Problem Changing Etsy Stores to Personal Accounts

by: lessthanthreerecords

I was an occasional buyer on Etsy for many years and fairly recently was also unable to reach a human support agent with them, even without my account being locked. The only thing I might recommend is a Better Business Bureau complaint, but unfortunately, I wouldn't hold out too much hope with that. In my case, it did get me in touch with a human, but it still was not satisfactory, and I ended up closing my account. As a seller on other sites, I know that closing an account that you only use occasionally to buy is very different than one you make an income from, so I wish you the best of luck with it!

by: zendoze

Tech marketplace companies rely on having a 1-sided business relationship to keep small sellers powerless.

I'd really like to see more regulatory pressure against marketplaces towards fair contracts that give sellers some lasting rights over their shops and fair/accessible complaint channels.

For example, if you leased a storefront in a shopping mall for your business and the mall owner changed the door locks, you could sue if the contract was still valid. Not true with any one-sided marketplace.

It's much too simple for the likes of Amazon, Ebay, and Etsy to just tap the 'ban' button - or worse, let AI do the dirty work - and then hide behind a wall of impossible tier 1 customer service agents and online document pages.  

by: gyanarthi

Here's the reverse... I closed my two shops after 12 years with ETSY.. I've asked to have them deleted several times to avoid confusion with my website with the same name.. they closed you, when you wanted to stay - and wont let me go when I want to leave.

by: Bill Curry

Esty is a trainwreck. I was a longtime seller with them, over 2000 lots and no issues. Suddenly my store was closed and we filed appeals. I submitted appeals 3 times a week for over 3 months. No reply other then a canned AI response. On the 4th month I got a canned response that since I had not filled a appeal the matter was closed.
Esty has no customer service of any type for buyers or sellers. Its all a AI driven train with no human oversight.  

by: an American in France

Have you tried posing your question/problem on social media (especially Twitter/X), making sure to tag Etsy in your posts? I find that method to be an effective way to reach unresponsive businesses.

I wish you luck & let us know if/when you get it resolved.

by: NanT

Etsy, who's new motto is 'Keep commerce human'  is now completely run by AI bots.  You cant get a human.  They are no longer there.

by: Ophelia1

I think it's time for the Attorney General to investigate Etsy.  

by: Flying Childers

Julie- many thanks for you posting your letter.   You are smart to do so as Ina is extremely helpful and sympathetic as I found out myself just recently.

Back in September I woke up one day to find literally  1000 emails from Etsy in my mailbox claiming that I had sold over 300 items in the course of a few hours PLUS had purchased nearly 700 mailing labels from Etsy, something which I have NEVER done.  

To say this was a nightmare is an understatement- it was a holy terror- and I totally understand the horror you must be feeling.  As you and others have found out, THERE ARE NO HUMAN BEINGS IN THE ETSY USA OFFICES.  

The only actual humans  I spoke to were when the overseas call center people called me back.  Even then, they were very hard to deal with and kept telling me to send emails to Etsy Help which became a doom circle.

Like you, I was locked out of my shop for "my own security" and they kept telling me to reset my password which I couldn't do because I was locked out.   Again, a vicious cycle.

It took nearly a month to straighten things out and to this day nobody at Etsy EVER admitted that this was entirely their fault.   Can you imagine how FU they must be if robots can create names, addresses, labels OUT OF THIN AIR?

When I looked up the tracking numbers on the labels, eventually I got a message from the USPS that they were counterfeit!  

Here's what finally got Etsy to pay attention and clean up the mess I made.   I sent an email letter to the last Help "person" who had responded to me.   I said in the letter that I was going to report Etsy to the FBI for mail fraud, the NY Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau for what they had done to me.

It was right after that letter that they started to remove the fake orders and charges.
So someone must have read my letter and realized I was serious.

I am still following up with the AG, etc. and will report more in the near future.  They are VERY interested in this story and I am not the only one who has reported to them.

My advice to you and every other Etsy seller is to report your nightmare stories to these authorities.  If US mail is involved, you can contact the FBI.  Otherwise, the NY AG and BBB are good places to lodge a formal complaint.  

