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As both a seller and consumer on etsy for the better part of 3 years, I can say with much experience that the vendors, for the most part, are reputable, hard working people who stand by their products. The products are, for the most part, as described and well made. The rub, however, is with the "etsy team", or management personnel. If you are a vendor be prepared to be subjected to abuse galore. The rules are not for the "etsy team" to follow, but rather interpret at whim. Finally, if you are a minority of any ethnicity and make no efforts to conceal such, be very prepared for targeting and profiling. You will have your shop shut down while you are on vacation, items deleated without an explanation, and harrassing emails without provocation.
So, in a nutshell-the sellers are wonderful. The "etsy team" or those in power at etsy are abusive.
So, how can they help me? Communicate before taking action? Reinstate my shop!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Our shop has just been closed down for no apparent reason. We have contacted them for an explanation. Unsurprisingly they have not responded. I know there are other similarly situated people and I am very interested in joining a class action with these people against Etsy.
YES! Etsy has just singled out our shop and we believe it is due to the fact we sell items that are handcrafted from Africa. Etsy stated that they shut us down due to that we represent artisans and not actually producing the crafts ourselves and that violates their policy. However, when we pointed out the thousands of sellers (with links to their etsy site) of years they have operated in the same manner as us, Etsy stated that they can not discuss other sites. These shops are still active. This is a racial profiling platform. We need to ban together and produce a class action racial suit.
I was banned like many others because my husband put an led sign up with a Transformers head on it. So Etsy shut my 2 shops of 12 years because I was using the same server and we had same isp. Trying to get them to listen is impossible. They just send standard boiler-plate messages back. I wrote to every member of the board at Etsy but nothing. If this is how they treat people they can stuff it. Last June they laid off 15% of it's workers and their stock is sliding. There are rumors that they are going to get bought out soon so maybe things will change then. Go to Zibbet. They are much nicer there.
That fact that Etsy is still in operation is disgusting. Talk about illegal business practice in the United States. This corporation is the worst controlling, conniving and dictatorship run rampant. They keep your money, ignore you, shut down your business because "they" see fit and fall back on illegal loophole through their "self proclaimed policies made to misinterpret law and fair business practices. It's horrific.
Im IN ! Im sick and tired of ETSY enforcing random policy terms on select few. They are inconsistent and discriminatory.
Hello guys and gals I am going to be filing a lawsuit in the coming weeks against Etsy. Please let me know who's willing to also this way hey can get in touch with you.
Did you ever file a lawsuit with etsy?
Class action suit? Im IN!
Please count me in. Big time.
What is your lawsuit in reference to and will you have a lawyer?
let me know how to join, they closed us with out notice and kept money.
Also contacting lawyers! Feel free to reach out to me
swild131@gmail.com
Etsy shut me down with 200 orders to fill they are holding my shop payments till April so i basically have to front theshipping price for my customers till April ITS JANUARY) if i want to ship them and ship outside of etsy they wont let me ship on their site i cant even print invoices to fill orders! So my 200 customers are screwed and so am i
THATS HORRIBLE!
Something happen to me. This should all qualify as bad business practices. Who's going to step up legally, too many people have been abused by this company.
I want to ! But i am nervous. I am speaking to a lawyer now but not a class action lawyer might rather go class action route if everyone things we have a case
My email is swild131@gmail.com if anyone wants to reach out
I'm on board with a class action.
I am a Brooklyn resident who also had their shop shut down. I am in the area where Etsy resides. Please email me as I have contacted the New York Attorney General with regards to their practices. The NY Attorney General has advised me to let them know of any other complaints similar to my complaint - store shut down, website shut down, no contact info, kept my funds, charged for ads.
Please email me so I can send the Attorney General the information.
