Goddammit Etsy, STOP Putting the Cart Before the Horse

What the fucking hell is wrong with you Etsy?

The last 3 days have proved again that you STINK at both rolling out new tools and preparing your sellers with CLEAR, CONCISE, AND BRIEF INSTRUCTIONS about how to use the new Relevancy Search tool.

Switching to Relevancy without preparing your sellers for it, and WITHOUT ISSUING CLEAR, CONCISE, AND SHORT INSTRUCTIONS for:

• HOW TO TAG
• HOW TO TITLE PRODUCTS
• HOW TO USE THE ATTRIBUTES
• HOW RELEVANCY WORKS IN RELATION TO TAGS, TITLES AND ATTRIBUTES

Plus, how not to get smacked on the head by 3 or 4 Etsy Admins who insist on punishing sellers who are rightfully confused.

YOU DID THE CONFUSING - AND WHAT A MESS YOU MADE!

Get your damn house in order. You should have revamped the whole damn Tagging system a long time ago. You should have changed it, simplified and streamlined it and made it compatible with your new Attributes Tool.

AND YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE THROWING RELEVANCY ON TOP OF A PILE OF CRAP THAT PRODUCES MORE CRAP.

This latest announcement from stellaloella IS ENOUGH TO SEND SELLERS INTO ANOTHER SPIN.

What the hell are you thinking? After screwing around every single day this week YOU OWE YOUR SELLERS A SELLER EMAIL WITH ALL OF THE ABOVE.

TODAY.

Etsy Caves - kinda... okay not really.

A media firestorm seems to be the only thing that can move Etsy from its handmade pedestal enough to actually remove the headphones and stop glancing at fake Chuck Norris' twitter-pretend it's listening long enough to trick you into believing it. Don't be fooled.

They just released this little ditty addressing complaints and what they are doing/have done to address them and actually eek out a half-assed apology and a half-baked fix:

Yesterday and today there have been a handful of articles reporting that purchases on Etsy are public. The articles have led to concerns by members of our community.

We want to apologize. We also want to set the record straight about how our product works and about changes we made today in response to your feedback.

Are my purchases on Etsy public?

No. As of right now, all your purchases on Etsy are private.

Were there changes to Etsy that made my purchases public?

No. The issue here is our Feedback system, which has not changed in six years. We do not directly publish your purchases on Etsy. However, when a seller leaves feedback for an item you bought, or you leave feedback for an item you purchased, we would link to the item. Our Feedback system has always worked this way; our original thinking was that it's important to know more about the transaction, to better establish trust in the marketplace.

We added the option to enter your real name when registering. Right next to this text field, it says: "Your full name will appear on your public profile. This is optional." Some people enter their name, some don't. As of right now, 25% of people (including us) have entered their real name.

It is the confluence of these two things that led us to this position: if you enter your real name, purchase an item, and the seller leaves feedback for this item, this purchase will be publicly visible via our Feedback system. Search engines index our site, which means this data can turn up there, too. It's been this way since October.

If nothing has recently changed, what's going on?

There is a lot of misinformation being spread right now. One blog post even has the outlandish title "Etsy Makes All Of Its Users' Activity Public." This is simply untrue. On Etsy, private conversations, financial information, billing data — all are now and have always been strictly private.There was an article published on ArsTechnica that made clear how direct the connection was between using your real name on Etsy, buying an item and receiving public feedback for that item. The reaction to this article has made us realize that we need to change the way our Feedback system works, and this is what we’ve already done today.

Why make any changes to the Feedback system?

The article and response highlighted for us how we've outgrown our current Feedback system. It dates back to a time when payment for items was sent after completing the checkout process on Etsy. This meant that sellers needed to know how trustworthy their buyer was. We now require payment prior to completing checkout, so this issue has basically gone away.

We believe that markets are conversations. We want people to discuss what they purchase, although this will often mean discussing it in private. As such, we have removed the link from a piece of feedback (which is public) to the item that was purchased (which is now private).

What is Etsy’s view on privacy?