What Etsy is doing to its sellers is illegal and how they get away with it is beyond me.

Sellers like me are afraid that they will shut us down, something I simply cannot afford at this point in my life.   Nor should I have to!   I have been a regular seller for over 10 years, no complaints, no issues.  They should celebrate people like us, not torture us.

Good luck and please keep us posted!!

by: JulieandBlu

FWIW - They did not respond to the BBB complaint I filed, and all of the social media messages were directed to the help page, which is a big circle of nothing. The bot message from their social media accounts say that no one looks at the page and to use the help page. I have not filed an AG report. I am not sure what to file other than they took my money and didn't provide the service. This is crazy. They have the nerve to judge our customer service.  

by: Flying Childers

Julie- my heart goes out to you, I know what you are going through!  Here's some info about where to file your complaints:

The NY AG's office has a consumer protection division that may assist with disputes involving online marketplaces. .

   Website: NY Attorney General Consumer Complaints
   Phone: 1-800-771-7755
   Address: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

The FTC handles complaints related to unfair business practices, including issues with online marketplaces like Etsy.

   Website: FTC Complaint Assistant
   Phone: 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357)

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

If your complaint involves payment or financial disputes with Etsy, you can file with the CFPB.

   Website: CFPB Complaint

Good luck and keep us posted.   If there is any other info you need or any way that I can help you please let me know.

by: songe-d-automne

I've had an ongoing saga with Etsy since mid-September. Even if I was reinstated at this point, I would not even bother. I invite them to come for their $150 too - at least then I might be able to defend myself to humans that might actually look at real evidence.

A buyer pulled the "This wasn't what I ordered" scam. She had ordered 6 items - 4 MIB Little Pony toys and 2 loose lots. She's in Canada too - so of course my hands are even more tied because it's international. I am sure that is why she did it, because she knew she would get away with it.

The MIB toys were large and the box weighed 5 pounds.

The buyer sent Etsy a picture of a small amount of loose ponies (which would weigh about 1 1/2" pound from the amount shown) and claimed that was what I sent. There was no picture of the outside of the box, no picture of any labels - just a picture of some ponies. Etsy asked her for "more evidence" her "evidence" was to simply take them out of the box and line them up and photograph them again.

I pointed out to the CS agent that I have been selling with them for 13 years and never in those 13 years had a case EVER been opened on me - until this. I also pointed out that I sent a 5 pound box and what she was showing could not possibly weigh that. My pleas went ignored.

They ruled in her favor, cleaned out my payment account, and then tried to charge the card on file to the tune of $150+ It was declined and then they suspended my account. I filed an appeal. They told me to pay. I refused and they said to appeal the case. I did that as well. Nope. Pay us. I will absolutely not. I sent the items ordered on time and packed well. No return of anything was required of her either. I am just supposed to simply eat $200 for no good reason and go on with my life I guess.

I filed a complaint with the BBB on September 18 - haven't heard back. I've noticed that between the time of my complaint and this week Etsy's BBB rating has gone from A- to an F because they just ignore cases.

Shortly afterward, I filed a complaint with both the Massachusetts AG and the NYS AG - Massachusetts basically said it was too small of a case to bother with.
I haven't heard back from New York.

That said, you cannot get a human on Etsy. There's nowhere to call, all I get is canned replies and get sent in circles endlessly appealing while they insist I pay them because they were so kind as to send a scammer a refund on my behalf even though there was no evidence of wrongdoing on my part and I didn't agree to it.

by: songe-d-automne

Also - replying to American in France - I contacted Facebook - they simply sent me to Etsy's chat where I got told I had to wait until the case was closed. Then when it was, they simply sent me to an AI run chat that sent me in circles appealing over and over.

by: Flying Childers

Songe- so sorry to hear about your story.  Etsy's conduct is completely beyond the pale in every respect and I'm sure that there are many sellers who are afraid to come forward for fear that their shops will be affected or maybe even removed from the site.

I have often wondered why the NY State authorities have not gone after Etsy, Inc. for their egregious behavior and have come to the conclusion that it's all political.

The people who run Etsy like Josh and the rest of them, are all Dems and probably contribute to the Dems who run our state.   There has to be a reason that a corporation like Etsy  gets away with the many violations they have pertaining to NYS business and consumer protection laws.

