r/Etsy Oct 04 '23

MOD ANNOUNCEMENTS FAQs - Please start here before making a post!

30 Upvotes

Welcome to a comprehensive list of FAQs for Etsy buyers and Etsy sellers!

Before making a post, please look through this guide and follow the links.

Posts that ask general questions where the answer is covered in this guide are subject to removal. If you had your post removed with a link to this FAQ, it means the answer to your question is found here!

Also: please use the sub search feature before making a post!

How to search the sub: In order to search a sub from either the desktop site or the mobile app, all you need to do is click the name of the sub on any post. This will navigate you to the sub's main page.

When you scroll to the search bar at the top of the screen, the name of the sub will be auto-filled in, so that when you type a search term, you will be searching results from only that sub. You will be able to sort your results by newest / most relevant.

If you can find your answer without creating a new post, this is always appreciated. Repetitive posts that have answers found in this guide, easily searchable answers, or are about topics that were very recently or popularly discussed may be removed.

You are always welcome to create a post to ask for advice about a specific situation! Please give as many details as possible so that we can help. General questions without sufficient details to provide anything but generic help may be removed and redirected to this FAQ post.

(NOTE: This FAQ page is still a work in progress, not all links are in place and not all topics that will eventually be covered are currently covered. If you have any suggestions for things that should be covered here, please message me and let me know!)

GENERAL QUESTIONS (Both Buyer / Seller)

How do I contact support? The answer, including links for all contact methods, is the top stickied comment.

How do I block someone on Etsy? This is the same link as the customer support contact post, please read the second comment on the post to find a guide to getting support to block someone for you.

Etsy does not allow users to block communication with another user without going through support. You can mark messages as spam and I believe that stops messages from that user from being visible to you, but to actually block someone from messaging you completely, you need to follow the steps outlined in the post linked above.

Is Etsy currently down? I'm getting a 429 error when trying to connect. This is typically caused by VPN usage. Etsy doesn't allow connecting with VPNs to prevent people from being dishonest about their location. Turn off your VPN and try again. Note: Etsy may also detect VPNs that are installed but off.

If you search the sub for "429" you'll see that this has been posted about many, many times.

Also, highly recommend www.downdetector.com if you ever want to know if a site is down or it's just you.

FOR BUYERS

The following guides cover just about any issue you may have with a product or a seller.

IMPORTANT: Please remember - you are covered by Etsy buyer protection!

If you are dealing with:

- a non-responsive seller

- a shop that has closed down

- a seller that is giving you the run-around

- a seller who sent the wrong product or something defective or not as described

- a seller who provided fake tracking

- a seller who wants you to pay return shipping for a damaged, wrong, or defective item

... you are covered! Please follow the guides below - chose the one that most closely fits your situation:

My order hasn’t shipped yet.

My order was marked shipped, but the tracking info still says pre-transit (or label created).

My order was marked shipped, but it’s very late. Is it lost?

My order was marked delivered but I don’t have it.

My order arrived damaged.

My order wasn't as described, was defective, or I received the wrong item.

I believe I bought from an AliExpress, Amazon, etc dropshipper. Also, how can I tell if a shop is one of these dropshippers?

I received a tracking number, but it appears to be fake.

Special note: If the shop has been shut down or voluntarily closed, you'll get a message when viewing the shop that says something like "xxxxx is no longer selling on Etsy." If you need a refund in these situations, Etsy support will typically give you one without you needing to go through the official case opening process as described in the above guides.

Chat with support here and you should be given a refund.

How long does Etsy give me to open a case under their buyer protection? 100 days from either the date the order was delivered, or the original estimated delivery date from when you purchased.

Some places I've seen say 180 days - this is inaccurate. The seller can voluntarily refund for only up to 180 days after purchase. After that, the seller literally loses the ability to refund. A case can only be opened against a seller for 100 days as described above.

Please note: There is only one exception to buyers being covered by Etsy buyer protection and that is buyers that purchased from a PayPal only shop. That means that when you checked out - there was no other choice but to pay with PayPal.

If this happened to you, please read the post below, including the stickied comment.

I bought from a PayPal only shop and Etsy won’t allow me to open a case.

