Please Help! My listings were removed for not meeting Etsy's Creative Standards.

[StoreByElifUS]

Hello!

Today, I found out that my top four best-selling products were taken off the list due to Etsy's Creativity Standards. I've been selling on Etsy for about nine months now. Initially, I struggled with technology and didn't know how to become an Etsy member or sell my products. Because of that, I sold my handmade mugs to a few people who then listed them on Etsy for me. Earlier this year, with my nephew's help, I finally opened my own Etsy store and started selling my mugs independently. I handle everything from the design to the production process myself. If needed, I can provide proof through a live connection and share videos and images of my work. I can even create mugs during a live broadcast to demonstrate my process. I'm hoping to get some assistance in reopening my listings. What steps do I need to take to prove my case? I truly appreciate all the support and ideas from everyone.

Thank you!

[Natalya1905]

What items were they? Pacifier clips? They have small parts (beads) that are choking hazard for babies,

You may want to read this: https://www.etsy.com/legal/policy/childrens-clothing-and-products/239344787532#:~:text=Etsy%20prohib... 

[UppNorthEh]

the mug in the feedback below the pacifier clip feedback.

[Natalya1905]

@UppNorthEh Latest sales history is mostly pacifier clips, and one is them is labeled "Bestseller".

What could be wrong with the mugs? One of them is available in several Etsy shops and on Alibaba. 

[UppNorthEh]

It looks like all the solds are pacifier clips because the mugs have been deleted by etsy.  You can see them in the feedback and when you click on it you get This Item is Unavailable page.  The mugs are showing in lots of other places so that is probably what is wrong with them.

etsy has left the pacifier clips up.

[NanaLetha]

Pacifier clips with beads are not allowed 

[UppNorthEh]

the OP is about mugs.  etsy has left the pacifier clips with beads.

[StoreByElifUS]

Hello, It's about ceramic cups. Not pacifier clips.

[PlatypusDream]

@StoreByElifUS 

Those pacifier clips need to be removed before Etsy removes them for you.

They are dangerous choking hazards.

I hope you have good insurance in case a family sues you for killing their baby with your product.

[TheVintagePineapple]

It could be because of the ''few people who then listed them on Etsy for me.''  Now that you're selling them yourself, Etsy might think that you're reselling something you didn't make.  

Are the mugs still listed in those other sellers' shops?  If those sellers didn't list you as a member of their shops, then they too could've gotten in trouble for selling handmade things they neither designed nor made.

[StoreByElifUS]

yes. I tried to reach the other seller. But he didn't answer. If he has been selling on Etsy since the beginning of the year, he has probably sold 10 items. I have sold hundreds of items since I listed the items on Etsy. I qualified to be a Star Seller in 3 months. I don't know what I did wrong.

[TheVintagePineapple]

@StoreByElifUS The other seller probably didn't read the rules about what can be sold here.  Maybe he thought he was helping you by selling something of yours, but apparently it backfired and now it's a problem for you.  It doesn't matter how many he sold or how many you sold.  The mugs were being listed and sold in his shop first, along with any other Etsy sellers' shops who tried to help you.  Unfortunately, you now look like the reseller.

It also doesn't matter whether he responds to you or not now.  Even if he deactivates his mug listings, the damage is done.  

[PWOriginals]

@TheVintagePineapple 

^^^Yes, this is the short of it.

@StoreByElifUS 

The first mistake was yours, with allowing other shops to break the rules and sell your product under their name. It took off from there, as they spread to other sites.

All I can recommend is to make mugs with a totally different design. You may not ever be able to recoup those deactivated listings back.

You have to do the searches yourself to find other places selling your products. Many sellers have to do this and file DCMA (or is it DMCA, can never remember) to get those removed.

Etsy's bots are trained to remove "same" or "very similar" products they find elsewhere. They don't care who made them first - that's something you'd deal with on your appeals.

But, the pacifier clips are definitely problematic. If the bots find those and remove them, it could result in full and permanent closure due to too many deactivations.