The real problem is that Etsy, Inc. is above the law and THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT THE SELLERS OR ANYONE ELSE!.

Look at how they treated PIRATE SHIP with regard to the changes they made with the shipping labels.   As it stands now, they never bothered to tell PS what they were doing, never called anyone at PS and refused to answer PS inquiries!

If nothing else, such rude and unprofessional behavior should be scandalous and/or devastating but that seems not to be the case.

I am really sorry that things are so bad at Etsy that we have to be fearful of confronting the wrongdoers.  I cannot afford to lose my shops because I have hundreds of objects listed and customers from 10 years ago who still buy from me.

Why should I have to leave and go through all that?  Etsy is till the best marketplace for my items.  It's just a shame that they are such horrible people to deal with.

by: BargainzBabylon

The BBB is toothless - I'd go to the press. The one single thing that causes corrupt companies to buckle is bad publicity.  

by: iheartjacksparrow

@Julie: Such a terrible predicament. As others have stated, you should file a complaint with the New York Attorney's Office and the Federal Trade Commission.

I would also suggest that you get the print and broadcast media involved. If you are in a city that has a local television channel with a consumer advocate, contact that person and tell him/her your story. Also, if you have a local newspaper, contact them. You can also contact online news sites. Daily Mail Online loves stories like this. I know eBay is terrified of bad press, and I assume Etsy would feel the same way.

Wishing you the best.

by: clu3

I would try twitter with the @etsy handle.  
It's an active account, the actually respond to inquires.

by: Flying Childers

Julie- forgot to ask is you have requested a call back?  Throughout my nightmare, the only humans that I actually spoke to were the people from the call centers who returned my calls.

I was pleasantly surprised that they actually did call back in most cases pretty quickly.  Also, some of them were actually compassionate people who understood how upset I was.

I think that these are the only humans who are allowed to interact with the Etsy drones/ bots.

I hope you try to get a call back asap if you haven't done so already.

Best wishes and keep us posted!

by: JulieandBlu

First of all, I am sorry for everyone's issues with Etsy! It's wildly frustrating. I did try the twitter suggestion, so maybe that will pan out. I don't have a call back option, Flying Childers. I am shut out of everything. I remember your saga and these people. I feel for you. I will take the NY AG route sometime next week. I don't have a newspaper or TV station near me. The closest one I have is in Orlando, which is about 100 miles away, but I can put those on the list as I try to get this resolved. It should not be this difficult. Unreal.  

by: Flying Childers

Julie- even though I was locked out of my shop I was still able to get the call back when I went on Help.   If you can't even do that, it's a travesty.  
Not only are the people who run Etsy a bunch of hypocrites but they are unbelievably cruel as well.   Nasty people who are pretending to be good.  What a sick joke.

by: Snapped

“ Nasty people who are pretending to be good.”

Verily.

Etsy has recently been bombarding broadcast and cable TV with ‘pre-holiday’ ads that emphasize ‘their’ offering’s ‘humanity’ - showing actual hand-crafting, card signing, customizing, and bow-tie ‘n it all together - all while particularly distancing themselves from the “robot” aspects of e-commerce.  Cuz robots can’t give no love, you see.  And when it comes to ‘stuff’, it’s all about the ‘love’, right?

As they used to say before many using their ‘services’ were born - gag me with a spoon.

Given the array of decidedly opposite experiences described so far here, elsewhere, and so many more untold, one can only feel a great sorrow and offer inadequate condolences to those still compelled to patronize this wholly unethical enterprise.

Depending on the severity of impact to those ghosted by these demons, it may be worth a careful scrutiny of Etsy’s UA regarding account termination conditions, notice periods, and appeal processes (beyond that already commonly ‘known’).  See if Etsy may be violating them with their now ‘automated’ door slamming.

See, if nothing else, they DO still employ human lawyers.  Lots of em.  And they have to have a published public POC path that ‘your’ lawyer can use to - if nothing else - get a handle on ‘what happened’ to lead to where one may find themselves.  

Just a thought not yet manifested, if it can help any.