Not feeling part of the community

[#1]

I am Distressed at the treatment I feel I have received. Once again, the second time out of my short 4 1/2 weeks being on Etsy has a listing of mine been accused of policy violation. Simple mistakes I made that were dealt with by a heavy hand with no real ability for appeal? I was not directly contacted on Etsy or made aware of my violation until I got on to the app to see my add deactivated. No chance for discussion or a chance to simply fix my mistake instead I have been labeled a policy violator and cannot even use the new explore feature to advertise my shop because I have been given no chances by Etsy.

Personally, I feel picked on and left out in the cold so to speak. I understand it's our responsibility to learn and comply with Etsy policy, but I only just recently learned after all this time how to even properly navigate this site let alone had the time to apparently memorize every word in the list of what seems like a never ending million-page essay on how you can be a violator.

Where is the inclusiveness and support for the little person Etsy talks about?? Because I have received none and honestly cannot see how this company can continue to act as if discrimination is aggressively forbidden when I personally feel discriminated against by Esty for simply being new and ignorant of every detail. How are these actions against me justified? How can you not support us, give us at least one chance to correct a mistake or the ability to be consulted by a member of Etsy about the specific rule instead of making us feel rejected and left to fend for ourselves.

Waiting in fear that something we put everything we had into might get arbitrarily terminated because you can't memorize everything. I cannot be the only new Etsy seller who has been treated or feels this way. I am in so much distress over this and Etsy knows because I made sure, and nobody has reached out to me in anyway shape or form. How all this has been handled is simply not ok and as far as I am concerned shows Etsy as not complying with its own statements of inclusiveness and anti-discrimination

[VintagexzWasNMore]

@CraftyCornishMaids what in the world is HST/GST??

[WhatsNewPussycat1]

@VintagexzWasNMore  once you get the hang of things google pirate ship set up a account with them for your shipping labels it will save you ballpark 40% on shipping a very minor learning curve for their site and almost instant on the spot problem and questions answering service its world class above the rest...

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@VintagexzWasNMore 

harmonised sales tax - goods and services tax

Amazon and e-bay implemented it in a very user friendly way, for registered sellers

Etsy implemented it, by making sellers include all the different rates, for whatever province they sell too, in the price they listed, which, you can't do, as they took away the tool for them to calculate it,
like they did to the EU and UK, so it's an absolute nightmare for tax reporting,

every sale, the have to "reverse calculate" what the tax would have been, depending on the item, province, and tax rates, every... single....sale

[VintagexzWasNMore]

@CraftyCornishMaids There should not even be bots like this company cannot afford enough people to meet demands or at least beef it up I find the Highly Highly unlikely to be even remotely true. You are the one missing my point. I do not care that it was a bot what I care about is that Esty did not step in and take action when I contacted them directly as if their hands are tied and nobody can move, frozen to their desk chairs. Just excepting things as they are has never created any meaningful change in human history not once.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@VintagexzWasNMore 

there are way too many millions of listings here, for anything other than bots to do it,

I also sell on Amazon, and Etsy is a pussycat compared to there

If you sell on a platform, you need to decide if that platform can provide you with what you need, or if you can work with it,

If not, you need to sell elsewhere, or sell on your own platform,
or to mitigate issues, do all 3

I don't compare selling on etsy, to making meaningful changes in human history, and that really should not be in anyones business plan,

Etsy is a tool, like a mobile phone, use it if it suits, or don't use it, or change to a different one, or keep it, and use a laptop too.

[VintagexzWasNMore]

@CraftyCornishMaids lol it's not a business plan it's called refusing to be stepped on. Big corporations are not impossible to change unless we ourselves make it impossible by being complient and silent when they do something wrong. It's a very simple idea that has seen the little guy change many businesses even entire countries.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

for everyone who wants "A" changed, there will be people who don't

and for everyone who wants "B" rule made more lenient, there will be people who want it made more strict

I still think etsy is a pussycat site, and should be much stricter with most of what they do.

If I changed etsy the way I wanted it to be, I am sure there would be a massive uproar with many sellers, even though I think it would be better for buyers and sellers

recollections may vary, as they say,

changing the way etsy uses bots, won't change anything meaningful, not on the planet I live on anyway

if refuse to recognise etsy has bots, and will take down items, and after a certain amount, the shop will be shut for good, being stepped on will be the least of your worries,

[VintagexzWasNMore]

First you have to be willing to no longer accept that a business treats you like you don't exist how some no longer care about that is beyond me.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

I look at Etsy, and look at the bits I can use, and use those the way that best suits my business.

and I do the same with other platforms,

I have no idea why they should care about me, or me about them.

there are under 2,500 etsy employees, and 7 million plus sellers, and close to 100 million active buyers

not sure how much "care" you think there is to go around

they would all be off with stress, if they cared about us all

[VintagexzWasNMore]

I am idealistic not dumb. I will do what I must to comply but if I feel treated unfairly in the future, I will be right back here making a stink about it. Because I don't just float along with whatever way someone, or something feels I deserve as treatment. I am a person and I deserve to simply be treated like one. that is not an over the moon oh my goodness kind of request. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

I still don't think you understand

it's absolutely fair, the bots are programs,

that look at every listing, exactly the same way, 

it's not personal, it's not you, it's not your shop,

when an item is listed, it's a programme searching through listings for specific words

and you do really have to understand that's how it works, or you may not be able to come here, making a "stink"
as only seller accounts can post

[VintagexzWasNMore]

Once again, the company makes an Un fathoming amount of money if they wanted to do the right thing by its community it could, but they won't because everybody lets them. 