We take privacy very seriously. We work with TRUSTe and audit our privacy policies regularly, notifying all members via email any time a substantive change is made.

In the future, we may provide an option to share individual purchases publicly at the time of purchase. This will be completely opt-in and on a purchase-by-purchase basis.

We are deeply sorry for any confusion and will work hard to regain your trust.

What’s next?

We have been working quickly to make changes based on your input and opinions. We will continue to work on this, for what’s really needed is a rethinking of our entire Feedback system. In the meantime, all purchases are private, and feedback doesn’t link to items.

If you have any more questions or concerns, please email support [!at] etsy.com or convo us directly on Etsy.

Thank you.
Rob (CEO) and Adam (COO)

The forums aren't buying it. Many sellers immediately pointed out the REAL issues remain unaddressed: no notification when this went live, real names going public and a deafening lack of answers for the user-base in the forums themselves.



And those "handful of articles"? Artsy Alien was nice enough to list them all here:

Consumerist - http://consumerist.com/2011/03/you-want-your-real-name-associated-with-your-etsy-purchase-history-right.html

Ars Technica - http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2011/03/etsy-users-irked-after-buyers-purchases-exposed-to-the-world.ars

BoingBoing - http://www.boingboing.net/2011/03/15/etsys-privacy-valdez.html

MSNBC - http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/03/15/6273251-e-commerce-site-etsy-exposes-users-shopping-histories

Forbes - http://blogs.forbes.com/kashmirhill/2011/03/15/etsys-experiment-with-social-could-be-costly/

Digital Trends - http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/etsy-comes-under-fire-for-revealing-buyers-names-purchase-histories/

Help Net Security - http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=10746

NY Magazine - http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/03/unannounced_privacy_changes_ex.html

NY Convergence - http://nyconvergence.com/2011/03/etsy-exposes-buyers-and-purchases-online.html

Auctionbytes - http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/cab/abn/y11/m03/i15/s02

The Business Insider - http://www.businessinsider.com/etsy-takes-a-page-from-the-facebook-playbook-2011-3

Gizmodo - http://gizmodo.com/5782146/etsy-privacy-catastrophe-reveals-users-full-names-dildo-preferences-and-other-less-embarrassing-purchase-information

Village Voice - http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/03/etsy_privacy_policy_dildos.php

The Mary Sue (awesome new geek chick blog, if you haven't seen it yet) - http://www.themarysue.com/etsy-privacy-settings/

Buzzfeed - http://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/etsy-new-privacy-policy-not-so-private

About.com - http://antivirus.about.com/b/2011/03/14/the-etsy-trojan.htm

Reputation.com - http://reputation.com/blog/2011/03/15/etsy-privacy-change-shows-users-purchase-histories/

Yahoo - http://news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20110315/tc_digitaltrends/etsycomesunderfireforrevealingbuyersnamespurchasehistories

Salon.com - http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/03/15/etsy_privacy_people_search/

NowPublic - http://www.nowpublic.com/tech-biz/etsy-people-search-privacy-policy-change-exposes-users-2767071.html

Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-tech/post/the-circuit-kerry-hutchinson-introduce-infrastructure-bank-franken-to-propose-new-net-neutrality-bill-free-calls-texts-to-japan/2011/03/08/AB7m9gW_blog.html

Geek Sugar - http://www.geeksugar.com/Etsy-Privacy-Settings-14921901


Added: Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/15/etsy-privacy-debacle-site_n_836277.html

Added: Ars technica Update post


That more than I can hold in twelve hands, how about you?

Circle Jerk Etsy

Dozens of forum threads started by sellers over the past 4 days shows that people are confused about the whole concept behind Circles, circling, email notices, opting out, and boy oh boy is that generating hundreds of thousands of clicks on Etsy!

Just what they wanted! More clicks, no sales.

The addition of Circles to a sellers’ Shopfront in the lefthand column above Feedback gives the impression (and no one knows because Etsy isn’t telling) that Circles are going to be used as and seen by buyers as a “rating system” for seller performance.

