Etsy

I will never do business again with Michelle Evans or her Etsy shop MichiCouture. Here's why I'm very disappointed not only were Etsy not bubble wrapped, only in a silky pouch, but the glue was still soaking wet and the pieces were coming off. That's how I received these finished bling cases.The Eiffel Tower was half off, so I took it off and the rest of the pieces on the case peeled off like a sheet of paper. Michelle was nice enough to throw in a compact for me purchasing two cases, although the compact case did not have rhinestones on it as her shop does. The tissue paper was glued onto the flower which I couldn't get off. Michelle admitted to doing them last minute and not letting them fully dry with her big fan. The cases had to have been made the day of the initial email regarding the status of delivery because the glue was still wet and Michelle said she was in a rush making them and getting them out admitting she didn't let the glue dry all the way. I think that is terrible and I'm very upset knowing she won't refund because she says she's in debt. Michelle admits via email to rushing the cases and not letting the glue dry, then why can't you give me a refund, I spent $96.25 only to get a half job done, terrible. I even offered to ship all her pieces everything back. Her last email was very unprofessional. This is what made me change my mind about leaving a negative review. This email is highly unprofessional and what I got out of it was she won't refund because she needs the money. One of the last emails was Michelle swearing at me. How awful for a business owner

"MichiCouture's Shop Announcement Policy"
"Each phone is custom made and "can possibly take 2-3 weeks to make."

My order was not shipped until Feb 17th only because I had reminded Michelle via email asking about the status of my order on Feb 16th. 2-3 weeks have exhausted so I wrote a nice email asking about the status of my order

I filed a dispute, sent over every single email conversation we had and sent pictures. I was refunded, but not by Michelle.

I want to prevent this from happening to anyone else buying from Etsy Shop MichiCouture owner Michelle Evans

I've been buying on Etsy since 2013 and I just opened my own shop on there last year. I would highly recommend buying on Etsy, but if you are a seller please be aware Etsy will nickel and dime you to death and will make it difficult to get your items seen if you don't pay for their "promoted" listings. Etsy charge you a fee for shipping (even though YOU pay for shipping to customers yourself and Etsy has nothing to do with it!) a fee for each of your for listings and of course they take a percentage of the sale. Now there is a tax that shows up when you make sales to certain states. In the last year they started a campaign where they promote "free shipping" seller's listings above all others- basically ensuring that the sellers that already sell mass quantities continue to get prime spots in the search and those of us that have to charge for shipping (because we are single-person operations and cannot afford to offer free shipping...) get knocked to the bottom of the listing feed. This has taken my daily clicks on items from 30-40 a day to zero some days since the change. It's so disheartening after all the work I put into my shop. Customer service is extremely friendly and empathize when you have an issue, but their hands are tied and they have no real power to change anything. Etsy will also hold your money for days- sometimes more than a week after sale! If you are counting on the sale money to be able to ship the item then you end up risking an unhappy customer who has to wait- just because Etsy can't immediately deposit your funds for no reason at all. (And thanks to Amazon most customers EXPECT their item to be sent immediately and arrive in two days... even though that is completely unreasonable to expect from a seller who is doing this as a side job!) It used to be a great site to buy quality handmade artisan goods, but now it seems like anything goes... most of the listings are just wholesale items from China. If Etsy could try to make more of an effort to return to its craftsy/artsy roots and encourage sellers instead of making it so difficult for them to succeed it would be nice, but as with most of these corporations... I won't hold my breath. I'm working on building my own site for future sales so I won't be put out of business by greedy corporate fees by Etsy.

I never sold anything on Etsy before and, after the misfortune of using their services, I don't think I ever will.

Earlier today, a tiny little thought ran across my mind and it whispered to me "maybe I could open an online store with Etsy to sell some digital photos" seeing I successfully sold them before in the past on several different sites and had no trouble with any of them, but it's been a long time since I dropped that hobby, and I thought Etsy would be a great place to sell, seeing its prominent theme is "Creativity."

So, I opened up a store and made one listing. That's right. Just one single listing and it was at a very reasonable price. I sent my ID for verification, bank details for receiving payments, and debit card details for billing. I got confirmation that my store is up and running and I was quite thrilled.

But, foolish me didn't predict the tragedy about to strike within the next 10 minutes, for I was then caught off guard by being unable to log back into my account or make any further changes to my Etsy shop. I was puzzled, but soon the great discovery was unravelled when I attempted to log back in, and, much to my horror, after typing in my credentials and hitting the "enter" key, a red menacing banner loomed over the screen, reading: "Account Has Been Deactivated."

All photos I list and sell has been taken by none other than myself, so I wasn't pulling a copyright infringement issue. The photo wasn't even of an offensive nature - it was a picture of a bird. The price I set was very reasonable, in fact cheaper, compared to competitive listings, and this was literally the first, and thankfully last selling account made with Etsy.

I would show the listing, but, as my account has been deactivated, I am only able to show the "Account Deactivated" photo.

In the tiny light from all of this, I notice that this is a punitive pattern particularly for new vendors who have literally done nothing wrong. It can also affect seasoned vendors, but usually over one tiny setback, mistake and/or inconvenience beyond their control.

So, Etsy, thank you very much for how you implement your very reasonable punishment system. It's nice to know the spirit of the Schutzstaffel still lives on.

Peace.

I have been a buyer on Etsy.com for some time and have probably purchased over 200 items there. In general the sellers are nice entrepreneurs running their small businesses in a friendly and fair manner. Beware though, there is NO back up if you run into a dishonest seller!

The Etsy team supposedly backs up buyers if there is a claim and the site even boasts that
Etsy will refund money for buyers who order items from sellers who don't ship them or if the item doesn't match what you order. NOTHING COUND BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!

If you happen to purchase from a dishonest seller on ETSY my experience in both cases where this happened is that the ETSY staff did not support me (the buyer) at all and I ended up with a financial loss in addition to not having what I ordered.

The latest issue I had was that a seller there, Cultural Display (http://www.etsy.com/shop/CultureDisplay?ref=seller_info) sold me an antique heavy glass jadeite bowl. It arrived as shattered glass which I could hear clinking when I lifted up the box. I went to the post office and asked for help in collecting the insurance in the package which the seller had paid for. USPS opened the box in front of me and found no protective padding around the, now shattered, glass bowl. I obtained a receipt from USPS stating that Etsy would not cover the insurance because the merchant had not used protective packaging on the item and was advised to 'refuse delivery' so that it would return to the seller.

