What's happened to the Keep Shopping button, and why you should care.

Some sellers may have seen this recent thread (started Friday November 12) which asks the question, "What happened to the Keep Shopping button?". If you haven't seen it, you might want to know what it's all about, because it's morally certain that Etsy hasn't communicated with you directly about the issues it covers.

With the two part rollout of the new checkout system at Etsy, half the buyers will see the old checkout, which had a handy "Keep Shopping" button. This button sent the buyer back into the seller's shop after adding an item to the shopping cart. Half will see the new, improved checkout, which doesn't offer an easy way to get back. Apparently Etsy removed the "keep shopping" button to make the page more visually streamlined.

The OP of the above thread describes it this way:

After I added something to my cart to buy, you used to be able to continue shopping, or you could check out right away. Now there is no option to continue shopping. The sellers name is a link, but a new buyer who isn't used to etsy wouldn't know how to get back to your shop if they wanted another item. Instead there is a big Pay now button.

What this means is that buyers using the new checkout without the "Keep Shopping" button may have problems figuring out how to get back to the store they were just shopping in. When they do figure it out, they have been purchasing (and paying for) items individually. This means that shipping discounts are not calculated, and sellers are later having to make PayPal refunds to their buyers for the discrepancy. And, of course, the sellers have to pay their Paypal percentages on those miscalculated shipping charges.

Just imagine what this is like for supply shops.

When the buyers don't figure it out, they just don't buy multiple items from the same shop, at least not without a lot of help.

SteampunkSupply says, in the above thread:

Over the weekend in my jewelry shop a terrific lady wanted to buy four necklaces for her grandchildren for Christmas. It took nearly twenty emails back and forth before we got it completed, and I just couldn't figure out what was going on. I just couldn't figure out why she kept checking out after only one item. Now I know, it was the "new and improved" checkout. Oh, and I had to manually refund shipping on each and every one too. Thanks etsy.

And, as usual, Etsy has introduced these changes as seasonal gift shopping goes into high gear.

In the same thread, aosleather says:

Etsy, this blatant disregard of the sellers who have put their faith in you to work in their interests is unfathomable. Testing, changing and mucking with things may seem harmless to you... "if we break it we can fix it" sort of thing, perhaps?
But everything you screw up can potentially wreak havoc in the livelihoods of the artisans and other merchants that have entrusted their beloved shop spaces to your stewardship. and to do this in the busiest shopping season of the year? WTF?

And what does Etsy have to say? On page 3 of the above thread, Admin lisajune offers a typically helpful canned response which seems to come from some sort of alien planet where sellers are not reporting that they're losing money and customers:

lisajune says:
Thanks for all of your feedback on this!

We are testing the impact of removing the 'keep shopping' button from the cart. It's really great to hear how you have used it in the past.

This, predictably, got many responses, along the lines of "Are you kidding? What did you think the impact of removing the 'keep shopping' button would be? It makes it harder for buyers to keep shopping from my store!" "I'm losing business!" "You're idiots!"

My own favourite response to this was from ThePlayfulNeedle, who said "Testing the impact"? Is that Etsycorp for 'We screwed up and you know it, but we don't really give a damn!'?"

There was a second thread started on Saturday, November 13, which asked for a more satisfactory Etsy Admin response. OP BeachCoveJewelry said:

I think we as sellers deserve an explanation as to why there is no longer a keep shopping button. You did not even warn us that a change was coming. It has made it increasingly difficult to buy from stores and for customers to buy from our stores. It is a pain to get back to someones store to buy a second item. I can only imagine how this is affecting supply stores.

TooSoonOld wrote:

The forums are overflowing with complaints about the new checkout, changes to profiles, changes to the search function, pleas for site stability during this important holiday season, and requests for functionality that seem to have fallen on deaf ears for years. It's like a house with a beautiful facade, but a leaking roof, rusty plumbing, wires that are shorting out, a crumbling foundation and mold in the basement.

