Will Seller Advisory Board Help Etsy Hear Sellers Voices?

by: Noneya

One day in a magical land far far away, the BOD will realize they screwed the golden goose when they tried to force a free range creature into a lockstep factory yoke.
Fortunately Ina will not remove this post if I mention the C word, but there was a time in Etsy's history when sellers based in China were not allowed to sell on Etsy in the first place. Now, half the site is choked with crud that is also available on Ebay or Amazon for half the Etsy price.
Socks, anyone?

RoKali might have been one weird little biscuit but he had a vision and he wanted to stick to it. Blame it on the investors and the BOD and the CEO and their grubby ideas on mass merchandising what was originally a very organic concept.

by: VintageLady

I am wondering how is the ''vintage'' category represented? None of the anointed ones on this board is a vintage Seller. Does this choice mean vintage is out or not even worth mentioning?  

by: Biglouis

The vintage category has NEVER been fairly represented. Time after time I see an announcement of a ''publicity'' opportunity where sellers are invited to submit a short blurb of WHAT YOU MAKE rather than WHAT YOU SELL. Ive never seen an ''oportunity'' that includes vintage sellers even in the teams of which I am a member. And protests to that effect are conveniently ignored/silenced by team captains.  

by: Watching the Wheels

@Rexford, Etsy went corporate as soon as Kalin went out begging for VC moneys. You can't fault them for wanting a return on the millions that they sunk into the site.

The REAL problem with Etsy is that Kalin also set the insecurity based tone and culture of the site, and the entirety of the staff, from janitor up through Chad is that they are type B personalities and are completely lacking in any true leadership skills.

How many times do these idiots NEED top be advised? It's time to clean house and hire people who know WTF they are doing.

They'll spin around and accomplish nothing. This is what type B's do.

"They" have been advised repeatedly, by me to copy EBay's category breakdowns, and to also look at other sites who seem capable of doing so.

The board is comprised mainly by the VC's whose expertise is in "laying odds and gambling". They, in my opinion, also lack the real skills needed to run a retail establishment.

Now, add their relatively young ages into the mix and you've got a crew indoctrinated in "TEAM", products of a dumberd down educational system , and essentialy incapable of PROBLEM SOLVING THINKING.

I'm willing to bet good money, that the latest surge in their stock price was nothing more than the "day traders" seeing a quick buy and sell profit potential.

Etsy's staff doesn't want to hear the sellers voices and the sellers don't have enough sense to approach the board from a professional level.

by: Watching the Wheels

@Noneya, the buck still lands in Kalin's lap. It was him, after all who sold himself to the highest bidders.

Sitting there publicly despising Wall Street money, but chasing after it and begging for it quickly enough.

Maybe, he should have been more willing to actually work.

by: mcposty

No it wont work its only a ruse to look like they care.

Etsy is idiotic.

If a company truly wanted to change, they would hire consuktants and people who have actual sales experience and implement those changes

by: StayClassy

This isn't the first or even the second time Etsy has pulled this useless PR prank on it's members, sadly most who remember have either left Etsy or can not speak in the forums. We are left with horn tootin' blowhards like RJ  who I guess has decided to take a few moments away from normal TVP'ing to take part. All Etsy has to do is read the wealth of ideas in the forums , read the countless information they polled and asked for in questionaires , simply take a moment to listen to it's customers (LISTEN not the appearance of LISTENING CHAD ), or of course look at stock prices to see what they are doing is not working.I wish the panel well but have no faith this panel or the next will accomplish anything at all. Another 3 armed sweater.

by: ButterfieldAte

If Etsy truly wants input from the seller community, they already have it at their fingertips - from Q&As to surveys to comments on their ''awesome'' labs.
And yes, the forums. Between comments from the rotating goon squad (PLs are great! You're a conspiracy nut - my wooden heart tells me so! The accursed corporate job! Ebb & Flow!), the cheerleaders (hey! over here!positive thoughts fresh from the farm!) the TVP posts (Are my photos too bright? Are my pillows in the right price range?), there's enough information to stretch from Brooklyn to Bucharest.  

by: Life During Wartime

For those who asked about how vintage sellers will be rep. by the board and subcommittees they oversee -- someone started a forums thread last week asking subcommittee members to introduce themselves.  One was a vintage seller.  I clicked her avatar to view her shop, and right there at the top of page 1 was a branded item from the 21st Century, backdated a couple of decades in the listing to a time before the brand of the item even existed.  Obviously, Etsy vetted the shops of the sellers chosen for the board and subcommittees the same way they vet the shops they choose for features.  This is a joke.

by: NiciArt

I do think it is worth keeping an open mind and not letting past performance speak for future outcomes before judging any process a failure. While I might not be necessarily ready to put on the party hat, the time may have come where cooperation and collaborative efforts may finally help restore Etsy's reputation or at the very least bring about some minor improvements to the site.