The seller was really angry with me that I could not get USPS to cover the insurance and refused to give me a refund. So... I submitted a dispute claim to ETSY. Here is their response:

"This is Eva from Etsy's Trust and Safety team. I have reviewed this case, and it seems that the items in question have been damaged by the shipping service.

Unfortunately, in this scenario, we are not able to mediate this dispute using the case system. For this reason, I am going to close this case. "

So... the situation is that
1. The seller made a mistake in packaging resulting in a broken item
2. The post office will not cover the breakage since it obviously was not their fault
3. Despite proof in the form of a USPS receipt and letter the ETSY team still found them at fault and decided I am the one that is stuck with this

Buyer beware on ETSY! And one of the sellers to stay away from is Cultural Display.

IMPORTANT: "YOU ARE NOT BUYING DIRECTLY FROM ETSY, BUT FROM ONE OF THE MANY TALENTED SELLERS ON ETSY;
ETSY DOES NOT PRE-SCREEN SELLERS AND THEREFORE DOES NOT GUARANTEE OR ENDORSE ANY ITEMS SOLD ON ETSY OR ANY CONTENT POSTED BY SELLERS (SUCH AS PHOTOGRAPHS OR LANGUAGE USED IN LISTINGS OR SHOP POLICIES); CAMILLE, ETSY INC.
SO
DO NOT BY FROM ANY ETSY SELLER WHO WILL NOT GIVE RETURNS BEFORE THOROUGHLY CHECKING THEM OUT!
DO NOT BUY FROM SELLERS OUT OF THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES WHO REFUSE TO GIVE RETURNS OR SITE REASONS SUCH AS HYGIENE CONCERNS OR USAGE WITHOUT FIRST CHECKING THEM OUT. MANY SELLARS WHO REFUSE RETURNS ON THESE GROUNDS USE THEM AS AN EXCUSE TO NOT TAKE PRODUCTS BACK EVEN WHEN THEY'VE MADE MISTAKES ON YOUR ORDER. MAKE SURE THAT THINGS LIKE REMOVING AN ITEM FROM THE PACKAGE DOESN'T CONSITUTE "USE" IN THE MIND OF THE SELLER.
REMEMBER, YOU HAVE SOME RECOURSE THROUGH CONSUMER ORGANIZATIONS IF YOU BUY FROM A U.S. VENDOR, THAT RECOURSE RAPIDLY DISAPPEARS WITH VENDORS FROM OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY.
ALWAYS READ MORE THAN THE FIRST FEW REVIEWS. MISTAKES MAY BE FAR AND FEW BETWEEN BUT YOU WANT AT LEAST SOME IDEA OF HOW THEY'RE HANDLED BY THE SELLER. ALSO CHECK THE PROFILES OF THOSE LEAVING THE REVIEW.
DO NOT FOR ONE MINUTE THINK THAT ETSY TRUST AND SAFETY WILL HELP YOU WITH AN ISSUE BE YOU BUYER OR SELLER. IT'S CONSIDERED A FORUM FOR THE INDIVIDUALS TO HASH IT OUT. ETSY WANTS NO PART OF IT EVEN THOUGH UNETHICAL SELLERS ARE A DIRECT REFLECTION ON TH
WATCH OUT USING PAYPAL. I LOVE THE SERVICE AND USE IT ON A REGULAR BASIS, BUT its DISPUTE METHOD AND PURCHASE PROTETCTION AREN'T USEFUL WHEN AN UNETHICAL SELLER IS DETERMINED TO KEEP YOUR MONEY. PAYPAL HAS A PROCESS, BUT CHANCES ARE YOU'VE CONTACTED THE SELLER ALREADY AND THEY'VE VOICED THEIR INTENT NOT TO COMPLY
IF YOU TRULY WANT TO RISK AN OUT OF COUNTRY ORDER OPT FOR CREDIT CARD PAYMENT IF AT ALL POSSIBLE
Now let's get down to business.
This is a call to task for Magic Tribal Hair and Etsy for certain business practices. It pains me to do so because Ive been a shopper on Etsy for several years and have never had to file a dispute with any seller. My dispute against Magic Tribal Hair was registered with Etsy Trust and Safety on July 4,2016 and escalated on July 11,2016. Etsy has yet to supply any real indication whatsoever that Etsy are investigating. I contacted the CEO to no avail. I called the only available number for Etsy and received a message to the effect that they do not take this type of call. I was then referred back to the page where I could request a phone call. This number was currently unavailable. This is a common complaint of sellers and buyers when trying to navigate Etsy's ineffectual dispute system.
With no apparent recourse for my complaint I chose to open a case with the Better Business Bureau. This case was forwarded to Etsy who took 48 hours to respond. As per Camille, Etsy abdicates all responsibility in the matter suggesting it's merely an outlet for many talented sellers. However it's an outlet that attempts to control what is said about the sellers, and frequently pulls down from their forums any identifying information about unethical sellers. They are more than happy to pull down a review that they feel doesn't meet their guidelines and don't seem perturbed by abusive seller responses to a poor revue. All too often the entire content of a forum complaint is missing. You are left with a handful of answers and forced to extrapolate the question. I'll take unethical business practices on the part of Etsy vendors for $1000 Alex!. I have asked repeatedly for someone at Etsy to read the conversations between Magic Tribal Hair and myself. They show quite clearly what lead to my wish to return all purchased items, photographs, excuses and fabrications, hell blatant lies on the part of the seller, and a more real time view of both sides of the issue. Camille was also quite clear in stating the Etsy phone policy. In fact this was what was written in the statement i received from Etsy:
IN THE COMPLAINT, THE CUSTOMER ALSO STATED THAT SHE EXPERIENCED TROUBLE CONTACTING ETSYS CUSTOMER SUPPORT BY PHONE. THE CUSTOMER MAY NOTE THAT ETSY IS ONLY ABLE TO OFFER SUPPORT VIA TELEPHONE THROUGH THE REQUEST A PHONE CALL TOOL. INFORMATION ABOUT THIS TOOL CAN BE FOUND THROUGH THE FOLLOWING HELP PAGE: HTTPS://WWW.ETSY.COM/HELP/ARTICLE/4872

I can't stress this enough. I indicated in my BBB complaint that i called the Etsy number, *******955. From there i was redirected to my case and a request button to click on that wasn't working. I could not make a request for a phone call. These the exact words i used in my BBB complaint:
THE PHONE NUMBER GIVEN DIRECTS YOU BACK TO YOUR COMPLAINT WHERE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO REQUEST A PHONE CALL FROM ETSY, BUT THIS SERVICE IS UNAVAILABLE.
The entire tone of Etsy's response to my complaint leads me to believe that Etsy Trust and Safety is nothing more than an opportunity for unethical sellers to run out the clock on claims and Etsy refuses to recognize the acts of these sellers is a reflection on them. All Etsy seemed concerned with is not being the one returning my payment. I never asked for that, what i wanted all along was for someone to read the convos. If payment is to be returned i want it to come from Magic Tribal Hair, but apparently all Etsy has to offer is a resolution system that is designed to resolve nothing. As a result I'm left with no choice but to take it into a public forum. So yes, this is about Magic Tribal Hair, but Etsy is included also for its refusal to get involved when a vendor using their service and name takes advantage of a seller or sellers.

