Etsy Closed My Shop Part 200

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.

More Ramblings on Why we Create

I've been writing about how we can create better art, but more importantly I think I have to write about why we would create a craft or art. Through the years art has been primarily an expression of religious beliefs. There was a period in European history that even a noble-person's self portrait had to be incorporated in a religious painting. It's only been in the past few hundred years that Art has been used for self expression. We are very lucky to be living in this age.

As many of you know, I've lost my most lucrative selling venue recently. I was crushed at first, but it allowed me to look at you all and myself from a different perspective. I realized that what I was doing was spending a lot of my time promoting the venue I was selling on and not spending time, honing my craft, creating, or exploring the world outside of the venue.

I see what that venue has done to me and others. It has taken nice people and made rivals of them. It has created petty infighting, jealous rages, animosity and more importantly social (or anti-social) cliques. If you step back from what you are doing, you can see that it is the venue and your fight for exposure that has led to an unreasonable amount of stress in your life.

I, for one, am taking it easy. I plan to make money, not from my art, but other sources. I will go back to painting for creative release and maybe one day list them on Big Cartel.

Many of you are successful selling on Etsy, but if you aren't making minimum wage, after you factor in your time on your craft, photography, editing, listing, shipping, promotion, and constantly running to the Front Page or craftcult to see if you've made it. Is it really worth the stress?

I guess more than anything I would suggest that you look at your fellow artists as resources, not enemies. Relax and enjoy your craft and worry about the sales lastly. Do your craft because you love it, not because you can make money from it. You will be happier and your blood pressure and stomach pain will both reduce a bit. Say to yourself, today, I'm going to do something really different. Today I'm going to say a kind thing to someone who made me angry. I have, and it feels good.

If you choose to continue to sell on line, you do have to promote, you do have to try to get on the FP, but don't make your life revolve around it. There is a bigger world out there to live in. Success is not always counted, by the money in your bank account.