Thursday 10 May 2012

Handmade Day

Today, more than four and a half thousand Etsy shops will close their doors for a day to protest against the deterioration of Etsy as a market place for handmade goods.

It has been called a strike, but of course, it isn't. A strike is done by employees to force the employer to hear their claims. Etsy is not our employer, but a provider of services. And this action is done as a sign to Etsy that we are desatisfied with the quality of their services. Stronger even, we feel that Etsy has failed to comply with the contract that has with us.


In our five years on Etsy, we have been disappointed in almost every contact we had with the Etsy administration. Responses to our complains were always erratic and seemed only aimed to be left in peace. Many jokes have been made on the forums and elsewhere about the Etsy admin being permanently engaged in the consuming of herbal tea and carrot cake, so we know better now than approach Admin with our concerns. Care for the community has given way for apathy in many members.

'Etsy works for me and I don't care about the rest' is a phrase that we have read in forums a lot lately. Well, Etsy has worked very well for us too, but we do care. There are lots of small indie artists out there who need a platform for their wares. They all deserve a chance to make a living out of their craft.

And those artists are going to be overlooked in the new huge Etsy who allows resellers, small factories and worst of all, importers.

But what really hurts, is the hypocrisy, the arbitrariness and favoritism.
We thought that we were associated in a community of indie sellers, but we are simply clients of a big company that poses as something else.

In the last couple of weeks, many shops have been closed as being resellers.That maybe true or not, but it is only to show that what is sauce for the goose is not sauce for the gander after all. We are not equals in Etsy's eyes and this is hurtful.

We don't expect any improvement as a result of this day. We, personaly, see it as a kind of announcement to Etsy that we are ready to look elsewhere for a provider of services to indie sellers. Would our leaving hurt Etsy? Of course not, but a point shall come when Etsy will be a second Ebay and it will be obvious to sellers and buyers alike.

It is time to slowly (or not) wean ourselves off Etsy, I'm afraid.

12 comments:

  1. Amen very well said! I've moved my things to another site and hopefully will never return.

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  2. Amen!
    It's Etsy's business where they want to go, luckily we are free to choose if we stay with them or not.
    And I think that yes, it will hurt Etsy when the indie artists go - but only when it is too late to get them back.

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  3. Bravo and well said.
    Lets' hope they do listen.
    If they do want more resellers it should be made clear and transparent which is what so that buyers can easily find their way to genuine handmade if they want to.

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  4. Very well said! I agree with those concerns!
    Let's hope that things will change in the future!

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  5. unfortunately, I don't believe they'll listen.. in fact, I do believe there'll be hell to pay for some of the "vacationers".. but I was willing to take that risk because of the very things you've mentioned.. getting my website set up with a shopping cart, and a few change ups... ready to move on :)

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  6. *Applause and standing ovation*

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  7. thank you over and over for speaking up about mass produced sellers on Etsy on behalf of us indie artisans!

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  8. So true! I adhere completely!!

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