So here we go.
The following includes a description of events from the time the order was placed until the present. I have screen grabbed all conversations and am more than happy to supply them. My missive to the CEO is also available. All Better Business Bureau are publically available.
The chain of events is as follows:
On May 22nd and 24th of 2016 I purchased several hair pieces from Magic Tribal Hair through Etsy.

Melanie Penners
Schlegelstraße 30
50935 Cologne
Germany

She had many items for sale including hair falls, braids, and yarn dreads. Her Etsy store pages made no mention of textural differences in the Kankelon hair she uses could be associated with color difference, that I should order, taking dye lots into account. Or that multiple items and/or different textured items shouldn't/can't be worn together.

My order was as follows:

1 set of custom 50cm/20" chignon braids
1 custom Gretel hair band
1 set medieval hair falls

All items were ordered in #30 Light Copper.

Through Etsy convos I discussed with the shop owner not only the connector I would like, how I was planning to use it, but the reason I felt the connector I chose would be more than adequate. At no time during these convos, did the seller suggest I use a different connector, that the project I was planning was an impossible flight of fancy, that the hair falls and braided items shouldn't/can't be worn together, that different textures along the same color line are different colors, or the presence of dye lots. All of this would have changed my order.

In subsequent convos there was mention made of her order arriving without the #30 light copper. This happens and I indicated I left me good deal of lead time between my order and when I would actually need the items. There was also something about shipping, but again at the time I wasn't in a particular hurry. Still, no mention was made of color differences and dye lots and I was never asked if I would like to adjust my order accordingly before the project was started.

The braids and head band arrived first. They seemed somewhat dark, but I have several wigs that color and it can be hard to determine actual color on a computer monitor. There was also a great deal of visible glue however, the project I intended would cover my natural hair so the color was perfectly acceptable and any glue would be well hidden.

The falls arrived several days later. Upon opening the box, and without need of comparison, it was clear the falls were much lighter in color. Again their was also a considerable amount of visible glue. This is where the fun started. I sent pictures showing the color difference and received an email back stating, "THANK YOU FOR YOUR MESSAGE AND I'M SORRY TO HEAR YOU ARE NOT 100% HAPPY WITH THE BRAIDED HAIR PIECES." This was followed by:

I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT, THERE IS A SLIGHT COLOR DIFFERENCE ALTHOUGH ALL ITEMS ARE MADE OF EXACTLY THE SAME HAIR AND HAIR COLOR. I MADE THEM ALL OF COLOR 30 BUT THE DIFFERENT TEXTURES AND THE TREATMENT OF THE HAIR CAUSES THE SLIGHT DIFFERENCE IN COLORS. THAT IS WHY THE WAVY HAIR IS NOT AS BRIGHT AS THE CRIMPED HAIR IN THE OTHER PIECES. THIS DIFFERENCE CAUSED BY TEXTURE IS INEVITABLE AND WE CANNOT POIT OUT THIS DIFFERENCE IN THE COLOR CHARTS, BECAUSE IT IS NOT REALLY PREDICTABLE. ONE FACTOR IS THAT COLORS SLIGHTLY CHANGE IN VERY FINE NUANCES FROM THE MANUFACTURER NOW AND THEN. IT IS THE SAME AS WITH WOOL, WHERE YOU SHOULD NOT KNIT ONE PIECE WITH WOOL FROM DIFFERENT CHARGES (THEY HAVE NUMBERS TO DISTINGUISH). AND THE OTHER FACTOR IS INOUR HAND-MADE PRODUCTION: SINCE THE TEXTURES ARE HAND-MADE SOMETIMES THE COLOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT TEXTURES ARE MORE, SOMETIMES THEY ARE LESS, THIS IS NOTHING PREDICTABLE.

I HOPE YOU WILL LIKE YOUR HAIR PIECES ANYWAY ESPECIALLY SINCE NOT ALL OF THEM ARE WORN AT THE SAME TIME.

I indicated that was how I intended to use them, together. I reprinted the convo explaining how I was going to use them. The seller got progressively more abusive. She became accusatory insisting I was "misusing" her hair pieces. She went on ad nausea about how I couldn't do my craft project. That I should have gotten the other connector. All this at the point where I was suggesting making this info more clear upfront, making it easier for people to order. It was even suggested I take $100 worth of hair, unbraid it and experiment to get it the right color. A process that can't even be done on the head band. Finally exasperated by this individual I said I wanted to return both orders. Then the seller got real nasty. At this point I did post a well deserved negative review that didn't meet Etsy guidelines. It was summarily taken down including the oh so deserved one star for customer service. I was accused of attempting to unleash a "$#*! storm" of bad publicity. Deserved bad publicity as the seller seemed far more concerned with the prospect of keeping the money, than she was with customer service.

So to sum up: in her own words she can't supply a consistent product because textural differences and her "process" result in color differences. Colors come in dye lots so unless you can indicate you want a single dye lot you take what you get. You can't possibly use her products together because mixing textures is considered a misuse of her product tantamount to the illegal use of oxycotin, let's not forget she doesn't feel the need to tell you any of this prior to sale. She won't bring it up in subsequent convos, in fact she'll make no mention of it before starting the project. Also remember none of this became an issue until after I called the seller on the noticeable color difference

Well this isn't my first rodeo. Ive worked quite a bit with Kankelon hair. I proceeded to buy bags of regular and textured hair off Amazon, from multiple suppliers, all using the same color code number. Imagine my excitement at finding out there was a color that's a near perfect match to my own hair, #27. I ordered #27 because it made proving my point less expensive. Bags and bags arrived from 3 different vendors, no color difference between textures, no dye lots listed anywhere. Simply, no matter where I bought it, I consistently got the same color. With all this hair in hand I proceeded to make the two falls and three braids and affix them to the rigid head band like I had originally intended. Though told you can't possibly use five the finished product contains 7 hair pieces, nine if you figure one of the pieces is made from 3 individual units.