As far as the board members, they are all volunteers and very dedicated to at least making an initial effort to work with Etsy. At this point, we may be jumping to conclusions. In all fairness, I would remain indifferent and suggest waiting before passing judgement

by: just passign through

Nici are you RJ's wife?

by: just passign through

This whole thing is a total joke. One of the committee members is making a joke of himself on the etsy forums. If I were one of the other committee members I would want that guy booted. He seems to think he's the boss of the committee HA!

by: StayClassy

RJ - Why do you think the other SAB members have remained silent and professional during this time , does the reason completely escape you? Yet you continue to post every day , multiple times as day , bumping threads , never missing a chance to remind the community you have been selected to the board. What are you gaining from this ?  

Here's your newest:
https://www.etsy.com/teams/7722/discussions/discuss/1735381
3/page/1

Again , another one of your many many threads in which you personally create more confusion & IMHO distrust of this process than any other recent force , including Etsy. I could pull out selected quotes from that thread but I'll let the readers decide.

Because you have a thought or an opinion does not mean it merits expression. You will be heading to meeting with a 15 person panel , which means 14 other view points besides your own .I suggest you do a bit of practice on silence before your arrival.

I'll ''spoon feed'' you something my Grandmother said ''Silence is golden.''

by: just passign through

Great post StayClassy! Clueless doesn't even begin to cover this. I still want to know if NiciArt is RJ's wife or RJ posing as Nici. I think Nici needs to change her password.

by: NiciArt

Nice to see the same mature faces here as well bantering incessantly and offering the same disparaging remarks and baseless criticisms while never once contributing anything constructive. Very classy  

by: StayClassy

You, have never had the pleasure of my banter. I was muted during Coral-gate..go look that one up. Are you so bored with your trolling duties on the forums that this seems like a good place for the fight you seek?

You do not have the personality or temperament to serve on the SAB. I am basing that off what I read from you, that is my basis, You. Do you believe you are constructive? What are you basing that on? As a muted seller I take having a voice to represent me & my fellow sellers very seriously. I believe you have shown that you are not up to the challenge, that is my opinion. Would you like an example? Lets use the thread I linked to above, there are many more of course , many.


Here, you use classic troll behavior, posting something like..

RJ and Nici Laskin from NiciLaskin 10:45 pm Jan 30, 2016 EST
No vintage. Yeap, we don't want you. Out with the old and in with the new :)

-or-

RJ and Nici Laskin from NiciLaskin 10:53 pm Jan 30, 2016 EST
I think it was to save money. They got an estimate from a consulting firm and then decided to just grab 15 sellers instead.

-or-

RJ and Nici Laskin from NiciLaskin 10:51 am Jan 31, 2016 EST edited
I wrote Ina an email and said I would be willing to work with her on providing clarification as the details emerge. Hopefully, with a bit of spoon feeding

Nesting those kind of comments, then leaving them there for hours -people get upset & comment ..then you come back later to say ''Opps..my bad I was joking or used the wrong word''.

Then some one new enters the thread and reads the posts as if it played out in real time..not knowing the conversation was plucked and timed played by you for the greatest affect.

I stand by what I said, you are not well suited to speak for your fellow sellers, You speak only for yourself and your own need for attention - any way you can get it. You came back here thinking you were swiping at some one in your little thread?? You have no idea. I'll stay Classy..you stay Nici.

by: just passign through

Wow...paranoid much Nici er RJ? Which is it? Nici or RJ?

So many people have been muted from the etsy forums permanently. You have no idea. So there are many sellers (and successful sellers) who can read your inane rambling on etsy who can't comment on etsy.

And you making a nasty comment here and trying to sound so put upon on etsy is the last straw for me. You mention your "reputation" and protecting it. You really need to start protecting it from yourself. You have made an ass of yourself for months on the etsy forums. You have taken it to a new level this past few days.

As StayClassy said, you clearly are not a person who should be representing anyone on Etsy.

by: Robin

The FIRST thing Etsy needs to do if it wants any credibility about improving seller/Etsy relations is to reinstate the permamuted.  While there were folks who deserved it (signed up to troll, were cruel, threatening), as mentioned above, some of very best and brightest were permamuted unfairly.  

Remember Yippee Diane?

by: Let it Rain

There is a wall of perma-muted sellers that just keeps growing and RJ/Nici just hit the wall. Most of the muted are smart, savvy , kind , funny , supportive, straight-shooting professionals and nearly all of them understand the behavior of a TVP'ing Troll when they see one. HE linked to this story & made sure to mention the comments so every one would look, several times!That is serious sickness. I agree with Classy 100%.

Good luck Sellers with the SAB when this is the proof of Etsy's vetting process.

by: metalman

It is unbelievable to me that this bloviating mansplainer RJ was chosen to represent the sellers. Etsy is clueless. Every time I see his poor silent wife's avatar in the forums I have to move on. For spewing so very many words, he has so very little to say.