Sellers Whose Original Photos Were Stolen by Alibaba Scammers Are Being Penalized by Etsy Bots

[#1]

Etsy bots are doing reverse image searches and taking down listings with photos that are also found on scammer sites.  We all know that Alibaba and Temu scammers scan Etsy daily for best sellers to steal designs and images from original artists.  These stolen photos and designs are then ripped off and sold on websites for pennies.  It's nearly impossible for independent makers to file DCMA take downs with these websites, but to add insult to injury- Etsy bots are now deactivating our original handmade listings because they are finding these photos and mistakingly assuming the scammers are the originals.  I've had it happen twice now and I fear all of my best sellers are vulnerable because my photos are beautiful and scammers steal them all the time.  Etsy needs more human beings dedicated to taking a closer look when we open help tickets.  I've had a best seller down for almost 3 weeks now. I am losing revenue every day. I have submitted many photos of my process from start to finish.  I work so hard on my photos and designs and shop. Etsy needs to rethink this method of determining what is or isn't handmade and to address this issue with adding more team members to whatever team it is that handles our help requests!

[CryzalisDesigns]

It is easy to remove watermarks, but the scam sites do not even bother, they copy the full listing from Etsy including your name, description and images with watermarks

[CryzalisDesigns]

If the bots are as accurate comparing images as they are with the new price comparison joke then everyone is at risk

[BobsWhiskers]

I was just searching for some help for the exact same thing you just wrote about and came upon this thread.  I had one of my most popular designs deactivated with no clear explanation.  They don't respond to my help requests.  I also fear that more of my most popular designs will be removed.  I've been feeling scared and abandoned by Etsy.  It's been 18 days and no reply.  My hope is that they are recognizing this problem and are actively trying to resolve it.  

Several times a week my customers are contacting me about a different site with images stolen from my shop.  Now I see I'm not alone.  

[cindylouwho2]

@BobsWhiskers did the email say it was deactivated under the Handmade policy, or for another reason?

[cindylouwho2]

Wanted to post something I nested earlier in the thread:

Etsy said a month ago that the corporation wasn't taking down handmade bot-caught listings anymore, but were instead deindexing them and reinstating them within 48 hours if a human couldn't review the listing in that time. https://community.etsy.com/t5/Announcements/An-update-on-how-we-re-keeping-Etsy-special/m-p/14345600... I have seen numerous examples of that not happening in the ensuing month.

Guess that was another Etsy over-promise that they are underdelivering on! 

[BlackSheepDyeworks]

@cindylouwho2, you beat me to it!  I was just looking for the announcement where Etsy talked about improvements to the bot listing removal process. Yes, over-promise and under-deliver.  Again.

There was another announcement about an improved (i.e., speedier, and human) appeal process for shop suspensions.  I'm not sure if anything has actually improved in that department, but I see that as the #1 thing that could help here, immediately - give these sellers a specific, easy-to-access appeal process.  Don't leave them hanging (with best sellers deactivated) indefinitely.

[BobsWhiskers]

It did say that it was deactivated under the Handmade Policy etc.

[cindylouwho2]

@BobsWhiskers thanks for confirmation! 

[BobsWhiskers]

I did receive a cheery newsletter proclaiming how easy they were making it to communicate.  I was traveling and lost track of the newsletter. Still looking.

[BobsWhiskers]

Are they really short of workers, like so many places...not evil?

[BriarMoonBeads]

I suspect because it's easy to be short on staff when you don't want to pay/train humans to do something bots can do instead.

[RamblinRoseSoaps]

Not making light of this problem, for sure.  But if there were ever a bright side to having a shop that barely gets traffic, thus very few sales, let alone any best sellers, this would be it.  

[audreytherese]

I've actually joked with friends about that before. I want to be comfortable and make some sales, but I've never wanted a 'bestseller' or anything else that would bring attention to my shop that way, as those are the ones that get copied. They have to battle to stay relevant with the product they created. 

Just like how some people want to be millionaires, but any time I've been around those types of people there's a constant flux of people looking for handouts (everything from the tear jerker stories to requests to support political candidates, it's all the same to me). And that's just one of the down sides to it. So I would never want to be a millionaire.

Just like I'd never want to have an Etsy 'bestseller' badge. 

[CryzalisDesigns]

I will also never get a bestseller badge even though 2 or 3 designs sell all year round.

I keep making a new listing for each and every product with new images.

For similar reasons

[BobsWhiskers]

I'm not used to taking part in these threads.  How to I find this thread again if I leave for a while?

[cindylouwho2]

@BobsWhiskers https://community.etsy.com/t5/notificationfeed/page

[melteddose]

Same thing happened to me! My bestseller was removed for violating handmade policy. It’s been more than a week and all the replies tell me that there’s nothing they can do and that I need to contact Trust and Safety to provide them with information yet there’s no email and the link they sent me to appeal doesn’t even work. I have sent them so many messages, proof of me making the necklace, my studio with name and date yet they say “ While neither myself nor anyone else at a more senior level are able to reconsider the decision to remove your listing at this time, I want to assure you that your experience has been documented and we will keep all that you've shared at the forefront of our minds as we continue to look for ways to improve the buying and selling experience on Etsy. “

I’m so frustrated.

[audreytherese]

I call BS. They are able to reconsider the decision. I've seen them do it before. If they truly aren't (which I don't believe) then they should reconsider their position and titles within this selling platform, and even if there is anyone competent enough to continue running this platform at all. 

[KrissyEwinsArt]

I’m in a similar boat right now with my bestseller. It really sucks so I’m sorry it happened to you!

As an update, did you ever get it back in the end?

[PowderBlueBijoux]

For sellers finding their photos on those big sites like Temu, AliExpress & Shein selling Chinese counterfeit merchandise, you should report the theft on review sites like TrustPilot with the Site's name, the seller's name and the listing numbers. I found my photos on Temu and Shein with them selling copies of my designs. You can't contact the sellers through the listings to tell them to remove the listings, so I wrote detailed reviews on TrustPilot about it. They do monitor those reviews sites and they are pretty quick to take down the stolen copyrighted photos. Getting the actual counterfeits removed is harder. They will also send you a contact name and email address to report it to them. There was a recent class action case against Shein by a few clothing designers in the USA that were ripped off by them, so they are trying to prevent more cases against them and of course denying that theft actually happens. The theft is usually aimed at small designers because they think we can't afford to fight them, I would love to see a huge class action case against them by a huge number of Etsy sellers.

[ASweetSweetBoutique]

Same here!!  Been here selling for 12 years and it’s been my full time job for 10 of those years.  100% handmade. Proven several times through the years with pics of my studio and process. I have signed model releases from all my baby models. I was physically present for most of my photo shoots. I have proven this over and over and over again. My photos were stolen by China manufacturers years ago. I’ve been fighting the good fight weekly reporting on multiple websites for years. I went on Temu a few weeks ago and filed infringement complaints on several items only to then the same day have Etsy take the same listings down that I reported on Temu as not handmade.  Which in turn tanks my sales and this is usually my busy season.  Like I literally can not at this point. I sit in my studio all day painstakingly handmaking all of my items just to be treated like a shop selling Chinese factory trash breaking all the rules. I might as well just order the nasty knock offs from China and sell them in my shop. That would at least save me the hours of time and the $ I spend on the expensive beautiful materials I use. The crap they make using my pics is abhorrent. Absolutely nothing like the beautiful pieces I create.  Just so over it all.

[VivienFrankDesigns]

Have any of your listings been reinstated by etsy? I had 5 items taken down because of stollen images ( alibaba etc.) last week and now I am on final notice and my star seller badge removed. All images and items 100% handmade by me.