Why Is Etsy Making Item Descriptions Harder to Find?

by: P.Dorf

Synching their servers with ebay's?

by: LDWCallsOut

I haven't seen this test yet.  But from the comments by Etsy shop owners, it sounds like a mistake.  No matter where I shop online, I often don't read reviews because the item's description tells me what I need to know.  When I do want to read some reviews, it's because I am unsure about making the purchase.  

To me this seems like another attempt to appeal to shoppers who are very young women:  insecure in their own judgement and taste who want to be assured that other cooler girls purchased the item and liked it.  

by: Lisa

I am  in this test.

it's a pre-curser to get you to use the upcoming 'text in picture' feature.-which a lot of us have been doing on our own for months due to an influx of buyers who don't read the description.

what i don't like is they bury the shipping cost, which is an obvious ploy to tout free shipping.

ultimately the concern among sellers should be... what is etsy going to fill that big white blank space with? Items from other sellers? outside ads?

by: Lisa

they are also testing or implementing a BIN option which bypasses cart checkout.

by: Stone Cutter

*** Because Etsy needs money ***

Etsy overextended itself by purchasing too many companies in a short length of time. And now we have inflation. I suspect this new user interface will allow Etsy to cram as much merchandise as possible onto one page.

Etsy has been a laggard on Wall Street. The S&P 500 index fund has seen a 15% gain for 2023, while Etsy has seen a lose of 21%. The pressure is on.

Etsy needs money. Etsy will be a rollercoaster ride I’m not sure I want to be on.  

by: Lisa

didn't they just sell elo7?

by: Stone Cutter

@Lisa

Yes, Etsy just sold Elo7 for an undisclosed amount. Makes me wonder if Etsy sold at a loss.

There is Reverb, then Elo7 and Depop. Both Elo7 and Depop were acquired in 2021. Barely 2 years in, Etsy had to sell Elo7….this says everything. Sounds to me like Etsy is cutting its losses.

Depop, in the UK, is a storefront for secondhand merchandise. Post Covid and post Brexit, UK’s economy has slowed down considerably. Inflation is not just a U.S. story, but is a worldwide problem. Currently, the UK is suffering from high inflation.

On a side note - For the most part, every company has some sort of bank loan to operate its business. Even when having cash in the bank, businesses would rather keep their cash while having a revolving line of credit for operations. What I heard is that those lines of credit have become very expensive as interest rates have doubled, causing more financial stress on companies.

Etsy has never reported their investments as big money makers. And now, the economic picture has become much bleaker while it now costs more money for companies to operate.  

by: Stone Cutter

*** Desktop vs. Etsy App ***

Most of us Sellers rely on our desktop units for our Etsy shops. However, Etsys largest growth is in their mobile app.

I’m not in this test, however, I suggest keeping an eye on the Etsy App for changes, too. Both programs are engineered separately and display different formats.  

by: COVID-19

Making Item Descriptions Harder to Find? You copying that eBay again, Etsy? Have you no shame? And always copying the worst ideas, of course.

by: Snapped

“ Both programs are engineered separately and display different formats.”

If that were as true as it should be, a keep up with the Joneses tweak to one wouldn’t always seem to be (oops!) glitching another unforeseen circumstance in the other.  Sometimes it’s even more clearly umbilicized than that - square those pics there soldier!

Three guesses what all that white space gets filled with. Here’s a hint.  More often that not, you’ll soon see someone else’s item that, because of it’s ubiquitous nature (authentic vintage ‘style’, mass produced), wouldn’t really ‘need’ a description to convey it’s attributes.  

Of course, any sale can always boomerang without cause anyway.  No matter what might be so foolishly on these venues these days be considered written terms of a contract anywhere else.  And the big boys would just task some bot to play Shakespeare anyway.

If Etsy wants to feature ‘unique’ though, perhaps they can show that by keeping the description PROMINENT.  Unlike all the cat’s they’re copying.

by: The End

Delist Etsy off the stock market, and virtually all these problems won't exist.
Even this one.

by: MLo

Hypothetical Etsy justifications:
“Buyers tell us they’re 10% more likely to purchase when they don’t know what they’re buying.”
Or
“Buyers are 10% more likely to purchase when locating product descriptions provides the thrill of a hunt”.

by: Lynze

The suppression of our descriptions is harmful to our shops and to all the buyers on Etsy
Though many do not read the full descriptions, as a seller, I think they should be put in an area of prominence.
We can only give buyers some of the information in our Titles. The description allows us to include important information that a buyer needs to make an informed decision on whether to buy or not.  
It also helps built confidence in our shops and the items we sell.
Now you have to go the very bottom of each listing.
In very small print you will see:
Photos Reviews Item details Shipping and return policies FAQs and Meet your seller.
So what will happen to the poor buyer that is in this test? You can imagine their frustration.
What happens to a potential sale.
• The buyer gives up
• The buyers have to send us messages to get information they need.
• Buyer gets something that is “not as described” Of course it’s not since they can’t see a description.
• The seller gets a bad review
• The seller has to have the item returned to them and issue a refund

by: The End

Yes indeed..
This is the "smoking gun" of J. Gordon Silverman's incompetence.
It's just a matter of time now before we stop making Etsy look good.

by: The End

If you look up J. Gordon on Wikipedia, it pretty much describes him as not knowing what the hell he's doing.
Apparently, he's the consummate quitter.
He's a LOSER.
Either get a better Steward for Etsy or shut it down be this A.Hole does more Damage.
Take a board to the board.

by: Lisa

i wish i could post a screen shot, but the text 'moves' with you as you scroll down.

you  have your pics to the left as normal, to the right you have title and price set up like this:

price
title
shop name, star seller, stars
ships from
arrives by
return policy
qty
add to cart
add to collection

& that text floats with you as you scroll down. Past reviews & review pics and is still present when you get to item details and the UNEXPANDED description.and even past the shipping cost, etc.

it finally stops scrolling down with a 6 across feature of more items from your shop.
followed by 12 items you might like from other shops. & a small window pop up with a thumbnail, price, add to cart button, of the original listing.

by: Stone Cutter

*** The Verge ***

In reference to Etsys never ending changes, I found this article which was dated today, July 29th. The premise of the article talked about how Etsy is holding onto Sellers funds; then the article evolved into how the Indie Seller can no longer make money on Etsy.

While on CNBC’s website, I checked Etsys stock price. Immediately, this new article popped up. It pays to complain in order to catch the attention of the media. Love it!

https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/29/23810536/etsy-sellers-pa
yment-reserves-fraud-protection

by: Stone Cutter

I stand corrected….

I had said, to the comments above, that the article on Etsy was found on CNBC. This is incorrect. I found this article when I searched “Etsys stock price” on Google.  

by: rage_cat

This is one of the worst moves yet. My customers are complaining about not being able to find information on our items. We're going to lose sales.

I'm so fed up with Etsy. Keeping Commerce Human is a joke.

by: sharethelovevintage

I just discovered yesterday that I am in this bloody test. It explains why I received a 1 star review bc the customer didn't read the Description, they couldn't find it! She won't change the review, I'm stuck with it. Why would Etsy encourage lousy reviews, then put them front and center? When I reported this in the chat, first of all, she didn't even know about the test, I had to tell HER about it, how I had read it in the Forums. Then when she finally did find out, the Etsy platitudes about how this will ultimately improve sales ("rest assured, your feedback will be looked at") came at me loud and strong. She could not remove me from the test. Really??? after a bad review like that and low sales all month they can't help me? I've never been this incensed about one of their stupid experiments before.