There appear to be many talented, hardworking individuals in the organization. I've read in the tech journals about the extraordinary accomplishments of the IT staff. And the marketing people must be geniuses to have built such a positive reputation for Etsy in the media, while sweeping the structural shortcomings under the rug. Finally, my hat is off to the poor forum admins and customer service staff who must bear the brunt of the fallout, and I hereby apologize for my own admin-baiting. :)

The unaddressed issues of 'Coralgate' are a bad omen. Public contempt for the business' customers, a lack of communication (on the structural problems, as well as the Coralgate issues), and the appearance of a total disconnect between Etsy's public profile and its actual agenda, as demonstrated by its actions, do not bode well for the long-term health of Etsy.

It's time for upper management to stop treating the company like a personal playground for themselves and their chums, and either run Etsy like a business or divest themselves before they cause any more harm. And if the objective is to 'Facebook' Etsy, the sellers here deserve to be told, so they can make their own business decisions.

On Nov. 14, on page 15 of the second thread, lisajune replies:

lisajune says:

An update for all who are concerned, I do believe we'll be replacing the link to 'keep shopping' from the shopping cart in the coming week.

Apologies for any consternation, you'll be able to return immediately to shopping from the shopping cart again soon.

On page 16 of this second thread, SanDesign copied this quote from lisajune, from another thread (not specifically cited):

lisajune said:

Long story short, this was simply a minor test done to help us understand how we can design the site to maximize transaction experience. We will -- barring unforeseen circumstances -- be replacing the 'keep shopping' link to the shopping cart in the coming week.

And, finally, later in the first thread (Nov. 15 - page 93) HarrysGirls says:

Just had a "live" chat with "Sebastien". He said "This is part of our transition of the new checkout process" and "We are working on this particular issue and should be able to restore it this week". Unfortunately I neglected to ask why any sort of announcement isn't made regarding this or no admin person has taken part in the forum. When one does respond their words will certainly be chosen very carefully.

So, to sum up, Etsy decided to make serious changes in their checkout just before Christmas. As far as Etsy is concerned, removing the "keep shopping" button was just "simply a minor test done to help us understand how we can design the site to maximize transaction experience." They didn't communicate this with sellers ahead of time and they didn't communicate with sellers when it rolled out. They then apologize for the "consternation" they caused and say they'll put things back the way they were.

I've been at Etsy a long time now, and I've seen this happen again and again: Etsy makes major, badly-tested (even seemingly untested) site changes just as holiday shopping is kicking into high gear without communicating with its customers, the sellers. This causes "consternation" among Etsians, apparently Etsy-ese for "those damned sellers are bitching again about something".

And again and again, there's a total lack of acknowledgment from Etsy Admin that Etsians are upset because Etsy's lack of professionalism is interfering with sellers' ability to run their businesses and earn a living.

There's a great moment in this Xtranormal video, Handmade Headquarters (sent to us via a member of the Auxiliary) when the red-headed Etsy boss on the left explains to the newly-hired Etsy Admin on the right that "Now and then we shake up the ant-farm and watch 'em go nuts. It's pretty sweet".

This is another shaken-ant-farm moment, I think.

Aaaand ... Etsy announces that the new checkout now has a 'keep shopping' button.

*headdesk*

Appendix:

(There are also reports that sellers who do manage to sell multi item orders through the new checkout are getting incorrectly-totalled emails from Etsy -- see this thread.)

Reading the Reincarnated Etsy News Email

We certainly applaud the return of the Monthly Etsy Newsletter sent earlier this week (which was unexpectedly halted in November due to admin getting distracted by shiny things), but it’s a few days later and we’re still not finished reading the 14 links to Storque posts! And that’s before we even get to the More Etsy News and Site Feature Updates!

It brings everyone who reads it (and then spends the next week reading all those links!) up to speed, but we’re still wondering why the promised changes, updates, “Roadmap” and Etsy’s Community Council are so obviously missing from the headlines (yes, they're included as links among all the others, but they're big news).

Etsy has a reputation for inconsistency and forgetting (in a New York Minute) what they said to sellers last week (or for that matter, yesterday) but it’s getting to be a massive exercise in frustration for sellers who have been harping on just a few vital features that they need today, not 3,500 miles “down the road.”

