More Etsy Shop Closure Fail

Etsy's answer to your account being hacked? Investigate the breech, or close you down? What do you think?

We got this as a comment to the "Etsy is Powermad" post, and though it deserved some front page time on it's own - it's astounding Etsy admin can even order Starbucks on their own with such lapses in deduction skills:

Etsy certainly is Power Mad!

My password was cracked and I was being harassed through convos from MYSELF - and my wife was receiving them also!

After I realized that someone was on my account I changed my password immediately, but I was still receiving convos from the person on my account, apparently you have to sign out and try to sign back in for the password change to go into effect.

I started to get worried about someone being on my account, because I have all my personal information; Full name, Address, Phone number, Email address, and all my private convos and purchases!

I contacted etsy through Support@etsy.com

On the 3rd day Etsy finally responded to my cry for help, and they DEACTIVATED my account, and my Wife's account!

My wife nore I received a Email explaining why we were Deactivated. Why her's was deactivated is a mystery.

I wrote them demanding why I was deactivated and telling them I didn't want to be deactivated and want to be reactivated ASAP.

This was my response:

"Below is a message from Etsy's Support Team.

If you need help again, please let us know.

Etsy's Support Team is here to help.

Click here to access your issue on Etsy's Help site.

Etsy's Support Team (Erin) wrote on 05/17/2010 03:21 PM:
Hi Charles,

The account CETphotography has been closed.

The following links may be helpful;

http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/

Etsy Terms of Use:

http://www.etsy.com/terms_of_use.php

Password: Keep your password secure. You are fully responsible for all activity, liability and damage resulting from your failure to maintain password confidentiality. You agree to immediately notify Etsy of any unauthorized use of your password or any breach of security. You also agree that Etsy cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to keep your password secure. You agree not to provide your username and password information in combination to any other party other than Etsy without Etsy's express written permission.


Provided that your e-mail account password is secure, your Etsy password can only be changed by you. Additionally, if you receive the lost password reset e-mail but did not request to have it sent to you let us know. You have the option of not confirming the change.

Best,
Erin
Etsy's Support Team
http://help.etsy.com"

WTF kind of help is that! I can't even access the links to their help site! I would need an active account in order to click that!

It's 3 days later and I've sent 4 email asking them to reactivate my wife's account, she had nothing to do with this and her account was safe.

Etsy has to have the worst customer service I have ever dealt with. They need to have a technical support phone number[s], where people like myself can speak to a LIVE person immediately! Not being sent some generic regurgitated emails. We've paid for services that are not being rendered.
Charles (CETPhotography)
www.CTPhotography.biz

From the Auxiliary Guild: Tap tap tap Is this thing on?

Seriously, if you need someone to be The Angry One, I'm here for you.

I got kicked off of Etsy for being a "reseller" when EVERY SCRAP of everything I sold was handmade. I kid you not. I had FOUR shops on Etsy - one selling tutus (the tutu mafia is REAL man) and hairbows, one selling Eco/upcycled stuff, one selling felt food and one selling handmade supplies (with the occasional bobby pin listing thrown in, I will admit, but those are allowed on Etsy). With a BA in Communications and more than 10 years in Journalism, you guys just let me know if you need another contributor.

This all started a couple weeks ago, when they closed my handmade supply shop. I was sent an email one day, and three days later, since they had not heard from me (surprise, some people go on VACATION, lol), they deactivated the shop. THE ENTIRE SHOP. The email they sent me after that took offense at my crocheted headbands (like this - which surprisingly enough, is still up) and my felt hairbow appliques (like these - only with stitching instead of hot glue like those). Their reasoning was that I was reselling the appliques and that my headbands didn't qualify as supplies since they were "ready to wear." I had mis-tagged them as commercial supplies instead of handmade supplies.

I emailed them back and explained that I make the crocheted headbands by buying the stretchy stuff by the yard at Hobby Lobby (they only carry white, black and hot pink at my local store, but I buy it bulk and they order the other colors for me), cutting it in 12.5 inch strips, and sewing the ends together on my machine to make the headbands. I also explained that I cut and sew the appliques myself using Sizzix dies, felt and blood, sweat and tears. I got an email back from one of the Etsy Minions that the shop would remain closed until I provided pictures. OK, so I took pictures of my Sizzix machine and dies, and got pictures of about two yards of the white stretchy headband material (it was all I had left, since I make them all at one time, instead of when I get orders). Those photos were emailed to the Etsy Minion.

