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Wed Jan 19 2022 16:55:38

Etsy Surveys Sellers but Quickly Shuts It Down

By: Ina Steiner

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Etsy invited sellers to take a survey but it appears it quickly closed it. Sellers discussed it on the Etsy discussion boards after one person expressed some skepticism over whether it was authentic. "Today I received a survey from Etsy that looked legit. It said it was to “understand how we can improve the Etsy experience for sellers.” I'm about halfway through it and noticing a TON of grammatical and spelling errors. Did anyone else get one of these today? Is it spam or is Etsy getting sloppy?"

Other sellers reported also having received the survey, which one said was powered by survey company Qualtrics.

One seller said they received the survey invitation at 2:14 pm and when they clicked on the survey link at 3:22 pm, the page displayed the following message:

"This survey is closed. We thank you for your consideration. We had such an overwhelming response to this survey that we had to close it earlier than anticipated."

The seller theorized that respondents blasted unpopular features, such as the Etsy Star Seller program; the termination of phone support for sellers; "closing cases within minutes with no seller input"; "refunding customer out of sellers account"; and cancelling orders after they had shipped. "They were likely VERY OVERWHELMED WITH ANGRY SELLERS. For sure, I know I would of commented on these issues," they wrote.

Apparently it's the season for surveying online sellers - eBay also surveyed sellers this week. (It's nice of marketplaces to wait until after the busy holiday shopping season, though January can be quite busy for sellers as well.) According to a seller who took the eBay survey, it was about how sellers felt about the eBay brand.  

Etsy sellers who reported taking the survey didn't describe its contents, but one seller said it took them 50 minutes to complete it. Another said Etsy surveys "are put together quickly and skewed to get certain responses they may want to use in later PR." Others said it contained typos that made them suspicious of its origin.

If you've taken the survey, let us know what it contained and what you thought of the survey.

Comments (6) | Leave Comment | Permalink
Readers Comments

Perminate Link for Etsy Surveys Sellers but Quickly Shuts It Down   Etsy Surveys Sellers but Quickly Shuts It Down

by: pennyemporium This user has validated their user name.

Wed Jan 19 17:15:23 2022

i was sitting at the computer and saw the email blip across my email messages.  clicked on it and immediately got the "tooo many responses" reply... however.... i was suspicious as my email came from "mx08.vgs.untd.com", and the picture of nathan was somewhat blurry and the etsy header was really blurry.  

ina, i will forward a copy of this email to you, just in case no one else has.... thanks for watching out for all of us and giving us a neutral space to share experiences... hugs!

Perminate Link for Etsy Surveys Sellers but Quickly Shuts It Down   Etsy Surveys Sellers but Quickly Shuts It Down

by: dmg61 This user has validated their user name.

Thu Jan 20 08:35:00 2022

I got the email about the survey at about 1:40 PM central time, I clicked on the link before 3:20 PM and was told it was closed already. The email itself looked legitimate, but it was very odd to have it close so quickly.

Perminate Link for Etsy Surveys Sellers but Quickly Shuts It Down   Etsy Surveys Sellers but Quickly Shuts It Down

by: Vintagecat This user has validated their user name.

Thu Jan 20 09:00:03 2022

Interesting. I didn't get a survey at all.

Perminate Link for Etsy Surveys Sellers but Quickly Shuts It Down   Etsy Surveys Sellers but Quickly Shuts It Down

by: fusgeyer This user has validated their user name.

Thu Jan 20 12:36:35 2022

This could be a bogus survey. Sellers enter the survey and now your email address, IP address, and whatever information you entered in is captured. It will be interesting to see if those who answered receive either a lot of spam or if their Etsy shop start receiving bogus inquiries.

Perminate Link for Etsy Surveys Sellers but Quickly Shuts It Down   Etsy Surveys Sellers but Quickly Shuts It Down

by: Mazdaman This user has validated their user name.

Thu Jan 20 15:33:30 2022

Sounds like Etsy is learning from eBay about providing "surveys" to sellers to make them think that their opinion matters, when eBay has proven themselves to be deaf to whatever problems sellers bring up to them.

Etsy may have jumped into the e-commerce market figuring they could hold on to the coattails of eBay, but it's clear from this that they may actually fail long before eBay.

Perminate Link for Etsy Surveys Sellers but Quickly Shuts It Down   Etsy Surveys Sellers but Quickly Shuts It Down

This user has validated their user name. by: The End

Fri Jan 21 02:19:00 2022

Here's the deal :
It's MY BUSINESS.
Etsy is NOBODY to me.
My Business, MY RULES.
I generously invited Etsy to be my selling venue only to get screwed in every orifice.
Silverman will get to know this.  



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