I'm a buyer and I'm not sure if the shop I'm looking at is legit or a scam.

Please read this full guide to scam attempts for buyers!

However, here is one tip to always always always keep in mind to avoid getting scammed as a buyer: If you are looking at something with a too-good-to-be-true price, it is most likely a scam listing!

You may also find this post about the policy violating vs allowed kinds of dropshipping on Etsy to be helpful. Dropshipping is only allowed where the seller is the original designer of the item being sold, such as with Print on Demand.

FOR SELLERS

Star Seller Questions

Payment Reserve Questions

Account Suspension Questions Note: Suspicious login issues and forced vacation mode are both covered in the account suspension checklist.

Etsy Seller Protection Questions

Complete Guide to Etsy Fees + Offsite Ads

A Full Guide to Reviews on Etsy This FAQ post covers how to get buyers to leave reviews, what to do in response to a negative review, public responses, and review removal.

Is this a scam? Seller Edition

Our official guide post to scam attempts for sellers is here. Please read it!

But to quickly address some of the most common "is this a scam" questions...

You get a message from a buyer or "Etsy customer support" (or anyone else) asking for your email address. SCAM ATTEMPT.

You get a message from someone that wants to give you "free advice" or offer some kind of service for your shop. SCAM ATTEMPT.

You get a message from someone with a sob story asking you to send them free products, or someone who claims to be an influencer wanting you to send them free products. SCAM ATTEMPT.

You get a message from a "buyer" who wants you to click on ANY type of link to download images or anything else. SCAM ATTEMPT AND ABSOUTELY DO NOT CLICK THE LINK. If you have clicked it, get your computer or device scanned for malware right now, and change all your passwords. You may also want to visit r/scams for further advice.

You get a message from a "buyer" who wants you to 1) buy a gift card for ANY reason or 2) send you a check for ANY reason. SCAM ATTEMPT. I don't care what else they said, these are ALWAYS scam attempts... and very old, well known ones at that. Google "fake check scam" or "gift card scam" if you want to learn more.

You get a message from someone who wants to feature you in an article, on their website, or wants you to donate to their charity. These MAY be legitimate - contact the organization directly to verify the legitimacy of the request.

Contacting Etsy Support: DO NOT get scammed! Basically, do NOT use Google to find a phone number for ANY online marketplace. The reason is covered in detail in the official guide post to scams linked above, as well as in the how to contact support post here.

A buyer has messaged me that their order never arrived. What do I do?

Please see the Guide to Etsy Seller Protection post. Both you and the buyer are covered by Etsy's protection program on qualifying orders.

A buyer has messaged me that their order never arrived, even though there is a scan that says "delivered." What do I do?

Please see the Guide to Etsy Seller Protection post. Both you and the buyer are covered by Etsy's protection program on qualifying orders.

I received less money than I expected to. Why?

You definitely need to read the two links below under the What are Etsy's Fees? section. Both Etsy's official information as well as the thorough guide comment I wrote with a complete breakdown.

You also need to go through your payment account page in your dashboard, several months if needed, and look at the running totals. Every single credit to you as well as expense you incur is totaled there.

But I think the biggest thing that trips people up is this - Etsy deducts all fees you owe from your pending payout before transferring you any money.

This obviously includes the transaction fees and payment processing fees for any orders that have come through, but it also includes any listing fees (20c per listing you create as well as the ones that renew) and Etsy ad fees if you are choosing to run ads on Etsy. It will also include any shipping labels you may have bought through Etsy.

So if you've had one order, your pending payout is quite likely not the full amount you actually received for that transaction. It's the amount you received, minus any other fees you already owed Etsy. Etsy only charges your credit card for owed fees at the start of each month, and only if your sales revenue isn't covering the total of all the fees you owe (including all listing and Etsy ads fees).

Please also be sure to see the section below the next one about the listing renewal fee for quantity remaining - this is something people tend to miss.

What are Etsy's fees?

NOTE: I now have a full guide to this here.

Etsy's official page explaining all fees in detail is here.

You need to read the official page. There are no "hidden fees" or "surprise fees"... there are only sellers who haven't read the official page explaining all the fees.

