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]

i do not care if it was a bot Etsy is filled with actual people and nobody has reached out or was willing to help me in anyway. Thats not customer service especially to somebody who gives you there hard earned money.

[WhatsNewPussycat1]

@VintagexzWasNMore  Look at all the almost instant help personal one on one contact with detailed info you received here which should help you in the future in knowing whats right and whats wrong... 

[BootifulLabels]

You just need to understand that most functions on Etsy are automated and AI systems do not consider feelings.  Your item with an amber stone was most likely picked up by the AI filter and removed as some configurations of items with amber stones are prohibited.  It is a shoot first and ask questions later approach.  The AI filter isn't programmed to judge the listing's validity, it simply removes all listings with amber in the title, tags or description and flags them for a staff member to take a more extensive look.  If they find the items is not one that is prohibited, they will reinstate it, but with millions of listings being added or renewed every day, it can take a week or more for this to happen.  It is not personal, it is just the way it is.  If your item doesn't reappear within a couple of weeks, it probably means it was found to be a risk.  Etsy is a service provider, if you choose to list here, you have to accept their rules and their terms of use.  Sometimes that may mean putting up with occasional listing delays if your products are in certain categories. Most of us have had listings removed, the majority are reinstated after a while.  If you are going to run a business, you need to develop thick skin.  Not every interaction is a deliberate slur on your character.

[VintagexzWasNMore]

You all are helping yes but I am talking about Etsy it's their responsibility to support the community it has created.

[VintagexzWasNMore]

If I had thin skin, I would accept that Etsy does not care about its sellers but I don't 

[WhatsNewPussycat1]

etsy upper management refers to us as churn we're nothing more than numbers...

[VintagexzWasNMore]

Thats very sad. I won't accept that sorry it may annoy some people, but I am not churn. I am a person with a business I believe in and am trying to build. this is how I make my living they do not get to mess with that take my money and then consider me churn. 

[WhatsNewPussycat1]

Myself I don't like a lot of things all my no risk business partners pull but I'm free to pick up all my toys and go to another sandbox they don't care but my end game is to make money so I if I want to dance I have to pay the piper. I've been at this for 25 years and its gotten easy to live with as time goes on...

[Franziska]

Right or wrong, Etsy has set things up so that there is very little contact with staff directly.  They do expect sellers to know their rules, even when they change them with no notice.  It’s not discrimination - they treat everyone this way. And we have the choice to stay or to go. We agree to Etsy’s rules when we sign up.

There is always a learning curve wherever you sell.  Etsy will never reach out with a kindly personal message if something is a violation. They don’t have the staff to do that and even when they had more staff they didn’t do it that way. There are too many sellers for that to occur.

Im sorry you are upset but this happens to most of us at one time or another. Sometimes it’s a valid deactivation and sometimes not.  One has to have fairly thick skin to be an online seller.

[WhatsNewPussycat1]

I did get a Happy Holidays card from the monster it contain a card a package of 29 cent seeds and a note they were going to help me grow my business in 2023...... How special is that...

[Franziska]

In past years I’ve received a tote bag, a calendar and some other small goodies. Nice but I’d rather that search get fixed!

[VintagexzWasNMore]

@Franziska and if I get terminated what then? I put all my money into making this work and made Etsy my primary place for people to go. So i should just except it and enjoy my time living on the streets?

[Franziska]

You shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. And a business needs to have funds enough to get by for some time without turning a profit. This is business.

We agreed to Etsy’s terms when we signed up. If you don’t like it the best thing to do is go to another platform that you like more. I personally don’t know of one that is friendlier to sellers but maybe there is one out there….

Not trying to be harsh, but realistic. I’m been on Etsy for well over a decade.  You will have to decide if you are comfortable here or not, they are not going to change things in the way you want, unfortunately.

[WhatsNewPussycat1]

@VintagexzWasNMore  if you take how you feel you should be treated as a customer and toss that out the window,but apply it to your buyers you'll grow and prosper if you treat your customer in the manner that etsy has treated you you'll die on the vine. etsy can get away with it because of volume and as sellers you"ll never have that luxury..

[Amaradorn]

A word of advice: when you make your first sale Etsy will reach out to you for your ID (if they have not done that already). While they verify your ID they often suspend the shop - this is normal now although you will probably get no communication from them explaining why. They also seem to like applying a payment reserve to new shops where they withhold a percentage of your funds for 45 days. This can often be overcome by sending everything with tracking (although it is not guaranteed to release funds). If you get any problems like this do come back to the forums.

