No more Chat or Phone number to contact Etsy?

[LaBoutiqueDeLaJoie]

I asked a question to the Etsy Help about marketing money I have to pay even if i have no marketing ads.

The problem is that to send the question, I have to give more confidential information about me (last numbers of credit card and French salesperson number)

When they answer via my mail box, they ask even 2 more confidential information in a mailbox that is not securised. 

I think i'll stop selling here, no way not to have a Chat service as in the past, and by Chat, they didn't ask so many crucial and confidential information! and the answer were very fast.

In all the other marketplaces they don't as for all that! and they all have phone number or Chat service!

[NanaLetha]

Are you talking about Etsy off-site ads? When you reach a certain dollar amount, they are mandatory.

[NanaLetha]

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000338367-How-Etsy-s-Offsite-Ads-Work?segment=selling

[LaBoutiqueDeLaJoie]

offsite Ads are optionnal, and i didn't activate this option. 

I think Etsy automatically added new ads to the internal Etsy marketing and I deactivated it too. 

But my question is now about the Help and assistance to seller. No more Chat? nor telephone number?

[PrimFun]

@LaBoutiqueDeLaJoie   Offsite ads are not optional once you reach a certain amount.  The information is in Help.

As to Etsy asking questions, that is correct because your question is financial and they have to make sure they are speaking to the owner of the shop.  When you send in an email request and it is financial, they will ask for that information.

Chat will ask for that information too.  So the fact you didn't the other time means the question was not financial.

Etsy is not asking for anything that any hacker can use.  Only want the last 4 digits.  That's an incomplete number so it can't be used by anyone.

But Etsy does have to confirm they are talking to the owner and that is how they do it.  

[vintageNCtreasures]

Etsy does not have or publish a phone # to call.
Any phone # you find online is a scam.

You can only request a call back from Etsy through the help pages.
Here's a link for a call back, sometimes it works sometimes it does not.
Submit a request – Etsy Help

Have you set up "Etsy ads" through the marketing tab on your shop manager page?

Lots of sites ask for the last 4 digits of your credit card, bank account # or social security # to verify it's YOU they are "talking" too.

[vintageNCtreasures]

All sellers were opted in offsite ads over 5 years ago.
As long as you weren't over the $10K (USD) amount, you could and can OPT out.

Settings > off site ads > opt out.

Once you reach that amount, you're opted in forever.

[LaBoutiqueDeLaJoie]

They asked me for all this before sending my question to them. 

But they ask to give them all this important information again on my hotmail box.

In the past, on the Chat, they didn't ask all that. 

Moreover they ask all this for a very simple question that's not confidential.  

I want the to come back to the Chat, if not, i don't feel like going on selling here. Why did they stop this important service? For years, the help by Chat was excellent and fast. 

[LaBoutiqueDeLaJoie]

I'm a seller in France, and the other marketplaces don't ask all that, as you can contact them directly from your Personnal account in their sites. It was the same thing with the Chat help on Etsy.

In france we have a protection of confidential information, and it shouldn't be necessary to give all this information when you ask for a simple question.  

In Europe we have: Le Règlement général sur la protection des données (RGPD)

So Etsy in France can't ask confidential information via a non securised hotmail box.

[PrimFun]

@LaBoutiqueDeLaJoie   If you did not send an email using Contact us under HElp in the shop manager then you were using an old email address that has been coopted by someone else.

Chat is available but as I said above they will ask for the same financial information.  They have been doing this for the past couple of years.

[SinthsPrints]

You are my hero for posting this link! Thank you so much! 

[vintageNCtreasures]

I seem to remember that the "Chat" box that shows up on your shop manager page is only for sellers with the star seller badge which I don't see in your shop since you don't have a smooth shipping badge.

Chat is an option on some topics on the help pages along with either a call back from Etsy or you send Etsy a message.

How Does Etsy's Customer Support Chatbot Work? – Etsy Help

Etsy provides a customer support chatbot which uses artificial intelligence, or AI, to provide you with more efficient and timely customer support. 

You don’t need to enter any personal data to interact with the chatbot. The chatbot automatically categorizes customer questions into topics such as payments, returns, refunds, or delivery status. However, for certain escalated issues, we may ask for information to authenticate your account before transferring you to a human to assist.

[LaBoutiqueDeLaJoie]

if Etsy ask for the information via the Bot, it's different, beacause the communication is within Etsy.

But now Etsy is asking for confidential information via gmail, hotmail, etc...  so there's no security at all. 

Even if someone hacks the mail and reads the confidential information, this person could contact Etsy, give them my confidential information and make Etsy believe he is me!

Etsy as a marketplace, should provide a message box within their website, as is the case with most other marketplaces.

This is a security problem. That's why i don't know if I'll go on selling here. Since I learnd this, i stopped publishing new ads, and i have just a few left

[MyOverstuffedAttic]

I do not have SS and I still have Chat. It may have more to do with Etsy Plus. I had SS until this month and the only thing that changed is the lack of sales, not chat option.

[ThePurplePuppy]

@LaBoutiqueDeLaJoie  If you are being asked these questions in an email and not thru Etsy it is probably a scammer trying to get your financial information. You should NEVER click on links in an email as it takes you to a "fake" Etsy looking page. Always go to Etsy through the website. If this is the case and you clicked on links and gave banking information call your bank immediately and ask what to do next.

I think I am reading this correctly as your post has been translated to English and I am not sure the translation is correct.  Somehow you got  hooked up to Etsy through an email and not  through the website dashboard? And you gave them financial information? If so--phone your bank--ask how to proceed!

[DesDesVintage]

@vintageNCtreasures @PrimFun EU shops can opt out of offsite ads even if they make over 10k. Etsy can’t force offsite ads in the EU or force a shop to advertise on sites they don’t not support. 
@LaBoutiqueDeLaJoie I don’t have star seller and was able to request a call back about a month or so ago via the Etsy pages. Sounds like a scam. I would not use your Hotmail to send important info. 

[ChantillyAvenue]

@LaBoutiqueDeLaJoie 
If my understanding of EU law and Etsy policy is correct, you have to contact them to opt out of offsite ads.  But I realize you're having some difficulty doing that.  I don't know what your dashboard looks like, but the chat option is there for star sellers, and for some others.  You can email support and request a phone call.  https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115013375488-How-to-Contact-Etsy-Support?segment=selling

What I don't know is if/when they do or don't call sellers outside the US.  EU sellers would be better equipped to answer that than myself.  Suspicious emails asking for confidential information could very well be a scam, so you should be careful with that.  If you've corresponded with support in the past through your email account though, you should be able to use the search in your email account to verify the email address they were using.