tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post5515049297616583674..comments2023-05-31T07:37:38.948-04:00Comments on Etsy Bitch: Asleep At The WheelThe Cranky Onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492132798002763761noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-28545565014144837582009-02-18T18:50:00.000-05:002009-02-18T18:50:00.000-05:00I am getting sick & tired of forum posts calli...I am getting sick & tired of forum posts calling sellers "whiners" for asking the site to actually support their customers (meaning, their sellers).<BR/>Here's a big "fuck you" to people who keep saying it's "just a venue".<BR/>def venue:<BR/>The scene or setting in which something takes place; a locale. <BR/>A place for large gatherings, as a sports stadium. <BR/><BR/>So, that's all we can expect-- a venue??Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-54602131898251083752009-02-14T10:52:00.000-05:002009-02-14T10:52:00.000-05:00What saddens me is I no longer want to promote Ets...What saddens me is I no longer want to promote Etsy to others. They suck. I want to support handmade and I want my friends and family to support handmade too, I just wish Etsy didn't make any money with each sale. The favoritism is astonishing, the incompetent customer service is appalling. I knew that already, but this really seals the deal. Copyright infringement? There is so much REAL copyright infringement on Etsy - why don't they worry anout that? Ugh. The TOU's are incredibly malleable when it comes to Etsy admin decisions. What's the point of having them? Leaving Etsy has been good to me. Good luck to everyone who continues to stick it through!Agent M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08443457209453085058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-30542433425649290522009-02-12T22:55:00.000-05:002009-02-12T22:55:00.000-05:00Thank you Brass monkey I am so tired of hearing "E...Thank you Brass monkey I am so tired of hearing "Etsy shouldn't have to promote you!" When no one is actually asking for promotions just equal time. And if it isn't their job to make sure we are seen then what the hell is their job? sitting in the money piles we keep throwing in their direction? As I understand it the point of an online selling venue is to facilitate traffic while the sellers generate content to draw and keep the traffic coming and the sellers are doing their part, and are being forced to go above and beyond their part, while Etsy is not facilitating anything.<BR/><BR/>I've said it before: <BR/> The face of Etsy (branding) is not just the hand picked items on the front page features (as much as they would like it to be). Etsy has sent all of it's sellers out into the web in a desperate search for traffic and sales by shutting out a big chunk of our internal traffic with indiscriminate exclusions. This,in my opinion, has the potential to make Etsy look very much like a bustling flea market complete with hagglers and barkers, and seagulls begging for crumbs, rather than an elegant handmade site with integrity.<BR/><BR/>There also seems to be another issue brewing that will take way too much effort to get sorted out or an answer from the top (not that they ever really answer anything at all). But I have noticed many sellers saying that their Etsy shops are no longer showing up in google searches when they use to. Mine is definitely not showing up I've searched as many as 28 pages of google and did not find my store connected to any keywords I regularly use to search with. Right now it is just a slight buzz in the forums and unless it is consolidated it will probably go unnoticed with sporadic complaints. And I don't have the energy to keep 11 more threads at the top of the forums for two weeks so that the sellers can realize that someone forgot to bring the KY again!<BR/><BR/>Also my views have gotten even worse in the last week than they were since the change in the loading B-S If it weren't for return customers I'd be lost completely.Resurrection Ragshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16662400763696270176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-31675017640007743512009-02-12T21:44:00.000-05:002009-02-12T21:44:00.000-05:00So, for all the ostriches with their heads in the ...So, for all the ostriches with their heads in the sand who believe that it doesn't really make a difference if your venue promotes you or not...you are WRONG WRONG WRONG. If your venue does not support you and talk you up as much as the other artisans (or at all), then no matter how hard you work at promoting yourself, you are not going to sell as much as they do. It's a plain and simple fact of retail 101. You are foolish if you believe otherwise.