Upon his return to the CEO helm, Rokali sent out a flurry of Announcements and popped into several forum threads bursting with promises to sellers that have simply faded into the background. Where did they go?

Etsy may have an internal roadmap, but the road changes route, fades to black, and runs right off a map that is a fuzzy as a Storque post or another Announcement about a contest that falls flat on its face.

What we DO know is that Etsy Sellers are so busy reading links, reading hundreds of forum threads, and desperately looking for the Roadmap (that remains ONE BIG SECRET to everyone but Etsy Admins) that they can barely keep up with changes and tweaks that have nothing to do with getting real traffic and sales to their stores.

Wasn’t that the original idea behind Etsy? Getting real traffic and real sales?

There’s a world of difference between what sellers discuss in the forums and what Etsy says in this email update. As the chasm gets wider, any Roadmap (if it actually exists) is driving many sellers straight off the site for good.

Etsy doesn't allow returns

One of the 'clarifications' in the changed Dos and Don'ts was regarding cancelled transactions:

The seller may cancel an invalid or void transaction, as defined by these circumstances:
-The buyer did not pay (see Non-payment) at the time the transaction was created, according to the transaction agreement or according to the terms in the seller's Shop Policies.
-Both the buyer and seller agree to cancel the transaction prior to shipment. If the buyer has already paid, the seller has refunded buyer (price paid for item plus shipping).
-The seller has refused service to the buyer (see Refusing service). If the buyer has
already paid, the seller has refunded the buyer (price paid for item plus shipping).
-The buyer paid for the item(s). Although the seller shipped the item(s), the buyer did not receive the item(s). The seller has refunded the buyer (price paid for item at minimum).

But sellers wonder, what about when the sale is refunded because the item was returned? As far as Etsy cares, it was a sale, so they keep their fees... Even if you don't get paid!

Stellaloella says:

The DOs & DON'Ts of Etsy define transactions as such: "A transaction is created when a buyer completes Etsy's checkout process. [...] An Etsy transaction is completed when the buyer pays and the seller ships the item."

Canceling a transaction is linked to refunding a seller their listing and transaction fees. In the case that the buyer wishes to return the item and the seller agrees to a refund, that is still a valid, completed transaction for which Etsy requires fees to be paid by the seller. Etsy has provided a completed transaction service to the seller. If the seller chooses to accept a return and possibly refund the buyer, that does not negate that Etsy has provided an agreed-upon service for which we should be paid.

This was not clearly outlined in our policies in the past, and some sellers took advantage of the opportunity to cancel valid, completed transactions for the purpose of avoiding Etsy's fees or feedback from buyers.

Yep, it's the sellers' fault. Offering refunds on returns like good business people...expecting a completed sale to be the point of a listing. Paypal may do it, but they're suckers!

Don't you all realize that the point of listing on Etsy is to pay them!? All those poor admin working all day and you guys want to take away their fees for doing nothing! shame on you.

On a nonsarcastic note, if the seller doesn't get paid, Etsy shouldn't either. They already received the listing fee for the interaction with the buyer, but if the seller isn't paid for the item (including refunds on returns) then Etsy shouldn't get the percentage cut of the sale price. But then again, Etsy likes to take money that isn't theirs, like the fee for sale prices on weekend deals.

By the way, kind of nice of Etsy to put this policy into play without notifying their members. Hands up for everyone who's gotten an email about the new Dos and Don'ts...yeah, it doesn't matter that I can't see you, I know there aren't any hands up.

Join the Etsy Community Council

In case you don't read the Dorque (who does really?) Etsy is forming a seller and shopper focus group to test improvements (supposedly). Yes-men only need apply? We'll see.

Here is the information and application. The application is supposed to close May 29th but is currently unavailable. Why? you may ask. Well, our astute commenters caught forum threads that explain - wait for it - Etsy was directing people to an unsecure site to provide personal information!

By the way, Etsy, there was no all-member email about this! Come on people, how many times do we have to spell this out? C-O-M-M-U-N-I-C-A-T-I-O-N...communication.

We'll see if this council ever gets off the ground - for now though, their idiocy is reconfirmed.