Having opened the dispute with Etsy, and with evidence at the ready I posted pictures of the sales indicating the multiple purchases of both standard straight and braiding hair from multiple vendors, as well as pictures of the craft project that couldn't possibly work containing multiple hair textures, using multiple production methods, and everything magically the same color. I also stated that use was at the discretion of the buyer. The seller does not get to decide how, when, or where an item is used. Of course all this went through Etsy Trust and Safety which means it's apparently completely ignored. What I did get was a complaint on the part of the seller that posting evidence refuting her statements had nothing to do with the case. Possibly a curious quirk of the German legal system.

Well in the presence of the fact that I proved in multiple instances the seller's statements about texture, dye lots and process are only true for her. That the project I intended could be easily completed. That textures and hair pieces can be mixed and mounted on a rigid head band, I have to conclude statements made by the seller were a weak attempt at not making good on her mistakes. In fact through all of this the seller has never posted anything more evidentiary than because I say so. Even if everything she says is the gods honest truth it should have been clearly stated on her site to avoid ordering problems, if not on the site, in subsequent convos during the process of discussing connectors. With so much opportunity to get it right there really is no excuse for getting it wrong.

Finally after telling you they actually do nothing, Camille is very clear when it comes to what Etsy doesn't do, Etsy will tell you they have no power to force a seller to return money. Its my humble opinion, but I would venture to say this isn't true. Their power lies in the ability to suspend an individuals shop after and only after a proper investigation. If the shop is found to be acting in a fashion that doesn't reflect well on Etsy the choice is evident, make it right or have your shop suspended for a given period of time. You see despite their claims otherwise shops are linked to the Etsy name. You hear phrases like, I got it on Etsy, or I bought it from so and so, they're on Etsy. When it all goes horribly wrong it becomes don't shop on Etsy, not don't by from so and so.

In light of their abdication of all responsibility and as long as it can't be guaranteed that there are protections for buyers or sellers, it's clear no one in good conscience can recommend Etsy as a place to shop. Sellers, they don't even remove disputed shops from a persons feed. Precious space is wasted advertising the wares of people you will never do business with again. They also offer no way of bookmarking a site without clicking favorite shop. This is a distinction that can only truly be made after you've delt with a vendor. It's deceptive, and when you realize who you're dealing with never warranted that little heart, unfavorite you may, but once again their wares rep[eatedly show up in your feed. In short, SHOP AT YOUR OWN RISK because Etsy is no help when a vendor using their service takes advantage of a buyer. Etsy is just Etsy, by their own admission they don't stand for honesty, quality, or any of the other characteristics by which you would judge a business. They are a clearing house of unvetted shop owners for which they claim no responsibility, the vast majority of which are wonderful. Unfortunately you have no reasonable expectation that those that act in a dishonest, unethical fashion will be delt with when their practices are brought to light. Sadly youre just flying blind.

As of 7-25-2016 Etsy closed thje case saying part of the oprder was used:

HELLO, THIS IS DREW FROM ETSY'S TRUST & SAFETY TEAM. THANKS FOR UPDATING THE CASE LOG.

BECAUSE PART OF THE ORDER WAS USED, WE ARE NOT ABLE TO MEDIATE THIS DISPUTE USING THE CASE SYSTEM. FOR THIS REASON, I AM GOING TO CLOSE THIS CASE. YOU ARE WELCOME TO CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER TO RESOLVE THIS TRANSACTION OUTSIDE OF THE CASE SYSTEM.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ETSY'S CASE SYSTEM CAN BE FOUND HERE: HTTPS://WWW.ETSY.COM/HELP/ARTICLE/4521

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE WITH THIS PROCESS, AND I'M VERY SORRY THERE ISN'T MORE WE CAN DO TO HELP.

The items in question were removed only once from their packaging to photograph them in an attempt to show the color difference. The items couldn't have been used because I purchased hair ion #27 to complete my project. A color I found only because I was forced to find an alternative to complete my project. It still proves that dye lots are nothing more than an excuse with no basis in fact, and there are no color differences between textures. Innless of course this issue exists only for magic tribal hair and light copper#30.

So in closing Etsy does not vet it's sellers, has a totally ineffectual dispute system designed to resolve nothing, It makes accusations with no foundation in fact, and doesn't require it's sellers to probe the validity of their statements.

L. China Mayhew

Etsy deleted a review regarding a seller because it was NOT 5 stars without any communication with me (the buyer). Why ask for reviews if you are going to delete them after everything under the sun has been tried to rectify the problem. Allow the review to stand.
BEWARE of the following company: KROMMdesign out of Montreal, Canada.

The following is a review that I wrote regarding this company about a product I bought from them.

Arrived DAMAGED in 3 different places!

I have waited until now to write a review because I would have written a completely inappropriate critique filled with inexplicable epithets if I had done so at the time of the arrival of the table. I was that mad and angry!

The packaging (if you can call what the table arrived in packaging) was completely useless for this endeavor. The outside box was nothing more than many broken down cartons that were taped together to form one large outer container to hold the table.

Let me give you the dimensions of the table: Length = 54 inches. Width = 22 inches. Height = 19 inches. Weight = 65 lbs. You did not have to be an engineer to see that this was NOT going to end well once the table was shipped.

Inside the box. The table was wrapped with a very loose fitting sheet of canvas. The rest of the padding inside the box was nothing more than MORE broken down cardboard boxes loosely fitted around the table. That was the padding used to protect this 65 pound table that was to be shipped from Montreal to Tennessee.

It is common knowledge that everything that is shipped is NOT HANDLED WITH CARE! You have to be proactive and protect the product you are shipping to the hilt. I wish Etsy had simply asked me and I would have been happy to send them more money to invest in appropriate packing materials. I would have been happy to protect my $1300. 00 investment. They shipped this on the cheap and it is completely indefensible. There is NO JUSTIFICATION for the manner in which this was shipped.

All I can say to anyone reading this is: BUYER BEWARE, BUYER BEWARE, BUYER BEWARE!

First of all, I was not only a buyer on etsy, but a seller with all 5 star reviews and perfect customer service. I loved etsy and it was like a dream come true. I hand made ALL my own products from scratch. Etsy shut my shop down saying my products didn't fit in with their "hand made" theme. I wrote them at least 30 emails telling them I absolutely do make my own products, so they said I needed to send them receipts and photos of all my supplies. It was a huge undertaking but I did it, then I waited... and waited... and waited. I heard nothing and kept asking what's going on.