<BR/>__________<BR/>Absolutely true. And adding to what Ms. Untrendy said, there is no way in hell that Maria Thomas or the people who forked over the investment money can have any knowledge of the ACTUAL internal workings of promotions and such on Etsy. It is run like a high school, where the cheerleader queens decide if you will be popular or not. It has got to be some sort of professional malpractice to allow what goes on there. Someday, someone is going to figure out how much the FP slots are worth that were given to shillers, sock puppets, and undisclosed accounts. If you are popular, you can apparently do anything you want.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-64221646540236914792009-02-12T19:06:00.000-05:002009-02-12T19:06:00.000-05:00I honestly think that the hired staff is not up to...I honestly think that the hired staff is not up to the task.<BR/>Whether or not THEIR bosses give a shit-- who knows? The bottom line of getting more and more listings (and renewings) sure makes them look like laurel-sitters.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-74310595817602961692009-02-12T17:36:00.000-05:002009-02-12T17:36:00.000-05:00"And meanwhile one lone editor on Wikipedia keeps ..."And meanwhile one lone editor on Wikipedia keeps doggedly fighting off any and all attempts to open up the entry enough to allow a link to Unofficial Etsy News - let alone a link here"<BR/><BR/>OMG are they still doing those wikipedia shenanigans? I haven't looked at it for ages. Unbelievable. Wasn't it bad enough when one ex-admin got banned from wikipedia (multiple times) for vandalizing that article over and over? Didn't they learn anything? I wonder who took over his duties?eclipsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17182315716049100221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-407813553762888932009-02-12T12:51:00.000-05:002009-02-12T12:51:00.000-05:00I know I'm drifting from the original topic of thi...I know I'm drifting from the original topic of this post, but I was reminded of something today as I drove past a consignment art shop where I used to sell (and I use that term figuratively since nothing of mine ever sold there) my jewelry.<BR/><BR/>They had gone out of business. No surprise there.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, as I drove by, I reflected on an incident involving my jewelry and that of two other sellers...the woman's daughter and a 12 year old girl who made her own earrings. They were *okay*, but obviously made with really inexpensive materials and they were obviously made by beginners.<BR/><BR/>The woman seemed very pleased with the idea of having my jewelry in her studio, but my first warning should have been how she gushed on and on about her daughter's jewelry and "this cute little girl who makes all her own things." <BR/><BR/>The agreement was that whether my jewelry sold or not that month, she'd send me an update, just to touch bases. My second warning should have been when I never heard from her after the first month. My third warning should have been that I could not reach her by phone either.<BR/><BR/>My fourth warning (and what finally spurred me to get off my ass and find out what the hell was going on) was when a couple of my friends, who had actually gone to the shop didn't even know I had pieces in there.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, I was working ungodly hours at the time and it was another month before I could get to the store in person and find out what was going on.<BR/><BR/>When I came in, I saw that she'd taken all of my jewelry off of the pretty little wire tree that I'd brought in to display it on and placed the "cute little girl's" jewelry on it. My jewelry was spread out on the shelf, just behind a rack of her daughter's jewelry. She went on and on about how well the other two sellers had done and just couldn't understand why none of my pieces had sold. Idiot.<BR/><BR/>Small wonder, even though it was much more well made than the other pieces, it was flung around like it was no big deal and she hadn't promoted it at all. I have no doubt in my mind that every customer who came in and looked at the jewelry got the same spiel about the cute little 12 year old girl and the owner's brilliant college bound daughter.<BR/><BR/>So, for all the ostriches with their heads in the sand who believe that it doesn't really make a difference if your venue promotes you or not...you are WRONG WRONG WRONG. If your venue does not support you and talk you up as much as the other artisans (or at all), then no matter how hard you work at promoting yourself, you are not going to sell as much as they do. It's a plain and simple fact of retail 101. You are foolish if you believe otherwise.Jamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11953761330893456324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-7235786334428824392009-02-12T10:17:00.000-05:002009-02-12T10:17:00.000-05:00disappointed, it's all of a piece with what I'm co...disappointed, it's all of a piece with what I'm coming to realize is probably Etsy philosophy, not merely incompetence or experience.