Good Luck!

[StoreByElifUS]

I just received a message stating that I won't be able to achieve the star seller status again. How is this possible? I put in so much effort to earn it. I'm really sorry about this.

[PWOriginals]

From your sold listings, I did a reverse image search on one of your mugs and found the exact mug listed in other Etsy shops, Amazon, etc.

Did you list them in your shop while those sellers had them in theirs as well? Lots of issues here.

[StoreByElifUS]

I've been creating these products for many years now. I'm not sure who purchases them and lists them on ETSY. To be honest, I haven't looked into it much since I handle the production myself. I never considered this to be against any policies. I assumed that they would sell their items while I sold mine, as I am the one making them. Additionally, most of the buyers tend to sell at festivals instead of on ETSY, meaning their sales on that platform are quite limited. My listings gained popularity on ETSY due to my competitive pricing and quick shipping.

[PWOriginals]

@StoreByElifUS 

You'll have to file takedowns to each store who is selling your mugs and then prove to Etsy that you have cleaned them all out of other sites and ask them to be reinstated. They didn't use your pictures - they took their own with your exact mugs.

However, you gave permission to a few folks to sell them for you, so I don't know how much luck you'll have in getting them to stop now. If those Etsy shops were selling them as handmade by them, that's another no-no. You can't list them in your Etsy shop and then allow others to list them as well as handmade.

[PoochandTabby · Accepted solution]

When I reverse search the mugs from your reviews, I'm seeing them for sale on and off Etsy by sellers in Turkey. 

If I were you, I would fill out your about section and put up a video of you making these mugs essentially from start to finish. 

I'm also seeing some of your crochet clips on Alibaba, Aliexpress, etc., so you have a bigger problem on your hands than just the mugs.

Since you're in the US, you should consider filing DMCA notices against these websites/sellers who are selling the same items/using your pics, if you are indeed making everything for sale in your shop. 

These days, with Etsy, you're guilty until you prove you're innocent, so if you want to keep your store, you need to start being proactive in protecting yourself and your shop from closure if you are the original maker. 

[UppNorthEh]

are you the one who has them on youtube?

[StoreByElifUS]

I don't know what you're talking about. But I was a live broadcast guest for a festival in PA. And I showed my products in this live broadcast. This video was published in many places. I wonder if you're talking about that video of mine.

[StoreByElifUS]

What steps can I take to challenge this decision? How can I present the evidence I possess? What can I do to demonstrate that I created this product? I'm feeling really down right now. 

[StoreByElifUS]

How is this possible? Can you send me one of the alibaba and aliexpress links? I want to check this. Is the about me section my store page on ETSY? Is there a video uploaded there?

[WhimsyCharmSt]

Are you making the items such as the hair clips handmade in your shop? Looks like you’re reselling items bought from places like Temu and other places

[PoochandTabby]

Just go to an image of your products in your shop using Chrome, right click and go to 'Search with Google Lens' and that will show you anything that Google finds similar and you'll see, especially with the flower clips that they are super similar to what is online. 

The problem is that the bots seem to be picking up, not just exact matches, but similar items too now. 

And so if you are crocheting something from a pattern that everyone else who can crochet can also make from a widely available pattern, you're going to have problems these days. 

On your shop homepage, go to edit and then scroll down and there is an about section at the bottom. There you can write about yourself and how you make your items and then you can upload pictures and video of your supplies, you making an item, etc. Since your mugs got taken down, you should make a video of you making one of the exact mugs that got removed if you want to fight it with Etsy.

Hope that helps.

[StoreByElifUS]

I do not buy any products from Alibaba Temu or anywhere else. I make all of these products myself. The problem is this. The production of handmade products is the same. In other words, the same visual products are produced in certain ways. For example, look at this.
https://www.etsy.com/search?q=digital+crochet+animal&ref=search_bar
You can make the same products here. All you need to do is get a digital map. I also make products with such digital maps. It will never be exactly the same product. However, it can be similar.