[LuvianWoollens]

@VintagexzWasNMore 

I think you are missing the point. 

Being idealistic is valuable, but you have to also be realistic. 

Etsy is a business model and has its own rules, it is not something you can change. 

You take things very personal here....

Take what you can from the platform or leave if you very unhappy with it. No revolution will  change Etsy market place. When a seller goes, new one takes its place and that's how it works. Just try to use this market place in the best possible way for you, and don't take business attitude so personal. There are millions of potential customers here, try to take advantage if you can.

[VintagexzWasNMore]

Is that your way of saying if I don't button up I will get reported because that's nice.

[OmasFabricStash]

This might help you realize that Etsy isn’t picking on you personally. There are millions of shops on Etsy so they can’t really help each one and explain what the problem is. All of these have also had Etsy’s attention.

"Etsy executed 54,247 properly submitted takedown notices, removing or disabling access to 537,163 listings from 147,963 sellers. We closed 13,446 shops for repeat infringement."

"In 2020, the proportion of shop and listings flags from users in comparison with the ones from our tools remained consistent from 2019 (20% against 80%). 82% of our flags were reviewed within two working days."

This is almost 150 listings taken down and 37 shops closed every day. I’m sure there are a whole lot more now.

[byLaurieB]

@VintagexzWasNMore There are approx 9 MILLION sellers on Etsy . With all it's faults as a business it is doing very well .... it generated 3.2 Billion dollars 2021 . It really isn't interested in our sensitivities .In fact the CEO refers to us as " churn" . ......as fast as sellers leave even more arrive. Etsy's modus operandi is do what's right for Etsy's share holders. I really think in view of this you have to adjust your expectations. It matters not how often you protest the rights of the "little guy" in this thread, and constantly talk about "not accepting " your treatment, the reality is you don't matter one jot and you are not going to make a difference with your objections when something is clearly working from Etsy's viewpoint. Of course there is nothing to stop you making suggestions to Etsy, we all have, just don't expect too much. Either accept the platform with all it's faults ( there are also many good points ), grow a thicker skin and learn to adjust and use Etsy in a way that suits you..... or move on. That is the reality.

[VintagexzWasNMore]

Nobody seems to get that I do not care about the bots. I do not care about the bots! I know what a program for identifying certain words is. The fact it exists without checks and balances from living breathing people to whom it then takes almost 2 to 3 business days or more to resolve is my problem. The fact that nobody at Etsy is willing to do anything about it when I make them aware is my problem and no amount of not so thinly veiled statements about my termination will make me feel any differently about it. I am not a number, churn, cog or invisible money-making tool. I am a person and eventually somebody has to understand that because I cannot believe on a site of this many people every last one of you has been trained into blind compliance. If that is so, then society at large has a whole bigger issue then my wanting to simply be treated with dignity. by the company I give my money to.

[LuvianWoollens]

@VintagexzWasNMore 

All people here will agree Etsy will never get a Customers Service award!

It is actually the worst customer care I have ever seen to be honest, and it is something they really need to look at, it is disgrace.

Wait to see the automated refund system they have in place, I am pretty sure you will be stunned by it!!!

[Thedinkydoodlestudio]

The forums are a way of keeping costs down.  On any given day hundreds of sellers receive pertinent info to address their issues from other sellers.  I certainly do not want to pay any more than I have to.  Perhaps you could suggest to Etsy management that they offer different payment tiers where those that are prepared to pay for personal service can select the more expensive option.

Contact - support - more options - suggestions and feedback - email.

Hope this helps

[SchaetzeVonGestern]

Jede Plattform macht ihre eigenen Regeln und das tut sie um a.) Geld zu verdienen und b.) nicht selbst abgemahnt zu werden.

Ich habe mir deinen Shop angesehen, zumindest einen Artikel und es scheint, daß du in die ganze Welt verschickst.

Du bist in Texas und der Versand von dort nach Albanien ist nur geringfügig teurer als nach USA?

Hast du dich mit LUCID, Verpackungsgesetz für jedes einzelne Land und Zollgesetzen auseinander gesetzt?

Das kann dir schneller das Genick brechen als du Bernstein sagen kannst.

[VintagexzWasNMore]

@LuvianWoollens I am done but no I would not be better off somewhere else I choose to be here, and I won't be made to feel bad for thinking differently. You all do as you please it was my mistake for thinking anybody here would be sympathetic, I will remember that in the future. So dont worry Laura I am done.

[LuvianWoollens]

@VintagexzWasNMore 

You very sensitive and your idealistic way of thinking is brave and deserves admiration.... But unfortunately reality is different and it hits hard sometimes. 

Try to be bold, don't take things personal, at the end of the day it is just about money.

Take what you can and try to make Etsy work for you. I once was like you but learnt my lesson the hard way.

Good luck with your shop. And also you can get tone of helpful information here in the forum from other sellers.

[anythinggoeshere]

@VintagexzWasNMore 

Only Etsy sellers can post in the Etsy forums.  There are rules to posting in the forum which if broken can get your posts and even you removed from posting in the forum.

Read through them if you want to be able to post your opinions about things on Etsy. And your shop is here, but can be closed by Etsy at their desecration.  If your shop or account is closed you can never open another.

You might want to read the terms of use for Etsy.

[EtsyForumsTeam · Accepted solution]

We appreciate our sellers sharing their knowledge and experiences of Etsy, and always appreciate your feedback. However, this conversation has included some problematic exchanges, so we'll bring it to a close now. Please post with respect for your fellow members. Thanks for understanding.