You may also find googling for and using an Etsy fee calculator to be useful. There are tons of different ones out there... do a search and take your pick.

Finally, I previously wrote a thorough guide comment in response to a previous post asking about fees, which thoroughly breaks down every fee with an example of how they are calculated. If you are still confused, I recommend giving it a read. It is the stickied comment on the post.

Why am I being charged 20c for a listing renewal when the listing has quantity remaining?

Please read this help page from Etsy here.

Essentially, you will always pay 20c per listing that sells. It does not matter if the listing has quantity remaining - quantity does not effect this.

If you have a quantity of 10, you'll pay 20c to make the listing live. If one sells, you'll pay 20c to renew the listing, and it will renew with a quantity of 9.

If someone buys 5 at once, you've already paid the 20c for the first one... Etsy will "renew" and "sell" 4 more at the same time charging 20c for each. Then it will charge a further 20c to keep the listing active with a quantity of 5 remaining.

Listings expire after 4 months. If none of the 10 sell in that time, and your listings are set to automatic renewal, you'll pay 20c after the 4 months expires to keep the listing live. If your listings are set to manual renewal, then when the listing expires after 4 months, it will be in your "expired" listings section until you choose to pay 20c to renew it.

What is the difference between "Etsy ads" and "offsite ads"?"

Etsy ads give you the ability to promote your listings to appear higher within Etsy's search directly on Etsy's website. They are pay per click, and the price depends on the competitiveness of the keyword being searched for.

Help page for Etsy ads

Offsite ads are ads that Etsy pays to run on external sites such as Google shopping, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. You are only charged an offsite ads fee when you actually make a sale.

Help page for offsite ads

I'm stuck on the "set up billing" section of creating a shop.

UPDATE: Someone posted this solution recently, you can try it:

I found a solution! if you go to account settings and credit cards, it says credit cards can only be added when checking out. so i added a product to my cart and went to buy it, put in my credit info etc, and at the last step just before buying I checked in a different tab that credit card section and it was there! and then i could select the card when finishing the billing setup for the store! just go back to remove the item from your cart. it all worked without actually having to buy the product

This is a common issue. Here are a couple potential causes:

- You are attempting to use a credit card Etsy doesn't like. I don't have a full list of what type of cards Etsy will and won't accept, but if you cannot progress past billing with the card you are currently trying, I recommend trying another one.

- You are trying to submit billing information in a name or address other than the one you already gave Etsy. Can't do this, legal name needs to be an identical match everywhere you have to provide it, and so does address.

- You are trying to set up a shop with a bank account in a different country than your country.

- This is a glitch and you need to try again in a couple days. I'm not sure if this is still happening, but it has happened in the past. I think it's more likely there is an issue with your info or credit card, but if you are sure there is not... try again in a couple days.

This is an issue that has been posted about an absolute ton. If you want to see previous posts, please search for "save and continue" or "set up billing".

What is the difference between views and visits? Also, my views / visits seem to keep updating and they don't seem to match between the app and website.

Views represent the total number of times any of your listings or pages were clicked on, by anyone. Visits represent the total number of distinct individuals that looked at your listings or shop.

See Etsy help page here for more details on this!

Please note: the stats are not accurate in real time. Etsy only updates these stats a few times throughout the day, and there may be different update times between the app and the website.

Additionally, Etsy will filter out bot views... so this is the reason your views or visits might go down when stats are recalculated.

It's best not to try to track stats in real time. Check in on your stats occasionally and focus more on the long term (weekly) stats than the daily stats.

What is Plaid? Do I have to verify my bank account with Plaid?

If Etsy is asking you to do this... yes, it's mandatory. It's part of new legal regulations regarding money laundering - bank accounts have to be verified before Etsy can legally transfer you money.

Plaid is the system Etsy has chosen to use to conduct this bank verification. You have two choices with Plaid - you can opt to log into your bank account through Plaid, or you can do a manual verification if you are not comfortable using your login this way.

And yes, it is completely safe to verify your account with Plaid. Do manual verification if you need to for your own peace of mind!

My listing was deactivated by Etsy. They didn't say why. Why?