Only email me if they:
1) Shut you down without notice
2) Shut your etsy pattern website down and kept your money
3) Could not get through to Etsy, even though you emailed them
Please include:
Name, address, city, zip
Send to jminchak55@gmail.com
I want in. They shut my shop down because they said I don't make my items. I sent 13 pictures with step by step instructions on how I make my items. They shut it down anyways. They shut down my moms shops as well because I live with her. They have wiped out every penny of income we have. I sell phone cases and just bought a $10, 000 dollar phone case printer. I have a $341 monthly payment for the machine with no income. I sold my car to pay for this business. I have no car, no income and will soon be homeless. I would greatly appreciate any response. Thank you so much. Madison Wallace www.madisonavecases.com designsbywallace97@gmail.com
Ladybug
I would like to join, as i have had 2 shops closed, trying to appeal with no luck, please let me know if you find any lawyers to take the case, i would like to be named as well
Hello Everyone!
I am reading all of your complaints about Etsy Legal Team and it sounds like their a handful of you that feel the same way as I do about their procedures and policies. I got really excited reading how many of your are willing to step forward to go for a class action lawsuit but I am not certain that any on here has? I see that @LadyBug Chipmunk asked in July and still no one replied. I REALLY hope that you all are with me because I am moving forward on this and would love a team with me.
Etsy's Legal Team is completely unethical and don't even give you a fighting chance to explain your case. I received an email yesterday that my shop of 3.5 years and my sole income was deactivated PERMANENTLY. I know that you all can sympathize with my fear and frustration at this point. I was not disclosed why in the email from Etsy so of course I responded frantically asking why. They pulled up a listing that I was suspended for back in May that I had no idea I was not in compliance with because so many other seller were selling the same exact item! Anyhow, it was removed from my shop permanently and for some reason that is beyond me, my shop was taken down indefinitely today even though it was completely erased from my shop. Doesn't make any sense. I responded to Etsy my email "This email constitutes Etsy's final communication with you on this matter. We will not reply to any further emails."
Another bad scenario I had with Etsy towards the beginning of my shop was "infringing" on someone else's design. I had designed a cutting board style and Etsy came after me for the design that someone else designed it although I know 100% that came from me as it had MY name, MY significant others name and OUR date we got together. Explain that...But Etsy wouldn't listen to me.
If anyone is still on board for a class action lawsuit and feel like they were wrongfully done by Etsy, please feel free to contact me. jenainoside@yahoo.com or on here!
Hi there,
Sorry it's three years after your post but I only got suspended today, probably not relevant anymore but if you are proceeding or got anywhere with this or figured out why it's not possible then please let me know and obviously yes I'm on board with a class action.
Same as me! I got cancelled and told...
After a close review of your account, my team and I have determined that we can no longer accommodate your business on Etsy.
I have an established jewelry store. They don't answer my emails or phone. They are an absolute disgrace of a forum. I'm on board too.
Let me know if you hear anything. Texaninireland@gmail.com
I have a store on etsy since 2011 and the first years went very well but now Etsy made it almost impossible for me to keep my shop running and there is no way for me anymore to accept their policies regarding natural and herbal products. Even after I changed my product descriptions several times as etsy wanted me to, etsy still kept targeting my store. For me it is pretty senseless to sell natural and herbal products when I am not able to tell people for what they are good for.
I opened a new store on shopify about a month ago and it is so much better than selling on etsy. I am independent and don't have to worry about any stupid policies. It is easy to set up a store there and when you pay a little extra for google product listing adds I get more traffic than on etsy. The staff from shopify is very nice and they are very helpful.
Bottom line etsy is a very big disappointment and for me it is not worth to waste my time and money on it any longer. I just leave some items listed on etsy for my returning customers but will point them all to my new store.
Has anyone filed a Class Action law suit as of 7/18/2016? I reside in Southern California and am in the beginning process of contacting an attorney regarding a Class Action Law Suit against Etsy.
I mean its 2017 now but i am trying the same thing!
me too! Id love some more information on your case to see if mine would go with it.
let me know how to join
Any updates on this?
