etsy inactivated an item?

[VintageAgelessThings]

I was trying to rearrange pictures in a listing and it told me that the photo could not be cloned, so I just tried to save the listing.

It gave me the "a stitch has gone awry" banner.

I tried again a few times to save the listing.

Then a "this item is not available" came up.

When I finally found the listing, it was in the inactive items and said it was deactivated by etsy!

I have been on etsy for awhile and know most of the reasons and this is an item made by me and has no prohibited components.

Is this happening to anyone else?

[VintageRescueSquad]

It may have been triggered by a bot. What was the title and tags? That may explain it

[VintageAgelessThings]

Handmade Necklace Beaded Wire Wrapped Golden Brown Faux Pearl and crystal

can you see anything wrong there?

[vintageNCtreasures]

Any chance you used Amber in the tags or description to describe the color?

Or any of these words in the tags/description: ivory, Cuba, Havana.

ETA: I searched for "amber" in your shop and did find one item a stretch belt with amber rhinestones so you might need to remove amber from that title (and tags/description if also there).

Also one item with "ivory" a crochet top and skirt.

[VintageAgelessThings]

Yes, I did use amber, as a color.  Didn't know amber was not allowed.

Glad I found out as I have a few bracelets with real amber that I was going to list.

Have to double check my listings, is there an actual list of the words you cannot use?

[OneEyeCatStudio]

" is there an actual list of the words you cannot use?"

No, Etsy appears to enjoy the  guessing games way too much to do that.

But if you are not using actual amber or ivory, sometimes you can get the listing reinstated.

[PrimFun]

Amber and ivory are items that the bot will take down.  You will need to wait for Etsy to release the item provided the beads were not small.

If released and you don't want to have this happen again change the color to honey red, honey orange or honey gold.  

[TBQSC]

Use different ways to describe the "colors" (yellow, brown, orange, white, cream, etc) ... that way, it should let you list things.  Be sure to show the actual colors in photos so buyers can compare what you are trying to legally describe.  

[VintageAgelessThings]

If I make a new listing of the item without the word amber, is that going to trigger any problems?

It really isn't too important to go thru trying to get the listing reinstated, as it is one of a kind. 

Thank you all for your help.  It is so kind of you to double check my shop!  I have made the changes you suggested.

I thought I knew most of the triggers, but I learn something new every day!

And what makes Etsy so special are wonderful shops helping each other!

[BagmakerSupply]

@VintageAgelessThings: "If I make a new listing of the item without the word amber, is that going to trigger any problems?" The problem is that we rarely know what the actual trigger for a deactivation is so it might be a gamble.

[PrimFun]

If you make a new listing for one Etsy deactivated and Etsy finds it. it could be a ding against your shop.  Wait for Etsy to release or change the colors and ask them to release the necklace.

[SugarTaffySoap]

@VintageAgelessThings  Did you receive an email from the integrity team to find out why your item was deactivated? If not, go to chat support through your dashboard and ask them why the listing was deactivated.  They should be able to tell you what word or why.  There's many threads here about not using the word amber. Having a team review your listing thoroughly would be the answer.  If it is accepted they will reinstate it. If it's because of the word amber you can create a new listing omitting that word.  Sometimes the automated system makes an error in which case the integrity team will send you another email and reinstate the listing(s)..

My deactivation was in the description. It was reinstated due to an error of the automated system. The Seller Handbook is helpful too.  Hope this helps. Good luck. 

[Former_Member]

The ironic thing is OP might not even have the chat option there any more as the shop now has a 'policy violation'.

[VintageAgelessThings]

Thank you for all the support!

[kateandginny]

Yes. This week Etsy sent rejected the sale of an item two times but the customer still wants it and I still want to sell it. It is a set of 4 glasses and is not prohibited. I also got an email from Etsy saying they deactivated one or more of my listings and gave me a general policy link, saying that they might suspend my account if I do not comply. I do not know what they're talking about. They no longer have a phone number. This sucks so bad. 

[BagmakerSupply]

@kateandginny: Sounds like two separate issues. If Etsy declined a sale it is usually because the card was declined or a fraud flag was raised. Etsy will not tell you why (lots of legal reasons), but it should make you cautious.

As to the deactivation, every eMail from Etsy support should have a link something like "I Still Need Help". Click on that link in each reply from Etsy (or actually reply stating that you still need help) to keep the report alive. You may have to do this innumerable times, before anything is done but do not give up. DO NOT open a new issue or contact Etsy multiple times about the same issue (doing so closes the one you already opened and puts the new one on the bottom of the pile).