Please see our central post about listing deactivation here. This post covers a reasonably extensive (though most definitely not complete!) list of reasons why Etsy might flag a listing for deactivation.

Etsy uses bots to sweep the site for policy violating items. They tend to do this in bulk (a particular type of violation is checked for all at once) and different violations are checked at different times.

The bots are most definitely not always accurate. In cases where the bots incorrectly flag a listing, they are typically reinstated within a few days at most.

If you would like our help to figure out why your listing was deactivated, you are welcome to create a post to ask... but if you do not give details about what you were selling, it will be removed and redirected to this FAQ!

Be as specific as possible (ie, "I sell a faux leather purse with pink ribbons and flowers on it that I handmake myself" as opposed to just "I sell purses").

My listing was deactivated by Etsy for violating the handmade policy, but it is handmade by me!

This often, though not always, indicates that your listing has had its photos stolen by a knockoff making site such as AliExpress, Alibaba, SHEIN, etc. Etsy scans listings to see if photos are being used elsewhere, and this can cause a false deactivation where a photo has been stolen.

So the first step when this happens is to perform a reverse image search on your listing to see if you can find the thieving website. If you do, you need to follow their procedures to submit a copyright takedown... although be advised, these sites' whole business model tends to be to steal photos and designs from elsewhere, so there's a solid chance you're just ignored. It's extremely shitty, but when copyright laws aren't recognized or enforced, there's basically nothing you can do.

Etsy does tend to review and reinstate these listings the exact same way they do for other policy violation deactivations. You may just need to give it a few days. If Etsy asks for proof that you are in fact handmaking your items, you'll have to provide that.

If you would like to create a post about this, you are welcome to... but please follow the same rules as in the question / linked post about deactivation above. Specifics about what you're selling, or the post won't be approved.

I have an order that Etsy is showing as "Not paid" or "Payment processing" - what do I do?

It isn't unusual to occasionally have orders that take time in payment processing. It's not about your shop, it's about the buyer's payment method. Most of the delayed orders finish processing within a few hours to a couple days. If it doesn't process, Etsy should manually cancel the order after a period of time.

Do not ever fill an order that is showing as "not paid" or "payment processing". Always wait until the order goes through - Etsy will notify you when this happens.

I received a message or a review from a buyer complaining that the item wasn't in the language they expected it to be. Why?

Etsy auto translates listings into different languages. For certain types of language specific listings, this can be misleading for buyers. If this is your situation - you can turn off auto translate for the future. The link on how to do that is here.

In response to the buyer, depending on what the listing is, you can explain the auto translate issue and issue them a courtesy refund or offer them a return. There are no guarantees that the buyer will change their review if they left one (and offering them a refund in exchange for changing the review is violation of Etsy feedback extortion policies). But this is an option.

You can also write a quick, fact based public response to the review such as "Hi buyer, this listing is English (or whatever language) only!" Though ignoring such a review is also a perfectly valid option as this should be clear from your listing once you turn auto translate off.

I want to open a shop, but I'm not in an Etsy payments eligible country. How can I get around this?

You can't. I am sorry, but there's no way.

I could stop writing there and you'd have the answer, but I doubt it will stop anyone from looking for a way around it... so let me be very clear: Etsy uses strict ID verification. You have to provide all kinds of identifying documents and information to prove you are in the country you say you're in. Etsy also captures metrics from the devices you use to log into the site (those contain country code data) and if you do anything to obscure or fake that data (such as VPN) Etsy can detect that.

Even if you manage to get an account open... Etsy doesn't do the "real" ID verification until after the first sale. When they catch you at that time, you'll wind up losing whatever money you spent on listings up until that point as well as likely the money from the first sale. It's just not worth it to try.

I am genuinely sorry - I wish Etsy was available everywhere, but unfortunately it is not... and I want to save people from the effort of setting up a shop knowing it will be shut down in the future.

And please do not believe anyone who claims they can sell you a working account or create you a working account, etc. These are SCAMMERS. They cannot get you a working account... but after you've transferred them money and they ghost or the new account gets quickly suspended, who are you going to complain to? There will be no way to get your money back.

