Payment reserves is stupid

[DigitalIterations]

My shop sells only digital downloads instantly available with perfect ratings and a measily balance of $33. Sounds super risky!

[NanaLetha]

You don’t just have digital in your shop 

[DigitalIterations]

I have one non digital that was sold to a relative as a test.  Sounds risky to me!

To think you can be blocked as a seller without poor reviews...

[LastCentury]

I consider any shop unwilling to put their location under their shop name on the shop front page to be risky. Add No About, No Profile, No Shop Announcement, nothing about you in you shop front - even more risky and many shoppers would just bounce to another shop that will have a complete shopfront. Buyer confidence is important.

edited to add - and no shop policies that I can see. An incomplete shopfront is not treated as well by etsy.

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

@LastCentury Digital only shops are not required to put their location since digitals are shown worldwide. 

[LastCentury]

@JJewellerySuppliesUK Yes, I know. BUT many buyers want to know where their money is going. To me and many other shoppers, no location = no sale.

[NanaLetha]

@JJewellerySuppliesUK  they are not just a digital shop 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

Your baby ballerina is not an instant download. it is listed as a physical item, and says it is on 10.3ml thickness paper

your first sale of a fluffy kitten picture was also a physical item

You sell to the EU and UK, so you have to have to have your address, and e-mail address in sellers details, and have to have a privacy policy

[bradgoodell]

"My shop sells only digital downloads instantly...."

I'm confused.  You have only 4 listings listed under your category of instant download, the rest appear to be physical items with shipping prices and ship-by dates.  Surely you know this?  

[DigitalIterations]

POD is basically DD.  I can't list a location because it ships from anywhere to anywhere.  This info hasn't changed from the start when access was granted to sell.

If this WAS the justification, they wouldn't let me sell in the first place.  Instead, they let me run ad dollars, sell things, get good reviews, and then block me. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@DigitalIterations 

etsy doesn't vet things first, either someone reports you, or a customer complains, or you come up on their radar somehow, then they notice, and act

you have to have the correct ships from location

you just have to, or anyone opens a case for NAD, and they are refunded in full

also, it breaches the fee avoidance tous, and you are really clobbered with that.

2. Fee Avoidance

Any action by a seller to avoid paying a fee is considered fee avoidance and is strictly prohibited by Etsy. This includes, for example, encouraging buyers to purchase an item in your Etsy shop through another venue. A transaction initiated on Etsy may not be completed off of Etsy. The price stated in each listing description must be an accurate representation of the sale. Sellers may not alter the item's price after a sale for the purpose of avoiding Etsy transaction fees, misrepresent the item’s location, or use another user's account without permission.

......

 Buyers will receive a full refund for purchases that never arrive, arrive after the estimated delivery date window, arrive damaged, or do not match the listing description.

If an order does not meet the expectations in our programme, the buyer is entitled to a full refund, including all taxes and postage costs:

C. Items match the listing description. Items received should not be significantly different from the listing description or photos. We may ask the buyer to provide us with documentation to demonstrate that the item is significantly different. Here are a few examples of qualifying scenarios:

• The item received is a different colour, model, version, or size.
• The item has a different design or material.
• The seller failed to disclose that an item is damaged or is missing parts.
• The buyer received the incorrect quantity of items (e.g., the buyer purchased three items but only received two).
• The item was advertised as authentic but is not authentic.
• The condition of the item is misrepresented (e.g., the item is described as new but is used).
• The item was dispatched from a different location than advertised

[bradgoodell]

POD is definitely NOT the same a DD.

POD orders can:

1. Never be placed with the POD company, so never shipped.
2. Canceled by the seller before the POD ships.
3. Be delayed for weeks in the mail.
4. Get lost during shipping.
5. Be "not as described" and the buyer doesn't know that until it is delivered.
6. Have the wrong item delivered.

In any of these cases, the buyer would be due full refund.  And it would take a week or more before the buyer even realizes there is a problem and reports it.  During that time, the seller could take the money and do a runner.   Etsy doesn't want to cover those losses, hence the reserve.

The fact you don't see the obvious differences and between DD and POD, and the difference in risk for Etsy, is a good clue that Etsy had good reason to put your shop on Reserve.

[KraftyHomeStudio]

You also sell paintings, so the question is not correct.

[Vintorious]

Assuming the "sounds risky" is sarcasm? Regardless, payment reserves for shops that sell digital items make sense if you factor in the hundreds (thousands?) of shops that sell digital downloads of images/designs that do not belong to them. Many of those illegal files receive positive reviews, so that isn't really a good way to measure risk to Etsy and unsuspecting buyers.

[JMOldeVintage]

Digital Downloads are a purchase that I can within seconds have in my hands once the purchase is approved.

The downloads you are selling all appear to be non-custom listings so I don't really understand your about section that announces you enjoy the challenge of creating custom digital artwork.

Now yes, the art work printed on the prints you offer may be your original artwork, but they're not digital offerings. So maybe your About Section needs fine tuning?
Next, these items/prints are "made-to-order". There is nothing custom about them.
Here on Etsy, customized items usually include names, dates, pictures sent by the buyer to a shop owner & placed on "this item".

For more information on why Etsy may have your account on reserve:

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360058722214-What-is-a-Payment-Account-Reserve?segment=selli...