From the Bitches Auxiliary: Hey Etsy – Your Roots are Showing

It's hard to take an objective look at Etsy and their practices when you are personally linked to whether or not this whole site – this whole dream – succeeds or fails. There are very few of us that were not turned on by the prospect of actually making a living selling our handicrafts (and yes, vintage & supplies, I didn't forget you) in an online marketplace that sounded at the beginning to be worlds away from the smoking wreckage that eBay had turned into. People flocked to Etsy by the droves to take their shot at The Dream too.

And what a dream it was! A marketplace that didn't have the stink of those "other places", a community that actually helped one another and had discussions that didn't involve identifying vaginal cheese, doling out legal advice from anyone but someone versed in law, or public displays of attention whoring. Maybe I'm seeing the past through rose-tinted glasses, but bear with me here.

It was so wonderful that people began to spread the word! Etsy refuses to have a "conventional" advertising strategy? No problem, we'll spread the gospel and mountains of business cards, samples and brochures ourselves! It's that damned magical! So hip! So Indie! Few knew what the hell "indie" was, but that was ok too! Word of Etsy's deeds flew across the country, across the globe and back, and we had ourselves…and Etsy…to thank for it. The site grew by leaps and bounds. The sellers lagged a little behind, but we were so drunk on The Dream that it didn't matter. Didn't we do a marvelous job? Grassroots, baby. It makes the indie world go round.

It's amazing what a mere couple of years can do to a site. Now a person can't ask a simple question and reasonably expect a civil answer. Contacting someone who should know how to answer those questions is like seeking an audience with the Pope, if they even get that far. Many are met with crashing silence. Policies are changed at the drop of the hat, and an administrator can drop that hat themselves with no discernable repercussions. Posting them in any kind of consistent manner is unheard of, and clarification? What clarification? If you want waffling, coin-toss verdicts, and knee-jerk reactions, you're in luck. Otherwise, you're gonna be there awhile. You'll find out what's going on when you get an email informing you that you've broken a rule somewhere. Which incidentally, you have to drag out of them, which takes hours upon hours if not days and weeks – meanwhile your store is at risk, and you're still flailing around for a clue.

Sellers and buyers can't even get the basic level of service that is part and parcel to any venue. Seamless payment? Nope. Accurate view counts? Afraid not. Customer service? Is that laughing I hear in the background? Don't say a word against it, you grumpy haters!

Is it any wonder that people are so very disillusioned with Etsy now? With the dismal outlook ahead of us, few coherent answers, and those who dare question the powers that be for fear of banishment or losing their stores altogether, who wouldn't be?

But then it occurred to me last night, while watching another series of trainwrecks crash on the forums in front of me. That whole concept of grassroots word of mouth has now come home to roost. Blogs like Etsy Bitch are becoming more and more popular and sprout up overnight like mushrooms. The Consumerist declared that the Emperor had no clothes months ago. Disgruntled, simply confused and frustrated people are venting in more and more places, and the word's spreading. Spreading like wildfire.

See, that grassroots thing works both ways. And Etsy is about to find out just how powerful it can be. I think I'm going to sit back and enjoy the show.