<BR/><BR/>Basically, Etsy was founded on the idea that Etsy would give sellers and buyers a place to meet up, and in return they'd do most of the work.<BR/><BR/>Promos? That's what you're supposed to do - and you're not just supposed to promote your own shop; you're supposed to promote Etsy too. (Nevermind that Etsy includes your competitors.)<BR/><BR/>Site help? Business advice? That's what the forums are for - didn't you know that part of your responsibility as a seller was helping newbies figure out the site?<BR/><BR/>New bits of code to improve the site? Let's open up our API and see if we can get other people to code for us, for free!<BR/><BR/>Hmm... it's time for something pretty on the Front Page, and we can't recycle the same sellers ALL the time - yes, again, it's the Etsy customers to the rescue, with all those lovely Treasuries available... again, for free.<BR/><BR/>Do we see a pattern?<BR/><BR/>Etsy is a parasite - without our labor, our ideas, our money, Etsy would not exist.<BR/><BR/>This is true to a degree for all such venues, but the ideal relationship is symbiotic rather than parasitic - both sides give, and both sides get, in equal measure.<BR/><BR/>Etsy is acting like a parasite, and if they're not careful, they are going to kill their host: us.<BR/><BR/>(And meanwhile one lone editor on Wikipedia keeps doggedly fighting off any and all attempts to open up the entry enough to allow a link to Unofficial Etsy News - let alone a link here.)Ranahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11041247235612040796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-73740375843227524662009-02-11T20:30:00.000-05:002009-02-11T20:30:00.000-05:00buddy said... For a site that freaks out callin...buddy said...<BR/><BR/><BR/> For a site that freaks out calling sellers spammers for engaging in common customer service contact, Etsy sure has a double standard in encouraging it's users to break the TOU of other sites with spamming on their behalf!<BR/><BR/>***********************************<BR/>That is what irritates me about Etsy the most.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-89765605362115514462009-02-11T15:33:00.000-05:002009-02-11T15:33:00.000-05:00Love these comments. I agree with almost all of t...Love these comments. I agree with almost all of them. <BR/><BR/>eBay Advertises all the time. Even John McCain, who didn't use a computer until last year, knew what it was. Amazon, another household name. Etsy - what? Who's that? How do you spell it?<BR/><BR/>Etsy does advertise - to the same crowd - over and over and over again. How many new Bust readers do you think that magazine gets monthly? Not enough to grow your business by advertising over and over - in the same exact format - to the same crowd.<BR/><BR/>If you advertise your own shop (on or off Etsy) you'll know that at some point you reach saturation, and you start to get diminishing returns. Etsy is at that point, but they just don't know it.<BR/><BR/>In addition, eBay and Amazon have searches that work. Period. Can't buy something if you can't find it. Rule number one of web usability. How can I possibly buy that vintage frock, if I don't know it won't show up in the main search? Stupid. Stupid. Arrogant. Those are my feelings about Etsy.<BR/><BR/>I'm only marginally on there now. It wasn't worth the frustration, the competition, and the discounters. I'm doing much better - even in this current economy - off on my own than I ever did on Etsy. Go figure.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-49441877451701026412009-02-11T14:33:00.000-05:002009-02-11T14:33:00.000-05:00How, exactly, would abandoned shops figure into al...How, exactly, would abandoned shops figure into all of this? I have four shops at Etsy, two of which I emptied and abandoned so long ago that I can't even remember their names.Jamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11953761330893456324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-68897796078579181342009-02-11T10:36:00.000-05:002009-02-11T10:36:00.000-05:00BTW...number of sellers with at least one item in ...BTW...number of sellers with at least one item in their shop TODAY is 135,786<BR/><BR/>I got that by multiplying the number of sellers per page from eclipse's link (20) x 6789 full pages of shops with at least one item in them + 6 shops on page 6790 = 135,786ShinyAdornmentshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14846038206955193731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-12221237039589467892009-02-11T09:55:00.000-05:002009-02-11T09:55:00.000-05:00quick FYI,Etsy and facebook are both being backed ...quick FYI,<BR/>Etsy and facebook are both being backed by Jim Beyers, along with many other internet money makers.