Edited 5/19/09 to include new information regarding Etsy's fuckwittery.

Etsy ignores IE6 users and another Bill bug

There's been some kerfuffle lately among members who use IE6 to log into Etsy and Etsy's back end, namely, no matter where you are when you're directed to log in, even shopping in a particular shop, Etsy pops you back to the front page.

As said in another thread :

This also has to be playing hack with Etsy's website statistics. "hey, why are we suddenly getting a majillion extra hits on the front page? Is it out advertising? a link? that we forced everybody to go to the front page?"Forcing people to the front page just messes up the hit statistics something fierce. It just makes it harder to see where real traffic is coming from and real surfing patterns.

In yet another thread, admin HeyMichelle says they're working on it...with no other updates (which is the same thing she did in other threads on the topic).

And did Etsy feel the need to announce this to all members? aaahahahah as if they ever do! The unauthenticated message scares people from the site, and it also seems to be a bug with billing (yet another). These may be separate issues, but posters aren't seeing the difference, because it's on the heels of yet another change noone was informed about.

It's been a couple days now and there are no answers. No Dorque article, no member email about the changes to IE6 to accommodate users who have not yet switched to IE7, no forum responses (that we could find) beyond 'yep, something changed, all is well, we know about it - ignore your computer's warnings'

Yay, Etsy *clicks heels* you're always so predictable.

Admin McFunley gave this option:

If you bookmark your shop, then use the bookmark, you will be sent to your shop after logging in. If you have an existing bookmark, remove it and make a new one.

But members say it didn't work. There's also a point of forced redirect scripts, that the member quoted above pointed out reduces a page's rank in Google. I'm interested to hear more about this.

If you're an IE6 user you can upgrade to IE7, download another browser (like Firefox or Chrome), or just learn to love the front page. I don't think any of these are acceptable options for the top handmade venue to give their customers.

Morons 1, 2, and 3 - From the Bitches' Auxillary

We received an Aux email that describes perfectly how inefficient the Etsy admins really are. Not only do they not know what the hell they're talking about in general, but they also don't even talk to each other or properly delegate tasks. The lawyer should handle copyright or patent issues from the start, not support, and billing should be aware of support issues to handle them accordingly.

Below is the story, which has been edited to remove specifics and avoid potential fallout for the already Etsy-pained seller.

Why the admins at etsy are morons!

I got a convo from a girl that claims she has a patent for selling the same items that I do on etsy. When I got the convo, I thought "let me do some research before I respond to her." I got an appt. with a lawyer for 2 days later. He told me that this girl has a design patent and not a utility patent. That means she has a patent for something that anyone can get online. Basically, her patent is invalid.

That night I get home, and I get an email from Emily Bidwell that they are removing my items from the site. This girl is claiming infringement and they are taking
it off of their site based upon their COPYRIGHT and IP Policy. The email
references http://www.etsy.com/copyright_policy.php.
If we go to that page, it clearly states “Etsy, Inc.(“Etsy”) has adopted the following general policy toward copyright and intellectual property infringement in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/legislation/dmca.pdf)."

Now, I am not a lawyer, but my items are not digital in nature AND this is a patent suit. Furthermore, the email states that if I feel that this claim is unfounded or a mistake that I refer to “Etsy’s Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy (http://www.etsy.com/copyright_policy.php) and provide Etsy with the four pieces of information required for a DMCA 'counter notice.'" Again, this is not a DMCA issue. Not only that but I had purchased TWO showcases for two days later and three days after that. I asked for my money back because they have taken down my listings. I get a reply from Jason stating that “Showcase spots are nonrefundable. We can remove you from these Showcases if you don’t have any items to add to your Showcase lineups.” Gee, thanks. That is really sweet of you JASON! How convenient that you take down my listing RIGHT before my showcases.

