Etsy Distracts Buyers with Search Filters Inside Listings

by: Queen of the Jungle

Without a doubt, one of the worst scams that Etsy has ever come up with.   In fact, it's so bad that I can't believe it's even legal.

We pay for our listings and in many cases, an extraordinary amount for advertising to try and get customers to buy our items.  Imagine how I felt when I read the forum thread that showed what they were doing- my heart sank as I realized the explanation as to why I have thousands of views but no sales.

Etsy has been literally hijacking my buyers!  They have it set up so that as soon as someone clicks on the listing, they are shown buttons underneath the photo that give different prices and arrival times.

At first it looks like they are for listings within my shop, but NO!  As it turns out, when they click on one of the buttons, it takes them AWAY from my shop to someone else's shop!

Something needs to be done about this asap.     They are killing us before the holidays.   Things are bad enough with this horrible economy.

I cannot believe that they hire idiots like the ones who came up with this stunt.

by: Dea

The thing that really gets me is that many of us are paying for Etsy ads, and driving traffic through social media and other off platform ads.  I don't spend my money to make sales for other sellers, so am pulling all my ad spend and social media to Etsy until they get their act together.  Apparently they are not busy enough so that have to dream up this nonsense.  

by: Sa11yanne

I saw this the other day but think its been up and running for quite some time going on the some of the posts on the Etsy Forum, i would say at least well over a month!
i really cant believe that Etsy think this is a correct way to run a business, using sellers listings and items to get any sort of sale so they can get their fees coming in still, to me it feels very underhanded and this could hurt many shops, especially the shops out there who sell items over £200, as there is no filter there for their items to be shown.
A lot of sellers recently have said they dont understand what happening with thier sales and they do not even seem to be getting any favourite clicks anymore either, their dashboards are completely dead but their listing views have gone up!! yet overall shop visits are way down, this is because Etsy are now dragging potential buyers away from their shops and onto someone elses items, not giving them time to even click the Fav button so its saved for later or to even browse their shops, this has got to be the most damaging idea that Etsy has come up with to date.
I feel so sorry for those sellers who are paying out a lot of money per day on Etsy Ads to get more exposure, they could end up with no return at all because the buyers have gone else where, i really hope this awful idea  does not stick around for long or alot of shops out there who rely on the Christmas purchases could be very disappointed.

by: The End

Thank the Heavens I have Zero Competition so, none of that nonsense......yet......

by: Queen of the Jungle

I am continuing to research this issue and found that none of my competitors, the big ones with thousands of sales, do NOT have the buttons on their listings.

How is that even possible and why would Etsy do something like that?  I am trying different kinds of searches for my items (many other shops carry this particular brand of vintage jewelry) and it amazes me how many of them DO NOT have the buttons.

Anyone else seeing this?

by: cheeky

If they are going to continue with this intrusion, at least put it at the bottom where the other "similar items" from other shops are....this is total BS...

by: Snapped

“… none of my competitors, the big ones with thousands of sales, do NOT have the buttons on their listings.”

This part’s even worse.

by: LDWCallsOut

I hadn't seen this until today, when I looked for it after reading this topic.

No, not all listings have this under the photo.  

When you click on one of the options buttons, you may -- or may NOT -- be shown a page of items that are a match for, or even vaguely similar to, the item you first clicked on.  Even though the searches I did showed results with more than a dozen identical items from different sellers within the same price range.

It's typical Etsy code that often ignores what you're searching for.

I wouldn't bother adjusting tags or text or photos yet.  I never saw this until now, so it might be a test?

by: Enoch

Who ever thought of this and who ever authorized it's implementation need their heads seen to, It is misleading and confusing because the way it is worded it would lead you to believe that it refers to the item you are viewing.

Here we are again just another one of the underhanded dirty tactics this company use to conduct their business, sellers work dam hard to drive traffic to their shops either through their own means or paying Etsy for ads why would I pay for ads that will bring in potential customers to my items and then direct them straight back out to totally irrelevant products and shops, These tests have a direct impact on sellers livelihoods.

I wonder how Etsy would like it if buyers went to log into Etsy one day only to find a direct link to Ebay instead.  

by: Queen of the Jungle

I think that this article and all the comments have had a good effect.