Well, those A-Holes STILL wouldn't reopen my shop. WHY? I gave them irrefutable proof. Nope, they didn't care one bit. I worked so hard on my shop but what you have are these young little b*tches working there that are sitting there enjoying playing with people's lives and livelihoods. They WANT to see you squirm, beg and suffer. This is what they get off on. And here's the funny thing... there were pages and pages of products being sold on etsy that were 100% manufactured by supplement companies, cosmetic companies, and tons of other companies in China. Hello? WTF? I was making them money. It was a win win situation all the way around. They didn't care.

There were a million others just like me opening shops hoping for success and a better life for themselves. I was nothing to etsy. And here's another kicker... they suspended me from even shopping on etsy. WHAT? And what the hell did I do wrong that they would keep me from spending my money there? There's no rhyme or reason. They're scumbags that don't care about anything but themselves. There is NO customer service. Just a couple of snot faced b*tches sitting around drinking lattes and laughing at sellers and buyers who get screwed over by them and scam sellers.

UGH! It's been a year and I'm STILL not over it. I've never recovered financially from it. And what's worse is that there is NO other site that compares. I know that sounds contradictory, but it was amazing for me as a seller and all my customers loved me and praised my customer service.

So I have advice for both sellers and buyers:

Sellers- Don't put all your eggs in one basket. No, there is no other site that compares to etsy... when all is well, but it's just a matter of time before they pull the rug out from under you. It's happened to people that had been on there for 5 years and it can happen to you, so don't get too comfortable because they do not care one bit if selling on etsy is how you feed your family. And believe me, there is no amount of pleading, begging, sob stories, or anything else you could think up to do that will make them change their minds. They are heartless and evil. If your products are hand made, check out Amazon's new "hand made" section of their site. It's for people like you and I who take pride in our work and offer quality products.

Buyers- This is going to be short and simple. Do NOT use any other form of payment but Paypal. I know, they kind of suck too, but listen, at least you have some recourse if you don't get what you paid for. They tend to side with customers rather than the sellers. At least this is my experience. As a matter of fact, unless you're buying something on Amazon, use PayPal if it's an option. Protect yourself and do NOT forget to look at reviews on etsy or Bonanza.

Anyway, there's my two cents. I hope it helps someone.

Etsy is set up to support the worst kind of individuals who can't cut life in the real world of business. It attracts the mentally ill who have no business being a business and don't even have a business license, or can even be looked up online. This so called business is the worst I've ever encountered.

Buyer beware of Jay's Religious Gifts. This psychotic individual who actually has the audacity to sell sacred, holy, religious materials. I have never felt so scammed in my life. In a time of need in my life I tried to purchse a sacred, holy Saint to get me through this tough time. After a week and merely creating a shipping label and lying to say it was shipped, I asked for a refund. The seller continued to lie and say Etsy had shipped it. Then for some psychotic reason I don't understand, shipped it and continued their lie.

Fast forward, eventually the seller told me not to contact them again, which etsy reiterated to me. What?!?! The seller lied the entire time and Etsy sided with them. Also, after I left my feedback, the psycho continued to insult and demean me, I guess I just need to take it.

I have had to dispute the charge on my debit card and file a BBB complaint. Waiting for resolution. I will NEVER subject myself to another psycho pretending to be a professional or real business owner. Never again Etsy.

Update: I refused the package (return to sender). That was the only thing Etsy would acknowledge in my favor. The seller STILL continued her games, saying then, once she had received it, she would refund me, which I'm sure was yet another lie.

Etsy had to threaten her at that point to issue me a refund. She never even intended on it, when clearly I had returned it. Funny, she wanted me to trust she had sent it, clearly when she had not. Then, when I had proved through tracking it was ACTUALLY in transit, unlike how it happened sending it to me, she still played her miserable game. What a psycho b! Tch. The lengths she went to to carry out this ridiculous lie. For what? She ended up out the shipping cost, to prove me wrong?

Buyer beware on Etsy. There are some great items and sellers, but some real psychos (Jay's was not the only one). Just be advised, when sh! T goes wrong, you are at the mercy of that seller, whatever they want to make up, or do. I closed my account, realizing what Etsy is really about. Making dat money at any cost. Because I guess they screw the sellers too.

People might not aware that purchasing goods from scammers is to support bad businesses therefore can bring bad luck to home. Here is how we suffered from a Etsy cheating scammer MaljiArts:
(1) In early August, the Etsy seller MaljiArts took our order of a customized carving of sandalwood item for US$900 that shipping in 25 days, with US$500 deposit and balance of US$400 payable before shipping the item. But MaljiArts never worked on this order seriously; (2) MaljiArts made us work very hard for two months to teach him how to correct all his negligent mistakes by describing the meanings of our design. Until On 30th September, MaljiArts suddenly stopped replying to our messages. (3) We reported this problem to Etsy Chat staff because we could not reach MaljiArts. Thereafter, an Etsy support staff informed us that he has contacted MaljiArts and MaljiArts suddenly messaged us to ask a question of the item's design detail. (4) The Etsy support staff also advise us to "keeping a strong line of communication with the seller in regards to this order" after reading our message conversations with MaljiArts during the two months of teaching the seller. Therefore, we asked MaljiArts to set up a proper selling listing (Etsy staff told us that MaljiArts did not do so when requested the US$500 deposit) for us to pay the balance of US$400 and to ship the item after one week. In fact, the entire carving of the item should have been completed in about a week).

(5) On October 7th, 2020, MaljiArts suddenly "closed" our order and told us and the Etsy support staff, that Etsy won't sell the item and would "refund" us our US$500 deposit the same day (. (6) We have to follow MaljiArts' instruction to request the US$500 refund via PayPal, but MaljiArts canceled our request by giving us a different PayPal email account. We immediately used the new PayPal account that given by MaljiArts to send the refund request again, MaljiArts still playing trick with PayPal but do not pay the money (today is October 15th).

Furthermore, (7) In the meantime, MaljiArts made a listing to sell the near completed order of our design. We only realised at this point in time that MaljiArts is not only a scammer but also a thief, they stole our design and even used our explanation as their Etsy listing description.(8) Since we continually reported to the Etsy that MaljiArts still don't pay their initiated "refund" of the US$500, MaljiArts sent us and the Etsy support staff, their chat screenshot with PayPal, to tell us that Maljiarts DO NOT have money in their PayPal account to pay their US$500 refund to us. Therefore, the refund is not paid because MaljiArts asked PayPal to use PayPal's money to pay the US$500 refund and book it as a "negative amount" to MaljiArts' PayPal account. MaljiArts have said to everyone that: now it is PayPal's responsibility to pay the US$500 to us, that it has nothing to do with MaljiArts' anymore.