After 4 years 7000 orders and over $200, 000 in sales my 5 star Etsy and associated Pattern shops have both been closed. Everything out of my shop was embroidered by me, Etsy collected their fees every month and closed my shop just like that. The only follow up I got from them was a congratulations email that said "Sync your 5 star reviews with your web site..You've earned them!" This is crazy, a true financial burden on me and my family. I have inventory that cannot be returned, bills that need to be paid and customers that count on me. This is no way to run a publicly traded business. I'm devastated! Does anyone know of any Class Action Law Suits involving legitimate vendors closed as a result of poor Etsy management?
I'm in Southern Cali too and I would love to join any lawsuit against Etsy.
please let me know!
Put my contact down if you hear any updates on class action. Swild131@gmail.com
Definitely need a CLASS ACION LAWSUIT! There is no rhyme or reason for closing stores and not closing others for supposed trademark violations. IF they exist, it should be the company who feels there is a violation of their trademark that contacts the SELLER DIRECTLY before CLOSING A GOOD STORE! Count me IN - terri@BuyCraftsForLess.com !
Hi Christy,
I hope you had a good end to your awful situation. Sadly, as of today, I'm in the same position, with the same challenges facing me. I've just been suspended even after similar order and sales figures to yours via an email saying it's a final decision without an option to rectify any issues. even though an email three days ago indicated they would evaluate Service Levels over a 90Day period. Still in shock! It seems crazy and looks like no option but to join a class action now, but intrigued and concerned that one hasn't been started yet. My shop was growing rapidly so Extrapolating my losses forward, I'm sure a claim could reach towards the 1Mil USD mark, so goodness knows what a claim from hundreds or thousands of badly treated unjustly suspended sellers would amount to, we could end up jointly owning the company. Does anybody know of a past or pending class action?
Etsy is really a very bullying sort of marketplace. They can do whatever they want. I too had a similar experience. I was a seller with etsy for almost one and half year. Had two shops. Business was steady, good feedbacks. But one day suddenly etsy closed my shops without any warning. I was shocked and mailed to etsy help. Well it has nothing to do with help. After a generic mail, they have not yet responded to the countless mails I have sent since last three months. Deplorable service! Now I have a shop with itshandicraft.com and I am really happy. First two months of free listings, good for wholesale and small businesses. Give it a go.
I purchased an infinity anchor scarf on 12/27/14 pd transaction # [protected] contacted seller several times and she stated it will be mailed in a week and weeks have pasted. I keep contacting her now shes not responding to my replies
I recently had a variation on the same type encounters with etsy that really caught me off guard. A customer contact me requesting a refund and stated two luke warm reasons that inspired me to issue a store credit. Eight days later she emails me again. Halfway through the wordy email she mentions that the blanket has the mother of all refund request issues-concealed damage. Really? Seventeen days in the buyer's possessions, eight days after you ask for a refund with some cold fish reasons that fail to result in a refund. Then a week later you awake from your coma to report moth eaten spots and a hole. She ells me "we can do this the hard way or the easy way" Anyhow, so etsy without one word to me, conducts and concludes it's investigation in the buyer's favor. The arbitrator, looks like a parent's basement dweller for life, keeps stating that if I do not issue the refund by 101515 that etsy would. i said Yes, etsy IS going to have to refund her because it''s not coming out of my pocket. Well it did. Etsy went into my bank account without my knowledge or permission, against my explicit instructions that I was not paying for the undeserved refund, and paid the sociopathic liar who damaged my blanket to get a refund. Also, and this kills me, etsy was A 3RD PARTY to the transaction that they refunded and took money out of my account that also caused an overdraft.
