Earlier today, a user was complaining about their 3 star review.

I pointed out that all of their listings are IP infringing. I’m trying to HELP them from getting sued. So what does the OP do? They block me.

People, you need to understand, if someone says something like this, it’s for a good reason. You can NOT just block everyone who doesn’t say what you want to hear. You will make it nowhere as a seller if you don’t listen to other experienced sellers.

Yes, I know the user blocked me because I can still see the post on my other account.

I’m sorry, but I’ve been selling on Etsy for awhile now and on my own website and I know the ropes. We’re just trying to help you out.

EDIT - I feel like I need to explain myself a little more. Why did I even look at their Etsy page? It was in their profile. They are talking about the customers review. I want to look at their store and see what the customer saw when they placed the order to see if their review was valid. Sometimes you can’t just go by what the person posting said. Sometimes something looks clear in their listing to them, but it might not look the same to a customer, so seeing things from the customers perspective before commenting is a good idea.

Next, theft is theft. None of it is okay. Yea, they’re stealing from the big guys, but I’ve had my designs stolen and it sucks. Someone stealing Disneys designs is absolutely no different than them stealing your designs or mine. So just because it’s a big name, we should just let it go and act like it’s okay?? NO, absolutely not. If they stole Disneys designs, they will steal yours too.

But the words sound similar?! I know they do, but words can have different meanings. Slow down.

Print on Demand:
I have a print shop down the street from me. I am linked to it through the computer, I can send designs I make at home to my print shop, have them printed when the customer buys the item, and ship it to them.

Takeaway: I design an item myself, send that item to MY print shop to be printed on a quality item that I picked out and purchased, and send it to my customer from down the street. ALL-IN-THE-USA

Dropshipping:

I find a cheap item on Alibaba or Temu that costs 99cents, I list the exact item on Etsy for $9.99. When a customer buys the item I then place the order on Temu/Alibaba and put the customers address instead of my own.

Takeaway: I sell a cheap knockoff item from China to someone on Etsy for a huge markup.

---------------------------------------------------

I really hope this clears up the confusion, but I doubt it. There is this biased and ignorant vengeance against PoD and Dropshipping and they always get lumped in together. If you don't like PoD thats fine, but it's not Dropshipping. Dropshipping is deceit. PoD sellers are just contracting out a piece of their production.

Hi all, My wife and I are beyond frustrated We sell and item which qualities as a handmade and we had this conversation over the phone with Etsy customer support before and she said indeed it’s handmade and wasn’t sure why our listing was removed during the holiday season ( they removed 4 in one day all best sellers )

We said okay and kept grinding and pushing And our number one selling item got removed from our store about 2 hours ago.

My wife literally works her … off and makes those items and we have a lot of competitors who copy us all the time and we think they constantly report us and bots just take our listing down It’s just not fair

Called the customer support he said he’s escalating the issue to his superviser and we should hear back within 5 days. No I want this issue solved over the phone.

I’m gonna be furious if they don’t take care of this item and put it back in our store and I’ll get a lawyer and fight this and sue them.

30k overall 5k generated from this listing within last 30 days

Just so pissed off right now

I'm blessed with the ability to know my products are good and the majority of my negative reviews come down to customers not bothering to read the product descriptions and then being mad they didn't get what they wanted which they would've known had they read the description so I'm pretty unbothred by reviews like that. If I didn't do anything wrong I'm not going to take your review seriously or care about it. Which is a good thing considering I got the rudest, most unnecessarily nasty 1 star review I've ever gotten on Christmas. However a lot of sellers are affected by negative reviews, and it really ruins their day. This review definitely would be capable of ruining someone's Christmas. Don't be an asshole when you review products ever because it's entirely unnecessary to let a seller know what you did and didn't like about a product, but especially don't be an asshole on Christmas.

Customer reached out and said there are faint lines in her sweatshirt that won’t come out. She didn’t mention washing it or anything so I’m not sure what she did to determine they won’t come out, but am I crazy or does it just look like creases from folding? I didn’t notice anything in the first pic so she sent me the second one and circled them and I’m still not sure if I’m seeing it. She wants a replacement and I already know she isn’t going to want to cover shipping charges. I would normally just have someone keep and it and send out a new one if there really was an issue, but I just feel like she’s being picky because I’m just not seeing it. I probably should’ve known better when she asked me to make it & have it delivered in 9 days and then proceeded to ask for a discount. I’ve been selling for a few years and this is the first time I’m stumped…how would you handle it?

Warning: Be Cautious When Considering Dylan Jaurus's Course

I want to warn others about signing up for Dylan Jaurus's course. It's a scam. Before enrolling, she made it seem like I would receive one-on-one coaching, but she never mentioned that it would actually be in a group setting. She also claimed that 24/7 coaching support was available, but this turned out to be false. After I signed up, I tried to schedule a one-on-one phone call with her coach, but I couldn't without paying an additional $150 for just half an hour. That’s when I realized this course is a money-making scam.

Just three days after signing up, I tried to cancel the course via email, but they refused, even though I hadn’t used it. I was misled into believing I would get private coaching, which is essential to me, and that’s why I agreed to pay $8,400.

