Second Deactivated Listing, Please Help Support Needed

[AnnaPrintsCoShop]

Hello,

Today I received an email from Etsy saying that one of my listings violated Etsy's Creativity Standards and that it was deactivated. No additional information was provided about what specific part of the creativity standard I violated. A few months ago the same thing happened and a different listing was deactivated for violation of Etsy's Creativity standards. However, I've read through Etsy's Creativity standards multiple times and I have no clue why on earth either of them would have been flagged. I am especially confused because neither of the flagged items are any different in form than the other 300+ items I have in my shop, so I have no idea about how I could potentially fix any issue with either listing. The other thing is that because this is the second time I've had a listing deactivated, I've now lost my star seller badge that I've worked so hard for, and I've been warned that if I have another violation my shop will be shut down (this is my main source of income).

To give a background, I sell art prints of antique paintings from the public domain that I've edited myself and digitally remastered (change the coloring, take out blemishes etc). I print them myself with a very expensive fine art printer and package them myself, I own the printers, paper, etc, and I don't use anyone else. Because of that, all of my items are considered handmade. I use my own images in all of my description photos (most of my photos also include my shop name). 

Since I've heard that sometimes people get flagged for having their images stolen by websites like Temu, I did a reverse google image search on my images and didn't see anything right away. The only thing I can think of is that the painting for the item I recently got deactivated is a Van Gogh painting, so there are many other people who sell a version of it online and some have somewhat similar photos to mine, even if they aren't the exact same. Still, I don't see how this is a violation since I am using my own images.

Interestingly, both the most recently deactivated item and the previously deactivated item had been up for months and had both received multiple sales before they got flagged. 

I tried sending a message to Etsy support, both when I got a listing deactivated months ago, and when I got a listing deactivated today. In both instances I received an email that said Etsy support that gave me no additional information about my deactivation and said that they could not help me reinstate my listings and that I should just try to make sure to not violate the policy in the future. I also even tried calling Etsy support last time, and they said they couldn't give me any additional information. The problem is, without any additional information, I have no clue how to avoid another deactivation in the future, especially since all my other listings are basically the same as the deactivated ones (they're just different paintings)- and like I said before, I'm supposedly on my last strike before they deactivate me.  

I really just want a human at Etsy to review my listing and tell my why it got deactivated. Has anyone has any ability to get this to happen before? 

Also, I know this seems a bit extreme, but like I said, this is my main source of income, so I'm really worried- is there any potential legal action that might be available to me if I do get shut down?

[ArtDollsbyJD]

Have you checked to make sure that the art work is in the public domain?  Age is not enough.  Many paintings are owned by museums that have control over how the image is used. 

Van Gogh I see two different answers. One based on date but the Van Gogh Museum owns the paintings and has specific requirements for use.

I'm not an art lawyer.  You might want to discuss this with an art lawyer to make sure what you have is in the public domain. 

[AnnaPrintsCoShop]

Thanks for responding. Yeah, I am sure the painting in question is in the public domain. I know that some museums have restrictions on how the images of the paintings get used, but I try to be careful to avoid using the files from museums that have restrictions. I only source the original files from websites where it clearly says that the image is in the public domain.

[AnnaPrintsCoShop]

The other thing is, in the email to me, it never said that it had anything to do with an intellectual property issue. (Based on what I've seen, if it was an issue with the painting not being in public domain, I would receive an intellectual property warning and not a Creativity Standard warning), so I'm doubtful that's in play here. 

[NanaLetha]

Etsy bots most likely found the same photo on another website 

[DivineCrossings]

It’s also possible that Etsy thinks you’re violating creativity standards. The artwork either should be your own original work or an authentic vintage piece of art (over 20 years old) – not a reproduction of a vintage piece. Just looking at your shop I got the impression that you are selling new reproductions of art created by famous artists or new reproductions of vintage pieces. I’m not sure what hand you have in what you’re selling, even though you’re claiming “made by”. But who knows, I could be wrong.

[AnnaPrintsCoShop]

Thanks for your input. To clarify, I'm not just taking a file from online, clicking print and shoving it in an envelope. I often spend up to an hour or 2 editing/digitally remastering a painting (changing colors, taking out blemishes etc). I do all of my printing myself on my (very expensive) fine art printers. The printing process is also a bit complicated, I use multiple paper types and each requires specific ICC profiles and complicated settings that must be changed every time to get proper color accuracy. I then trim the prints. It took me weeks to learn to do this whole process correctly. Does this not qualify for the "made by" category? My competitors who do the same thing also use the same category.

[LastCentury]

How did you access the image for the deactivated listing? Was it via online & someone's copyrighted image of that painting? Some of these obscure paintings from galleries where you aren't allowed to bring in your camera so there are few images of the artworks available. It's not always like the Rijksmuseum and others where you can freely download and sell reproductions.

Basing your main income on printing artwork that doesn't really belong to you, that everyone else can also have access to just by doing an image search and then set up their own shop selling those same paintings, touched up or not... seems like risky business esp with the way etsy's image recognition bots work these days. Lots of "painting" shops look like yours these days with the artwork in a neutral distressed frame on a neutral wall and the shop name across the bottom. 

[AnnaPrintsCoShop]

I know many museums don't allow reproductions of their images, which is why I am careful to only use sources that clearly state the image is public domain. Also, in my message from Etsy, they never mentioned intellectual property violation, just a creativity standard policy violation.

[AnnaPrintsCoShop]

And yeah, I get it's a bit of a tenuous income source if this is how Etsy bots work... but I really am passionate about it. I often spend hours taking a beautiful painting and digitally retouching it for my shop- and for printing, it took me weeks to learn about the nuances of fine art printing (paper handling for the printer, ICC profiles, getting all of the settings right, how to cut everything properly). 

[BagmakerSupply]

@AnnaPrintsCoShop: You need to keep in mind that "violated Etsys creativity standards" can encompass much more than just if it is handmade by you personally. The violation can be anything from a 'prohibited' word in your title, description, or tags, to a non-conforming primary image, to being misclassified in core details, to intellectual property infringements, and a lot in between.

While we can only speculate on what the trigger was that flagged your listing, one other thing to consider is that Etsy wants a shop to "to create a unique end-product". In the jewelry world if two shops are putting the same charm on the same chain only one of them can be unique.

And Etsy will not tell you in detail what the trigger was but it would explain why 'similar' items seem to be getting deactivated.

"My competitors who do the same thing also use the same category." Probably the worst way to determine the right way to do something, or if it is even allowed on Etsy, is to go by what your competitors are doing. False positives aside, Etsy let a lot of violations slide for a very long time, and now the rules have changed and it is clear that Etsy has stepped up enforcement of the rules.

[AnnaPrintsCoShop]

Edit, this has now been handled satisfactorily by Etsy and my listings reinstated.