That is ridiculous... Unbelievable. They can just have rights to all things... Whenever. That has to be illegal... And who cares about a Contract..so even if they have it in small print... because if its against the law, its trash
As many reviews have said, ETSY is HORRIBLE to sellers. If you are researching places to sell, I have sold on many sites including eBay, Rubylane, Artfire, and Etsy is by far the worst place in terms of providing any shred of support to sellers. If you email, you will received canned replies that make no sense, it’s obvious no on really read your question. If you post a concern in their public forums, Etsy will block your account from commenting in the forums (and I'm not talking about blocking angry or offensive rants, they have literally muzzled thousands of sellers just for expressing concerns about the lack of seller support, or other issues of legitimate concern), they do the same thing to buyers who complain about the company's customer service in the public forums. If you are wrestling between eBay and Etsy, choose eBay, at least they have a seller support system, and it seems to be relatively free of Etsy style silencing tactics. If there is a class action suit against Etsy, they should be obliged to refund listing fees for all the accounts they muzzled, since the fee is supposed to include seller support and seller support of all types is withheld from anyone who disagrees with them in their public forums.
Please include me as well. Etsy has been harassing our shop as well. They have shut our shop down and have threatened us. They have actually forced our shop to refund shipping/freight costs that were never actually paid to us by the customer, but instead paid directly to the shipping company. Since the funds never went thru Etsy, they forced us to refund the shipping funds outside of Etsy via PayPal. This is just one of the many things that they have been doing that oversteps their boundaries and it has to stop.
Please visit my twitter feed and you'll see hundreds of 1-star reviews that will gladly join a class action lawsuit, including myself.
@acidsecs - twitter handle
They need to be taken out and stopped.
We just had an item removed arbitrarily by etsy even though it falls within all of their guidelines. It was a vintage belt buckle. The day before, we received a message from a "potential customer" asking about when it was made. We responded with late 1980s to early 1990s, which fits etsty's parameters for an item to be sold. Today we discovered it pulled with no email notification as to why. We are a relatively new store to etsy and are feeling the squeeze of the so called "team" members of etsy. We would gladly join a class action against them as well.They are costing us money.
I believe we are enough people now for class action lawsuit against etsy.let's do it.
Hello to all, I have started an online petition againt Etsy Marketplace Integrity team to change the ways they determine whether an item is vintage/handmade or not. They are doing this quietly and we must make our voices heard.Please raise your voice and sign here: https://www.change.org/p/etsy-marketplace-integrity-team-to-change-the-way-they-determine-the-age-of-a-vintage-item-sold-in-their-marketplace-by-etsy-shop-owners-even-items-without-written-date-label-tag-should-be-considered-vintage
I am also interested in joining a class action lawsuit against etsy for wrongful terminations of shop,
Only After deleting my 5* feedback and telling me that's why they are shutting down my shop. LIARS!
Please include me in the class action lawsuit. They also shut down my shop for copyright infringement on the word "zumba" I have been singled out when there are dozens of other etsy shops selling the exact same things as me.
Please include me on any class action against ETSY!
I would personally love to be contacted by anyone wanting to file a class action lawsuit against Etsy. I feel they enforce their rules, or TOS, in a very slip-shot way. They shut down new shops to try and prove they are following their own TOS but keep the ones selling multiple items every day to keep their #'s up. They hurt the real crafter's on their site by promoting all their items as hand made when they do nothing to vet sellers on their site.
I also feel that this is hurting shops who pay (PAY MIND YOU) for the right to sell on a marketplace which caters to people wanting to buy hand made goods. We cannot compete with sellers who buy (or more likely produce) factory made goods and then sell them on Etsy directly.
Please include me on any class action lawsuit against this corporation which claims (FALSELY) to represent hand crafters. one_eyed_gim at the yahoo email. Thanks
did you ever go threw with it? I want to rightnow...
hi! did you start this process? i;ve spoke with an attorney today and wanted to see if you started to just join in. ive seen yours is a recent issue as well as mine .
have you ever gotten an answer on this?