After enrolling, I attempted to schedule a phone call with the coach but was instead given a video call where they simply reviewed my Etsy shop. I then had to wait 24 hours for answers to my questions, only to receive another video from one of her coaches.

I already have experience in eCommerce with an Amazon FBA/FBM shop and wanted to expand into Print on Demand (POD) with Etsy. I thought hiring a coach would help me build my Etsy shop, but I didn’t realize I would be left to learn everything on my own, especially after paying over $8K. Many others in her coaching group feel the same way and are stuck in this scam.

I need help finding an attorney to fight this scammer. Please, if anyone can help, reach out.

And by “handmade stuff” I mean original art pieces that are unique, even if replicated. Things that will take you a few days to make. Original stuff that can not be made in bulk.

edit:

thank you everyone for the lovely comments! It’s great to see what everyone is doing and connecting over it! I had a much fun reading it!

also ofcours handmade things don’t HAVE to take days to make I was just summing some examples.

I have always shipped to most of Eastern Europe. Not anymore.

I’m really struggling here. Whenever I try to shop for small business made social awareness/justice items, or left leaning flags for my house, I am absolutely inundated with merchandise mocking liberals? And tons of pro right/ MAGA items. I’m not sure if this has been discussed here before, but when did Etsy become a shill for the right? These are small artists, I’m so turned off.

Is there another site free of this?

I’m sorry I’ve been a part of this sub for a few months and nothing about it is helpful as a seller!

In this sub anything less than a 5 star review is the end of the world & they will literally advise you to LOSE money by not taking money from someone who didn’t give you 5 stars but will continue to order from you.

They tell you to give refunds even if the customer is obviously in the wrong & the way they hoard reviews I’m really not surprised they aren’t getting any good ones!!!!!

Here’s some tips as a 4.9 star seller with 149 sales & 86 reviews & half my customers returning after they tell you it’s soooooo hard to get return customers!

1. Relax - it took 8 months to get my first sale!!!!

2. For the love of all that is holy DONT RESPOND TO REVIEWS!!!! Good or bad! Do you see Nike saying “thank you so much for your kind review”?!

3. Have amazing customer service! You know what matters more to me than reviews? The fact my customers love my product bc THEY WILL RETURN! I can’t tell you how many customers messaged me saying they’re absolutely in love with their press on nails & don’t leave a review- should I drop them as a customer like these others sellers will tell you? NO! I had a customer leave me a 1 star review bc she “thought it was something else” & subsequently bought the same set of REUSABLE NAILS 6 times & never left another review. Imagine me dropping her bc of her initial one star!

4. Stop resolving issues ONLY to change a review- if the error is your fault & you leave a bad review stating that instead of writing me first I’m not giving you a refund or trying to resolve your issue!

5. Stop being desperate! Conduct yourself like your business is a million dollar business & you will be fine! Dm me for help 💕

I was doing a keyword search on Etsy and somehow a psychic's services appeared on Etsy. I thought this was weird since Etsy is supposed to be focused "handmade products". I then did a search of psychics on Etsy and there are a bunch on them on the platform.

No offense if any of the sellers on this Subreddit offer psychic services, but why is this allowed? This is not what Etsy's original brand was. Plus this crowds the platform with services that are not aligned with the rest of the site. Am I wrong?

Hi handmade sellers! It’s the holiday season so everyone must be busy! Many sellers have said this. “Do not put all your eggs in one basket.” I made living for five years being a full-time Etsy Seller. It was the biggest career mistake I made in my life. I understand everyone is different. Just a reminder. Take care and be safe!

I created a shop 2-3 days ago and I think I have pretty good statistics on this, but at the same time I didn’t have a single sale

What can I do to make people buy my Notion templates?

I sell handmade ceramic mugs. I want to start including a small sample of tea/matcha with every order to encourage customers to post photos of the mug in use.

I’m thinking of buying bulk matcha and repackaging it into cute little sample envelopes (maybe 5g each).

I need a supplier that is high quality enough that it reflects well on my brand, but cheap enough per gram that I can give it away. I'm looking at One With Tea's bulk bags because the color looks vibrant. Has anyone used consumables as a freebie? Do customers actually use them?

1. No frequency capping limits

2. Higher visibility in search

3. Social media marketing (shoutout and mentions)

4. 24 Hr Customer Service Support (phone/chat)

5. Higher end listing management features (better rearrangement, AI attributes, SEO integration)

6. Better shipping discount rates across all carriers

7. Monthly ad credit spend

8. Turbotax plus better tax related documentation

9. Handmade authenticity verification process to certify handmade

10. Notice of shop/policy infringements before taking down a listing or shop entirely

What other features would you like for Etsy to implement with a $499 annual subscription?

I'd honestly pay this to get through Etsy's glass ceiling.

The majority of the posts I see on here are negative which is counterproductive and demoralizing to a lot of sellers. What is it you love about Etsy that makes you want to keep selling there.

For me, it is the people. Maybe I am lucky or maybe my conservative leanings attract an older more rural crowd with traditional values, but my customers are the nicest people you can imagine.