Since Circles were added, Etsy Admin have been hard at work posting reminders for sellers to rack up their Circles-numbers, but no one seems to know WHAT that means. Most sellers have no idea WHAT Circles are.

Are they a ratings system? Are they required? Do they get you accepted by Teams? Do they lead to FP and FS features on your store? If you have no Circles are you a deadbeat? If you have 350 Circles, are you a better seller? Have better products?

And no one seems to know HOW TO TURN CIRCLES OFF!

Many sellers are asking Etsy to REMOVE Circles from their storefronts. They don’t want this feature glued in place on their shop page. They don’t understand the feature and fear it may confuse shoppers enough to stop shopping.

What the hell do Circles have to do with selling and making sales?

No matter what, Etsy isn’t reading or responding to forum posts and questions, so we need to find other ways of publicizing how Etsy IS NOT LISTENING TO ITS SELLERS!

Tell us what you think.

Quotables: The tipping point

Ahh, you smell that? That's dissatisfaction, and the Etsy forums are full of it regarding the new Sales Tax feature being rolled out. In fact, some just can't take the nonsense anymore:

First, I would like to say that I never rant in the forums. This issue, coupled with several other changes recently implemented at Etsy, have brought me to a tipping point.

Quoting: ericds says:

"The new Checkout, which will require payment before an item is marked as sold, is one of the most requested features and we think it will dramatically improve the experience for buyers and sellers.

We didn't want to delay the release of the new Checkout until we had released the perfect sales tax tool, which could take a long time.

We decided to start simple and will improve the sales tax feature over time."

Etsy is based in NY State and they are unable to appreciate the somewhat ridiculous tax rate situation sellers have here?! I truly do not understand this at all.

Are you serious when you say "until we had released the perfect sales tax tool, which could take a long time."?!?! Do you have any idea how much trouble this IMperfect sales tax tool is going to cause? It is absolutely 100% useless to me as a seller in NY State. And you are acting like this is news?!

In order for me to collect the correct amount of sales tax I have to plug a buyer's address into the state sales tax online calculator. It is literally done by address - not county or zip code - in some places. Right now I have to refund the whole purchase thru PayPal, re-invoice the buyer with the tax added, and ask them to pay again. It
sucks. There is no way around it until someone writes the magical code for figuring out how to charge NYS taxes by address. Oh, wait... almost every other online retailer does!! My bad!!

All I keep hearing is "the new checkout will require payment before an item is marked as sold". Blah blah blah. Do not placate me with something that should have been done ages ago in order for me to swallow the bitter pill of indescribably poor sales tax collection implementation.

If you were quoted, congratulations and thanks! You can find your celebratory "I've been Quoted" avatar overlays by clicking here.

Update: Checkout rollout has been pulled back to address the sales tax issues - bitching does help!

Checkout roll out coming soon

The new checkout Etsy had to halt during the first 5% rollout is coming back, and they're fucking it up even more!

Sales tax...you need to set it in your Etsy...but if you live in a state where you have to charge different rates depending on location - well, you're fucked. Etsy is overriding any Paypal settings you may have for the tax rate.

Etsy is once again ignoring legality and just speeding forward because it's shiny. Remember how long it took for international sellers to point out that the currency needed to be noted. I'm currently taking bets on how long it will take to make Etsy say "hmm maybe overriding existing tax rate calculators with our own bogus, thrown together bullshit is a bad idea"

Cosmic Yuk said it best in our previous post

Looking for feedback? Are you fucking serious? You're rolling out another half-assed feature that screws with a huge segment of your membership!!!!

Does no one do any research? What are people supposed to do during the time you are 'figuring it out'? Overcharge? undercharge? refund the overage? eat the underages? You do realize that Paypal intends to charge for refunds, right? That you can't keep accurate tax records if you charge more or less than you're supposed to? And that it is illegal to do in some states?

Are you FUCKING SERIOUS ETSY??????????

Edit: As of 1.5 hours before rollout they have not sent emails to all sellers - only to the EtsyNews subscription list

Update: Checkout rollout has been pulled back to address the sales tax issues though many are reporting checkout problems and seeing a new layout/Paypal interface.

