Asleep at the wheel - again.

Today we were rather shocked to have this item come to our attention today.



While incredibly insensitive, offensive and in Germany downright illegal to even look at, this handmade reproduction of a Nazi standard from right before WWII wasn't actually breaking any rules on Etsy. We were shocked to discover Etsy has NOTHING in the TOU about racist, discriminatory (or Nazi propaganda) items being for sale on it's site.

We at EB went on the offense on twitter against this offensive item. Others who saw it on our twitter sent it up in the forums, with predictable results. It took off all across twitter, even to those who DON'T know what Etsy is. Will Etsy notice the major fluff this caused? Of course not.

The saddest part is Ebay has rules against such specific items even being listed. And they aren't messing around with the punishment or doing it. Artfire has a rule against such items. So does 1000Markets. So why doens't Etsy?

Just goes to prove how much they look at the competition, how shallow they think, and how they just don't give a damn as long as they get those dimes!

It took god knows how many flags, tweets, retweets, and posts on he forums still took TWO HOURS after it went public to finally get taken down. I guess you shouldn't post major gaffs of the TOU during naptime.

So our next question for Matt for the next "chatt" is: when will Etsy be adapting the terms of it's competitors when it comes to offensive, racist and discriminatory materials such as this - handmade or not. When will Etsy finally open their eyes?


ADDEMDUM: June 9th, 2009, 6:30pm:
Just received a comment that Etsy has finally added the following to the prohibited section of the TOU: "Items that promote or glorify hatred, racial or religious intolerance"

Thanks, Etsy, for finally doing the right thing.

Hand over your lunch money

Since it's the weekend, Etsy admin are a skeleton crew of forum moderators and, well, that's usually about it! So when overdue notices for bills went out 24 hours early, on Saturday night, it had "FAIL" written all over it.

Paypal was released in beta and then to everyone (how ridiculous is that. We all know you just add the Paypal button and voila people can pay you, why Etsy couldn't do this is still a mystery) just this month. At the same time, and what many don't know is that they also removed the $1 minimum payment block. So if you owe 94, 60, 30, or even 7 cents you can pay it now.

And this is where the debacle starts....because Etsy even changed the wording on overdue notices and riled a lot of feathers.

"If we do not receive your payment in full, your Etsy account will be suspended."

Really? How about "nanna nanna boo boo we're gonna break your tricycle and take your helmet if you don't give me your lunch money!" or "come on fool, don't make me bust your kneecaps, hand over the dough". Those make just as much sense because the billing policies say you have to be 60 days overdue before suspension of listing and renewing occurs, then 90 days past due for actual account suspension!

And the best part of all of this - Etsy said they were going to email every seller to announce the changes before the next billing cycle, but introduced the changes this billing cycle...they want their money and they're going to weasel it out of us if they have to.

The professional thing to do would be to announce the changes with a mass email, because this affects money and money is the basis of lawsuits for companies, one billing cycle prior to implementation. Are they going to send 60 cents to collections because someone hasn't paid a static balance in 5 months under the previous system? You know, actually, this might be pretty funny to watch if they do.

Another professional thing would be to not use frowning yarn (which are worse than those damn frowny faces on the bill page) to tell us our accounts will be suspended if we don't pony up a few dimes. Yes, that picture above is the actual image from the screen that comes up at login when your bill is "overdue". Full screencap here.

Ok, a lot went wrong this time. According to the billing clarification in a Storque article bills are past due on March 15 23:59 GMT. It was, according to one Etsians calculations, only Midnight GMT on March 15, though that exact wording is no longer in the FAQ. RobWhite, who appears to be the only admin around on Saturday nights, had this to say

As it stands now, your bill is considered overdue at the start of the 15th, in GMT/UTC time (for those of you in the US, now that we're on daylight savings time, you'll likely be somewhere between 4-7 hours behind UTC time). This is the first month in which we've used all of the notices that we have in order to tell those with overdue bills that their bills are overdue.

So is this another new policy change? How did we miss this? Oh, yeah, right...no fucking email! We've been combing the Storque for the information to the point of nuasea (can you believe that the billing information is hidden amongst Rosie Live, Branding Hooray, and Guest Picks articles!).

And then there are the default settings screwing things up and sellers possibly being overcharged because of the Paypal, full balance settings. Yes, people need to be careful when hitting the payment button, double-check everything twice, especially with Etsy who have been known to double charge and not be nice with refunds or handling overdraft fees. If you back up to change one setting, the other is likely reset to default!

So, all in all, how bad was this one? Hmmm let's list the stupidity:

• 24 hour too early late notices (midnight March 15 GMT instead of 23:59 March 15 GMT, unless this has been changed, which is another issue)
• threat of suspension for 1-day late when they note in the billing policies that it's 2 months (technically 6 weeks cuz of the 15th thing)
• that stupid unapproving ball of yarn upon login
• no email notification of new policy regarding elimination of $1 minimum
• default settings that revert when backing up to change the auto Paypal setting that is screwing some people up

On a scale of 1 to 10 this is a 17...nice going Etsy. If you don't mind, can we give you a pointer or two. Umm, first, have you not been listening? Communication, clarity - these are all things we've gone over before with you. You're losing money on people paying less than a half dollar by Paypal, and less than $1 on credit cards.

