Shop Forced to Vacation Mode

[PaydayPennant]

I recently formed an LLC and after updating my EIN and charter number information on Etsy, I received an error that my info couldn't be verified, and that I'd have 2 more attempts to enter correctly. My shop was then frozen and put on vacation mode.

I contacted Etsy Support via the chat window on my store manager, and a representative mentioned they would escalate this and to look out for an email with next steps, but it's been several days and I have not received any further communication from Etsy. I also noticed that the same help chat feature is no longer available in my Shop Manager.

I submitted a support ticket which has also received no activity other than a canned response upon submission. I've since reverted my taxpayer info back to a sole proprietorship/SSN, which was pretty quickly re-verified, but the store remains locked in vacation mode. 

Has anyone else had this happen? How was it (or was it) resolved? Was there a method to get in touch with Etsy support beyond what I've already tried? What amount of time was your store offline? What were the lasting effects on your business? Any insight is appreciated!

I was laid off from my job a couple weeks ago and this is my sole source of income at the moment. This feels like I just got laid off from my side hustle too... All because I wanted to form an LLC and take it more seriously. The irony would be funny if I didn't have such a pit in my stomach...

[UppNorthEh · Accepted solution]

There are lots of posts about this.  I don't know how or if they got their shops back.  Just saying so maybe you could do a search to see of there are any solutions.

Too late for you now but very best advice is don't change anything in your account, not even your phone number.  Etsy does not deal well with change.  

[TheVintagePineapple]

Other sellers have had the same issue as you're now having, so one of those sellers would have to advise you on how it was worked out.

Did you reply to the canned response you received to say ''I still need help''?

FYI - Whoever your problem was escalated to may be taking a closer look at your shop.   If you still have full access, edit your shop and disclose your licensing agreements with the companies that own the tv shows and the celebrities.

[BagmakerSupply]

@PaydayPennant: "I recently formed an LLC ..." The verification checks are run against official databases and there have been reports that there is commonly a delay of 4 - 6 weeks between IRS issuing a new EIN and updating their public facing database.

Fan made / fan art is not a defense for intellectual property infringement when the item for sale, so you may want to make sure that your listings include your licensing information, since it appears that Etsy has ramped up cracking down on violations https://www.etsy.com/seller-handbook/article/22398703823

Hopefully one of the Etsy moderators will see this thread and refer your case to a specialty team so they reopen your shop.