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Fri Apr 30 2021 11:20:45

Etsy Quietly Bans New Sellers from Certain Geographies

By: Ina Steiner

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Sellers located in certain countries suddenly found they could not open up a new Etsy shop this week. "Etsy closed new shop registration for all countries where Etsy Payments is not currently available - except India," a reader informed us.

"And what is most interesting, they did it secretly, without official announcements," the seller continued. "It was just that on April 26, suddenly, people were unable to register new shops."

For many years, Etsy had few restrictions on how sellers chose to accept payments, and many used Square and PayPal. Etsy began forcing sellers into Etsy Payments (similar to eBay's Managed Payments initiative) where it was available, but it continued to allow sellers in other markets to accept PayPal. With the new policy enacted on Monday, that's no longer the case for new shops.

While PayPal is available in 200 countries, Etsy Payments is available in only 45, according to this Etsy help page.

The seller pointed us to a help page where Etsy confirms the new practice, where it states, "As of April 26, 2021, most sellers opening new shops on Etsy are required to onboard with Etsy Payments."

The page links to a survey where it explains why Etsy made the change:

"This year, more and more people are shopping online and millions of new buyers have discovered Etsy, which has resulted in an increase in order issues for purchases not completed with Etsy Payments.

"When a buyer purchases from a shop that does not have Etsy Payments, Etsy can’t help facilitate the payment process or support in resolving order issues between buyers and sellers."

The survey page continues, stating:

"We’ll continue to work to expand Etsy Payments into more markets, but in the meantime, we’re building more checks for the non-Etsy Payments onboarding process in order to address potential issues for both buyers and sellers and to help keep the Etsy marketplace safe.

"For the time being, in locations where Etsy Payments is not currently available, new shops will be temporarily unable to onboard to Etsy."

Thanks to the reader for bringing this to our attention, and keep us posted if this impacts your selling activity.

Comments (8) | Leave Comment | Permalink

Readers Comments

Etsy Quietly Bans New Sellers from Certain Geographies

by: Silver Ice King

Fri Apr 30 12:57:10 2021

Nothing new for Etsy, remember where their CEO got his training in online commerce, GREEDBAY!!

Etsy Quietly Bans New Sellers from Certain Geographies

by: The End

Fri Apr 30 12:58:45 2021

I'm guessing it's because there was a Run on new shops being open by the people "Etsy" is ripping off with the 12 - 15 % Success Penalty Fee (SPF).
This is just the start.
"Etsy" is hanging itself with its own rope, hand crafted in America of course....
Google is positioned to engulf "Etsy" at this moment. Like a giant jellyfish surrounding a tuna......
I know I find it most satisfying to shop All Over Google. The Little Guy is prominent.
As It Should Be.

Etsy Quietly Bans New Sellers from Certain Geographies

by: postbuster

Fri Apr 30 18:19:26 2021

Dear TheEnd,

Great insight! And commentary.

Sadly, this will be very fun to watch because of how they treat those they depend on.
Hopefully, they all get found for their corruption so these rats don't get away to ruin other businesses like they normally do.

In the past, some people told the CEO's of today that one day they would run something big. I hope that those people sorely, SORELY regret telling them that.

Etsy Quietly Bans New Sellers from Certain Geographies

by: pennyemporium

Fri Apr 30 20:39:28 2021

Etsy has been quietly changing the user agreement, as well. the forums have seen a large up-tick in the number of "why has my shop been closed?" and "why were my listings removed?" threads.

in one example, Etsy has changed the rules on listing porn, for example, vintage playboy mags were always welcome in the past. here is a snip for a current thread in the forums:

"Etsy's Rules: https://www.etsy.com/ca/legal/prohibited/

"As a creative community, we tend to be fairly liberal about what we allow on Etsy, but we draw the line at pornography. Beyond that, we restrict mature content so that people who are offended by this kind of material don't have to see it. If you are selling mature content, we ask that you be respectful of differing sensibilities.

More Details:

Pornography of any sort is prohibited on Etsy, whereas mature content is restricted.

Although pornography can be difficult to define, an item generally qualifies as pornography when it contains printed or visual material that explicitly describes or displays sex acts, sex organs, or other erotic behaviour for the sole purpose of sexual arousal or stimulation."

also, there seems to be a groundswell

Etsy Quietly Bans New Sellers from Certain Geographies

by: pennyemporium

Fri Apr 30 20:50:43 2021

(silly fat fingers hit the post button early)

also, there seems to be a groundswell on the forums of sellers becoming increasingly frustrated with the resellers and the shops blatantly violating any number of Etsy policies. it feels overwhelmingly like the olden days on eBay, when the community used too police the site and eBay dutifully deleted the offending listings. until that time when Ebay didn't care anymore. and folks stopped policing.

same thing is happening on Etsy... so many shops appear to be getting away with everything, that the community seems to be at the ''Etsy can hire people to police it's OWN site! i'm not doing it any longer for free!''

the violation that most seems to rub people the wrong way is the sellers offering ''collection boxes'', for example, a fancy dollar store box filled with random movie time or dollar store candy. do a quickie search using ''mexican candy box'' or ''american candy box'' to get an idea.

Etsy Quietly Bans New Sellers from Certain Geographies

by: The End

Fri Apr 30 21:44:24 2021

Mmmmm..... I could go for a popcorn variety box :o)
So, Etsy has become adversarial, and predatory.
Like Cancer, it lodges into the host shop and sucks the nutrient income out until it dies.
Josh Silverman MUST be relieved of his duty.
A new CEO of the CORRECT variety must be installed immediately.
Josh Silverman is an ABUSER. And should be banished from the corporate landscape forever. Never to so much as serve on a board again.

Etsy Quietly Bans New Sellers from Certain Geographies

by: Chicago48

Mon May 3 05:30:23 2021

Well! that's a bummer isn't it? Does that also apply to Ebay payments? With what Etsy does with mandatory sponsored ad fees and Etsy payments, I'm surprised they still have sellers. I guess the sellers have upped their prices to make up the difference?

Etsy Quietly Bans New Sellers from Certain Geographies

by: Stone Cutter

Mon May 3 13:02:52 2021

Good. Etsy has gotten too big. Now with over 4 million sellers, Etsy can finally clean-up their site while affording to restrict some countries from participating. So many overseas shops come to Etsy forum complaining they cannot make any sales while looking for U.S. buyers. The reality, if overseas shops cannot produce unique products, there is no reason for U.S. consumers to shop overseas, anyway. Online has gotten too big.

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