Not that we care anymore about your ledgers, but you've become so greedy that you're willing to lose money just to appear badass when it comes to collecting it. And that's what you're doing - you've become one of those badass, mofo companies who are an entity that has to fight against all those it serves in order to survive - threats of suspension, harsh wording, changed policies without notice - Etsy was supposed to be different. But you're not. You're the boyfriend who consoles someone after a harsh breakup by being sweet and wanting to talk and then a little down the line once she's comfortable and loyal starts demanding a sandwich and beer when you damn well please. What's she gonna do, leave you? YES and WE ARE, and by golly we're gonna warn others about your sleazy ways.

Stop fucking it up. Your customers are in rough times - just knock it the fuck off! Yes, collect what's due you, but plan it out, communicate it, and for the love of all that is handmade stick by your own policies.

Oh, and the phone number for people to call when, say their bills threaten to shut them down on Saturday night, should probably be installed soon. Many companies move due dates to avoid weekends for this very reason. Just a little FYI, Etsy *wink*

Hellooooo Chad!

We here at Etsy Bitch would like to welcome you with a large cup of coffee and two painkillers of your choice (aspirin, Tylenol, Advil, Vicodin...).

Hopefully, you've had an opportunity to check out the site before today and realized what a disorganized, poorly programmed nightmare you have on your hands. If the code hasn't given you a migraine yet, we'd like to note here what features Etsy customers have been asking for and practically begging (in some cases) for years:

1. FIrst you need a notification system for site announcement that lets users know what (if any) current bugs, what's in development, etc. If Etsy is going to be making changes and improvements to the site Etsy should put the plan in print and send it to all sellers. In fact, all plans and updates should be announced and their progress tracked with a MONTHLY REPORT to all sellers.
   
   
2. And if that system can deliver emails in a timely manner (hours instead of weeks, if ever) that would make us drop dead of shock. Auto notices sent when there are changes to site policies that delivers and functions in a speedy manner, not the "maybe in 5 days I'll get it" way we have now. Many people never get the emails they do send out. This is just disgusting for an e-commerce site.
   
   
3. Convos and notices need to be toggled to OPT-OUT not opt-in. Most buyers are first timers who don't know what the fuck a convo is or how it works. We shouldn't have to suffer a sale gone bad simply because our buyer doesn't know to read the forums, or an online manual on how to use Etsy to know that they aren't getting convos regarding their order. And the sellers don't deserve bad feedback because of it.
   
   
4. A central account activity page when you log in that has the latest tecnical news for Etsy, Dorque articles headlines (and only the headlines please, don't make us gag too much), a space for your current etsy bill total and date due, how many new feedbacks, convos and sales since you last logged in.
   
   
5. If you haven't seen what Verybigjen worked up back in January, go look and do it. It went over well in the forums. It's simply wonderous; notes spaces for your outgoing orders (sigh), buyers emails to be linked on sold pages (gasp!), convos with buyers shortcutted so they can be brought up without two tabs in the browser and five minutes work. It's so brilliantly simple we want to have sex with it and have it's babies. This one is incredibly awesome too.
   
   
6. Let us pay our bills with Paypal. And for god's sake, can you please fix the buying process so it will work seamlessly with Paypal and not the half-assed system we have now that confuses and looses new buyers. We're tired of apologizing for Etsy being a clusterfuck of dumbasses for not being able to nail being a decent commerce site.
   
   
7. More ability to rearrange and control our shops other than by renewing and relisting, a practice Etsy loves as it pads it's pockets.
   
   
8. Half the forums are bullshit and need removed. The social aspect of Etsy has taken over over the site. We should have expected it out of the facebook crowd, but it's just gotten out of hand.
   
   
9. A search that works. A search that works. A search that works!!! Light it up in the sky in letters 50 foot high and set it on fire, A SEARCH THAT WORKS! Don't make us sacrifice a Cupcake to make it happen.
   
   
10. Stats, dammit. (The dammit is not directed at you Chad, we like you so far). Stats! Sure some of it will likely unveil shit that Etsy doesn't want known, like perhaps that most buyers link in from other searches or blogs not from within Etsy-itself, but damn it we need to know what works, and what doesn't.
    
    
11. The ability to organize convos, and favorites. And a way to delete expired items or copy listings would be nice too.
    
    
12. Fix the half assed batch shipping page. It was great we finally got it, but why won't it tell us what everything is set to? How are we to know what "no change" means? Could be something, could be nothing, Who the hell let that one slip by? Oh right, they fired him. Anyway, now that he's gone can you finish what he didn't?
    
    
13. Buying features, er... Flash toys. 75% of them are frivolous and do nothing and need to be deleted. If search worked from the get go there would have been no urge to make them anyway.
    
    
14. Most importantly a technical and customer support issues big-boy ticketing system. If sellers have issues they don't want to be shrugged off or told to clear their cache for every problem or that they just suck. Or be ignored. Or mocked. Or... well anything else Etsy has done to us.

Thanks for taking a moment to read this Chad. Please keep in mind that this list is not the list of eleven anonymous Etsy customers. Rather it is the tip of an iceberg of countless Etsy customers who have posted in the Ideas section of the Etsy forums and been ignored. Over and over again.