Pricks, Pussies and Periods - Oh My!

So now that Etsy is providing a link to the new Treasury (East) from the front page, sellers are rushing to the forums in alarm over the fact that link takes you to the most poular treasuries first... which all in all is fine except that most of the first page is Adult Themed. Here it is, don't say we didn't warn you.

Upon loading the page the viewer is immediately greeted immediately with images of handcrafted penises (#1), vaginas (#4), ironic menstruation items (#3), "What dad really wants" featuring a large ass shot with a pearl G-string, and a darling one with carton sperm and shagging animals - all without the Mature warning thumbnail as first pic that Etsy states you are supposed to have.

This exposes underage children, and non-willing adults, to adult content they might not have willing opted to see. These new visitors don't know it's a popularity contest that placed them there, but they will see it whether or not they want to.

I am no prude trust me, but I agree this is not images you want shown to new visitors to browsers stumbling around the site since the first impression is everything.

Some Points to consider (thanks to any who may have mentioned these on the forums or on Twitter): see PS at the end for changes since this was prepared

1. Why doesn't Etsy have a setting when making a Treasury stating that the content is adult?
   
   
2. Why aren't they filtering out these Mature treasuries on this landing page, or to be more correct all pages, with a link to display them by choice? (While the US law is rather grey on some parts on what is or isnt "mature" or "obscene", other countries are extremely strict on what is or is not illegal online with or without some safeguards for unwilling viewers).
   
   
3. Why aren't they enforcing the rule about first pictures having a "mature titlecard" to avoid these problems to begin with?

Oh wait that would mean they would have to do something. Right, we'll see this fixed in the second quarter of the Apocalypse.

Before any of you go apeshit banner waving crazy on my ass: I am not advising censorship, what I am saying is Etsy has adhere to the numerous regulations and conventions regarding adult content. And they aren't.

At the very least they can follow opt-out conventions of international powerhouses like Yahoo and Google with opt-in for the mature stuff.



EDIT: This article was marked published by another of the team before I had a chance to sum up today with the news Etsy has announced just such a plan of Opt-in for mature.

While many in the forums are crying foul about censorship, and it might seem unsavory it really is the only correct thing to do. Many countries have tight restrictions on online content and how you get to it, and unless you want Etsy blocked in major countries like Germany ( who a couple years ago had a big issue with mature content on Flickr that resulted in all moderate to adult content on the site being blocked from German access entirely). Yes ladies and gents, you can be a civilized country and have morality laws.

No, it's not fair to Mature sellers exposure wise, but they sell these items all the time, this can't be the first time they've been met with resistance. Etsy is just astoundingly late in act on it. It's not about the sellers, it's about what's legal in all the places Etsy is accessed.

For once they are acting in the best interest of the site, and believe it or not you. If they don't at least put this content behind a simple by-passable wall to avoid inadvertent viewing in foreign countries that you sell to could decide to block the site entirely for not having such protections in place.

It's not censorship if you still have access to it freely and only if you choose to do so.

Other Bitches might disagree with me, I'm pretty sure at least one does, but that is just my take on this. We don't all agree on everything that gets published here, but I say kudos for Etsy making the right move in a swift fashion for once. It might not be palatable to all you reading, but you're not the one who might send in FauxNews with Glenn Beck in a choke collar itching to hump this story for the next 10 weeks.

Etsy Paypal Issues Persist

It's been a bit over 2 months now, and the Etsy Paypal issues are still ongoing.

Etsy's probably been too busy playing hot wheels on their road map and coloring outside the lines to fix it. Or maybe they've implemented Paypal Express Checkout already and just haven't told us. You never know with those rascals.

But, hey, it's only a random inability to sell items on the site, so they shouldn't be too concerned.

Oh wait, Etsy is an ecommerce site with a mission statement to "help people make a living making things". Huh...never would've guessed that.

At least the search problems don't matter since people aren't getting paid anyway.

By the way, the work around for payment is to either send an invoice (if you're the seller) or via your Paypal account, "Send Money" to the seller's email address in the Etsy transaction email (if you're the buyer).