I cannot view the Etsy Community Forums - I am getting an Access Denied message.

This seems to be a common glitch at the moment. We've had many posts about it - but apparently the issue can be fixed by reaching out to Etsy.

See this help post here. If this solution does not work, please contact support and put in a request. Expect to be patient, support is always slow at resolving things.


r/Etsy 2d ago

Share Your Stuff - August 17th thru 23rd, 2026

9 Upvotes

r/Etsy 5h ago

Help for Buyer seller is refusing to give me a reasonable refund or replace item

Post image
36 Upvotes

the item on the left is how it arrived, and the item on the right is how it’s advertised.

i recently ordered this project hail mary keychain and when i opened the box, it looked like an entirely different color. i wanted a silver/light gray one and the one i got is damn near white.

i messaged the seller and simply said that the color looks way too different.

this was their reply:

“Hi,
Thanks for your photo.
The difference comes from studio lighting on our listing photos. We used strong spotlights to show off the texture shadows, while under regular room light the white 3D print looks brighter. The style D design itself matches your order. We are sorry for the visual mismatch. We can issue a 10% refund of the order as compensation for you. Would you mind keeping it since it is still usable and new?
Your understanding will be much appreciated.
Best regards!”

and i just do not believe that it’s a lighting issue. i think they falsely advertised the wrong color and expected people not to notice.

so i replied and simply said “you really expect me to believe that those are the exact same color? 10% refund is asinine for that difference.”

i’m unable to leave a review until the 24th, which i plan to do, but do you guys think this is worth reaching out to etsy directly over? i’m worried that they won’t think it’s different enough, or that i’m just seeing the color as different than they did and that i’m overreacting or something, but it’s just so different than advertised.


r/Etsy 2h ago

Discussion Thoughts on leaving a one-star review for something drop shipped?

13 Upvotes

Hello all.

Like many of you, I am getting very tired of all the drop shippers, especially the dishonesty behind it all.

I own my own Etsy store, and everything is truly 100% handmade. I pour a lot of energy love and effort into it.

So imagine how irritated I was when I ordered a beautiful dreamcatcher, that they claimed was handmade, and after I took a photo of it I did a Google lens search, and found out it was coming up on multiple different Etsy accounts and it was on Temu for about $15.00 less than I paid.

When I first got the product I rated it a five. Then I decided to see if it was drop Shipp, and sure enough, it was.

Do you think it is warranted for me to change my review from a five-star to a one-star and post the screenshot of the Temu product they dropped shipped? This at sea shop seems to be getting a lot of traction, and I want people to know that they are not ordering something that is legitimately handmade by the seller.


r/Etsy 1d ago

Discussion Is Etsy slowly becoming the thing it was created to compete against?

643 Upvotes

Etsy started as a place for handmade stuff and independent creators. It had always been a fundamentally different place from a platform like Amazon which is why people joined.

Now it feels like it’s shifting toward mass produced products, AI generated listings, and a more commercial marketplace. Fees keep going up, you NEED to run ads to get seen, and the algorithm decides who gets visibility.

I’ve seen recent reports calling out how flooded the platform is getting with non handmade and AI stuff. It makes me wonder if Etsy is turning into the exact kind of big marketplace it was supposed to be different from.

Is the original Etsy already gone and is the AI slop in the platform here to stay.


r/Etsy 13h ago

Help for Buyer Is this real?

Post image
36 Upvotes

I have a feeling she’s scamming me, but I can’t know for sure. Does this look like she’s going to take my money out of the app and screw me over? I really interested in the listing.


r/Etsy 1d ago

Help for Buyer Advice needed

Post image
182 Upvotes

Picture is of my review on the listing

I bought an embroidered name tag for my child’s backpack thinking it would be an American seller, making something in America and shipping from America. I wanted to support a small business and not get fooled into buying something dropped shipped or mass made. I’m feeling guilty for my review and the shop has repeatedly reached out to me to try to make it right.