I'm sure our readers will have other ideas, we encourage them to post them in comments, and for you to read those as well.

Sincerely,

The Etsy Bitches

Gather round, kiddies

It's time for a friendly chat with Rob and Maria!

We've transcribed the ever-so-informative Lab chat with Rob and Maria that took place this week, and added some helpful interpretations for anyone who has trouble deciphering Fluffinese.

Rokali: ok so I am going to close general chat
Rokali: hi everyone
Rokali: this is Maria
Rokali: to my left
pesmou: yes, Maria is Pesmou, hello!
Rokali: okee, first up, a couple basic items
Rokali: we're not going to use video because with this many people in the room
Rokali: it crashes people's computers
[JUST DO A REACH-AROUND IF IT DOES]
Rokali: next up, there's a question que
Rokali: if you have a question you'd like to ask
Rokali: please do it thusly:
Rokali: type /ask Your Question Here
Rokali: this will add your question to the queue
Rokali: and we'll pick from this list
[PICK THE ONES WE CAN ANSWER AS VAGUELY AS POSSIBLE, THAT IS]
pesmou: hi everyone
pesmou: tonight we're holding office hours
pesmou: at 7 pm ET
pesmou: we realize this may not be a convenient time
pesmou: for all Etsians worldwide
[NO, REALLY]
pesmou: in the future, we'll try to vary times so
pesmou: more people can participate
[WE MIGHT MAKE IT DURING OUR MORNING LATTE INSTEAD OF THE AFTERNOON ESPRESSO]
pesmou: so, that's it for housekeeping
pesmou: i wanted to kick off by saying thanks to all of you
pesmou: for such a warm welcome
[THANKS, WE GOT YOUR PIES AND DRY ICE]
pesmou: many of you have seen the articles that
pesmou: Rob and I wrote for the Storque last week
pesmou: if you have not, they are here: http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/etsyNews/article/the-long-view-rob-maria/2150/
pesmou: i wanted to reiterate some key thoughts
pesmou: from my article
pesmou: first, i am listening. that's what we want to do tonight
pesmou: we're here to listen
[AS MUCH AS WE CAN HEAR OVER CHRIS’S GUITAR HERO, ANYWAY]
pesmou: we're not going to have all the answers that you may be looking for
[OR ANY ANSWER, FOR THAT MATTER]
pesmou: for example, i know that some of you have been asking about
pesmou: a timeline to for what's coming up on Etsy.com or
pesmou: what's in our pipeline so to speak
pesmou: that's not something we can offer tonight
[THE PIPELINE HAS A MAJOR CLOG AND DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO GET A PLUMBER IN NEW YORK?]
pesmou: however, you should know that I consider one of my
pesmou: primary responsibilites at Etsy the development
pesmou: of a more formalized process for establishing
pesmou: priorities based on many inputs, including listening to all of you
[EVEN YOU BASHERS – OOPS, I MEANT “CRITICS’]
pesmou: i think it's important to develop within Etsy
pesmou: a process by which we identify, scope and prioritize
pesmou: projects and develop more formalized "released cycles
pesmou: oops, release cycles
[GIVE ME A MINUTE HERE, I’VE MISPLACED MY LIST OF RANDOM BUSINESS JARGON]
pesmou: so, i have started this process within Etsy. as i mentioned in
Rokali: (she's really cracking the whip, I assue you)
[WHICH IS WHY I’M STANDING UP TODAY]
pesmou: you may have noticed that in the
pesmou: last few weeks we've released a number of smaller (and some larger)
pesmou: projects that were in the queu. for example, fulfilling our
pesmou: 4 month process to Vintage and Supplies sellers, fixing views, and
[I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE WE SUCKERED THOSE V&S SELLERS INTO THAT DEAL]
pesmou: several other things that i think many of you have been asking for
pesmou: i'm not syaing we've got it all right. we don't.
[NO, REALLY]
pesmou: so, i want you to know that i am listening not only to what's
pesmou: going on in the Forums (the Forum moderators update
pesmou: me every day,; thank you Forum moderators!)
pesmou: and i am talking regularly with our customer support staff
[WHEN MR. BONZO ISN’T BUSY EATING HIS BANANAS OR FLINGING POOP, THAT IS]
pesmou: i am reading lots of customer emails and understand that some of
pesmou: you are not fully satisfied with Etsy's customer support
[MR. BONZO HASN’T FULLY MASTERED THE KEYBOARD YET, BUT HE’S TRYING]
pesmou: i cannot say that i fully understand yet what all the issues may be but I do know
pesmou: that there is a hard working group of folks here at Etsy who are
pesmou: committed to customer support.
[MR. BONZO RIDES HIS TRICYCLE REALLY FAST TO WORK EVERY DAY]
pesmou: one last point from me before Rokali jumps back in
pesmou: i mentione dthis in my Storque article and I want to say it again here
pesmou: Etsy has grown fairly quickly and part of my role at the company is to help
pesmou: it grown, mature an thrive for the long-term.
pesmou: for that, i am going to need help. we're going to be looking for a few folks to help
pesmou: ..a few folks with deep experience across disciplines
[FOLKS WHO CAN MAKE CUPCAKES WHILE LYING IN A HAMMOCK]
pesmou: t...a few folks who have helped compnaies move through growth phases and have helped
pesmou: "scale" businesses
[REALLY BIG CUPCAKES]
pesmou: to help share their experiences with the amazingly creative
pesmou: staff at Etsy.
pesmou: so, from me: get the people and the process in step and the product will follow.
[LIKE A MASS-PRODUCED CUPCAKE ASSEMBLY LINE]
Rokali: OK, let's head on over to the question queue
Rokali: first, a preface
Rokali: There are a number of questions in the queue that warrant a yes or no answer, and for many of these, we do not have a yes or no answer right now.
[WE WERE TOO BUSY EATING CUPCAKES TO FIGURE IT OUT]
Rokali: If you feel that this means this whole meeting is fluff, we're sorry. What we're doing here is important, in the bigger picture. We're listening to what you want, and we want to create the best marketplace we can.