Anyway, before I decided to fill out the DMCA “counter notice,” I decided to speak to my lawyer. Of course my lawyer thought their lawyers are morons if they are citing DMCA for taking my listing off. I want my listing back up so I decide to fill out the counter notice. I get an email from Sarah Feingold that she received my counter notice but she “apologizes for any confusion as to our policies, however this does not appear to be a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) claim.” DUH! Then she further writes, “As you know, Etsy is a venue. Etsy is not a judge or jury or an arbitrator and we are not equipped to make a determination as to the validity of a United States design patent.” Well if you are not Sarah, then WHY DID YOU TAKE MY LISTING OFF??? If you cannot make any judgment, then put my listings back up on ETSY!

Dumbest people I have ever met!

We agree.

Is it Lazy Hazy Summertime Already, Etsy?

Leave it to Etsy to keep spinning their own reality. Those “updates” to the front page smack in the middle of the holiday season (without any forewarning to sellers) has now been “refreshed”with one new Showcase - with a summertime theme!

Note: We realize this is likely their subtle way of recognizing the Southern hemisphere, but almost none of the items in the showcase fit the theme. It was also unannounced, and since it's a deviation from their normal Brooklyn-centric approach, it appears completely off. How about a Southern Summer showcase for sellers IN that hemisphere? hmm

Did you get fooled into spending your hard earned money for a spot on a “brand new” Showcase that has nothing to do with reality and the real retail calendar? Etsy’s making money, are you? Slap together a Showcase, any Showcase, slap on a wacky title — and it’s a steady stream of money --------- for Etsy.

Did Etsy forget about Valentine’s Day? (It's 5 weeks away and the next showcase on sale is "Feather your nest" instead of V-day) Mother’s Day? Father’s Day?

Nope, they were just too lazy to refresh the Front Page, make it relevant, and work hard to invite and excite their visitors to take a look and see what’s new!!!

Did they get right on the issue of Coupon Codes to help sellers sell in the post-holiday, retail-doldrums (extra negative) slow down in January, February and March? OMG, too much work!

Taking the easy, wacky-way out is Etsy’s motto - and it’s just too much work to update that damn Front Page. If it still looks like the holiday season (which it does) will Etsy ever catch up to reality? Or will they just keep missing important retail dates until it’s way too late for sellers to ship to their customers? Remember Back To School in mid-September? Are we in for another year of missed opportunities on Etsy? Uh huh.

Oh, we know Etsy reads the calendar. Before they took off for the New Year Holiday, they sent everyone their December Etsy Bill 24 hours EARLY!

Remember, ya’all. This is a site that features a picture of 2 white suitcases right under “.......all things handmade.”. Out of touch with reality and more confusing then ever? Yep, that’s Etsy.

Overdue bills and a lack of communication

Another incidence of a lack of communication on Etsy's part- AGAIN! Overdue bills will now be sent to a collection agency.

This DOES make business sense, but the way they contacted the sellers doesn't. No site wide email, no change (as of yet) to the TOU, no posted letter to affected sellers. Oh yeah, Etsy just wants their cash and refuse to go beyond their cubicles or Etsy to contact customers for it.

There was this thread asking for clarity about bills less than $1. Supposedly those don't count since Etsy can't collect that amount.

Of course they can't, they only take credit cards online. What if someone lost their internet connection and owes, say, $10. They don't even have a phone number for people to call!

It's not the collection we have issues with, it's the lack of communication, the inaction until this point regarding abandoned shops, the lazy nature in which they continuously practice business...

A muting, a booting, and threats of legal action

The Muting: seller MIZombie has been silenced for a month. We didn't see this when it happened, but you can read his rant about it on his blog. From this example we learn yet another unwritten rule of the Etsy forums: Yes, it's okay to say that someone hates America, but no, it's not okay to tell that person to STFU.

The Booting: seller Rivkasmom/Sweet15 has had her account permanently deleted from Etsy. On October 30th she reported to us that she received an email from Emily at support@Etsy informing her that her accounts would be permanently terminated on Nov 7th, and until that time she would have access to her accounts to collect her business history and pay her Etsy bill. No specific reason was given, only a mention of "previous transgressions" and "a history of disruptive behaviour". However, since Rivkasmom had been permanently forum-muted earlier this year, we have to wonder just why Etsy decided to up the penalty 10 months later without explanation. Making vampire cupcakes and ignoring the Bugs forum must have gotten a little boring, we guess.