It looks like Etsy has pulled back on their little experiment.  I am not seeing it on all  my listings although can't figure out why it's on some not the others.  Other people are reporting in the forum post that the buttons are going away.

I know it's asking a lot, but we can only hope that they let well enough alone, at least till after the holidays.

by: Sa11yanne

I am not seeing the price option under a few shops now i know had it on all their listings, i really hope this has gone now and we can all get back on track and start getting sales coming through again, and if it has been scrapped i hope they dont bring it back again............... ever!!!!

by: LDWCallsOut

It's not gone.  I am still seeing it on some shops.

by: Sa11yanne

I was so wrong, apparently it's still there, and one new thing i have noticed if someone clicks on any of the new price filters, none of my items are showing up in the search results for that filter, even if a narrow it down, to country and shipping time, i have 5 of one similar item, with the same tags and in the title, clicked on someone elses item, clicked on the under £50, narrowed it down and absolutely nothing came up of mine! just how many sellers out there are not even being seen now,and we wonder why the Etsy search number on the stats are so ridiculously low, the whole thing is a complete nightmare.

by: Rexford

Anything for a buck. This is pretty sleazy.

by: Queen of the Jungle

This whole debacle is like being in a crazy fun house.

Some of the shops still have the buttons, most don't. BUT then it all depends on what kind of device you're using to search.

Depending on if you use a phone, a tablet or a computer you get different results.

The people who run Etsy are sociopaths.

by: mylvhome

I may have just made my last listing on Etsy. This is beyond ridiculous. Who thought this was a good idea? Besides the obvious issues with redirecting customers from my paid listings, the results are poor, distracting and just completely wrong. I have tested many of my listings and the searches I am redirected to are abysmal....customers will be distracted and just leave when they are shuffled around to irrelevant listings. This is basically a sales prevention tool. Are you listening Etsy?

by: gabi66

If you are buying ads  on etsy stop them right now, you are paying etsy to advertise cheaper or faster right under your photo of the listing a buyer just clicked on your ad that you gave money too Etsy for.  How ridiculous is that?  Not only that, they are putting buyers in a never ending search loop. Or what about the buyer that comes in from an offsite ad and then gets lost in search because they were told to click on cheaper.  When I clicked on one of the filters it literally took me to something not related to my item same craft but not what the customer would be looking for, so Etsy thinks they can now read our  buyers minds?  

by: gyanarthi

Unbelievable...I've been wondering why I have the same number of visits as views, and hardly any likes or follows... not to mention no sales....Apparently, buyers get to one of my listings and immediately go somewhere else... I've always had lots of views - folks looking to see what else I'm offering.  No more!! ETSY's making money off of this somehow... this is the sleaziest company I've ever dealt with... No doubt, sellers are ETSY's main product not our sales... this product can barely stand it anymore...

by: Etsy Seller

Because my items are made with much more expensive, rare and higher quality yarn, my items get mixed with the reseller sweatshop crap, as it is. Etsy refuses to tell the difference between wool and cotton - my customers want cashmere and are shown cotton.
I get photos of other shops items with inquiries of "can you make this in camelhair?" Not for $15 and free shipping, I can't!
Fairly certain a recent client that had asked all the questions and decided they were going to 'add to cart' and buy, were shown all the cheap alternatives, so another sale went poof! Gone.
A repeat buyer sent a message asking for me to make them a cotton item - which is fine, as it would be a custom item, sized for them from my records (my clients sizes are carefully kept, along with their preferred fiber and style), but as they haven't responded to my questions and suggestions regarding colors, I'm thinking they used Etsy's "research" (to which I say, good luck finding a sweatshop reseller that will make an item for them in the sizing they need), I have to say 'so long' to yet another sale.

Etsy search is bad enough; I look for things in shops that I know handle what I'm looking for (as I buy from them often) and Etsy shows me nearly everything but what I want.
Personalized search, my butt!

by: Stone Cutter

If it wasn’t for “Low Class”, Etsy would have “No Class” at all.

What a horrible and desperate attempt to make money. Instead of putting money back into Etsy Sellers, Etsy decided to purchase two companies in the UK and Brazil, which so far, have been losers.

When will the Etsy Board wake up! When will “The Board” learn that they need actual management with a true vision to make Etsy unique, instead of just another Walmart.