[AND IF THAT MEANS WE HAVE TO CHARGE YOU MONEY FOR THINGS LIKE STATISTICS WHEN YOU CAN GET THEM FOR FREE VIRTUALLY EVERYWHERE ELSE, THEN BY GOD THAT’S WHAT WE’LL DO]
Rokali: Does this mean a marketplace with a dolls & miniatures top-level category? Our answer is this: we *do* want a section of the site for these items, but we are not sure if the right answer is a top-level category.
[WE’LL SEE IF WE CAN FIT YOU IN UNDER “PLANTS AND EDIBLES”]
Rokali: We're re-examining the entire category structure, and as part of this project we're taking all the suggestions. We see the enormous support for dolls & miniatures, so that's certainly in our minds as we plan.
[PLANTS AND EDIBLES IT IS]
Rokali: We hear you loud & clear
Rokali: we know you've even been in this room for a while
Rokali: before we arrived
Rokali: we really respect that
Rokali: this approach to categories applies to the other requests for new top-level categories (fine art, mosaics, there are many).
Rokali: we're approaching this as the major proejct it is
Rokali: we're doing our homework
Rokali: and your voices are being heard
[PLANTS AND EDIBLES IT IS]
Rokali: so, we're going to move onto other q's in the queue
thecraftykitten asks, Is it possible to receive a transcript of this meeting?
pesmou: we're recording minutes of these office hours and
pesmou: we'll publish them in the Storque
[WHERE YOU WILL NEVER EVER FIND THEM AND YOU’LL END UP READING ABOUT TRADITIONAL MID-WEST GRANDMA CRAFTS INSTEAD]
CombustionGlassworks asks, "Why no Vacation Mode? We Need it."
pesmou: i am aware of this and know that it is something that's been asked for
pesmou: it is on our current project list
pesmou: i cannot give you a completion date but it is there and work is starting
[THE PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING ON IT ARE ON VACATION]
cms36451 asks, how many people are staffed within Etsy?
Rokali: we keep our About page up to date, so you can always go and see who works here there
Rokali: right now it's just over 60 employees
Rokali: though it still feels like a small family
[BECAUSE WE ONLY HIRE FRIENDS AND FAMILY OF EMPLOYEES, THAT’S WHY]
dancingcircle asks, How "large" does Etsy plan to become?
pesmou: hi dancingcircle
pesmou: first, i think you asked earlier about Etsy hiring folks over thirty
pesmou: well, i;m in the over 40 crowd
[THEY GAVE ME AN OXYGEN TANK AS A WELCOMING GIFT]
pesmou: it's a little hard to breath up here but we're doing ok!
pesmou: seriously,
pesmou: i think it's less about age and more about experience and attitude
pesmou: so, as I already mentioned, Etsy will be looking for a few folks
pesmou: with deep experience is functional areas to help us do things we
[REMEMBER: CUPCAKES + HAMMOCK = FUNCTION]
pesmou: haven't done before
pesmou: how large will we grow?
pesmou: we don't have a specific goal for a number of staff
pesmou: i think the more important issue is:
pesmou: what are we ttrying to build and how many people does it take to do that well
[WE DON’T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE IT TAKES TO PISS YOU ALL OFF BUT I THINK WE’RE GETTING CLOSE]
pesmou: so, without going on too impolitiely long, i will say simply that
pesmou: i think Etsy, with you help, has a huge opportunity in front of it to create
pesmou: an amazing and fun global marketplace where people
[GLOBAL BUT WITHOUT PAYING ATTENTION TO THOSE ANNOYING INTERNATIONAL SELLERS AND THEIR STUPID CURRENCY LAWS]
juliebcreative asks, other than coop advertising, does etsy plan to do its own advertising or techniques to get new buyers onto the site?
Rokali: (sorry 'bout that, Maria can finish her sentence)
pesmou: can experience the stories behind interetsing, high quality items
Rokali: Yes, we do plan on advertising
Rokali: especially to demographics that don't know much about Etsy yet
Rokali: most of the world doesn't know what Etsy is it
Rokali: which is a big opportunity
Rokali: we just want to make sure we spend our resources wisely
Rokali: because a lot of advertising is extremely expensive
[BRE SPENT ALL OF THE $27 MILLION ON HAMMOCK THREAD]
dancingcircle asks, does Etsy plan to directly "compete" with Ebay/Amazon, etc. for the handmade market?
Rokali: the web is an open platform, for the most part
Rokali: so just by having an ecommerce site, we're cometing with them
Rokali: competing
Rokali: there are more handmade items on Etsy than eBay or Amazon, from my research
Rokali: so we're already larger than them in this respect
[WE’RE WORKING ON CATCHING UP TO THEM IN THE MASS-PRODUCED CRAP RESPECT]
sherrytruitt asks, thanks. I'm most interested to know your plan to protect the integrity of the site from the daily influx of resellers.
pesmou: this reminds me that some of you have been asking about Etsy's
pesmou: flagging system
pesmou: i m aware of the issues and we do have a project in the pipeline
pesmou: that will, when completed, make the flagging process more
pesmou: seamless for both those reporting flags and
pesmou: staff receiving them.
pesmou: that should help us at least scope the problem and begin to
pesmou: more systematically identify solutions
[OUR PLAN IS TO HAVE STAFF MEMBERS ACTUALLY LOOK FOR RESELLERS]
juliebcreative asks, Do you find it diffucult to balance what the users want and the direction in which you want etsy to go in, or are they usually parallel desires?
Rokali: this is a great question
Rokali: what you all say has a big impact on what we do
Rokali: and what we want to do
Rokali: the difficult part is launching everything quickly
Rokali: the first step is our own internal prioritized list
Rokali: and we have that
Rokali: the next steps are sharing what we can with everyone
Rokali: about what's coming