<BR/><BR/>Amazon does plenty to keep their sellers on an even par.<BR/>If you are looking for a book amazon doesn't care if you buy their brand new copy for 20.00 or the used copy from a housewife in Seattle for 1.99<BR/>they both get equal billing. when you search for that book you will see both versions and everything in between not just the one they want you to see. I have never had any problem searching on amazon or ebay.<BR/>Also I have never expected Etsy to coddle me or promote me I do all of that myself but Now my shop is completely hidden from view and if i get a new customer to come to Etsy guess what? they have to sign up before they can buy something and when that process is done they will be directed straight to the front page where they may or may not be distracted by some other shiney thing.<BR/>And I am sorry but Etsy being overpopulated by sellers is no excuse for this BS there has been buzz about Etsy's growth since it's inception they knew it was going to keep growing, this recent round of VC backing is actually their 4th round. No Excuse!Resurrection Ragshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16662400763696270176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-294348218586836072009-02-11T03:45:00.000-05:002009-02-11T03:45:00.000-05:00Dingo said: "Renewals are renewals of existing ite...Dingo said: "Renewals are renewals of existing items - they do not add new items to the pool of products, so they don't really matter toward the point of this discussion. They don't increase the size of the pie."<BR/><BR/>They increase Etsy's pie, and they extend the time that an item is showing in the search results, so that pie that would have expired and been subtracted from the overall pie is retained, thus making the pie larger. The same way longer lifespans increase human population. So yeah I think renewals "count" even though they are not included in any of the Etsy stats.eclipsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17182315716049100221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-75727383703952310922009-02-10T22:57:00.000-05:002009-02-10T22:57:00.000-05:00"Let's take Facebook by storm and promote the heck..."Let's take Facebook by storm and promote the heck out of our Etsy shops, what do you say?"<BR/><BR/>From the Facebook TOU:<BR/><BR/>"By using or accessing the Facebook Service, you represent, warrant and agree that you will not:<BR/><BR/> * send spam or any other unauthorized advertisements or solicitations through or using the Facebook Service;"<BR/><BR/>For a site that freaks out calling sellers spammers for engaging in common customer service contact, Etsy sure has a double standard in encouraging it's users to break the TOU of other sites with spamming on their behalf!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-13869306451527670852009-02-10T12:25:00.000-05:002009-02-10T12:25:00.000-05:00I stopped re-listing when this crap surfaced and m...I stopped re-listing when this crap surfaced and my sales have gone UP.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-53041652594387108322009-02-10T10:31:00.000-05:002009-02-10T10:31:00.000-05:00i think many can say that sales were down due to l...i think many can say that sales were down due to less front page exposure due to batch uploading of listings. it is unbelievable how badly etsy fell down on communicating this new batch listing phenomenon.<BR/><BR/>some sellers did do really well over christmas due to etsy's promotion of their products and of course their own promotion.<BR/><BR/>its time to face the facts that getting seen on etsy is going to mean conforming to their design aesthetic, eating cupcakes and of course creating a great product, providing top notch customer service,& new listings everyday.<BR/><BR/>everyone else is just clogging up the internets with their bad products, fatty mass produced crap and lead based homemade chachas that no one needs or wantsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-52873197898283262752009-02-10T08:30:00.000-05:002009-02-10T08:30:00.000-05:00disillusioned, Etsy didn't provide a number of sel...disillusioned, Etsy didn't provide a number of sellers in this round of stats. I got that number from the sellers page (which eclipse links to)<BR/><BR/>Renewals are renewals of existing items - they do not add new items to the pool of products, so they don't really matter toward the point of this discussion. They don't increase the size of the pie.Bookmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04521273374570802959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-35954116968305446732009-02-10T00:02:00.000-05:002009-02-10T00:02:00.000-05:00Does Etsy really sell millions of dollars of items...Does Etsy really sell millions of dollars of items every month? I don't know why I find that hard to believe...because the stuff in my friends' shops aren't selling and I haven't had a sale since August. Is it all just overpriced vintage clothing that sells, or what?