Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Quotable Quotes: Help Etsy Communicate

In case you missed this thread , asking about the pattern of ideas introduced by admin and left to languish out there in the desert:


To put things in perspective, here are a number (by no means all) of threads begun by admin for the purposes of information gathering or constructive brainstorming.“Help us with Vacation Mode for your shop” – 2-19-06
“Seller Stats: Suggestions?” –8-24-07
“Discussion - better way to rectify feedback than Kiss and Make Up?” – 3-10-2008
“Official Alchemy Thread: Please Discuss Alchemy Here” – (this is a post-Alchemy thread, and I confess I am unsure of whether there have been changes to the new Alchemy resulting from it) –3-13-08
“Tell us about your ideal vacation mode” – 4-07-08
“View counts public or private?” – 5-05-08
“Feedback and non-paying buyers.” – 5-19-08
“Question for sellers about views” – 5-27-08
“Help Etsy Communicate better with it's Community” – 6-16-08

It's a bit early to pass judgement on the last one in the list, as it was just begun yesterday (although most of the ideas being shared have been asked for countless times before). But as far as I am aware, to date NONE – count them: that would be exactly zero – have been implemented/acted on.


Interesting point, eh? Keep those great ideas coming!

32 Comments:

The Disgruntled One said...

It is pretty overwhelming when it's all spelled out like that, isn't it? (The vacation mode threads are particularly *headdesking*

jodie said...

It's the Etsy way. When people are griping in the forums that they are not being listened to, they start and 'official' thread asking for people to make suggestions. Suggestions that have been offered time and time again.

Thanks for listening, Etsy.

Impetuous said...

As if there isn't enough to wade through already.

How about someone higher up on the food chain addressing the community about fraud? Has this been forgotten already?

How about an update on what we can expect in site changes this year?

Is there anyone at the helm of this ship???

Ladies Auxilliary said...

*headdesking* haha...

Ladies Auxilliary said...

Somebody hit Etsy upside the head with a project manager...

Impetuous said...

I mean seriously now, do we really have to rely on a forum monitor for answers? Everyone is in there asking, begging and yelling for information that any decent sized company would just provide to its customers without asking.

When a scandal breaks out an announcement should be made, by the highest authority, to assure it's customers what the companies position is.

I can see why Mary might need to be told how to communicate with us but WHERE IS THE PROFESSIONAL HEAD OF ETSY? Hiding in the sand?

Mary, you are always going to get responses to your "help us help you" threads because there will always be a new flock of people on the forums who think the question of the thread originated from ETSY! No one would ever assume that the members of the community had to squeeze such a question out into the open.

Somehow, I think Etsy knows full well, they will always have a new wave of onlookers to fool with their inquisitive outreach threads.

What happens Etsy when enough members catch on? Then what? Wake the fuck up!







etsy angels suck hairy balls.

Anonymous said...

I would like to volunteer as the Etsy project overseer/dictator.
"Here, you, here is your assignment on x project, your deadline is x, therefore you only have x to gather data from users". On the date of x, a new policy will be implemented based on WHAT THE COMMUNITY is asking for"

We should not have to beg in the fora for ideas to be heard. Etsy admin (even ONE person could do it) needs to be reviewing the fora constantly to see what people are asking/begging for. Somedays, I don't think they do this.

Anonymous said...

etsycorp asking for members input equals the precious moments of your life being wasted by the hourful

and they waste their time as well, asking questions they already know the answers to

and hey, where is their sense of what would our customers *want*?
do we have to hold their hands all through this process, or could they attempt a little customer empathy and intuitiveness themselves, on their clients behalf.


oh, common sense, common sense my kingdom for a little common sense

and a vacation mode
and reliable stats
and a customer service department who return your emails and give you a heirarchy to travel up when you're dissatisfied with the first moronic episode.
etc, etc

in the meantime, i can't wait for etsy to reinvent the wheel.

the word on the street is it's going to have four sides and be square! awesome work swimmy!

Unknown said...

It seems to be Etsy's pattern to try (and usually succeed) to distract attention from any issue of substance (n this case the substantiated case of fraud which they seemed complicit in)by starting a thread giving the appearance of wanting seller input. Wasn't CaterpillarCowboy's infamous closed thread started around the time there was general discontent over something else? (and has anyone seen him since?)

Ladies Auxilliary said...