[HA HA HA LET THEM TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT MEANS]
Art2ArtColorado asks, Do you have any specific marketing or ad campaign plans for the holiday season?
pesmou: we're working on our holiday planning now
pesmou: we don't yet have plans for an ad campign per se but
pesmou: we are organizing our messaging, press kits and trying
pesmou: prioritize site features that we think are particularly important around
pesmou: holidays.
[WE’RE GOING TO ASK ALL ETSY MEMBERS TO WRITE TO SANTA CLAUS AND GET HIM TO GIVE US A NEW HALF-PIPE]
Rokali: one more point on the previous question: we understand that Etsy members gauge our work by new features. We don't have anyone requesting a better internal process for getting work done here. But that's certainly a prerequisite for the new features you want.
[YOU ALL PROBABLY ASSUMED OUR INTERNAL PROCESS WAS SUFFICIENT TO MAKE PROGRESS, HA HA HA THE JOKE’S ON YOU!]
CatherineMarissa asks, What is the plan for marketing to new buyers (maybe in a variety of demographics)?
Rokali: we're identifying the best way to reach people
Rokali: there's a basic formular which runs like this:
Rokali: Acquisition > Conversion > Retention
Rokali: acquisition is getting people here
Rokali: conversion is getting them to buy something
Rokali: retention is keeping them as a customer
[OH LOOK, I FOUND THE RANDOM BUSINESS JARGON LIST]
Rokali: a lot of you see these challenges with your own shops
Rokali: we arei ndeed focusing on getting more and more buyers here
Rokali: in a sense, lots of buyers is the best feature Etsy can offer
Rokali: but of course we know you need a lot more than that
Rokali: so right now we're doing our research
Rokali: target demographics
[MOSTLY GIRLS WITH REALLY BIG HEADS WHO LIKE TO PLAY SCRABBLE]
GreenMamba asks, When will Etsy eliminate the need to re-list for exposure - the site is too big and membership too large to rely on such a limited and unfairly-weighted system.
pesmou: this is a very good question
pesmou: i don't think it's about the size of the site as much as it is about the
[IT’S NOT THE SIZE, IT’S HOW YOU USE IT]
pesmou: user experince. my goal is to create a search function that
Rokali: (related question:)
TasGems asks, what changes are going to be made to search?
pesmou: serves the users...allows for various forms of fiiltering and
pesmou: narrowing search so that users can more easily and quickly
pesmou: find their way to great stuff on Etsy.
[GREAT MASS-PRODUCED RESOLD STUFF]
Rokali: the personalized search would work so well on Etsy, and it's a big technical challenge we're gearing up for
pesmou: so, i think we have to think of search as a function for users (as Google did)
pesmou: later on, we may find that there is a way to simultaneously
pesmou: serve sellers withthe same function
pesmou: so that's definitely on my mind
Rokali: I'm going to do a quick poll on this topic, because there are a couple different ways to look at search: form the buyer's perspective and the seller's
[AND MY OWN BIZARRE PERSPECTIVE WHICH I AM ABOUT TO REVEAL]
Rokali: from the buyer's perspective
Rokali: I just want to see what I want
Rokali: from the seller's perspective, I am going to be a bit territorial
Rokali: so imagine if we had a relevancy engine
Rokali: that knew "If I buy items A and B, I will probably want to buy item C"
Rokali: so, if I'm a buyer
Rokali: and I'm looking at Item A
Rokali: it's helpful to me if I can see Item C
Rokali: on the same page
Rokali: but that might mean, putting another seller's items on your item view page
Rokali: let's do a quick yay or nay on this
[AM I ABSOLUTELY BAT-SHIT CRAZY OR WHAT?]
Please vote: Would you approve of related items on an item view page, if it meant items form other sellers?
Rokali: ok, interesting, I'm just putting this out there, this isn't something we're about to launch
Rokali: ok, oll overVote results: 43 yay, 68 nay, 39 abstain
[OH GOOD, 43 OF YOU ARE AS BAT-SHIT CRAZY AS I AM]
Rokali: thanks for that
TasGems asks, are there plans in the short term to help international sellers eg ability to pay etsy fees by paypal?
pesmou: we are looking at enabling all sellers (not just int'l sellers) to pay
pesmou: their Etsy fees via PayPal. We don't have a full
pesmou: solution yet, but we're working on it
[TOO BUSY WITH CUPCAKES, YOU KNOW]
sarahleeab asks, Rob, in the storque article you said that your role with Etsy will be changing. How so?
Rokali: it's been a great learning experience for me, watching Maria work here
Rokali: it's one of those things, where you start a company, and it grows so quickly
Rokali: and with a Web company, we can't ever close shop at 5pm to clean up
Rokali: watching her work has shown me two things
Rokali: 1) what I'm personally best at
[STOCK BOY AT A CAMERA SHOP]
Rokali: 2) what she's better than I am at doing
[RUNNING A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS]
Rokali: I love Etsy and I'll keep giving it my all
Rokali: but I want to do it in a way that's best for me & for Etsy
[I’LL BE STOCKING THE LABS WITH CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS]
Rokali: this will certainly mean more product work, and I'd like to get bakc in the forums more
[I MISS PARTICIPATING IN THREADS ABOUT VAGINAL YEAST]
Rokali: Maria's strengths are with the running the organization, finances, planning
Rokali: so we'll play to her strengths, and play to
minemiriam asks, don't you need staff located in portugal?
pesmou: we have two Portugese speakers on staff!
[SEE, LOOK, WE ANSWERED A QUESTION]
dancingcircle asks, Will The Storque be revamped?
pesmou: we're looking at content and commerce and how they can best work together
pesmou: we understand that Storque is currently fuflilling at least two roles: Etsy News &
[PRETEND IT’S NOT A POOR SUBSTITUTE FOR UEN]
pesmou: more of a lifestyle blog featuring content that refelcts Etsy's