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-35212568116889984622009-02-09T23:51:00.000-05:002009-02-09T23:51:00.000-05:00"Let's take Facebook by storm and promote the heck..."Let's take Facebook by storm and promote the heck out of our Etsy shops, what do you say?"<BR/><BR/>I say, please lets not get Etsy banned from facebook for spamming.<BR/>"Take it by storm" scares me. <BR/><BR/>Facebook's tagline:<BR/>"Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life."<BR/><BR/>connect and share...with people you actually know. <BR/>Social networking is meant to be SOCIAL.eclipsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17182315716049100221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-25438299404151012952009-02-09T20:26:00.000-05:002009-02-09T20:26:00.000-05:00Stinky...I totally see where you're coming from wh...Stinky...I totally see where you're coming from when you say "I'm still getting some benefit from this relationship, however small, that I'm willing to be overlooked and ignored. I know Etsy is seeing someone else on the side,"<BR/><BR/>I'll go one further and say "hey, that's okay if Etsy has someone on the side because so do and and if there ever comes a day when the other guy gives me more than Etsy does...well...let's just say all my lovin' (and promotin') will go to the other guy." ;o) LOLJamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11953761330893456324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-28032623434403138552009-02-09T19:06:00.000-05:002009-02-09T19:06:00.000-05:00Etsy's income comes from users posting, renewing a...Etsy's income comes from users posting, renewing and selling items. All they need in order to make money is more and more users. To get free advertising and bring in more and more users, they sent us "Promoting Together" email in the weekly news that has this gem (emphasis added): "We've updated the Etsy Shop application for Facebook, a social networking site many Etsians use. ... LET'S TAKE FACEBOOK BY STORM AND PROMOTE THE HECK OUT OF OUR ETSY SHOPS, WHAT DO YOU SAY?" <BR/><BR/>I say, hmmm, yes I want to promote my Etsy shop, but am I going to get sales or reel in new Etsy sellers?Carol Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088999136880331083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-91964014390918818362009-02-09T16:31:00.000-05:002009-02-09T16:31:00.000-05:00I'm going to start collecting the # of sellers on ...I'm going to start collecting the # of sellers on the first of each month<BR/>you can get that number here<BR/>http://www.etsy.com/shops_sellers.php<BR/>and then do your own calculations on how many sellers joined in the previous month.<BR/><BR/>The "new listings" stat that Etsy gives us is ONLY new listings, not renewals. They do not disclose the renewals stats to us. I suspect that number was much higher than new listings, although it will decrease now that FP and TM2 exposure is not guaranteed.eclipsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17182315716049100221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-74281980709691777432009-02-09T13:36:00.000-05:002009-02-09T13:36:00.000-05:00the way Etsy words this has always bugged me:"Etsy...the way Etsy words this has always bugged me:<BR/><BR/>"Etsy added 138,000 new members in January, including about 20,447 sellers."<BR/><BR/>it doesn't specifically say 20,447 of them were sellers. it says including about 20,447 sellers. what if 128,000 of them were new sellers. That would certainly cover the 'including 20,447' sellers bit. <BR/><BR/><BR/>I have 10 pieces of fruit, including 4 bananas. This statement is true. I do have 10 pieces of fruit. it doesn't matter that all 10 of my fruit happen to be bananas, right? cuz I did tell you it included 4 bananas. <BR/><BR/>get what I mean?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286747608538901945.post-46390115363794513592009-02-09T12:46:00.000-05:002009-02-09T12:46:00.000-05:00Honestly? The reason listings are up is because t...Honestly? The reason listings are up is because there are new shops. They'll go up every month no matter what. I'm no statistician, but there's no reason to believe that the sole reason listings are up less than 10% is because of relisting. There are very few people that relist in the scheme of things when you're talking hundreds of thousands of shops, unless you can show me hard facts other than a few dozen shops that say so. There's nothing to back up that stat.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com