Haha, you're going to have to fight me for that honor rubbernecker, I'd LOVE to be the Etsy Deadline and Delegation Nazi :)

eclipse said...

don't forget the classic Your Top 3 Ideas for Etsy

The things on Rob's top 3 list are scary and stupid.
Letting buyers show off what they've bought in a "collection"? Who has EVER asked for this? If anything, buyers want the opposite, they want to hide what they bought not show it off. He is so out of touch with the users of his product.
No one ever asks for more flash toys and more dumb videos either, but they keep adding more staff to make dumb videos.

Impetuous said...

eclipse said
"He is so out of touch with the users of his product."
_____

Absolutely! Unless you invite him to a musical jamboree, then he is johnny on the spot!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR8zPg0QUFg&feature=user

Tiffany said...

And now some bunch of yahoos have decided to come in and screw up the constructive critism on WindyDesigns thread.....ARGH!!! Now it's CLOSED!!!

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5663820&page=85

Impetuous said...

do I even need to go look at who the culprit is?

Anonymous said...

I blame the switchblade wielding cheerleader.

"tread lightly fellow upset-Etsy sellers....a wee bit of caution might be advised, is all I have to add...

"bite the hand that might be feeding you"...and it could slap you back! Hard. Etsy can and should "refuse services" to anyone they please....no matter what you think about how they choose to do their business."

Mommy, I skeered!

Anonymous said...

I'll bite the friggin' hand that feeds me 'cause they ain't following through on their end of the deal.

Charlotte Marie said...

Given today is Etsy's third anniversary, I would've expected a summary and goals address by owner(s) or Maria Thomas. Today also would be the perfect opportunity to announce a "free listing" day to thank members for thier support. What I saw was another silly picture in the Storque.

Financial leverage is the only real voice I can see to send Etsy a message. I'd love to see a list of members who are willing to sell "off" Etsy, thus denying them any more fees than absolutely neccesary.

Impetuous said...

well Charlotte, it certainly would be an ideal time to recap the past three years, talk about the future a little and for the COO to step forward and address the community. I can't agree with you more.

It would be an excellent time to here from the head office about what sort of changes on the site can be expected this year and perhaps to announce some of those "immediate" changes Matt said were coming.

It would be a real cause for celebration to know that Etsy is mature enough to handle the success it flaunts.

Anonymous said...

The only hands doing any feeding here are those of sellers when we pay our fees! Etsy doesn't feed me - I'm the person who makes my work, markets it, deals with customers, ships it, etc. all in order to feed myself.

Ladies Auxilliary said...

You know, it really would be great to get some kind of "State of the Etsy" address from the top, wherever or whoever the top may be at the moment.

Ladies Auxilliary said...

AND NOT VIA THE STORQUE!

Charlotte Marie said...

Is Rob Kalin even alive? I'm thinking it might be smarter to establish contact with the investment group who thought Etsy was such a hot idea. They might be slightly interested to know about etsy.com's reputation for the worst customer service ever.

Impetuous said...

and what about altering sold records. I am still reeling over that and not a PEEP from Etsy.

Absolutely shameful.

Anonymous said...

Rob strikes me as the type of guy who is great when an idea is fresh. He's there, active, full of energy until the it is no longer fun and becomes actual work. Then he doesn't want anything to do with it.

He's bored with Etsy, I think all the founders are bored with Etsy, its become a real JOB.

I'm actually surprised he hasn't sold Etsy yet, must not have found the right buyer/dollar point yet.

idyll hands said...

Someone mentioned this as an Etsy tactic to take attention away from other matters. I don't see them posting a "tell us what we could do better" thread as an attempt to distract people. It's like having a great idea about something to craft and NEVER doing it (we've all been there). However, IF a business is going to ask those questions, something needs to be done about it. I'm sure if the powers that be at my day job asked "How could the water coolers look better" something would be done to make them look better. They wouldn't just leave them as is unless we all said "Leave the coolers as is".

How's that for talking in circles?

MajorFuckingEtsyBurnout said...

Ha, a vacation button. The elusive unicorn of Etsy...

Anonymous said...

dis little piggy said...

I blame the switchblade wielding cheerleader.

"tread lightly fellow upset-Etsy sellers....a wee bit of caution might be advised, is all I have to add...

"bite the hand that might be feeding you"...and it could slap you back! Hard. Etsy can and should "refuse services" to anyone they please....no matter what you think about how they choose to do their business."

Mommy, I skeered!

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

I saw that and I wanted to Bitch slap her.
She's OBVIOUSLY clueless.

goofy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Hey, maybe there is hope for a vacation mode!

:P

SylviaV said...

Three words. Quality.Management.System.

!

goofy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I don't even bother wasting my time posting in their "give us ideas" threads. It's clear that they don't listen at all.