pesmou: values. so, we're looking at how to best present both types of content.
[WE’RE THINKING OF PACKING IT IN DRY ICE AND MAILING IT TO EVERYONE]
stonesoupjewelry asks, How would you describe your vision for what Etsy will become? Does the scope of the future as you see it continue to include supplies/vintage as part of the main site?
Rokali: yes, we think Supplies & Vintage can fit in, and that they're also useful to crafters
[PLUS THEY MAKE US A SHITLOAD OF MONEY AND MR. BONZO NEEDS A NEW TRICYCLE]
Rokali: we udnerstand there's some work to do on HOW they fit in
Rokali: and we'll hold more focused discussions on this issue
cms36451 asks, could you all give us some pointers as to how to better promote out shops and generate more sales?
pesmou: there are regular shop critiques offers via the virtual labs
pesmou: just check the schedule. in addiiton, there is an
pesmou: entire series in the Storque geared towards marketing
pesmou: tips for your shop. Lastly the Forums are a great place to get
pesmou: marketing tips for your shop from other Etsy sellers.
[JUST PRETEND THAT THE CRITIQUES FORUM ISN’T JUST A PLATFORM FOR THINLY-VEILED PROMOS]
BoutiqueCandle asks, I find that my demographic - mid 40s - would be prime candidates as Etsy shoppers and yet none seem to know of it until I educate them.
Rokali: it'd help us if you could tell us where you look, where you'd see an Etsy ad
Rokali: that you'd follow up on
Rokali: so please email press@etsy.com with any ideas
Rokali: and we'll gladly follow up with you
[UNLESS YOUR IDEA OF ADVERTISING INVOLVES US SPENDING ANY MONEY, IN THAT CASE DON’T BOTHER]
TasGems asks, how are communications going to be improved?
Rokali: we've taken a step back and looked at all the ways we communicate
Rokali: and where people look
Rokali: and we're revamping how that works
Rokali: we know Etsy News stuff gets a bit buried in the Storque
[PRETEND IT’S NOT A POOR SUBSTITUTE FOR UEN]
Rokali: and we simply want to put info where as many people will see it
[EVEN THOUGH WE REFUSE TO MAKE STICKIES OR AN ANNOUNCEMENT BOARD IN THE FORUMS]
Rokali: so that's our goal as we revamp mostlyart asks, do you want to keep etsy more a "crafter" site than finer arts? In your heart, is that what you want? crafts/crafters?
Rokali: I don't think there needs to be such a divide
Rokali: there can be room for both
[PLUS ROOM FOR THE MASS-PRODUCED RESOLD CRAP]
Rokali: as long as the website is nimble enough
Rokali: it's like this "alt craft" thing
Please vote: Have you heard the term Alt Craft before?
Rokali: "Alt Craft" is this term invented by some folks to refer to Etsy
Rokali: they see us as some new wave
Rokali: which just seems silly to me
[IT SECRETLY PLEASES ME TO NO END]
Vote results: 25 yay, 85 nay, 30 abstain
Rokali: anyhow, there are many different items, people, and tastes here
Rokali: and the beauty of a website is we have unlimited shelf space, so to speak
[YES, WE HAVE SPACE FOR OVER 100,000 EMPTY SHOPS AND MORE TO COME]
FlowerBedHead asks, Rob do you feel like ESTY is growing in the same direction you had originally envisioned?
Rokali: yes and no
Rokali: I envisioned it'd all be much more straightforward
[I THOUGHT I WOULD BE WELCOMED AS YOUR KING]
Rokali: at one time, I thought we'd never need more that 10 employees to run the whol company
[I KEPT ALL THE RECEIPTS IN A SHOEBOX TOO]
Rokali: on the other hand, the spirit of connection people is here in abundance
Rokali: sometimes my desk job duties pull me away a bit too much
Rokali: and I don't see the sunshine much
[THE VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY IS MAKING ME CRABBY]
Rokali: but we're working it out
Rokali: it'll keep changing
Rokali: I want Etsy to exist for 100 years
[AND THEN YOU CAN UNFREEZE MY HEAD AND TRANSPLANT IT TO A NEW BODY SO I CAN REIGN OVER YOU FOR ANOTHER CENTURY]
pesmou: I i can confirm that he doesn't see much sun)
[AND I THINK HE HAS SCURVY TOO]
Rokali: more
Rokali: we'll take a couple more questions form the queue
Rokali: there are still a bunch in there we didn't get to, and for those
Rokali: you can convo me directly to discuss them, or we can talk about them next time
[OR I’LL COMPLETELY IGNORE YOU, AFTER ALL, I HAVE CUPCAKES TO EAT]
Rokali: so, last couple
BululuStudio asks, what's the next great (short term) change for Etsy?
Rokali: we've said this before and I'll say it again here because I really believe it
Rokali: there are wonderful changes going on inside Etsy, insofaras how we get work done
Rokali: this will become visible to everyone here once these new processes gain hold
Rokali: that's what I'm most excited about
Rokali: other than that, there's bigger picture stuff like seller
Rokali: stats
[CAN’T WAIT TO CHARGE MONEY FOR IT!]
Rokali: currency conversion
[CAN’T WAIT TO CHARGE MONEY FOR IT!]
Rokali: things like that
Rokali: ok, last question, and Maria is going to take it
WindysDesigns asks, Maria what brought you to Etsy?
pesmou: for starters, the ide athat a company would actually do something like this
pesmou: build an amazing interface and *talk* to its customers and suers
pesmou: oops, users
[OUR LAWYERS HAVE ADVISED US TO NOT DISCUSS THE LAWSUITS
pesmou: and, authenticity, opportunity and the challenge of building a lasting business
pesmou: i talked about some of these things and my background in
pesmou: my introdcutory video which you can see on the Storque: http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/etsyNews/article/introducing-maria-thomas/1660
pesmou: thank you all for participating and for asking great questions
Rokali: we're going to try out video now
Rokali: this might make your computer explode
[JUST DO A REACH-AROUND]
Rokali: 1 min
Rokali: and thanks to everyone for coming
[HOPEFULLY THAT SHUTS THEM UP FOR A WHILE]

