Need help! Risk of deactivation

[ETERNIADA]

Hello, the owner of the Etsy shop writes to you, unfortunately I could not get a solution to my problem using the site's help. I have been working on Etsy since 2012 and have over 22,000+ sales. English is not my native language, I live in Ukraine. My shop was quite successful, but now it is at risk of closure. As I understand it, Etsy's artificial intelligence blocked 2 products that I make entirely from epoxy resin myself, took away my Star Seller, and now I am at risk of being completely closed.

Reason for blocking: Violated Etsy's Creativity Standards 

I read the article and did not find anything in my store that fits this violation. But unfortunately, when I write to the site's help, I receive standard answers and an article where I can read about my mistakes. It turns out that there are dozens of people on the forum with the same problem. The worst thing is that my store can be closed. This is the only source of income. That is, I will be left without work, I will not be able to pay rent for my workshop, my workers will also become unemployed - in a country at war.

For my part, I can provide photos and videos of how the goods that are blocked are made. I already wrote this on the site, but was ignored. Standard answers, no communication with a real person. I need help, and so many people like me. Please tell me what to do next and how can I achieve justice for myself?

Many thanks for your help!!

[GroundZeroCreations]

It is likely a result of unscrupulous sellers that are stealing your photos and using them on sites like Temu and Aliexpress. You should probably check and see if your photos are floating around at other places by using the Google Lens search.

Etsy's AI bots are evidently not well trained and are causing havoc with honest sellers all over the spectrum. It is difficult to know what a person can do to fight this. Maybe someone that has had success with this will chime in and offer some suggestions. 

[EnergyPeace]

no ones bots are well trained. It is too bad that it has already become popular to use AI , long before they work properly.

I was almost kicked off Facebook at one time due to this. After posting in my private widow's support group! I stopped posting there now and only read. It is insane how wrong AI is and yet, businesses completely rely on them. Clearly NOT keeping e commerce human as Etsy keep saying. They need to change their slogan.

[ETERNIADA]

Thanks for your answer!

Unfortunately (or fortunately) my listings that were in the block do not have stolen photos, I checked with Google Lens.

[VintageRescueSquad]

You have to do a reverse-image search and see if your photos appear on other big selling sites. Then, issue DMCA takedown notices and provide proof to etsy you have done so, to show you are proactively protecting your IP (photos)

[ETERNIADA]

I have the original photos of the product that is blocked, without any photo editor processing. Can this be used as evidence? Sorry if my question is stupid, I am very worried

[thecaliforniamagpie]

Definitely do a reverse image search in google. Side note, your work is beautiful and unusual, good luck! 

[OneEyeCatStudio]

This is just bad news all around. Many legitimate shops are being shut down.

You can read through the forum for information or Google Cindylouwho2 's blog for the best up to date information.

[PoochandTabby]

Have you been able to get Etsy support to tell you what exactly the issue is? Other sellers have been able to talk to/get an answer from support  where they'll actually provide a link to another listing elsewhere where the product was found. I would press them for this information/evidence.

Some sellers have reported that the item that they are given a link to is similar perhaps, but not the same product or picture (And sometimes completely different). At least getting that info would get you a place to start and you can either say it's stolen, it's my image on another site I sell on, it's completely not the same thing, etc. 

When I reverse search some of your items, like your resin ring with a fern in it, I see many similar items and if the bots are going for similar and not strictly exact, this is where you may be getting caught up and why you can't find anything exact when you do a search.

As a side note, the charm on a chain thing, while Etsy legal technically, has been causing a lot of issues for sellers making earrings, necklaces, etc. with commercial charms. And while you say that they removed two resin products, I can reverse search some of your non-resin earrings and see that you are using commercially available charms and I can see many similar items, and again with "similar" now being picked up more recently, so while it's not a problem now, it could be a problem for your shop in the unfortunate situation that you're in at the moment.

Google Lens this listing photo and you'll see what I mean. If you're already on your last strike, then you may want to re-consider products like this for now until the bot situation gets sorted: 

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1771749658/dangle-and-drop-gauges-wiccan-gauges?click_key=bc42f13577...

[ModJose · Accepted solution]

Hello! We're sorry to hear you're experiencing issues with your listings. We've forwarded your concerns to a specialist team. Thank you! 

Please know we handle support inquiries privately per our Community Policy – we’re closing this thread, so you can get the support you need from us directly.