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum

The Etsy header became all confuzzled. And the glaring neon of the new font led me to a dark place called the Storque...

where Rokali has provided a roadmap of what Etsy is certain it can accomplish in the next 2 months.

The first thing on that map was rolled out today to much fanfare chagrin - the wider page and new Etsy header with teeny tiny font. Yes, it is less distracting from the shopfronts, but the lack of testing prior to roll out is, well, what we would expect.

Let's see how well the switch to Paypal Express Checkout goes:

we’re going to require payment for an item before marking it as sold on Etsy. To do this, we’re migrating to a new payments platform at PayPal called Express Checkout (EC).

The biggest change is that a buyer will go to PayPal and authorize the payment, then come back to Etsy in order to actually complete the transaction. ...

Our ideal Checkout is to have a single payment cover all purchases, even those from multiple sellers. This is on the horizon, as PayPal readies their split payments feature for Express Checkout.

There's also the pesky detail of it being integrated properly on Etsy's end. Oh the adventures we're about to have *sigh*

Another Etsy Paypal Bug

Since Etsy won't email its members about the problem, I wanted to make sure you all know about it.

Paypal payments are going to the wrong sellers in some instances

Etsy's solution thus far:

Other users have been able to work around this issue by communicating with their buyers, the other sellers, and working out separate Paypal payments.

Yep, because what Etsy does best for its sellers is making their businesses more difficult to run.

I'll try to find a way to get you all bandaids after you finish banging your heads against the wall. Giant knitted bandaids with owls and mustaches.

Still Not Paying Attention

Today's Etsy Finds email has three items from the same seller (with an item in the Etsymini at the end of the article, so they actually appear 4 times in the same Etsy Finds article/email). And they live in NYC. hmm

TeenAngster is just getting lazy. She's not even trying anymore. What the hell are the Storque writers getting paid for? Shopping from their favorites?

And again, not all of the featured items are appropriately tagged. Imagine that.

Edit: They've changed the items in the blog post.

Incompetence at its finest...

Why is she still working at Etsy? Clearly incompetent.

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6391294

Sock puppet buying out accounts and leaving bad FB? Original account remains. Not cool, Bub.

Yet another reason to not leave feedback until buyer has paid and received the item. It should also be one feedback per ORDER, not ITEM, so that one feedback will not wipe you out.

Way to start the new year out Etsy. Rob, I know you're reading this. This will be a topic of interest at our little chat :D

Black Friday/Cyber Monday and More Etsy Crap

Always pitifully late to the party, Etsy published their "plan" for Black Friday/Cyber Monday on November 20, and guess what sellers? It’s a list of what sellers can do to lose more money on Etsy!

Yes, you too can:
1. Lower your prices to below-below cost!

2. Label everything in your store BARGAIN! DISCOUNT! 99% OFF!
2. Offer FREE SHIPPING and lose big piles of money fast!
3. Market Etsy for free all over cyberspace and provide even MORE free labor than usual!


Sure looks like marymary did it again! Slapped together a crappy plan in 5 minutes to make it look like Etsy's doing something for sellers when it’s all about WHAT SELLERS CAN DO FOR ETSY! How much lower can you go Etsy?


Thanks Mary for giving sellers even more work to do to NOT sell a damn thing on Etsy!

Ah those lazy admin

Etsy is trying to shake up the same old same old gift guides by asking their Twitter followers to do it for them. Post a link to your favorite Etsy item with the tag #myetsy and they'll consider it for inclusion in the Twitter Picks GG.



Oh, but wait...what's this I see. They didn't even check to make sure there's a picture of the item!



Lazy admin, even when they have other people do their job they can't get it right.

Spam for Etsy! Again!

Hats off to the sellers who tipped us off to the latest Etsy scheme to get unwitting sellers to do even MORE free marketing for Etsy the Brand on all those neat-o "shopping sites" and pack them with suggestions that happen to match all the favorites picked by Etsy for their Front Page, Gift Guides and countless repetitive blog posts!