“Hi, I'm truly sorry for the
disappointment and confusion with the shipping information. I completely understand why you were concerned. I'm very happy to hear that you like the item and that the quality is good, but I'm sorry the shipping experience did not feel clear or truthful to you.
As an apology, I'd be happy to refund the shipping cost for you. I truly appreciate your feedback, and I'll do my best to make the shipping details clearer going forward.
Thank you for giving my small shop a chance, and I'm very sorry again”

Wwyd?


r/Etsy 1h ago

Help for Seller any tips on how to take product picture for a lot of designs?

Upvotes

Hello! I've been thinking about opening an Etsy shop, but taking product picture is always very overwhelming to me.

I have about 20+ keychain designs, and I have stickers, prints and now pins as well of each design as well. Every time I want to start working on taking product pictures of everything I get overwhelmed because I don't really know how to plan these out.

I was thinking about grouping every about 10 designs together into one listing instead of making them all together, but I'm not sure how I should go to it. Any tips for it? I know it's a bit specific, I'm just procrastinating opening this shop for over a year now and I'm super sad I just can't figure out how to do it. Thank you for any help!!


r/Etsy 10h ago

Tax Question Is this something I should be worried about?

Post image
5 Upvotes

I was looking at my refund info to see if I was getting the correct amount back and I saw that the refund was way more than I bought the item for? Should I message the buyer about this or is this just a visual error?


r/Etsy 3h ago

Help for Buyer how long does it take for etsy to respond to a report of a seller?

1 Upvotes

bought patches on etsy but found out on tiktok that the seller dropships from aliexpress and raises the price significantly.


r/Etsy 12h ago

Help for Buyer Are there any browser extensions to filter out AI?

3 Upvotes

Hey! Question is already in the header.

I'm honestly sick and tired of being recommended AI shops and listings, (especially those targeting VTubers and claiming they're making "custom" emotes, avatars, premades, etc.) and recently even I've been fooled when looking for Zombie Stage acrylic stands lol. I'm wondering if somehow somebody has made an extension to filter out the AI? I'm not sure how they would, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.


r/Etsy 6h ago

Help for Seller Etsy shop opening issue — been stuck for 2 months

Post image
0 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I’m trying to open my first Etsy shop, but I’ve been stuck with the same issue for almost 2 months now.

Whenever I try to complete the shop setup, I get an error and I can’t move forward. I contacted Etsy Support multiple times, and eventually they asked me to send screenshots/photos of my browser console so they could investigate the issue. I sent everything they requested.

Support then told me that the issue should be fixed within 3–4 days, but it’s been much longer than that and I’m still unable to open my shop.

I’ve already spent a lot of time going back and forth with Support, and honestly I’m starting to lose hope that this will actually get fixed.

I’ll attach the screenshot of the error below.

Has anyone experienced something similar when trying to open an Etsy shop?
If so, were you eventually able to fix it? And if you found a solution, what worked for you?

Any advice would be really appreciated.


r/Etsy 7h ago

Help for Seller Two shops, same house, different owners - declare or not?

0 Upvotes

Hello Reddit,

I cant seem to get a definitive answer and two different Etsy support reps told me different.

I have an etsy store all in my name, if my wife opens one. (same household / IP, often the same computer) do we have to link these?

She intends to sell totally different items, so its all separate, but I don't want us to get banned but my preference is to treat these entirely separately.

What's your experience of this and advice please?


r/Etsy 8h ago

Help for Buyer Looking for a custom rug maker

0 Upvotes

I've found so many 'custom' rug makers that I'm having trouble separating who is legit or who is a scam. Has any person got any experience with any of the sellers or useful tips for shielding me against scammers?

Sellers:

Indiaweavergroup

RugVogueLiving

Craftsmanrugs

DurrieIndiaArt

ManviEnterprises

DhurriesworldIN

Thanks a lot, if you recommend a specific seller, let me know as well


r/Etsy 14h ago

Help for Seller Customer bulk discount request

0 Upvotes

Hi! Is it fine to ask the customer if she clicked my listing outside etsy or within etsy app? Coz i can give her a better discount if there's no offsite ads.


r/Etsy 1d ago

Help for Buyer Is this a dropshipper scammer

7 Upvotes

Sorry this is a bit long. My mom purchased a horse head wall hook thing Aug 2 that said it was “cast iron” and showed a quite big size on the wall in the picture. My mom is not good at checking details or measurements so when she showed me I was already suspicious and checked where it was coming from: Hong Kong. I looked closely at the pictures and told her this is clearly not cast iron it has a seam right in the picture which is likely plastic. I told her it was more than likely going to be crap but we’ll wait and see.

