closed account by Etsy by unfairly

[IALShop]

Hello,

Etsy has closed my account (IALShop) because of the order from Qatar.

A customer from Qatar ordered 50 t-shirt.

Etsy consider that that order was money laundering.

I contact to customer and she said that has a big family and her son birthday party.

She also contact to etsy team and send t-shirt photos of arrrived.

She request to reopened the IALShop again, but etsy does not care.

[nineteen27]

did etsy actually tell you in writing that you were money laundering?

[vintageNCtreasures]

I was thinking the same thing.
Did Etsy tell the OP that??

[cutebutton]

@nineteen27 

yeah I feel like if they for real think that you are money laundering you don't get a message from etsy.  You probably get a visit from the FBI or some law enforcement agency.

[vintageNCtreasures]

If the payment was cleared BY Etsy's payment processor and it was OK to ship the order and you shipped and the buyer got it, then WHY would Etsy say you were money laundering? That makes ZERO sense. 

Seems they're more to the story than the OP is telling.

What did the t-shirts have on them?
Disney, cartoon characters, any trademarked words?
If so and you did not have permission from the companies, then you were selling counterfeit items which are prohibited for sale on Etsy or anywhere.

[cutebutton]

what?   There is more to this story!!!!!  I don't think etsy contacts someone because they have a big sale and accuse them of money laundering?  

But this has peaked my interest HAHAHA!

[anythinggoeshere]

Deleted by poster.  Wrong place.

[anythinggoeshere]

@IALShop  We can’t help in any way.

[OneEyeCatStudio]

Exchanges of information are helpful to everyone.

[anythinggoeshere]

Got it, Exchange away.

[cutebutton]

I'm not saying at all this is what happened, but say when you verify your bank account with plaid and there is some suspicion of money laundering (which is why this whole plaid thing is going on) do they shut you down and then tell you that you are under suspicion?

I'm not saying the OP is doing illegal stuff but it does make me wonder what happens in a situation where etsy has reason to suspect something.

[blzopbhi]

It is unlikely the shop was closed due to alleged money laundering because Etsy is not a law enforcement agency and cannot take such action without a court order.

Is it possible the shop was closed due bank account verification not completing?  Etsy gives the reason of "money laundering prevention" as the reason for the verification and they will shutter shops if the process was not completed. That would be the only connection between "money laundering" and the shop closure I see.

[OmasFabricStash]

Etsy can close any shop, for any reason, or for no reason, whenever they want to. 

[CarpetCollectionAU]

@MULLANPHYLANE I agree with your assessment. I have a feeling that we are seeing the first evidence of what Etsy will actually do in the event thata Shop does not verify the Bank Account Holder information through "Plaid by the "cut off" date.

Either that or the Qatar order and the closure were purely coincidental and there are other reasons for the Shop Closure.

After all, the Qatar order has been delivered, so it is obviously not recent. If this was going to trigger closure, I doubt it would have take this amount of time to take action. But the size of the Order (or a POD Partner) may have highlighted some problems withthe Seller's product.

[SugarTaffySoap]

There seems to be confusion as to why your shop was closed down but it sounds like a violation of their policy.  Sellers in the forums cannot help you. 

[mommawhazelsquilts]

Etsy definitely closed with almost 1300 sales.  

No records at all.

[TickleYourWitch]

@OmasFabricStash Maybe so but that isn’t really helpful. Lol. I’m sure you would sing a new tune if your shop was just closed down all of a sudden. Would you just say, “oh well, Etsy’s sandbox?”

[OmasFabricStash]

I was just correcting the information that was wrong. Would you rather have incorrect information stay? If so I will delete it. 

[CarpetCollectionAU]

@OmasFabricStash The information provided by @blzopbhi was not incorrect.

We are not talking about a random closure. We all  know Etsy can do what Etsy wants to do, but, usually, there will be a reason. The OP is assuning a causality relationshio between the Qatar order and the closure. It is more likely that this is a coincidence.

We have been given some facts and, on the basis of these facts, it would appear that the Shop may not have verified Bank Account Holder information by the "cut off" date.

The "Plaid" communications refer to "anti money laundering" and it may be that the OP has interpreted a request to verify via "Plaid" as an accusation that they (or the Buyer) were engaged in "money laundering" practices.

[mommawhazelsquilts]

This is one of those full closure cases.  Strange with so many sales.

[BootifulLabels]

There really isn't enough information here to provide any real assistance, we can only speculate. If Etsy won't discuss the issue with the OP there is probably more to the situation than the OP has disclosed here.  It sounds like the order was approved and sent off, and then somehow Etsy decided that the account was a money-laundering risk.  We don't know why, it may well have been picked up by a government agency looking for such activity, who instructed Etsy to close the account.  It appears the buyer received the order, so chances are the funds were placed in the seller's payment account but shortly after that the account was closed.  In this case, any funds in the payment account would be frozen for 180 days, or perhaps surrendered to the authorities.  As I say, all we can do is speculate.

[TickleYourWitch]

@OmasFabricStash You’re right. I read your comment out of context. My apologies. 

[nineteen27]

i can see what the seller sold and i can see possible reasons for etsy closing the shop.

i do not believe etsy is writing to sellers accusing them of money laundering.

[OneEyeCatStudio]

"i can see what the seller sold and i can see possible reasons for etsy closing the shop."

We all can.

So unless she comes back with more information, I think you are 100% right.

[CatsWhiskersCurios]

I’m wondering if the seller portrayed in the profile and the person who wrote this post are the same person.