Shall we just hit copy and paste?

Etsy's Vintage Faux Pas

Etsy's guidelines on vintage are that the item must be 20 years old or older. So stuff labeled 1990s should be unacceptable.

Unless you're admin and think it's cool. Etsy had a Storque article dedicated to grunge, with labels like "1990s" and "90s"...ummm that wasn't 20 years ago. Now, the items actually featured were those labeled as vintage and appear to be older than 1990 (some look like they're actually from the 70s, real good "grunge" there) or handmade grunge inspired items. So it's not about the sellers chosen, it's about admin's inability to count. Oh, and the fact that it hurts their feelings to be told so.

lisajune closed the "offending" thread with this pity party:

I apologize if you find this feature offensive. Our merchandising team works hard to draw on themes that appeal to a distinct Etsy style and showcase the items in our marketplace in such a way that buyers can't help but admire.

Oh yeah, they work so hard they forgot to learn to count to 20 and to learn the difference between mod and grunge. In fact, many of the items in the feature were mod (i.e. 60s-ish) and not grunge, so they were just using a popular label to get views. Isn't mistagging also against the TOS? Oh wait, that's right, only if you're not admin.

(Thank you to those who sent us the link to the article. You can send tips and rants to etsybiatch@gmail.com)

Nickel and Diming

Well well well, it appears that Etsy is skimming a little off the top.

If you're participating in the weekend deals, you're paying Etsy more than 3.5% on that sale, which is what they're contractually supposed to receive. They want you to refund the buyer through Paypal, but that means they get a final value fee on the original cost!

tsk tsk tsk Etsy, you should know by now how these things work, and I bet you thought noone would notice.

By the way, we saw what you did here, skirting the issue and all. Looks like you're planning on nickel and diming until the end of the month.

Rather than putting together a batch price edit, or coupon codes, or some other way to run a sale, they're just letting you pay them a little extra. Aw, how thoughtful of them.

Stegosaurus Etsy

Whether you’re a shopper or seller on Etsy, that big behemoth that trudges on like a branded dinosaur with an orange Etsy banner super glued to its hide, have you noticed anything new? Nope, not much.

Wade through the 5 million plus items (including those pesky resellers) using the most temperamental Search imaginable, and you start to think you’re stuck in a prehistoric forest!

Etsy, the indie king and queen! The trend to end all trends! They get bigger, haul in more dough and what the heck has really changed or improved for sellers?
Not much.

While ArtFire, Zibbet, 1000Markets, and countless other new sites forge ahead with exciting features for sellers that include:
Universal/Global Editing
Direct Link to Facebook Kiosk
One or Two Page Listing Templates
Coupon and Discount Codes
Store Set Up Customization
Import Features
Huge Holiday Promotions
Real Customer Service Departments

Etsy stumbles ahead with a feature where you can Search by category!!! Wow! Etsy promises a "better shopping cart" whooopeee! (But does Etsy even care about the rising number of non-paying buyers?)

Etsy announces a "maintenance schedule" that whispers "to get ready for the holidays" when we all know what that means after years of slogging along like a festering bureaucracy! What holidays? Are you kidding us again Etsy?

We know how Etsy "prepares for the holidays" – they don’t. Oh, they may add 25 more Gift Guides with cute titles (Equestrian Santas!), buried on a page with hundreds of other Gift Guides, all loaded with Etsy favorite sellers that seem to pop up on the Front Page like flies on flypaper. They stick and never fall off!

SEO and Google Base - "might" be "fully functional" in November???? Oh Etsy, another year, another report on your huge sales records, and none of it includes any tangible changes and improvements for sellers.

There’s this thing about getting so big you can’t see the trees in the forest (even trees that are felted, beaded, and available in 3,500 colors in various sizes!), that "trendy" is clearly a misnomer, Etsy.

You’re so far behind the times that you’re practically a fossil!
　

The Caching "Roll-back"

Have you received the Etsy seller email with information about the "caching roll-back"?