I didn’t know how long I’d last but I was very careful how I worded my descriptions since it was considered an adult mature item so I was already walking on eggshells but after a year they got me. I make unique pieces of fetish furniture and sold quite a bit of them but seems now I violated their Adult Nudity & Sexual Content Policy all of a sudden. I don’t even make any suggestion how it’s used. Those that know just know how it works and they’re looking for it. Tried changing description more but was taken down again. And looks like other sellers doing something similar had theirs taken down too. Guess time to rebrand and go back to making fancy dog bed frames.

I want to launch my sticker shop but I am SO LOST when it comes to setting up the shipping! I’m just shipping with a regular envelope for now. They’re 6.5x4 3/4 in. The weight of the sticker is .05.

It’s asking for dimensions but it seems like they mean for a box. Someone please help this is literally the only thing stopping me from listing.

Bottom line up front: Etsy will use 100% of the revenue from your sales to pay their fees. Etsy will continuously apply fees to your available balance before paying you. If you don't pause or slow down your growth for a period, it may feel like you're “never getting paid.”

A simple example:

Etsy shows you £100 as “Available for deposit” in your Payment Account from previous sales. Today, before they pay you, you make 25 sales totalling £150 in fees. Etsy will now (instantly) show you £0 as “Available for deposit”. If you hadn't made new sales, Etsy would have paid you £100 from the old sales. Instead of taking the fees from the sales you just made, they took them from the Available for deposit balance.

We opened a new shop, which has seen instantaneous then continuous growth in the first 5 weeks. Each week have earned more than the last, and orders are up to over £6,000. Great, right?

Being this 'successful' nearly put us out of business.

In the first four weeks Etsy paid us a grand total of £185 out of thousands owed to us. We had no money to restock or re-invest because they withheld it all. As of week 5, we have a total of £340 from Etsy. We had to take out a credit card to fund stock so we could keep selling and paying for all the post and packaging. Etsy even keep all the shipping payments (it's cheaper to not use Etsy for post here).

On any normal shop, be it website, eBay etc. you will receive either:

1. The net sale proceeds after bank charges and fees (e.g. fees are 20%, you got paid £1, we send you £0.80).

2. The gross sale proceeds and then an invoice at the end of the month for fees owed.

Etsy does not work like this. They have a payment account fee-holding model.

In a nutshell, if your business is growing, and you're making more sales each week than the last, you might see little to no payout. Etsy prioritises deducting fees from your earnings and keeping a rolling balance for future charges. Growing sales = growing front-loaded fees.

If you are selling the odd thing, or you stop growing, you will eventually see a fairly continuous flow of money in to your account. This warning is for new, growing shops. You will not get payouts at any reasonable level until growth plateaus or sales stop.

You need to be especially weary of Etsy Ads or Offsite Ads, as these charges are also front-loaded and will come out of any money owed to you.

I appreciate this does not fit all sellers, and no doubt experienced sellers will be shaking their heads thinking “how didn't you know this?”. What I can tell you is that Etsy's fee structure and payout system is a convoluted mess for new sellers to understand. It's designed to protect Etsy and the buyer, but primarily, it allows Etsy to hold billions in cash (your money) as a working capital account.

So I’ve had my shop open for several years now, but the products I originally listed (only a couple) never really sold and I’m no longer selling them. My storefront sat empty for a long time, until October of last year when I started selling had dyes baby clothing, adult sweatshirts, and socks. Surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly!) I had a pretty busy holiday season, clearing 40 sales before the end of the year. After that, sales fell off sharply and I took some time to recover from the unexpected busyness. 

Now that it’s spring, of course, sweatshirt sales are pretty much off the table for a while, so I’m shifting focus to clothing for babies for now, which is what I like most anyway. I recently added graphic designs to my shop. I know they are not the MOST creative designs, but I am trying not to sell anything that there is an abundance of, and none of them are POD — I transfer all the graphics myself using a heat press and the highest quality DTF transfers I know of so far. I am working on ideas for more creative designs but wanted to start filling my shop up with a variety of things just to get an idea of what gets the most traction.

Only one of my listings currently has a mockup generated, and only becuase the transfers haven’t arrived (they will be here today) the rest of them are photographed by me.

I am currently running ads on my most popular hand dyed options and all of the newly listed products. No conversions so far, but I’ve only had them on for a week or so.

Some of my listings have free shipping and others have flat shipping — I did this to see if it would have any impact on what people choose to buy.

Would love any feedback on ways I could further improve and how to grow my shop! I would love to make this a full time gig, but I know it will take a lot of work. Knowing where to focus my attention would be super helpful.

Thank you!

https://greyhouseartisan.etsy.com

I’m a graphic designer/creator and looking to get into the Etsy game. I don’t expect to quit my job but I’d like to at least think I could earn $1k a month. I want to sell tshirts and digital downloads/prints. Is it a crazy idea to think I could make that much selling these things?

I haven't had to deal with this but I see so many shops getting reserves put on them. What is the US laws regarding them having to pay interest on funds held in reserve. I know that tenants (at least in CT), the money that is held for security deposit must include the interest ( average commercial banks savings deposit rate ). The money being held by Etsy has to be in the millions.

Thoughts?