But as it turned out, she was unable to log into her account as of October 30th, receiving only an error message informing her that her account had been suspended. That's a fucking brilliant way to help someone pay their Etsy bill, admin. We bet you broke a sweat thinking up that piece of genius.

The Legal Threats: Rivkasmom received yet another message later that day in which Etsy informed her they were logging all of her IP information, and saying that this information plus her personal information was being sent to the Etsy legal team, who would take action against her if she chose to use Etsy.com again. She was also told to expect a phone call from their attorneys by the end of the next day.

On November 4th, Rivkasmom received a registered letter from the Etsy legal team, reiterating the TOS and demanding that she shut down all Etsy accounts and cease all further actions and communications. Apparently they forgot they had already shut down her accounts 5 days previously. Admin, might we recommend a day planner or other record-keeping device to help you avoid embarrassing yourself in the communications department once again?


So, dear EB readers, this is the warm, fuzzy, community-minded "human" face of Etsy. Sure is ugly, isn't it? Once again the kangaroo court is in full swing, accusing and trying and convicting all without ever actually stating what the guilty person is supposedly guilty of. And pardon us if we just say that the legal threats seem completely fucking unnecessary. Don't you have bigger fish to fry, like pornographically-minded sockpuppets constantly running amok in the forums, a never-ending barrage of resellers, and new handmade venues popping up all over the internet preparing to give you some real competition? Once again it looks like you've grossly overreacted to one minor issue while a hundred other important ones go completely ignored. If your legal team is that bored - handing out cease-and-desist letters to Etsy teams trying to use the Etsy name at their events can't be all that exciting, we know - then find a better use for them. Icing cupcakes, perhaps.

Hell Froze errr, ummm... Etsy Site Maintenance went As Scheduled.

That's right folks, the scheduled maintenance at Etsy to migrate just about everything from the old servers to the new and improved servers went off essentially without a hitch. So far there are no reports of Etsy sellers going into shock from the efficiency and smoothness of the process.

Way to go Chad! What a difference between this and the V.2 rollout.

From Righteous: On another note, the Etsy site went down for about 20 minutes on Oct 26, prior to the upgrade, and they actually were on top of it enough to note it at fix.etsy.com within minutes. This is definitely a change! Be sure to check that blog out when Etsy just doesn't seem right...from a technical standpoint, that is.

On Etsy, technical glitch = permanent problem

As implied by Chad in his Storque article, Etsy's infrastructure is a hot mess of patches and hacks, fundamentally flawed and being crushed under an ever-increasing mass of sellers. Think of Bre's hammock, duct-taped and full of sumo wrestlers.

Although admin grudgingly admitted the issues in this forum thread and Storque article nearly a week ago, there are still sellers posting in Bugs and Business wondering WTF is going on with listings and categories. For those still confused, here's the straight shit.


The batch upload lags are permanent.


The problem will not be fixed before the holidays.


Now, dear EB readers, stop your wailing and rending of garments. After all, haven't you seen that little notice during the listing process stating that listings may take as long as 24 hours to appear? Etsy already covered their ass on that one, and, as Stella says, it's not that the system is broken, "it's just not meeting your expectations".

Your silly, foolish expectations. Your ridiculous expectation that when you list something at 9am it might show up in the system before noon. Your utterly stupid expectation that when buyers browse a category page they might see more than just the same 21 items sitting there for an hour. Your outrageous expectation that listing and browsing should be a swift, intuitive and simple process for a site with over 60 employees and millions of dollars in investor backing.

Expectations that have been encouraged and promoted by admin themselves, not only recommending renewing as a promotional method in the forums, but renaming "Expiry Dates" to "Renew Items" so that method of spending our 20 cents is just a little bit easier to find.

But hey, chin up! Etsy feels your pain. They're just asking for your patience and understanding... for the past three years. Oh, and they know it's "little consolation" to sellers who've seen their own sales drop - but Etsy's overall sales are doing great! Sales are up! Listings are up even more than sales! Never mind that when the rise in listings is greater than the rise in sales it means sales-to-listing ratios are actually dropping! Just chug that kool-aid and think of how much money Etsy is making and everything will be fine.

