OK, that's an exaggeration, but apparently Etsy did another big Friday sweep and once again I received emails from sellers wanting to know what to do. So again I post my piece of mind.
Etsy TOU's or Terms of Use are so all encompassing that every seller is probably in violation of something. For instance, if you have collaborative work with any other Etsy seller and you don't have the link to that shop on you shop, If you say ANYTHING negative about Etsy on a public venue (believe me, they are watching), and of course if your items are in handmade and don't look handmade. One of the most common reason's for having a shop shut down is copyright infringement. If you want to sell on Etsy, only sell "fan art" that is "inspired by" the genre you are representing. The don't seem to understand the law on reconstructing materials either via the First Sale Doctrine. But that's another long story.
Point is, they can find a number of valid reason's to close your shop. Sometimes you can get it reopened, sometimes not. I think it depends on how penitent you are. Do you grovel, or are you snippy and snide? And I also think it helps to have had white backgrounds. The have a preference for shops that display works on white backgrounds. Look at the front page, right now, go.
Do they need your shop? No, not anymore, they have thousands of shops. Your 3.5% doesn't mean much to them anymore. Even if your sales mean food on the table for your family. That's what happened to my daughter, because she was supporting her family on the money she made on Etsy. Her 3.5% was about $90 a month, she was doing very well and they still didn't care.There is no Heart in Etsy.
The first thing I suggest to anyone selling online at any venue is to get a web page. You can get free ones. weebly.com has free sites. Buy your domain name someplace cheap and buy a site if you can. Put that address on your business cards and link your "shop" page directly to your selling site. That way if anything happens to your site, your buyers will ALWAYS know where to find you.
Don't think you're immune either. I've had friends who have had their images stolen by off shore factories and posted online. These are honest shops who have had their copyright infringed on, and Etsy forced them to prove that their merchandise was handmade. DO NOT think that a watermark will save you. They are easily removed with Photoshop. I've seen the images that prove it.
And remember, if you do get your shop closed, you can contact me through this blog. At least I can hold your hand and lend a shoulder.
Showing posts with label my etsy shop was closed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my etsy shop was closed. Show all posts
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Monday, April 29, 2013
Etsy Integrity Inquisition - Ha Ha funny if you've had your Etsy shop closed
It's been quite some time since my daughter and I had our Etsy shops closed. We are doing very well now, no thanks to the site we promoted and loved who dumped us without so much as a chance to protest.
Ebay has learned that sometimes the hand that feeds you also bites back, as many sellers have sued them for similar practices. I'm sure this will happen to Etsy eventually.
Since my original post, I have met many crafters who have had their shops closed by Etsy. People like my daughter and me, who have invested a lot of time and money in their business, only to have the mustachioed "rug" pulled out from beneath them.
As I always recommend. Please don't set yourself up to fail. Etsy is a great place to sell if you can #1 compete with the resellers #2 keep your mouth shut publicly about their evil practices #3 protect yourself by linking your shop to your own website and sending out business cards with that website address only, with orders. That way you can link to a new site IF Etsy shuts your shop down.
I thought you all might like this entertaining parody of Etsy discriminatory practices. Really, it's funny (not if you've had your shop closed though)
Ebay has learned that sometimes the hand that feeds you also bites back, as many sellers have sued them for similar practices. I'm sure this will happen to Etsy eventually.
Since my original post, I have met many crafters who have had their shops closed by Etsy. People like my daughter and me, who have invested a lot of time and money in their business, only to have the mustachioed "rug" pulled out from beneath them.
As I always recommend. Please don't set yourself up to fail. Etsy is a great place to sell if you can #1 compete with the resellers #2 keep your mouth shut publicly about their evil practices #3 protect yourself by linking your shop to your own website and sending out business cards with that website address only, with orders. That way you can link to a new site IF Etsy shuts your shop down.
I thought you all might like this entertaining parody of Etsy discriminatory practices. Really, it's funny (not if you've had your shop closed though)
Monday, June 6, 2011
Update - Life without Etsy
Well it happened again, another shop suspended. Etsy did one of their sneak attacks Friday at the end of the Day and suspended the shop of a seller, without any warning. This is a seller whose sole income is that of her Etsy shop. These are the cruel people you work under and support. Etsy shuts down shops on Friday at the end of the day, because no one is there on the weekend to answer your emails or calls. I know because it happened to me.
Type in my old address and this is what you get akacinders.etsy.com
So how is life without Etsy? I just had to compile my finances for the past 5 months. I was on Etsy in January, sales very good, then I was booted off on February 11th. It was very hard for me to look at that month. While I was trying to negotiate with Etsy, and trying to figure out what to do, I had NO sales for 2 weeks. I was misty eyed as I filled out the financial statements.
Then in March when I decided to get back on the horse and fight, I started making sales again. I really love Artfire, and my shops had sales, but the traffic is still not as good as Etsy. Although I didn't want to, I went back to eBay too. I spent weeks trying to figure out my niche there. I made some sales, but it was 1/4 of what I made in January.
April got a little better, some Artfire Sales and a new Product on eBay that was selling. Still not as much as I was making last year on Etsy.
May, now there was a month. But mostly it was due to hours of blogging work and exposure from a blogged item. Now if only I can get more people to blog my work, life could be rosy. My sales in May were actually higher than my Sales at Etsy last year. But we will see how that goes when I'm not freshly blogged.
By the way, I am selling my Genre Aprons and Clutches. My Jewelry suffered terribly and I was just getting off the ground with it on Etsy. Very disheartening, as it was to My daughter Poppy when she got her shops shut down too.
So even though it was a struggle, there is life without Etsy. If you ever get yourself into the same predicament, please feel free to contact me HERE and I'll help you get through it.
Type in my old address and this is what you get akacinders.etsy.com
So how is life without Etsy? I just had to compile my finances for the past 5 months. I was on Etsy in January, sales very good, then I was booted off on February 11th. It was very hard for me to look at that month. While I was trying to negotiate with Etsy, and trying to figure out what to do, I had NO sales for 2 weeks. I was misty eyed as I filled out the financial statements.
Then in March when I decided to get back on the horse and fight, I started making sales again. I really love Artfire, and my shops had sales, but the traffic is still not as good as Etsy. Although I didn't want to, I went back to eBay too. I spent weeks trying to figure out my niche there. I made some sales, but it was 1/4 of what I made in January.
April got a little better, some Artfire Sales and a new Product on eBay that was selling. Still not as much as I was making last year on Etsy.
May, now there was a month. But mostly it was due to hours of blogging work and exposure from a blogged item. Now if only I can get more people to blog my work, life could be rosy. My sales in May were actually higher than my Sales at Etsy last year. But we will see how that goes when I'm not freshly blogged.
By the way, I am selling my Genre Aprons and Clutches. My Jewelry suffered terribly and I was just getting off the ground with it on Etsy. Very disheartening, as it was to My daughter Poppy when she got her shops shut down too.
So even though it was a struggle, there is life without Etsy. If you ever get yourself into the same predicament, please feel free to contact me HERE and I'll help you get through it.
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