

What else could it be used for?

[SDCaugheyLeather]

So the same thing happen to me today 1 item the listing since 2016. I make holsters for black powder guns from the 1800s hard to sell if you can’t show the fit. I found this below

Storage items for guns may be sold as long as they are not affixed to the gun in any way. Some examples include:

• Cases and racks
• Holsters
•  
• I removed pics that show guns in the holster until I know more. Every one that sells holsters shows guns in them. Its the only way to sell. Been here since 2016 work hard this must be new, not good.

[IndyConcealment]

@SDCaugheyLeather THANK YOU FOR THIS! All of mine are displayed on the firearms. I'm thinking maybe its a combination of the gun being shown as well as the names of the guns they go on in the descriptions as well as the gun names in the Tags. Although, as you mentioned, everyone shows guns on there holsters. I am going to wait until I hear back from them and see what they say. 

[BagmakerSupply]

@IndyConcealment: One of the problems is that none of us know what the specific trigger was that caused any deactivation. If the other shops that carry similar items have the same trigger in their listings then sooner or later they will also be deactivated. If the listings appear to be just like yours but do not contain that trigger than they will be able to go merrily on. Hopefully you will receive an eMail from Etsy explaining the reason in enough detail to make sense.

[VINTAGEbytheMAGPIE]

@IndyConcealment all we can do here is refer you to the platform policy as @PlatypusDream has done , if you believe this policy shouldn't affect your items ,  then only Etsy can help you . I believe other forum users have provided info regarding how to contact support . I dont know what further help we can offer .