In the words of one sharp seller on that thread, Etsy, don't try to placate or distract us. You created this clusterfuck by exploiting a piece of bad site design that turned out to be profitable. Now your sellers are paying for it, literally.

Lalala they can't hear us

Etsy, the little kid with stubborn fingers in their ears.

What am I ranting about this time? Well, let's see. Etsy has made changes to their Privacy Policy. Did all members receive a notice? NO! Only those with opt-in news alerts and who log-in from the front page by clicking 'log in'.

Anyone who has not signed up to receive news alerts, who hits 'Your Etsy' to log in, who remain logged in for days, and the 90%+ who don't read the Storque or Forums will not know about this.

How many times do we have to tell you...such changes should be emailed to every fucking member of your site!!!!

And you know this! Right in that Storque article:

As noted in our Privacy Policy, it is our duty to notify the Etsy community of material changes to this policy.

We are sooo tired of telling you this.

Stuck categories, hidden listings, and outages...oh my!

As we wrote earlier today, Etsy has been having some problems with the renewals and relistings not showing up in categories. But the problem goes deeper. There have been more consistent issues with the category batch update that began last year.

What does this mean? Your listings are not getting the exposure they're supposed to. Items are not showing up on page 1 when they are new. If they are consistently 3-4 pages behind, then 1/4 to 1/3 of items never get first page exposure on categories.

Search has been having issues, too.

And then the site crashed...again.

Etsy is just a wee bit buggy lately. Maybe it's the rash of listings from new sellers that sign up every day hoping to sell just by putting up a picture and a price tag. Maybe it's the constant renewals fueled by a change of the text from "expiration dates" to "renew items", which encourages a practice we all know and love. Or maybe, just maybe, an ecommerce site cannot be run on cupcakes and glittery unicorn farts. These problems and crashes are most likely indicative of the fragile nature of Etsy's infrastructure.

We implore you to have your listing information backed up and remember the old addage "don't keep all your eggs in one basket." Promote yourself, not Etsy. Sometimes the site just isn't there.

One final bitch - there were no notifications about these problems outside the forums. All member email update about any of these issues? nope. Any information in the Storque about the category problems? nope.

Same Etsy shit, New Etsy administration
Update: This thread seems to be the one to keep on topic, and keep asking Etsy to do their job and keep us updated.

Don't List!!

Once again, items are not showing up after listing, specifically relisting and renewing.

You won't get your money's worth so don't list right now.

MaryMary posted this thread where hopefully they will post when things are working again. Also, it would be nice if Etsy would email their members about this technical issue that effects exposure. Just randomly venturing into the forums and seeing the bug isn't enough for sellers to know about this issue.

Once again, Etsy, it's about c-o-m-m-u-n-i-c-a-t-i-o-n...all together now...COMMUNICATION!

Etsy's Holiday Marketing Plan

There have been questions as to whether Etsy would follow through and actually have a marketing plan for the holidays. Well, it's up. But there's no timeline! In today's chatt with Matt it was mentioned that there may be a meeting about it on Sept 26. Is that really enough time? All of this needs to be out before November to be effective. This is an international online venue - things need to be shipped!

I guess we'll all just have to wait and see. Full page ads positioned to target buyers would be really, really nice. (Yes, they DID mention those!) Along with better SEO. Two topics that have been hot in the forums in the past.

May we suggest the addition of something to the list though? Fix the search. Please! It's great to advertise, but it only works if people can find things.

Kudos to Etsy on following through on a promise, but the timeline is a big part of it that's missing(a November/December contest doesn't count). You're getting there, kids.

Edit: Based on a reader's comment from the chat, he did state a potential, and soon, timeline for the ads (October through December)...which was only known to those in the chat at that time. Better, but not quite there yet on the whole communication and timeline thing.

Resellers - Etsy is listening

Etsy is directly addressing the concerns over resellers in the Storque.

