Etsy Hides Behind Automated Emails after Distressing Accusation

by: LDWCallsOut

I read this topic in the Etsy Forums.  Since when are shop owners believed to be reselling items that aren't handmade or vintage denied a so-called ''inquiry'' where a staff member who (maybe?) knows what reselling is reviews the item and requests more info?

Since reselling has been allowed in practice since Summer 2015, items that get deactivated by bots are most often not reseller items.  Since the majority of items for sale on Etsy as ''handmade'' were not designed and/or crafted by the shop owner, having a bot remove an item as not handmade when it can be proved otherwise doesn't pass the sniff test.

by: The End

This WHY we need a purely American Selling Venue for Independent AMERICAN Business Owners.
No B.S.
Just Bank Account - Filling sales.
Let our customers judge us.
If they like us, the grapevine flourishes   :o)
My sincere condolences to Distraught Seller.
This should Never Happen.  

by: Rexford

Bots are bad for business.  Chats that don't have humans on the other end are bad for business.    I refuse to use chat when I quickly tell that there is not a human on the other end.

I have had some authentic vintage designer items pulled from Etsy and could never reach anyone who could help.  Sold them elsewhere.  Your loss Etsy.

by: ShortSeller

Whether you have a bot or outsourced customer service in India the result is the same. They have no intention of providing customer service, just cutting costs, period.

by: Snapped

The.  Most. Heinous. thing these venues do to their paying customers is to accuse, convict, and sentence them without due process, and without ability to either question, defend, or appeal.  

And as long as we, the people continue to allow our elected representatives to ignore establishing interstate eCom law that reflects 21c reality, the venues will continue to run roughshod and without any accountability.

Taxation that lacked representation spawned a revolution.  And they’d be ashamed and profoundly disappointed to see how it turned out in this fashion.  

by: Shikari

Etsy's biggest failing--no human to talk to about anything.
This will cost them dearly in the long run.

by: Supplierofcrafts

Where is that better customer service they mentioned with the last fee hike.  It seems to have gotten worse instead of better.  I had a vintage item deactivated last year with no explanation.  When I asked, they just kept telling me they sent an email (I never received an email and looked in every folder on my account).  No one would just tell me via chat what the issue was.  I gave up and sold it elsewhere as the previous poster did.  

Lately there have been a lot of posts that a listing is fine until they make a minor update and then it's immediately deactivated.  

And then there's the un-level playing field.  A friend sells leis.  All her money leis were deactivated (as well as some other lei sellers' listings based on posts in the forums) yet there are still money leis for sale on Etsy.  Either deactivate none or deactivate all.

by: Queen of the Jungle

Despite all their protestations to the contrary, customer service on Etsy has never been worse as I too recently discovered. in both my shops.

Because of the way our finances and payment account are set up, they have the power to not only take down your listings, but also to take money from your credit card or bank account.

In one incident the buyer's money never even entered my account because she decided not to buy the item.  Somehow they were able to bang my credit card for $175 that I thought was some kind of fraud.  It was a total mess that took me a week to straighten out when I finally got an email response from a human.

Then they act like they're doing you a favor by stealing your money.

by: Stone Cutter

*** We must be smarter than the average Bot ***

Something triggered the bot into thinking the item doesn’t qualify to be listed on Etsy.

Redo the photos...change the description to say something different, then repost the piece as a new listing.

by: LDWCallsOut

It Etsy's bots are deactivating legit listings, then the bot's code needs editing, not the listings.  

Sure, a shop owner can keep editing and re-submitting the same item listings.  But there's a problem with that.  Since sellers are never told what items specifically are banned (what's in the House Rules is just boilerplate) and how to list their legit products without running afoul of bots, you could wind up re-editing a bunch of times, getting all those test listings deactivated, and getting your shop closed and your user ID banned.

This is Etsy's problem, and there are several things that need fixing.  

by: NYSteve

omg, that is a real winner! there must be a HANDMADE category on Etsy and/or flagged by a bot, or  the 'snitch on your neighbor 'biblical' method which leaves mass produced garbage live , while busting the chops of crafts(wo)men.