I would be open to this idea. Easy is NON STOP ABUSIVE - selective - and discriminatory. They close shops with no explanation and have ZERO consistency in their policies ... ( they enforce terms on a select few and not on others) My example is "Chanel inspired" handcrafted jewelry. Before listing - I looked up "Chanel inspired" on etsy to see what was deemed acceptable. I got THOUSANDS of listings - everything from coffee mugs- to baby onesies ... I began my listing with photos - got distracted with my 1 year old- came back to finis later- and my account was already suspended.
i would be interested in suing them
I don't know if I'm posting this twice but after operating on Etsy for 3 years I got my shop shut down in the middle of my busiest season ever. A few weeks ago I posted in their forum about some shops selling chinese made products and I did not call any names because they call this "call out". I sell both hand made clothing and Ethnic fabrics. I think I was shut down because they felt I was objecting about the sellers. Etsy don't give one crap about anyone. I think I was targeted becaue I'm a minority business and I spoke out. If you are on Etsy as as seller never post anything negative in the forums they will shut down your shop in a heartbeat. My shop was suspended on Feb 13, 2013. I have not heard from them about why. Some of my customers have emailed me and I explained what happened. They are still shopping from me because I have another website outsite of Etsy lucky me. I am still upset because I did nothing to warrant this. Anyone else thinking of selling on Etsy, make shure you have your own website. A rival company could report your shop and you will be left in a lurch. Take care of yourself first. Market your own website and do not depend on Etsy. They can very well easily steal your dreams if you let the.
Yes I agree, if you post anthing negative in the forums you get singled out and locked down immediately. The staff of etsy is rude and unprofessional. Sellers should not waste their time with them and instead build their own stores.
I've been on Etsy for three years now and every year as the holiday rush begins I get an email demanding I submit all of the same information listed above. I'm given only 7 days to send this information and am left to defend my store and the contents or face account suspension. I look around Etsy and find thousands of shops violating their "policies" but I am singled out I believe because I leave negative feedback in the forums about issues that concern me. Etsy is ripe for a class action lawsuit and I will gladly join.
I agree with this Shop owner's complaint against Etsy. I experienced much the same treatment while being accused of violating the rules for making everything handmade. There was no explanation for why I was being accused. It is a false accusation. "Sarah" from the Integrity Department sent numerous unprofessional accusatory emails starting with 15 questions focused on who makes my stuff, where it is made, how it is made, what tools are used and requests for pictures of myself, my patterns, my raw materials, my receipts, and my entire process of making one product they selected. I felt the demands were unreasonable requiring a lot of time to take all the pictures and I said so and I said that I do make everything I sell on Etsy. I sent the completed questionnaire omitting the pics. I received an email from her stating that I was violating para 12 about obstructing her investigation. Later that evening my husband took 60 pictures of everything I do and use in my home-based shop and I sent them to her with a complaint. My shop was suspended 3 days later on Sunday with an email from "Sarah" saying that I didn't furnish the requested material adding that the only reason my account wasn't terminated was that I still needed to ship an item. "Sarah" had not even looked at the pics I sent so I resent them and demanded the suspension be lifted. She then sent another email stating my pics were not clear and that I was welcome to send more images and more info. By then I concluded that "Sarah" was harassing me and that no matter how much proof I sent showing everything I sell is hand-made I would lose my account. I then emailed all her emails, all my pics with captions, the major materials receipts and a detailed letter to their legal department and to their customer service department demanding an impartial review, a phone call from a manager, my account suspension lifted and an apology. I have never heard back from any of them. To this day I do not know what caused this witch-hunt. I suspect that a competing shop-owner "flagged" one of my products and submitted a false claim. But just as likely is the possibility that Etsy is harassing and closing any shop selling hand-made soap after they received warnings from the FDA that selling hand-made soap was akin to selling un-registered drugs which is totally ridiculous. The bottom line is Etsy condones false reports, fails to impartially investigate complaints, unreasonably requests loads of information for "proving" innocence, lies about the real reason for shop closure, fails to acknowledge that they are wrong, fails to correct their mistakes, and does not follow their own policies. Etsy is a fraud and a sham business that is not worth my time or any one's time. Etsy uses sellers to make fancy pictures of unusual one-of-a-kind "artsy" stuff... then uses buyers to create circles and treasuries in a kind of fantasy world...while using money from venture capital firms setting up a Facebook style IPO ripoff for investors. It is that simple...if you don't contribute to a "buzz" about the Etsy fantasy then you are thrown out because that just doesn't work for the carefully crafted IPO ripoff to come...it is that simple..."Etsy" is not a viable business idea.
