suspended and deleted accounts

[Former_Member]

Hi everyone, I'm just asking out of curiosity, what's wrong with etsy? Why are thousands of users complaining that Etsy is suddenly, without explanation and without warning, suspending and then deleting entire stores? what absurd policy is this, what is it dictated by? It appears that etsy is interested in closing stores voluntarily. this would also explain why they don't even bother to give a reason. I have (had) 3 shops on etsy, two of them were suddenly closed, no reason. I'm honestly anxious about still being on etsy, I'll try to get away from it as soon as possible and I won't recommend it to anyone.

[BlaqKat]

The only ones I've seen where people complained about their shops shutting, where ones that had infringing items or were full on resellers. I haven't heard of Etsy shutting down compliant shops. Some where forced onto vaca mode if they had a lot of outstanding orders and were taking a long time to complete them.

[ArtDollsbyJD]

Etsy has the right, it is listed in the TOUs, that they can close any shop they feel does not meet Etsy's TOUs.  

Also if a shop does not comply with banking or tax information in a timely manner Etsy can suspend the shop.

The TOUS are quite explicit about what Etsy can do.

Etsy doesn't give reasons because of laws and also because a seller has to have read the pertinent information to selling on Etsy.

If your other shops were selling the same items as in your current shop, you cannot do that.  Each shop owned by a seller has to be different and unique from the other.  Such as vintage in one.  Handade in another.  Jewelry supplies in one, Jewelry in another.  Kids clothes in one and adult in another.  You cannot sell the same item in more than one shop.

[GlassyFields]

I don't believe Etsy is perfect so I do think it's possible for a shop complying with all Etsy TOUs to get shut down in error.

But the vast marjority of the threads I've read about shops being shut down is because of a problem,

reselling, selling items that Etsy does not allow, infringement, too many cases, too many instances of late shipping.

I'm actually glad to see Etsy enforce their rules. I think it benefits every legitimate seller by keeping the site cleaner. I do feel for seller who gets shut down in error and hope they are able to successfully appeal that decision.

[bradgoodell]

I see a few legit shops accidentally get caught in Etsy's sweeps.  But I see a lot of shops that violate policies getting caught.  Mainly:

1. IP infringement
2. Selling counterfeit goods
3. Reselling
4. Lots of cases
5. Late shipping
6. Bad feedback
7. Issues with banking, credit card info, ID issues

Sellers often want to attribute it to one reason, but sometimes it is a combination of issues that flag the shop.

[bluntaxedesign]

What concerns me, as only being on Etsy for less than 24 hours, is the number of times I've been asked to verify myself, my bank info, my credit card info, my bank balance, etc...  Apparently I've sold the only 2 items that I have listed, but I can only complete the transaction by giving the 16 digit number, expiry date, 3-digits on the back of my card and bank balance.  And if I don't do this, then my shop will be (1st) suspended and (2nd) closed.  

Do I really need to give this information or risk getting shut down before I even get started?

And how can I verify that this stuff is legit?  I've just had a message from Marilyn in Etsy Support asking again for all this.  First it was Cindy, now it's Marilyn?!

[PieceByNumberQuilts]

@bluntaxedesign   You have NO sales. These are scam messages you’re receiving, they’re not from Etsy. There are hundreds of other forum threads about the inundation of scammers Etsy currently has.

Do NOT provide any bank or credit card info in response to these messages.

some things to read:  

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Announcements/Protect-Your-Account-From-Scammers/m-p/143158945#M1882

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Announcements/New-From-Etsy-section-in-Messages/m-p/143722497

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Managing-Your-Shop/How-to-Spot-a-Scam-No-a-Buyer-Doesn-t-Need-Your-Ema...

[DragoninKnots]

It sounds like you've been hit with a lot of spam messages.

There's a special folder "From Etsy" on the message page for messages that are actually from Etsy.

[LastCentury]

@bluntaxedesign you have made no sales. Sounds like a scam to me. Where did these messages come from? Mark as spam.

And then complete your shopfront so you look like a pro that knows what they are doing.

https://www.etsy.com/seller-handbook/article/the-ultimate-guide-to-starting-an-etsy/838957668224

[howtobooksandmore]

There will always be a few shops that get caught up in any enforcement efforts made by bots.   Sellers who are running legitimate shops can get them opened again if they persist.

But the ones who come to the forums complaining they have checked everything and nothing violates Etsy's rules because they handmade everything are inadvertently or deliberately violating someone's rules.  Other sellers have to repeatedly ask what they are specifically selling in order to give them any help.  And then they refuse to believe that their hand drawn picture of Mickey Mouse violates anyone IP rules and all you have to do it list it as inspired by.

Some rules, such as making health claims are federal laws and declaring that something makes you feel better or will cure something violates these laws.   All CPSIA laws must be followed when you sell things for babies or children.  Etsy should not have to include these in their terms of use.  I have seen very few shops that were shut down that shouldn't have been.

[Former_Member]

You've probably never had this problem, but if you just had a chance to look around a bit, for example take a look at the etsy reviews on trustpilot, you could see that out of 13,000 reviews, 9,840 are one star and the majority of people whose shop has been closed or suspended for no apparent reason.
This is a bullying attitude that undermines the hard work of many people, but apparently you were not aware of this phenomenon. Thank you anyway.
Ps: I had 3 shops of different categories, configured identically. One from 2017, the other more recent ones closed.

[LastCentury]

trustpilot... of course there will be many low reviews! people who are doing ok do not even think to take time out of their day to leave great reviews on third party sites like trustpilot. 

AND, of course many sellers who have been bumped off etsy through their own fault will be annoyed & will still feel entitled that they did nothing wrong and will want to share their grievance publicly.

[Former_Member]

I think you are perceptive enough to realize that, if in a small country like Italy, there are 10,000 people complaining about the same problem, perhaps there could be some behavioral anomaly on etsy's part. It is highly unlikely that such a massive number of complaints are due solely to incorrect behavior on the part of users.

[howtobooksandmore]

Given the large number of shops violating the TOUs of Etsy, I would not be surprised if the problem is with Italian users and not Etsy.  It may be a problem with the translation of the TOUs being misunderstood there but there are other countries, including the US where users don't understand the meaning of the words handmade, vintage and supplies and will argue until threads are closed that they right and Etsy is wrong.

[Former_Member]

trustpilot Italy, maybe the problem is with the Italian shops, I don't know

[OneEyeCatStudio]

"what absurd policy is this, what is it dictated by?"

The Etsy TOU, mostly.

[CreationsKimmysGoods]

They closed my shop yesterday no reason.. I was just starting to make 30 sales a month and enjoying designing. I do mostly AI art on handbags .. They did this to me last year. And then, two months later I get an email saying it was a mistake and then they reopened my shop.. Now this has happened again. Do not put all your eggs in one basket. You cannot get ahold of anybody. They have awful customer service. They treat their sellers very bad

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