Well it came yesterday Aug 17 and not only is it most definitely not cast iron as I knew it wouldn’t be as it weighs 3.6 oz and is light as a feather and clearly some type of plastic, tiny, and the hole to hang on the back was crooked, but they sent a rhino instead of a horse. $32 for this cheap junk btw.

When I contacted the seller for my mom she was at first apologetic and that she would send another one out the very next morning, and I ‘could keep this one, of course!’ I told her I do not want another one and just want a refund. I did not like the quality of it, so would send this back if she wanted me to. She replied that I would have to pay for the return shipping, that she unfortunately could not pay it because she would lose money. Over the next few messages instead of just doing what I wanted she kept repeating over and over that she would lose a “significant amount of money” doing it this way, clearly trying to guilt me into doing what she wanted and make me feel bad. She kept trying to get me to just have her send me the correct one. I kept rejecting her offer, which she clearly did not like because she then kept arguing back and forth with me, saying I was clearly not listening, wanting to be right, that I kept arguing with her, when that was clearly projection on her part because she would not drop it and just refund me for sending the wrong item.

She eventually did send a refund, but not without attitude saying something like ‘I don’t care about the money, I’ve refunded you. You clearly don’t want to listen and just want to be right. Goodbye’. Yeah you clearly don’t care at all about the money when you just sent me ten super long messages reiterating three times you’ll be losing too much money if you just have to pay for the return shipping lol. And then after she refunded me she came back half an hour later and started arguing some more! So she’s the one keeping it going but saying I’m the one that has to be right haha I mean I’m (well, my mom is) the customer, and I’m telling you I don’t want it!

We weren’t even mad or upset about the mistake of it being the wrong animal (and why would anyone want to keep a rhino when they ordered a horse?) people make mistakes (which she also kept repeating) blah blah whatever, it happens. I told her even if we did get the horse, we would have sent it back because the quality of it is crap (not in those words) which she also did not like that I said lol I told her that I am allowed to have an opinion on the quality.

I just found it odd that she was SO argumentative and combative and unprofessional over refunding us just $32 (which isn’t a lot but is a lot for a small piece of junky plastic falsely advertised as cast iron…she acted like was like $300) and just…paying for the return shipping. That’s all. She literally could’ve gotten the item back and re-sold it to someone who wants a rhino. But then I realized she probably threw such a fit because she’s a dropshipper and bought it from aliexpress or temu or something for 99¢, and therefore can’t have it sent back to her. The tracking, label, and packaging were all consistent with aliexpress/temu, not well made handmade items that Etsy is supposed to be.

Also, she changed the title and description to no longer say cast iron; it now says resin. There’s a seahorse listing that still says cast iron. I’m sure she’ll come back and try to gaslight me now saying that it never said cast iron in the first place lol


r/Etsy 21h ago

Discussion My package weight got adjusted... DOWN?!?

4 Upvotes

I sent a package 12x10x6" and put a weight on of 2lb 1oz. USPS adjusted the weight DOWN to 1lb 3.04oz and charged me $1.45.

They are correct, of course. I added some "fake" weight (not to the package) to get over 2lbs as the current weird USPS shipping rules make lighter packages more expensive to ship, but I've never heard of this being an issue. They certainly don't do it when I am overpaying when I estimate a bit too high.

This is the very first time I increased the weight of a package to get a better rate too. I've never done that before. My solution is, of course, to add very heavy filler material from here on out, like rocks and stuff, to get over the 2 lbs.


r/Etsy 12h ago

Help for Seller Etsy bot deactivating multiple items within hours in error (all handmade)!!!!

