Etsy Sellers Grow Leery of Selling $250+ Items

by: The End

Good to know...

by: comments

How could a porch pirate steal a package that was signed for?

I am not an etsy seller so I have no listings to remove, but would definitely do so if they were auto refunding buyers. I am sure this program started with good intentions but if etsy wants to refund delivered items it should be a courtesy refund paid by them.

I would only sell on a marketplace that accepted proof of delivery and made buyers accountable for taking delivery. The sad truth is I have even seen buyers leave the item at the postoffice available for pick up and dispute the transaction only to go to the postoffice after they lost the case and pick it up.

When I first started selling online I sold items under $10 and didn't use tracking. It was amazing how many items were lost in the mail. Now everything I sell is shipped with tracking and like magic nothing ever gets lost in the mail. The few that have were likely just not scanned delivered. I assume now all of a sudden everyone on Etsy will have a porch pirate steal their items.

Hopefully this report is false but either way this will not last long.

by: LDWCallsOut

I started selling online in 2002 and mailed thousands of packages until I closed up during the pandemic.  I NEVER had a package lost in the mail or porch-pirated.  A few times the PO did misdirect a package somehow always sending a box addressed to somewhere east of the Mississippi to Cali.  Who knows?  Buyers were pretty much universally nice about things, but this seems to have changed big time based on what I read here and in the Etsy Forums.  

I sold Vintage items in my Etsy shops, and had some items that were priced above $250, which were sold, mailed and delivered without any issues..  After reading the horror stories about BOT refunds in Etsy Forums, I wouldn't list items that expensive on Etsy today.

Etsy has its own issue with items "not as described" -- more than half of the items listed on Etsy fit this description.  Most of the "handmade" items were not designed and/or crafted by the seller.  Most of the "vintage" items are new, or are way less than 20 years old despite the fake dating in the listing.  And there have been discussions here about artisans purchasing supplies on Etsy that arrive not as shown in the photos or as described.  Deception on Etsy is so widespread that there is a certain twisted logic for them to create a BOT to simply do refunds rather than have humans mediate between buyer and seller.  

I feel bad for the honest sellers who get ripped off in this way, but they must realize that being an Etsy seller post 2015 means they accept that the marketplace is fundamentally based on dishonesty, and now Etsy is allowing buyers to be rewarded for lying -- just like they do with "handmade" resellers, fake "vintage" dealers, and shop owners listing shonky supplies.

by: LDWCallsOut

Just found a counterfeit luxury brand bag reseller who lists faux Gucci bags as BOTH ''handmade'' by them AND ''vintage from before 2000'' -- which screams FAKE to an experienced Etsy shopper.  The shop has unloaded more than a dozen units of fake bags and has a single one-star review.  The buyer says they opened a case when the bag was received and turned out to be counterfeit.  (The listing description implies the bag is the real deal.)  Relating this to the topic of this post, Etsy sided with the seller in this case, not the buyer.  The item was priced at just under $300 (currency conversion from Australian $).  The review goes on to mention that the buyer is passing info on the Etsy shop to the folks who deal with counterfeit at Gucci.  So, this case was settled in support of a shop who lists illegal merchandise.  

The review was left in December '22, and more than 2 months later the shop is still open.  Even though the items listed/sold are

-- not handmade as stated
-- not vintage from before 2000 as stated
-- counterfeit which is not stated or even implied (not as described)
-- illegal to sell

I'd cite the shop's name but am guessing that calling out a seller is not permitted here.

by: pennyemporium

sellers are not only delisting any item of value on etsy over $250.... they also are actively making sure that no COMBINED etsy order is over $250, either.  the buyer adds multiple items to cart?  over $250?  awesome, seperate packaging so no shipment is over $250.  

etsy is deliberately driving high priced items OFF their site... and onto our own websites.  curious...

by: ThebigR

I like the seller that lost a $600.00 item that was delivered and signed for esty took the money from them and refunded the buyer. When seller lodged a formal complaint to esty they agreed to the error and refund the seller back half of what they refunded the buyer not a bad return $300.00 on a $600.00 investment... Doesn't due any good to search for the post herrmouosestash removes anything that paints etsy in a bad light...

by: Stone Cutter

*** USPS is my friend ***

I sell jewelry that is sent in a box at 6x4x2 inches which fits nicely into a mailbox, and very rarely do my packages end up on my buyers doorstep.