Last week, Etsy's CTO, Chad Dickerson, posted an update about caching on Etsy.
Some sellers, when editing or uploading listings, suddenly faced delays — their updated listings would not immediately reflect those changes on the live site. Chad's post explains what was going on and what he and the Engineering Team have done about it.

We’ll overlook the reference to the yellow-smiley face posters in a well-known big-box store (Roll Back Prices!!!!!) because there’s a bigger issue to be discussed.

According to several forum threads that were duly locked and resurrected by sharp, vigilant sellers who voiced alarm about the fact that ETSY CHANGED A MAJOR FEATURE (all shop edits were delayed by caching) WITHOUT TELLING SELLERS THEY WERE CHANGING IT.

Not only did this cause an uproar about the legal issues surrounding online pricing, sellers were justly outraged that they were suddenly presented with a whole set of NEW PROBLEMS when editing their listings concerning PRICE CHANGES, and other vital information.

Oh yes, Etsy has decided to "roll-back" this secret caching change, and Chad wrote an interesting and very long explanation--but it reveals the thinking behind the scenes when Etsy deals with the myriad issues of scalability on a site that continues to grow without a plan or structure to handle its anyone-can-open-a-store policy. Etsy makes decisions based on Etsy’s priorities, not seller priorities.


Etsy is making major changes all the time, and may or may not be "rolling-back" those secret changes (including the SEO debacle, which continues to be a messy mystery to this day) hidden in the deep recesses of Etsy’s habit of implementing drastic changes THAT DRAMATICALLY AFFECT ETSY SELLERS’ ABILITY TO SELL ON ETSY.


Sharp sellers picked up on the caching problem and let Etsy know — but they had to launch a protest AFTER THE CHANGES WERE ALREADY MADE WITHOUT NOTICE!

While the SEO issues remain, and the "roll-back" of caching needs to be seen to be believed, we have to wonder what else Etsy has in store for sellers in the next few months when the once a year vital holiday shopping season begins.


It’s a sad fact that Etsy often makes major changes for the benefit of Etsy. How these changes affect sellers isn’t part of their plan. Launch it overnight, leave sellers in the dark, and then spend 5 weeks correcting a problem that Etsy created (and sellers never wanted!)!

In True Etsy Style

Ah, Etsy, where the admin gather links like nobody's business...

Have you seen the Etsy Seller Handbook! (which is dated Aug 3, 2009 at the time of this blog post)

At first glance it looks like a thorough compilation of information to help newbies wade through information in the Storque...but, aha, some of them are useless! (And listing links to previous entries is one hell of a way to crank out one more Dorque post)

For "beware of spammers" they link to a warning from October 2007 about a then recent spam problem. Only the last line about the abuse email is relevant...they couldn't just extract this bit? They don't even note if it's still the way to report spam in August 2009 (almost 2 years later!).

Heavn forbid they actually do something like compile a useful block of information. Instead they scatter it, link it, scatter it some more, and confuse the hell out of everyone in the process. A reasonably searchable and practical FAQ or Help page would do a lot more for new sellers.

What is YOUR favorite useless bit of information or aspect to the new "handbook"?

Facebook connect - now spam your family!

We're sure by now you have all (or at least most of you) heard about or seen the Facebook connect for your Etsy shop. Etsy has been working diligently since May to turn out this wonderful promotional tool for its sellers.

aaaahahahahah sorry, I couldn't keep that up.

The truth is, from what we can gather in statements posted on and off Etsy is that Facebook developed the app and eBay added it so Etsy did too (even though they try to take credit for it - you slimy bastards). But it doesn't seem to work on Etsy and it can only add links to your personal profile, not your fan page (this is a Facebook thing). It might work in IE, but other browser users are reporting errors and/or sluggishness.

Etsy, for all things spam! If they can integrate the code properly, that is.

If you click on the icon on the top menu of your screen after logging in, you can choose to not have it show again if you'd rather forget it exists.


goatmountainarts said:

*sob* This is like getting underwear for Christmas. *runs off waving arms in the air and crying*

uknowuneedanother said:

Etsy, y'all seriously need to regroup, put down the crack pipe, and focus on some reality.

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