What a completely professional scam! It is far beyond our imagination that this can happen on Etsy's selling platform with Etsy's support. We are telling this horrible experience in this review and other review platform regarding Etsy. Now, we paid this Etsy seller MaljiArts US$500 and worked extremely hard for two months to teach MalljiArts for them to steal our original design work. Etsy wanted to use $50 gift card as the solution for this problem, and PayPal informed us that: "M AND R HANDICRAFTS (MaljiArts' PayPal account) has made a partial refund offer for $50.00 USD. We encourage you to respond to M AND R HANDICRAFTS as soon as possible to resolve your issue... If you're unable to resolve this issue with the seller, you or the seller can escalate it to a PayPal claim before 27 October 2020. Otherwise, this case will be automatically closed on 27 October 2020. Once a case has been closed, it can't be reopened or escalated to a PayPal claim".

We informed Etsy that we do not take Etsy's $50 gift card for this problem and refused MaljiArts' partial $50 refund offer with PayPal. Therefore our full refund request of US$500 is still handling by PayPal.

The American consumer needs to be very careful about dealing with the website etsy.com. Etsy has fashioned itself as an online platform where people come together to buy and sell goods. However, the piece that the folks who run Etsy are missing and do not seem to care is the safety and protection of buyers from unscrupulous sellers who deliberately pass their fake merchandise off as real.

I made a purchase 6 months ago from a seller with fake merchandise and a fake name to go along with his Etsy profile. Essentially, the guy used Etsy in order to pull off his scam knowing that the website had no way of vetting him as a seller. More than likely, the seller had been a long time Craigslist scammer and troll, and was caught by law enforcement. Now, he is using other online trading websites such as Etsy to rob people.

Matters went from bad to worse when the lying, stealing and cheating Etsy employees with the Donald Trump mentality sided with the scammer and refused to refund my money. Etsy accepted the fact that the seller was a fraud, however the company is so money hungry, it would tolerate any form of criminal activity just to stay afloat. Etsy's written policy requires a buyer to send back merchandise that is defective or damaged but not fake. If it's fake and you buy it, too bad. I sent back the fake jewelry to the seller with the fake name (Alexander Shayevich) of Flushing, New York to the same UPS Store box number which was on the original shipping label. This is when things became twisted.

Etsy did what Etsy do which was to claim that the jewelry had never been returned or received by the so-called seller and therefore no refund could be issued to me, the buyer of the fake jewelry. Essentially, Etsy took the word of a lying, piece of trash, low-life Russian criminal that he never received the jewelry, over an honest, upstanding member of my community and society. As I stated, it has been more than six months of fighting with Etsy which is akin to trying to rehabilitate a sex offender.

Impossible!

So, please take my story as a cautionary tale about buying from someone on Etsy. If you feel the need to deal with this website, read the reviews very carefully, first. From all appearances, Etsy screws both buyers as well as legitimate sellers out of money. However, the New York State Attorney General has racked up a large number of complaints about Etsy and encourages victims to file complaints with their office. It is also a good idea to contact a local consumer reporter in your city as well as post your negative experience with Etsy online via social media. This spreads the word that Etsy cannot be trusted and that consumers should steer clear of the website.

Etsy is the new craigslist and there is nothing good that could be said about craigslist. If you do not believe me, call your local police department and ask to speak to someone in their Internet crimes division.

The Untold Truth about Etsy Etsy Inc. is NOT BBB ACCREDITED! DO NOT BUY OR SELL from ETSY! YOU WILL REGRET FOREVER! Etsy was a place to shop for handmade items, however, lots of things have changed since the day Etsy opened in 2005. Lots of people has been experienced that Etsy has either shut down their shops or deactivate their account. They said they sent emails to you regarding copyright issues or no reasons at all. However, they never did, but they will never listen to what you have to say, no matter what. There are more than 30,000 items on Etsy as the same thing as they accuse you of copyright; however, they still allow those 30,000 sellers selling the items. WHY?... Because most of them are resellers that make lots of sales by reselling items from China, India, Asia, etc. The more sales those resellers make, the more money Etsy will make. WOW, Etsy can't even match up on what their web site is for - HANDMADE NOT RESELL! You can't even call them either. There is a phone number on the website; however, there is not even a live person to answer your call, only the recording. You can leave as many messages to them. They will NOT return your calls at all. You can only email them - they will take FOREVER to return your email. You can send a email to their CEO - Chad $#*!erson (*******@etsy.com) but will never get a reply at all. He may be only reply on those who want to interview him and DO NOT CARE for his customers at all. WARNING: DO NOT open a shop at Etsy; otherwise you will never know when they will SHUT YOU DOWN! They don't care this is your only job and only income to support your family for food, to pay rent etc. They will just SHUT YOU OFF FOR NO REASONS GIVEN! WORST WEBSITE COMPANY in the whole world. DO NOT BUY OR SELL THERE, you will regret FOREVER! When they close your shop down, they don't even allow you to buy from them. Wow, they really don't want customers at all. If you sell there, how can you get more customers? You can't even say anything bad regarding Etsy on their Forum on their website, they will mute you means you can't participate in the forum or they will shut down your shop to shut you off. Wow, can't even have your own opinion! Just do a search on Google on "Etsy Complaints", you will see too many of articles regarding them. You can report those shops violate the "Etsy Policies", however, if they are power sellers - mean they make many sales, Etsy will not care, it will just let it go since Etsy is in it for the money not anything else. Here are some of the websites of many complaints and there are many more:
Http :// itsaboutprinciple…
http://www.bbb.org/new-y…
http://www.ripoffreport.com
http://etsy-reviews.meas…
Please file any complaints regarding Etsy to the Attorney General in New York:
http://www.ag.ny.gov/int…
Or with the Better Business Bureanu
Http://www.bbb.org/new-y…

I have been selling on Etsy for over 4 years. We had thousands of orders. The customers were quite happy, the score of our shop was about 4.7 out of 5! All the reviews were very positive, except for a few reviews for which we delivered the wrong items or for which the transporters lost the parcel or have delayed the delivery (nobody is perfect, we as a small workshop and company, do also mistakes and we always pro-actively compensate or refund customers whenever such issue happened). In 4 years, we had 4 disputes with customers (out of thousands of orders). All those disputes were due to the transporter's fault (shipping delays). Of course some customers are not willing to understand that WE ARE NOT working for the transporter, and that this situation annoys us as much as them... Regardless, Etsy BANNED US from selling on their store, despite us having a very good rating with our customers, and always trying to find solutions to please them. Etsy did not allow us to make any appeal or whatsoever. I woke up a morning reading an email saying that our store was banned, that I will never be able to open a store anymore on Etsy, and that Etsy would not reply any of my emails after that. I find this treatment really not fair, respectful nor professional for a company listed on the NYSE! After discussing with few other Etsy sellers, I realized that I was not the same in this case, and that Etsy's treatment to its sellers was quite unfair as MANY complained about similar issues, and about the fact to not be protected by Etsy. Some of the sellers on Etsy have been scammed by Etsy customers (received the product but also got their money back for invalid reasons), and Etsy did nothing about it. This is a shame for such company, and that clearly show how those big corporation really treat people. Etsy pretend to help small artisans and artists to develop their business, while the only thing they care about is their own profit and stock prices. Shame on Etsy, I will never sell nor buy anything from them again.