Hellooooo Maria!

I am reading emails and blogs to understand the needs and desires of people who sell on Etsy, who shop on Etsy, who browse Etsy, who love Etsy and who bash Etsy.

-Maria Thomas, Etsy C.O.O.

It makes us feel all warm 'n' fuzzy that EtsyBitch might be on your list of blogs to read. We'd like to bring your attention to our Manifesto to Maria if you haven't had a chance to read it yet.

We would also like to add that we are "people who sell on Etsy, who shop on Etsy, who browse Etsy, who love Etsy". We're also people who criticize, question, even complain about Etsy, Esty Admin, and various issues relating to Etsy. Please remember, the blog is Etsy Bitch not Bash.

It's also worthwhile to take moment to repost the last section of the Manifesto here:

Contrary to popular thought, we do care about Etsy very, very much. We do believe in professionalism from the people we are paying money to. Many of our postings are dripping in sarcasm and frustration, but only because we’ve been pushed that far. There are those of us who are fed up and have no where else to go, and then there are those of us who have great ideas and wish we had a platform to express our thoughts. EtsyBitch is our platform.

You may wonder why we are anonymous. Well, we’ve seen many people punished on Etsy for things done off Etsy. It makes us wary, and unless there’s a personal guarantee, signed by Rob Kalin himself, notarized and copied in triplicate, we’re not going to reveal ourselves.

We're looking forward to see the badly needed changes at Etsy, thank you.

Dear Rokali

Go read, maybe post if you're inspired. Who knows, maybe this time it's not bullshit.

Rokali, I'm gonna make a quick post, since I know you are following a thread in bugs right now. I have actually been avoiding posting in the fora over the weekend, because I’ve honestly been wondering, what’s the use? But, since I know you are around, I’m taking a chance that you will care enough to respond here. I hope you will take a few moments to ponder the increasingly stormy climate in the fora – and the reasons behind it – and then perhaps address some of our concerns.

When you say
"Trust me, we're right there with you -- we want all this stuff to work flawlessly, and we do our absolute best to make sure of it." (quoted from bottom of this page http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5687775&page=9 )
are you referring only to the particular DNS/ISP issue, or are you referring to the Etsy experience as a whole? Because there are a lot of issues needing attention.

