Etsy Retires Treasuries over the Objection of Sellers

Etsy is retiring a much beloved feature called Treasuries after removing it from the home page in the spring. Nearly 200 comments bemoaning the decision quickly accrued underneath the announcement on Wednesday.

Etsy Treasuries are member-curated shopping galleries that showcase items from across multiple sellers, often with certain themes.

Sellers were quick to point out that over 1,000 users had previously signed a petition to bring back treasuries to the home page, and the petition saw renewed activity on Wednesday, such as the following comment left by a seller:

"Treasuries are a good marketing tool within Etsy for shops to get their items noticed by buyers. Without this how are they going to find us? It helps drive traffic to our shop."

Another seller explained that while they had never made an immediate purchase from a Treasury, the feature had influenced future purchases, since it helped them find sellers to follow from whom they purchased at a later time.

"...Did I buy things directly from one feature in a treasury, no not that I can recall. However, I found through treasuries people I wished to follow both those who created fabulous treasuries and those who were featured in them. In finding and following them through treasuries, I did then later buy. It was based on having originally becoming aware of all these wonderful sellers through treasuries..."

Another seller said Treasuries were an important part of her team's online marketing for their forthcoming Etsy Made Local holiday craft fair - "we now need to reorganise and re-think a publicity campaign that was already established and ongoing." The seller added, "It's not all about the sales and stats, it's about the community too. We are losing a part of what made Etsy special."

Etsy said its data showed few buyers viewed Treasuries, and even fewer purchased from them. It's hard to understand the disconnect since, in general, sellers don't spend a lot of time on activities they feel aren't worth the effort.

One seller wrote, "Team Treasuries is how I make the majority of my sales. I don't understand the purpose for this change. I cannot afford to purchase ads on Etsy for all my objects. As a relatively new seller, I rely on small sales."

Etsy does offer sellers a way to give their listings extra exposure through a paid program called Promoted Listings, and in August, Etsy revealed that revenue through the program grew faster than Marketplace revenue in the second quarter.

From Etsy's announcement: "On October 5, we will be removing links to the Treasuries page from buyer access points, including the homepage, Favorites page and user profile. Existing Treasuries will still be accessible, and we do not have current plans to remove these from the site. External links to Treasury pages will continue to function, and buyers can still purchase available items from these Treasuries."

Let us know what you think of Etsy's decision to retire Treasury.

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