I have been selling on etsy since early '09. It was pretty great at that time, and a decent alternative to ebay. It always bothered me that it was limited in what you are allowed to sell there. For example, I sold high end couture and vintage fashion on ebay, but on etsy, the site rules prevented me from selling anything newer than 20 years old. This has always been a drawback. Etsy should allow the high end couture items, because they are relatively unique pieces and it is recycled fashion, it is always good to reuse and reduce waste, and these pieces are not mass-produced, which is what etsy is about. This rule still exists today, but now, mass produced items are allowed and resale items younger than 20 years old, still not allowed. Etsy has slowly changed in the way sellers are treated too. Fees are still pretty low, but sellers cannot leave feedback for buyers, not even positive feedback. And buyers can't leave feedback for sellers until weeks after they buy the item. By this time, most forget about feedback and move on. Most sales never receive feedback. They also keep aimlessly changing the look of the item pages, and it's never for the better. It seems like they waste a lot of effort/money/time "improving" things on the site that don't need improvement while other things are never even considered for improvement but do need it. The forums are also highly censored. That part is only getting worse. And the punishments are handed down pretty arbitrarily. The threads used to be pretty fun to participate in, even though it sometimes became heated, at least it was real. They've really taken the reality out of it. Also, you have the regular forum visitors that are in constant defense of etsy's unnecessary and lame changes. It just seems like the whole vibe there is going toward censorship, corporatocracy, cookie cutter and plain lameness. Also, the site is now over saturated thanks to the influx of sellers offering mass-produced items, and views have really plummeted, causing sales to plummet as well. Selling used to be relatively easy. You just listed and the item sold a few days later usually. Now, because of a relevancy-based search instead of a chronological one, you can't just relist your item to return it to a higher place in search. You have to constantly re-tweak your SEO to remain relevant. It's so much work for literally a few dollars in profit. The revenue etsy generates for the average seller is a fraction of what you'd receive at an easy part time minimum wage job. The amount of work the maintenance required to sell a $12 item in an etsy shop turns out to pay the seller a few cents per hour. It really has just become overall not worth bothering with for most people. It probably works well for the people who are always featured and re-featured on the main page, i. E., the favorites, which is a whole additional issue. A lot of little things adding up with this site, I'm sure I failed to mention some. If you want to open a shop there, just have low expectations.

The recent changes were really the last draw for me.

As someone who made very few sells, who struggled with even getting views unless I PAID EXTRA for a promotion for my listings, the recent changes of showing "free shipping" items over non-free shipping items was really the last draw for me.
Mind you, I didn't have shipping on anything as I sold digital content, but I was seeing how unfair Etsy was being towards sellers in general. For some, it would be fine. But for others, this just would not be feasible. But Etsy clearly does not care. So many sellers who don't play along will simply get even more buried.

As a buyer, I've never really had any issues that I can recall. Except once I bought from a seller stating Etsy were located in one area but I got the item shipped from somewhere completely different (Isreal) which I thought was suspicious.

It's mainly not the users on the platform that have been a problem. It's been Etsy! The constant site changes and experimentations is too much for some of us. Depending on what you're selling, there are better alternatives (eBay, Mercari, Poshmark, Creative Market, etc.)

Etsy needs to stop trying to be new and edgy and stick to what works. Stop expecting sellers who are already paying listing and selling fees to pay for Promotions just to be seen! I know of many who have closed down shop. No they were not all unsuccessful like me. Some were doing quite well but just would NOT out up with it.

Actually another issue I had with Etsy was the obvious Trademark infringements. This was especially true with t-shirts. Fake well-known name brand shirts were allowed to be posted. Do they not do scans. WE are supposed to report them.

Same as how it seems they rely on US, the users, to help each other in the forums.

I highly doubt I will ever return to Etsy as a seller. I may buy something off Etsy but I'd honestly rather not. I'd rather take my business elsewhere and reward sites that don't treat people the way I feel I've been treated... like I don't matter. (I rarely even have a look around on Etsy anymore. Maybe once or twice a year I'll browse about but that's it.)

ETSY blocked me from "opening a case", against a shop owner, who has a list of rules, so long, you'd decide to cancel.
She did not have any actual conversations with me either.
She updates her rules to suit her narrative, then shoots it to you.
You HAVE to like the item. You are not allowed to write a 1-2 star review.
You have to "ask permission", to return an item. NO CANCELLATIONS.
You have to get the item first, then return it, AFTER asking permission? Its 100% BS.
SHE can talk to ETSY anytime, but I had to wait 2 weeks, and now I'm blocked.
I sent the bracelet back, paid $5.00 to ship it WITH TRACKING, plus I paid for her to ship it, 8 days after ordering.
The bracelets I bought with free shipping, arrived the day, she shipped. I ordered ALL the bracelets the same day from various sellers. No issues with the others. I am a repeat buyer for one order.
Her rule when I ordered, was 3-5 days to ship. Ordered on June 28, so ship date should be 7/2/2021.
She waited until the following Tuesday 7/6/2021... and I PAID extra for this slowness?
Once I received it, I noticed the tassel on the bracelet, was too long. I bake all day and it would get caught on things. That was my reason for returning it. I actually wanted to like it, so I wouldn; t spend $10.00 on shipping to get nothing. That is exactly what happened, because I can't open a case.
The leather on the bracelet isn; t a true brown... its more like baby-poop from breast-fed babies, brown.