I agree with the first post. You have unprofessional snotty people working at Etsy. They closed my shop at a whim after selling and buying for almost two years. I also enjoyed helping Etsy buyers by shopping at their stores, versus Ebay. But since they are so unprofessional and like to abuse people, I've decided on a class action lawsuit. They claim that not all my items were vintage and I agreed. Yes, I needed to re-vamp my store and delete a few items. But if you look around Etsy, there are thousands of items that are not no where near vintage. So, yes, I was profiled.
I am a few years late since its 2016 but did you go with the class action? I am speaking with lawyers now for the same thing
is it to late to be part of the class action lawsuit. because they shut down my shop without giving a a first notice. They found a photo on alibaba of what looks like my corset. I designed my corsets decades ago and they are still selling today except the over seas copy cats have hurt my stuff. I sent etsy solid proof that I sew my pieces photos of my machines, still rods I use in my corsets, photos of the corset in it infancy stage just cut into panels and still they sided with the vendor that is over seas, oh and not because they spoke to them, etsy's so called integrity team took they side because of the photo, it does not matter that I showed proof of my work or that I sent them a photo that was in DHgate that still had the water mark from a etsy vendor. The guy that emailed me is rude, condescending and very arrogant toward me all via email he said they can't call me, also one of the cameos I designed I purchased the setting through etsy and this guy who's name is NIko said I did not design it and he wants me to delete it. not acknowledging that the proof is in my past purchases on etsy that I bought the supplies from them to make this cameo. They shut me down with no warning and are not looking at facts, and they did this now right before the holidays and they just left me hanging in the air.
"Not no where near vintage". Schmuck.
I’m in the same boat except boat except they close my store down and said I’m under investigation for what I hv no ideal but to mk matters worst they refuse to release my funds of $188 until the investigation is completed which they stated they hv until Jan of 2020 to finish the investigation who do I need to talk to to file this class action law suite
Etsy is a poorly run online marketplace with arbitrary rules enforecement. No response is standard operating procedure from the Etsy support staff. They seem to have no business or marketing acumen whatsoever. Appears to be staffed entirely with wannabe hipsters and stoners. They can shut down a seller's store without warning or viable reason. No appeal process or inquiry. Thus, they can and do confiscate all the sellers product images and descriptions, costing the seller thousands of hours of labor and money. Don't forget that the seller has already paid for a contracted listing of a specified duration. Management behavior is borderline criminal. Class-action lawsuit being brought by sellers soon. Etsy allows unstable buyers to run amok who make multiple purchases with no intention of paying. Seller concerns are routinely ignored and as a result, Etsy has developed a reputation as a "seller-unfriendly" site.
Why did they delete your shop? Was there anything offensive that would make them do so? I have been shopping Etsy for a long time and would like to know more details on this.
they just did the same thing to me even though I have been with them for years. On the internet we run the risk of our pieces especially clothing being copied especially from over seas factories. Anyhow I design corsets and jewelry I use steel rods in my corsets, well the copy cats reproduced a cheaper version of my work they make theirs with plastic rods. The integrity team as they like to call them selves shut down my shop with out any warning or investigation. They saw a photo on a alibaba site of one of my pieces and immediately shut me down. I sent them proof of my work, Proof that I sew my pieces myself, I sent photos of my machines, supplies I use to make my corsets, steel rods I use and my corset in pattern form in other word cut but not sewn, and instead of looking at the facts or working with me I got bullied and insulted all via email. They wont return a phone request and are not acknowledging any proof I have shown them, and they answer emails not in a timely fashion and act like I am bothering them. they are rude, and act like bullies. but yet I sent them hard proof that the vendor in question on the Alibaba website is in violation of copying photos, but the guy that has been emailing me (every blue moon I might add) from etsy is ignoring the facts. Now I am left in the air before the holiday season.