I like to think of Etsy as a computer game - jump through all the hoops and kill the monsters and you'll be able to build your business here. I wish it was easier but it is what it is - it's still worth selling here. You'll get the hang of it soon enough.

[VintagexzWasNMore]

How do I send everything with tracking?

[VintagexzWasNMore]

@Franziska you are right they won't especially when its life blood and only reason for its existence sits back and just accepts it and does nothing. You are basically telling me to sell my humanity just to fit into this community. It's not for sale and I won't leave. I seriously do not know how so many people that make up this community do not see that if everybody is together then things have to change or Esty would lose all of its business however if you just act like nothing can be done then nothing can be done. I do not live my life that way.

[Franziska]

Do what is best for you. We are simply explaining how Etsy works, you can accept it and potentially prosper here or go someplace that is a better fit.

I see this a business and I have a loyal customer base here and elsewhere. If Etsy stops working for me then I will leave. In the meantime, I abide by their rules as I agreed to do. I don’t have to agree with how they run their business and neither do you. It’s fine to be idealistic but this is Etsys sandbox and their rules. Perhaps you might wish to open your own stand alone site where you create all the rules. I wish you luck whatever you decide. But taking offense at a Bot deactivation doesn’t bode well for you here. Much is automated now.

[WhatsNewPussycat1]

It depends on what type of shipping service you pick some comes with free tracking others you have to pay for..

[BrickHouseFabrics]

Over the years there have been many calls to leave, boycott, etc... it has never made an impact

People moved to other sites, and without any sales, came back; people tried to boycott, most did not care, certainly it did not make any difference to Etsy

There have been issues over many things- Who remembers Coralgate? 

And there are other sites- Artfire, Bonanzle, etc... but the big sites get the traffic. 

You definitely should look at other venues- Ebay, I don't know if Amazon has a vintage section... certainly some people do use it for supplies and handmade. But, be aware, each venue has its own rules. If you want better customer service- Ebay has it... don't know about AMazon from a seller's point of view. 

Start by just reading a bit of the handbook every day, make sure your shop is well set up, that your SEO is optimised for both ETsy and Google, make certain your shipping is well set up... you will be fine, but it takes time. 

Remember, all you are doing is renting space on a platform. And that is all you are doing. You want to sell, and Etsy wants a piece of the pie. They provide a platform, a way to take money, and move it for you, but really, that is about it. While there are other services, like buying labels for shipping, there are other places that will integrate with Etsy, where the shipping costs less. 

Your concern is to sell, theirs is to make money. But, like anything new, there is a learning curve. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@VintagexzWasNMore 

etsy has bots, that takes down things it doesn't like,

they are absolutely equal for every listing, it is very fair, as they are programmed instructions, and checks every listing the same way.

...

If you are relying on online sales for your income - DIVERSIFY, do not, ever, rely on one platform, it is very poor business practice,

Platforms change, they come and go, new CEO's take over, new laws come in, or etsy wakes up to laws that have been around a long time, or they find their policies they had, didn't cover them the way they thought they did, so they tighten them up.

make sure you put contingency plans in place now, so you can cope when things change - because one thing is certain, they will change

...........

in the last year, there have been a lot of changes - childrens clothes with strings, baby swaddling, UKCA, plants, knives, small batteries, financial verification, "sleeker" trademark reporting, requirement for tracking, requirement for delivery days, the Canadian implementation of HST/GST, change in the whole policy strategy, and buyer protection, .... and probably a lot more I can't remember
amber has been around a while, so has Cuba, Havana etc.

..............

running a business, has always been risky, due diligence, contingency planning, and a flexible business plan is key to success.

[VintagexzWasNMore]

I appreciate everyone's insights and perspectives on things even the ones I completely and categorically disagree with. One thing is for certain though I do not give up. I will build my shop, but I will not be treated badly no matter who it is. I will make my voice heard every time. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

you miss the point, it's not you, you are taking this personally,

the bots are reviewing all listings the same way, and you really do need to understand this, or you won't be here long

[VintagexzWasNMore]

@WhatsNewPussycat1 which ones come with free tracking?

[WhatsNewPussycat1]

Priority mail  UPS Fedex I think 1st class mail does now and USPS ground I'm not positive on them because that isn't my job that task belongs to my gotta be a bookkeeper wife...