Now, while I was sending pictures of the stuff, I listed the headbands in my tutu and bow shop, thinking that the rule violation (because you know they don't tell you what the violation is, just what item is in violation) was because I had mis-tagged the headbands as commercial instead of handmade. Mea Culpa. So, when I listed them in my girly shop, I listed them correctly, tagged them as HANDMADE, explained in the listing how I make them AND included a picture of the stretchy material (the same one I sent them) in my listing. The listing was totally legit and everything was tagged correctly on it.

Well, a couple of days later, I got an email from them saying they would reactivate the supply shop if I took the headbands down from it. I asked why, because they were handmade and never heard from them. The shop reopened for about three hours, in which time they apparently went to my girly shop and saw that I had listed the headbands there. So, ALL FOUR OF MY SHOPS WERE DEACTIVATED. The email I got from them said that they had noticed I had relisted the headbands in my other shop and a rule violation in one affected me across the board in all my shops and they were closed indefinitely. I emailed them back, explained I didn't realize the relisting was a rule violation, apologized and asked if there was anything I could do to make it better. I heard nothing. I emailed again a couple days later and still heard nothing. To this day, almost 3 weeks later, I STILL have heard nothing.

Now, to further this story, after they deactivated my shops, I opened up a buying account on Etsy, for the SOLE purpose of contacting my friends that also sell on Etsy, and for buying items. Last year, in SEVEN MONTHS, I would guess I spent close to $2500 on Etsy, buying supplies, gifts, etc. I kid you not. Don't tell my husband. Well, the other day, I got an email from Etsy saying that they noticed I opened a few more accounts (I'm guessing they probably closed my sisters' buying accounts too, since they came over here for me to open them, we'll find out next time THEY go on to buy) and they closed them. And that any attempt to open future accounts would result in THOSE being closed too, without further notice.

So, I emailed them again and asked them if I was not welcome to buy on Etsy either. No response. Of course.

I tell you all this because Etsy has gone to the DOGS. I don't know where to get out that they are doing this, because obviously, if I don't have an account, I can't post it in the forums, and my blog isn't read enough to make a difference. BUT YOURS IS. I would guess that last year, my sister's spent a bit of $$ on Etsy as well in those other accounts, but I don't know if they are closed because I don't remember my sisters' passwords. Only a very few select people knew I had opened MY account to buy stuff. The only way I can think that they "found" me is through my ISP.

That in itself is disturbing. That they are so concerned about a SINGLE PERSON that they troll for their ISP activity instead of worrying about the real resellers, the shitty site development and slumping sales.

Just as a side note, when I asked why my headbands were so offensive, when so many other's were selling the same thing, only not handmade, they told me to flag them. Without an account, I can't flag. So, I've been inundating support@etsy and abuse@etsy with links. :-D I'm a bitch and I freely admit it.

Of course, I've not heard back on those either.

Since Rokali asked us to send on trainwreck letters we got, and we think this qualifies, we sent this on to His Cupcakeness. We'll let you know if they do anything with the numerous failures in this letter.

From the Auxillary Desk

I have an Etsy bitch. Today I learned through a customer that Etsy has disabled my account. I have not received one word of notification as to why my account has become deactivated. I have no non-delivery disputes that are open. Nothing. I emailed Etsy only to find out that my account was deactivated because of my affiliation (meaning she helped me set up my store) with another Etsy member who had a personal falling out with Etsy. Now, what right does Etsy have to terminate my account privileges without my knowledge because I had gotten help from a family friend who no longer has a relationship with Etsy?

Sadly, we are seeing this more and more.

They seem to be shutting down sellers with a history of asking questions and not offering reasons why they were shut down with a uninformative form letter, if anything. Every week we hear of another one. Voices that called out for Etsy to straighten up and behave like a company and not a clique of vengeful children are vanishing faster and faster. Now they are dipping into the "friends of our enemies" level to close down.

Shade Jewelry is gone now after a unreasonable buyer organized against him, Etsy went to far as to even delete his "Quit your day job" feature. Verybigjen was shut down last month, and she still has no idea why it was done last we heard. Are they trying to polish the turd for investors by cutting off dissenters and try to repair their quickly tarnishing image with reviewers and the press? We don't know.

If they wanted to repair any damage done to their name they could start by oh... fixing all those bugs, making improvements, getting an actual customer service team and phone numbers and be proactive by listening to and giving sellers tools that other competitors now excel at and not being forward and communicating all the recent site issues (remember those sincere sounding promises to communicate better? We knew it wouldn't stick for even a week). They could, but they won't. This is Etsy. We've screaming till we are blue in the face for over a year now, and they are dead set in thier arrogant ways.

Hell at this point we'd be pretty happy with them just not being asshats for a couple days. But we know that won't happen either.


(If you've been shut down without cause, reason or explaination - write and tell us! Provide the address of your new store and we'll link you in a future story listing all the recent closures.)