I will always use USPS because of the added security of a mailbox, unlike FedEx or UPS who don’t have that option.

Also, USPS won’t insure a package valued over $500 without signature confirmation. My customers find signature confirmation inconvenient, so I split my orders into multiple packages in order to insure them.

For anyone who is thinking about starting an online business, it may be best to sell something small that can fit into a mailbox in order to avoid the problem of “porch thieves”.

My jewelry is priced between $250-320 and I’ve never had a package lost or stolen. Overall, lost packages are rare which is why Etsy should increase its $250 limit.

P.S. I find those on the Etsy Forum as unreliable. Too many times I find details that are not accurate, because Sellers do not give the entire truth.  

by: GetAGrip

Porch Pirates can steal something that has been signed for as the post office mail carrier doing all the signing. Smart people know that if you can't afford to lose it DON'T LIST IT.

by: LDWCallsOut

Reading more on this topic in the Etsy Forums this morning, I am wondering why someone would purchase a $250+ priced jewelry item in December that was delivered/signed for before Christmas, and not open a case for non-delivery until  the end of January or February?  And open a case without contacting the seller to ask where is my item?  The consistent factor in the Forums posts is that the buyer NEVER CONTACTS THE SELLER.    

I purchased a nice piece of jewelry priced above $250 in Autumn '22, and it was sent FEDEX with picture ID required and signature at delivery.  No chance for the porch pirates to grab it because the courier put it right in my hands.  I received several emails from FEDEX during the process to remind me about the delivery date, and even a phone call!  They offered the option of making another arrangement for delivery if I would not be home between 6 and 8 PM.  

Rather than assume that the sellers who posted in the Forums are fabricators or that sellers should be willing to suck it up and take an expensive loss, these sellers need to level up their shipping game and do what jewelers and antiques dealers do in the world outside the multi shop venues to protect themselves, their buyers and their merchandise.  

by: GetAGrip

Shipping anything via the usps is a crap shoot. They lettercarriers are still signing for signature required items and then tossing them on the porch.

by: SamB

I read and sometimes participate in the Etsy forum. I disagree with the comment users there are unreliable. There may be an occasion where a user is not accurate, but that is the case anywhere. I have Etsy forum friends that post and are quite accurate.

Etsy has a lot of serious issues they fail to address. This purchase protection program is one of them. It is stealing when Etsy refunds from the seller when an item is delivered. Especially without word from the seller. Someone, well many as one is not enough need to contact the attorney general. This is a serious matter. It is theft of seller's.

I also have read where Etsy is not dealing with hacked accounts in a timely manner.

Then, I also have read they are silencing sellers with disabilities! It is a wonder their stock just keeps going up. Do investors not investigate the company they invest in? Where there are sellers known this is all happening to there are many more that we do not know about. Until Etsy's stock drops and considerably Etsy just does not care.

As a seller for 10 years I am sadly considering other options. Etsy is just not safe anymore and there is no one to reign Etsy in!

by: Whatever

I like to keep up on the chatter about Mini-Ebay here. Always makes me happy to hear I'm not missing out on anything selling there. I used to sell there but it just kept getting worse management wise. I refuse to sell on a platform that will not allow you to see SOLD items. It's kinda like useless Pinterest which I also don't understand why sellers use it.  

by: ComputersHowtoPro

Unfortunately here in Europe Paypal also started siding this way with the "customer", I have a case in which not only I have given proof of delivery, I have also pointed out the fact that the customer is actually a scammer doing this regularly, as I've found out, and it didn't matter.
Is this the result of too much automation, AI and all that ?
Is this the communist/socialist/left wing thinking employees that have too much power on their hands, in these companies ? (etsy & al)
Fact is, it sure looks that giants are working against the little man seller or small business owner, like they fear we might become successful and take them over otherwise ??
Just a thought...

by: NH

Etsy has been automatically refunding any case opened for orders over $250.  This includes orders which have a documented buyers signature as proof of delivery.  It's simply a risk to process any order on Etsy totaling over $249.99.  It's appalling how Etsy is treating sellers.