Some highlights from the article:

• A better flagging system is in the works
• They have doubled the employees dedicated to sorting through the flags, and they are trained in properly identifying resellers
• They are addressing new shop evaluation policies and tactics

There will be a chatt with Matt regarding this issue tomorrow, September 12, at 1 pm Eastern time. Be sure to stop by if you can!

I wish I could insert some snazzy snark about how it's only because of the past weekend's issues, but I'm in shock that they've publicly ackowledged a problem.

Oopsie! Are you missing some emails?

Well you might want to check your Spam folder.

As an Etsy customer discovered yesterday, Esty has changed their mail setup "a little". The net result of this is that various Etsy users are reporting that Etsy Convo notifications are showing up in their bulk mail folders.

Great job Etsy!!!! This is an excellent way for Etsy shops to lose potential business!

In spite of a few logical suggestions posted in the above thread, there are no reports of Etsy Admin bothering to notify their customers of this signifigant change.

We welcome our new Handmade Overlords

Today MaryMary posted an announcement in the Etsy forums, with an accompanying Storque article, describing some new staff and new roles at Etsy Inc. Along with it came a personal message from Rob Kalin.

I am grumpy to announce that, against my will, Maria has replaced me as Etsy’s CEO. She is now my boss. My new title at Etsy is Chief Cupcake Officer (CCO), a nice meaningless moniker that will allow me to focus on what I'm best at: lying about my experience, stalking private blogs, and reading children's books.

I will also be spending time developing Etsy.org, a money-losing organization that will focus on failed hammock videos, dressing up in silly costumes, eating cupcakes, and giving jobs to my unemployable friends. (More vague details about this are coming soon. Right now, I'm still licking my wounds from getting canned.)

I’ve been filling many roles since Etsy began, all of them new to me. That's because I have no actual experience in anything useful. It’s been an embarassing and exhausting education, much of it public. Watching Maria, with her experience and expertise and sanity, has made me realize what a failure I really am. I’m excited to get back to what I enjoy most, (living in my fantasy world) and maybe even check Etsybitch less than fifteen times a day for the first time in a long time.

Ok, he didn't really write that - thanks Bitches Auxiliary! By the way, it's amazing how many people saw "CCO" and thought "Chief Cupcake Officer". Grumpy minds think alike.

To be serious for a moment, we here at Etsy Bitch are hopeful that Maria's leadership and Chad's technical expertise will usher in a new era of professionalism and progress for Etsy. Hopeful that amateurish tutorials for shoddy workmanship will be banished to the Rainbow Land of Etsy.org. Hopeful that practical, useful tools that will help members market and move their wares will finally take priority. Hopeful that obnoxious, discourteous staff members will be duct-taped and locked in the janitor's closet in favour of pleasant, knowledgeable communicators. Hopeful that resellers and mass-producers will receive the swift kick to the ass they deserve, and that Etsy returns its mission statement and original principles that have been so subverted and abused of late.

Good-bye Rob. Hello Maria and Chad.

Quotable Quotes: What Kind of Site is Etsy?

Food for thought:

""I think people are despairing a bit because you get a very distinct feeling that Etsy doesn't need any of us, and it shows, and as the big sellers migrate elsewhere, Etsy might find itself with a lot of sellers but very little buyers, and there goes the revenue from sales."

This bears repeating. I hope the Etsy admins - and the new COO in particular - is paying attention to comments such as these.

And it wouldn't hurt for them to note why you, and others, are looking to go solo. You just listed some of the most fundamental selling tools that Etsy, after three years as a 'selling venue' still. does. not. provide.

If Etsy truly wants to be competitive, as well as live up to their mission mantra, they need to start listening to, and acting on, the feedback from their clients."

Quotable Quotes: No Shit Sherlock

Please Etsy, get a clue.

Storque article: "Dear Sellers,

Did you realize that the way you communicate with your customers can actually promote repeat business?"

Seller Comment: Um, is this a joke? You actually have the balls to lecture sellers about communication skills when Etsy expects its users to get critical information by digging through the forums and sifting the Storque guano? Not to mention all the crap that's been going down in the forums this week? This is why I'm moving to my own site, I don't have the time or the patience to deal with Etsy's hypocrisy anymore."