Maybe its just me. But I am having a really hard time accepting that Etsy is the craft sellers web store it used to be. Or wants to be.
It seems that EVERY store I look at, creates doubt about the seller in someway. Its like choosing “handmade” is just another captcha you have to click to post a listing. Some are more obvious than others, but most of them create doubt for me.
If you have ever browsed alibaba.com, you will know what I am talking about. When a store clearly uses pictures FROM THE ALIBABA site, and the listing says custom made, but the profile lists shippers as China, its CRAP.
I think that Etsy just doesn’t care, because these stores are generating ALOT of income and traffic, even though their tagline of handmade, vintage custom and unique gifts is crap. Yes, we are selling on there, but we are legit. Hate it, so hopefully the general public catches on to the difference, but from the reviews of their purchases, I don’t think they will.
Just saw a store, with press on nails. Ok, I guess you could make your own. Never tried, and won’t, but when the seller is posting that press on nails are taking 4 weeks to deliver, ITS COMING FROM CHINA.
You can even buy SOAP that looks handmade from alibaba. I often wondered how some people get their soap so perfectly shaped and square. I’m sure there are people still doing it by hand (like me), but now I have doubts about the majority of them.
I’m actually a little put off by Etsy now. And I’m considering maybe another platform for selling. At least on Amazon, the illusion of handmade isn’t expected. But the amount of traffic on Etsy is undeniable. Much more traffic than hosting my own store, etc. I think that was one of my mistakes years ago with the soap. I put a lot of effort into my own site and store, and I really should have just focused my attention on listing on the large reseller sites. Not going to make that mistake again!
Maybe I’m too honest. But it infuriates me when I see things that are clearly not true. And we put a lot of work into what we do. And for our real handmade, home grown products to be compared to mass produced stuff, it ticks me off a bit.
And everything I have read, the out is “they could have stolen the pictures from seller” or if it’s custom designed, and mass produced, its allowed. Even though what it provides is not designed/handmade by the seller as they make it look like.
Maybe I have wrongly judged Etsy, because the fraud runs rampant all over the internet. I considered posting screenshots of Alibabas available products, but I was not sure about copyright, or something weird.
BUT
There a a couple of new bills out there, that I’m feeling a little better about.
GA HB127 and SB151. You have to search 2021, because otherwise you get a ton of craziness. Or you can just click the link
I’m not usually a big “let’s create a new law” person, but the online retail scams are truly out of hand. When I buy from wish, I know I buying cheap China stuff. When I buy from Etsy, I feel like there should be some sort of, I’m buying handmade promise. Like, actually each piece is handmade. Amazon and eBay are iffy. Even Instagram sellers are iffy.
I bought a soap stamp this week. It was cheap. And “custom”
Fortunately, I knew DAMN well its coming from China. “Susan” did not speak English well, and as soon as I purchased it, I got an auto response saying demand is SO high, that Shipping will be delayed. Of course, on Etsy, the seller can choose not to accept cancellations. Uh huh. “Susan ” must be VERY overwhelmed. To me, that’s fraud. I go to Etsy thinking I’m getting a custom handmade soap stamp, from an artist, or whatever. When really, I could have prob got the same thing on Wish. I definitely could have gotten it on alibaba. That’s my go to now, when looking at purchases.
Etsy is freaking out about these bills, because THEY know their big sellers, are fake. They are all about privacy, and keeping your privacy safe. Really? Because I sell local, and handmade, and hand grown so if someone needs me to show my face and hold me accountable, I’m thinking, I’m OK with that.
If you want to really see for yourself, go to alibaba.com and search soap, or anything really.
And seriously, I have had 2 sells on Etsy, and I have a woman claiming she ordered from us, got fungus gnats, and has ordered twice. Granted, her order was 2 months ago, and she clearly states, “I ordered from your site, but it says its from PRETTY IN GREEN. um, lady, ITS NOT US. It’s not our site. Period. I don’t sell bug control stuff, I don’t sell anything on our actual website. Funny though, when I Googled us, an etsy page with our info came up, and when I clicked, it redirected me to another site, that was not us. I think etsy uses certain accounts for ads and pictures and redirects to another seller. We have 1 or 2 reviews, but the acct redirected to had 5000 reviews. And the company she said she ordered from, has 5000 reviews. Now, with this lady, it’s sort of getting ugly because she continues to insist it was from us. And im running out of time and patience with it. I’m not sure how else to say, it’s NOT US.
All I can really say, is be careful what you purchase from Etsy, and be sure you double check who you are purchasing from. If an Acct had been open a year, and has 3000 reviews, and real, homemade seller, cannot keep up with that volume.
Happy weekend!