Have you taken a stroll through the rest of Bugs? Through Site Help? Through Ideas? Have you noted the many frustrations and requests for help, clarification, fixes? So much has gone wrong lately, added to the accumulation of many longstanding 'little' concerns (some are actually not little at all,) that users are at their wits end.

We have loved Etsy, been loyal and supportive, advertised and assisted in countless ways. In addition to promoting the overall site, here's a little tip-of-the-iceberg list to give you an idea of how devoted and committed Etsians are:

** flagging
** site help and bug-hunting
** newbie info (courtesy of sagittariusgallery, and a host of others)
** answers to FAQs
** contributions to the EtsyWiki ( http://www.etsywiki.com/ )
** Etsy Mini gallery of shops ( http://etsymini.blogspot.com/ )
** relevant search ( http://www.bestysearch.com/ )
** front page treasuries ( http://www.flickr.com/groups/etsyfrontpagetreasury/ , http://frontpagers.blogspot.com/ )
** 'hearts me' info-at-a-glance (Majaba - http://www.majaba.org/heartomatic.php )
** site news (UEN - http://etsynews.com )
** site stats (EtsyTools, RIP)

To name just a *few* ways Etsy users - sellers *and* buyers - go the extra distance to benefit *everyone else* here.

As you can see, the community has a great way of pulling together and helping one another, but there is only so much we can accomplish. None of us are paid to do these things. We do them to fill gaps in Etsy services and features, because we NEED these things, and many more besides. How about a little Etsycorp love in return?

It appears as if Etsy has strayed far afield of its original mission statement, which is having a snowball negative effect. And it isn’t just the usual ‘vocal’ users who are dismayed – many members are coming out of the woodwork to voice their concerns. Etsy, for many, seems to be going to hell in a hand(made)basket. What do you say, Rokali, to those who are feeling demoralized and disenfranchised?

To quote a much-espoused sentiment:
"hope breaks your heart on this site."

Verybigjen's quote has struck a chord that still resonates.

Old Feedback to Bite the Dust

Yep, you heard me. On July 1 feedback that has not been left and is older than 90 days will expire. If you didn’t know this you’re not alone. Luckily some sensible forum watcher saw this thread which references a Storque article.

Another feedback change we'll be making soon: the ability to leave feedback will expire 90 days after the transaction date. That change will go into effect on July 1, 2008, so get your backlog of waiting feedbacks cleaned up before then.

The article is actually about the kiss and makeup feature and then throws that blurb in at the end. However, this blurb is no longer in the Storque article. So is it happening? Who the hell knows. But you should probably clear out that feedback while you can!

My thoughts on this – fucking admin never tell us anything. This type of thing deserves a notification to ALL sellers. Not just those who read every sentence of every article on their blog. And this information should be accessible to everyone, not just forum goers.

Edit Jun 19 4:00 PM EDT by Righteous: Well it seems that there is a Storque article where this is mentioned. It was mentioned among many other changes in the Dos and Don'ts and TOU. However, not every member received the email that should have been received by everyone. Relying on forum threads and the Etsy blog for information is a ridiculous thing to do. Also, the Storque article isn't found when searching for 'feedback', as I assume any reasonable person would do when looking for that information. But, hey, that's just me.

Quotable Quotes: Evening Edition

There's just too many good quotes out there today:

"We need answers! We need help for these poor folks who are losing sales because of either misinformation, misinterpretation, or just plain favoritism of those other makeup sellers out there who get away with the stuff eventhough everybody and their sister flags their store for the same crap."

Quotable Quotes: Data Base

Don't mess with the sacred Database:

PP: "The idea that changing these things confuses the database does not make sense. It seems like it was given to us as a reason because it sounded tech-ie enough to satisfy most of us."

R: "I'm sorry...but does anyone who doesn't believe the data base is messed up by this...have any experience with this type of work? just curious"

PP: "I don't, R.
But I don't know how to build an airplane, either, and I know I can stand up and change seats while it's in the air and nothing awful will happen."

Bullying, Stalking and General Asshattery

In this thread:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5650490&page=1

An Etsy member talks about being stalked and bullied on the forums. Apparently, she has reported it to Admin, and Admin has told said instigator to back the frack off. The bully doesn't and the OP is forced to report her again, and the cycle repeats itself, but there's no permanent solution.

Why isn't there a permanent solution?? Because Etsy condones said bad behavior by doing it to other people! Let's not forget the soul-less eyed admin who followed a prolific buyer around the internet, and the hot admin who convo'ed many sellers who posted things she did not agree with, and the top level admin who openly insulted another seller with a flash toy.

Then there's the countless number of sellers and buyers who have been harassed via the chat room and via convo by other members, and there are no repercussions. You see it happen all the time when there's a dissenting opinion on Etsy policy.

I think that Etsy secretly gets off on watching these things happen, because it's all an human experiment to them. We're like little rats in a maze, fighting over a piece of cheese. That's why they don't shut these people down, because they find it funny! Another fail at good customer service, Etsy!

PS- Matt just closed the thread. I sincerely hope that Matt takes care of the problem for the OP.