Etsy's bad press gets colorful

For those of us familiar with the Etsy site, we know we can buy several ways – categories, search, seller list, time machine, colors – but for those who are new to the site, there are just a bunch of graphics they have to sort through and decide where to click.

One such person ended up putting Etsy at #2 on their list of websites that suck! Why? Because of the flash abhorration that is the color picker.

Currently at the top of ‘Ways to shop’ on the front page of Etsy, this tool invites new visitors and buyers to click and find something in a color of their choice. The only problem is that is doesn’t work. What you end up with is a hodge podge of items that may have that color, or a similar color, somewhere in the photo of that item. Supposedly the tool picks from somewhere near the border of the photo upon listing. But who the hell knows!? It doesn’t work! And outside sources agree.

What’s particularly troubling is that this is what greets new shoppers. And it isn’t the only pain in the ass feature on the site. Just the one highlighted by a programmer’s annual list of sites he finds annoying. Which isn’t good press, especially since he has a point.

When the list of sellers is at the bottom of the ‘Buy’ page, having the color picker at the top of ways to shop is just insulting.

Sure, it gives people something fun to do…for 5 minutes. And man hours were spent developing it. Which makes me wonder again what the hell they’re thinking.