In the last two months I have had two items removed for supposedly violating the Handmade Policy.
However, I make all of my goods from basic supplies (metal grommets, elastic cord, leather hides, and standard threads), cutting them myself, sewing them together myself, attaching the hardware myself, and finally shipping them myself. I have used my own original designs for the last 10 years, designs which have been replicated by others. My photos are also my own, and I am typically featured in the photos wearing the archery items.
My most recently removed item has had more than 1600 sales over the last 10 years, and represents almost 1/4 of my total sales.
There seems to be no recourse for getting an item reinstated, or preventing the Etsy "Trust & Safety" angel of death from visiting my shop again and flagging another item and permanently closing my shop.
I will, however, be taking all new photos, since my original photos have found there way only Ebay, Wish, and other eCommerce sites fraudulently. Funny enough, the two items that have been removed are both items where I had previously copy-cat listings on Etsy and had those other items removed. Did some copy-cat seller just beat me to the punch and get my original item removed?
It would be nice to put the human back into these processes, especially for restoring items that have a long history, many positive reviews, and related criteria.