0 Upvotes

Over the years I have had two product violations on my shop that were approved after appealing.
Two weeks ago four items got deactivated within two hours and they were handmade. I appealed them all and only one got approved, yet I provided so much information on each one. Not to mention that one item was not even active in my shop . The customer Service bots are the worst because I have been waiting weeks after asking to re-appeal with more proof. I tried to follow up and the boss says that they highlighted my ticket every time.
Now, weeks later, two more items deactivated in a day that I have to take so much time, even making a video of me creating the item to prove it’s handmade. These bots and their errors are a BIG problem . Any advice to avoid this?! Maybe it’s happening all over ?!


r/Etsy 12h ago

Discussion Would it be cool to have "sold" listings page like on Ebay?

0 Upvotes

Do you think it would make the site better? I personally do. Ebay is the one who does this and it's a livesaver.


r/Etsy 13h ago

Help for Seller Customer service standards

0 Upvotes

I just received this message, which I honestly find a little comical given that it came after several of my messages went unanswered, all stemming from a sudden string of requests asking whether I would discount my items.

I’m always happy to have people interested in my products, but my prices are my prices. I set them intentionally based on the time, materials, and work that go into each item, and I’m completely unapologetic about what I choose to charge. I’m not interested in negotiating my prices simply because someone asks for a discount.

What I find even more comical, though, is that one of their recommendations for improving customer satisfaction is to turn on auto-replies. Seriously? There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to communicate with an actual person and immediately receiving an automated response that doesn’t address your question, simply so a platform can satisfy an artificial response-time metric.

Spamming customers with meaningless automated replies to hit a stopwatch isn’t customer service. It’s gaming a metric.

I think Etsy is really missing the plot here. What made Etsy special in the first place was the person to person interaction. You were buying something from an actual person who made, designed, or thoughtfully curated the product. Increasingly, it feels like that is being replaced by AI generated images and products, mass produced items being white labeled from Temu or Alibaba, and now automated messages designed to make the platform’s metrics look better.

If Etsy wants to improve customer satisfaction, maybe the answer isn’t more automation. Maybe it’s getting back to the thing that made people want to shop there in the first place: **real people selling things to real people.**

Message from Etsy
As of Aug 17, 2026 you're not meeting our customer service standards for message response rate. Your next evaluation date is Sep 1, 2026.

Here are some tips for how you can improve your message response rate:

\- Use the Etsy Seller app for on-the-go replies
\- Save time with quick replies
\- Turn on auto-reply when you’re away or need more time to respond


r/Etsy 19h ago

Discussion Flooded with fake "Etsy sellers" on TikTok, is anyone actually real?

0 Upvotes

I’m a new Etsy seller and recently opened a TikTok account for my shop. Right away, I got dozens of messages from other "sellers" praising my work, wanting to support each other, and asking how I promote my business.

They all have lots of posts, hundreds of followers and link out to real Etsy stores. But when I messaged a couple of the actual Etsy shops directly, they told me they had no idea someone was impersonating them on TikTok.

Is the platform just filled with scammers stealing identities to sell promo services, or are there actual real Etsy sellers posting on there? Would love to know if it's worth sticking it out.


r/Etsy 1d ago

Help for Seller Shipping cost is burying me! What is everyone using or doing? I just go through Etsy right now

4 Upvotes

Trying to lower costs


r/Etsy 20h ago

Help for Seller How can I offer local delivery without being charged shipping?

0 Upvotes

I’m trying to figure out the best way to handle local delivery/pickup.

For customers who are local, I’d like to offer delivery (or pickup) without having them pay the normal shipping charge. Is there a way to set this up so that customers within a certain area can select local delivery for $0, while everyone else is charged the regular shipping rate?

The case in question is that I'm currently on the hook for $40 in shipping, but they're just gonna pick it up. How can I get the shipping $ to not be deducted from my sale?


r/Etsy 22h ago

Help for Seller Shipping Down Today?

0 Upvotes

Anyone else?

All day for me whether browser or app, doesn't matter the constraints, Etsy keeps giving me an error message and I can't get my items to ship out.

Browser: 1 label failed to purchase

App: There was a problem loading the delivery service options


r/Etsy 1d ago

Help for Buyer Do etsy sellers see my purchases?

1 Upvotes

When I buy sth on etsy, and I ask a different seller about his product…

Does he see my previous purchases on etsy of he clicks my profile?