"Elizabeth", contradicted her own rules and ETSY does not understand, that I called her names to get her, to get them involved... and it worked.
Etsy are involved, but it's all onesided.
There is no link for me, and 2 weeks went by... so... now WHY CAN'T I OPEN A CASE?
She told her side, and they blocked my messaging.
They demanded I reply to the email they sent me, AND I DID.
I shipped it back, the day it arrived, I put the tracking in the email, ETSY REFUSES to respond to, after ORDERING me, to deal with them via email.
I spend $10,00 on this BS, and now they are balking on giving me a refund of $27.10.
BTW: BETH added a "shop discount code" to make it be on sale, as a tactic, to not allow me to send it back... I SENT IT BACK/FullStop.
GUESS WHAT?
Every state has a "3 day contract cancellation" rule, and Elizabeth has no authority to override it.
Nor does #ETSY

Now, "crickets" from ETSY, so I am telling "MY CASE", on every "review" website I'm able to.
Its very unfair since I was on ETSY for 2 decades, and I never had any issues with sellers.
ELIZABETH from Arizona is a narcissist/control freak.
0 customer service and I'm giving her 0 star review, WITHOUT asking her permission.
#ETSYSUCKS

Etsy has become a site for resellers, retail and mass produced items. Shops that sell 100's per day to 1,000's of items per month are flooding the site. And this is exactly what Etsy wants since it brings them the most revenue. The small individual crafters and artisans items are being drowned out in search. I'm a seller of a home handmade item I make myself. I started selling on Etsy in 2012 and my sales increased every year with 2018 being my best. Then in June of 2019 Josh Silverman ( Etsy's CEO) announced that Etsy would be cutting back on Google Ads in an effort to get sellers to pay for more ads. Since I had never paid for ads and was getting all the sales I cared to make I didn't feel I needed them. That's when my sales crashed and continue to drop. My sales for the second half of 2019 were 23% of the same period for the previous year and continue to drop. Coincidence, I think not. And this was all before COVID-19. I feel it's like racketeering, "now that you've become successful, if you want to stay successful you will have to pay more". When Etsy didn't get the participation Etsy wanted with sellers volunteering to pay for more ads they implemented the Off-Site Ad program. For all shops that have ever sold more than $10K in any 365 day period an additional 12% fee for every sale Etsy brought them through a Google, Instagram, Facebook etc ad. Shops under $10K an additional 15% with an option to opt out. I opted out but I'm getting no sales. It is obvious to me that if I don't agree to pay into the program I'm dead in the water. The fee is in addition to the the already 5% sale fee. That's 17-20% not counting the 3% processing fee. The fee is on the entire total ( item price + sales tax + shipping). For some when it is figured against the item price only it can be as much as 25-30% or more. You may want to consider this before selling on Etsy. My item is time consuming to make and I can't give up that much money and if I raise my prices I can't compete. I was once proud of my success on Etsy, now it has been destroyed because of corporate greed.

In mid-June I have purchased a handmade pillow from Etsy shop BlanketsByNaomi. The shop didn't state any specific shipping policies listed so I assumed it would take maybe a couple of days to ship it. Turned out that with Etsy, you can't assume. The seller lied to Etsy by stating that the pillow was shipped on the 7th of July. According to the USPS website, it was shipped a week later. I finally received said pillow ONE MONTH after having paid for it.

The pillow has finally arrived, in a grease-stained box. It wasn't even wrapped or enclosed in a plastic bag, none of the above. The workmanship was of a poor quality. Imagine a white-and-pink fabric sewn with a dark thread, done by hand. The dark thread was popping out all over. On one side, the pillow was sewn to close, again by hand and with the same thread, from the outside. The filling was uneven that contributed to the odd shape of the product. It looked horrible.

In retrospect, I remembered that the listing had only one picture displayed; the description stated 'handmade'. At the time of purchase I assumed that a sewing machine and a matching thread would be used in the pillow production. Nothing can be further from the truth. The picture posted in the listing was obviously not of the actual pillow that I finally received.

I went back to the listing and read the seller's Return Policy. It stated something about exchange within 7 days. Why in the world would the seller think that I wanted yet another sloppy product? After this pillow experience, I don't want anything from this shop. I want my money back.

The seller didn't cooperate so I had no other choice as to reluctantly escalate my disappointment. I filed a Not As Described case on Etsy site that has gotten me precisely nowhere. The case was decided in my favor yet no money in sight. Then I filed same with PayPal, with the same effect. Only when I filed a chargeback with the credit card I paid for said pillow, I did receive my money back.

FYI: should you have a bad experience with an Etsy seller, you can simultaneously file a case, leave a negative feedback aka review, and file a chargeback. Yes to all of the above, done consecutively.

My opinion: I WILL NEVER BUY ANYTHING FROM ETSY.

I ordered with Blueorchid Creations for my wedding on December 2018 through Etsy. I was told to pay the full cost of my order upfront at that time (no other options were offered) and an agreement was sent to me confirming final approval photos of my product in July 2019 with shipping of the final products in August 2019. Four problems arose with this order:
1) The order was severely delayed.
- Despite regular messages to request information on my order, final photos were not sent until September 2019, 2 months late. My order was not delivered until Sept 30th, 2019, one month late. No clear explanation was given for this delay and while Etsy were always quick to respond to messages, I only got updates on my order when I messaged them first on a weekly, sometimes daily basis.
2) The flowers are shipped on their side in regular shipping boxes.
- This means the bouquets all came flattened on one side and one of the boxes holding all the bridesmaid bouquets literally got crushed since there was no fragile label or special box used. Blueorchid creations doesn't claim to ship them upright, but I felt buyers would like to know this as it would have certainly affected my purchasing choices had I known I would be responsible for reforming and fixing my products after shipping.
3) The garland I ordered was changed without my approval.
- Blueorchid creations sent a photo of the garland to approve prior to shipping - which I loved. However prior to shipping they added multiple huge hydrangea arrangements to it. This was upsetting as it meant I received a product not as I had ordered and was now faced with fixing it myself or returning it and hoping no more delays occurred so it could be returned to me in time for the wedding.
4) I was made to pay for a product upfront that was not shipped for over 6 months.
- By requiring full payment in December 2018, this meant that when I received damaged and wrong products on a delayed timeline in September 2019 I was unable to open a case on Etsy (only available for 100 days post payment) and unable to leave a review on Etsy to warn other buyers (only available for 100 days post payment). This is a huge gap in Etsy's buyer protection policies and Blueorchid creations has benefitted from it as there was no way for me to review them or open a case against them.

If you think Etsy is some amazing marketplace to generate quick bucks and be rich overnight, you have serious rethinking to do mate.
It doesn't matter how much money you're earning, how well you've done or how well you're projected to do. Etsy will single handedly be able to shut down your store without any warning or explanation.

I understand if it was a copyright infringement issue or a store which has a bad reputation, but from my experience and the tons of others sellers' experience, we ran very lucrative businesses on Etsy for years and were legit sellers in the game.
The money you've made just before the suspension will NOT be deposited into your bank account, and Etsy will hold HOSTAGE to your payment like a complete corrupt criminal.

Like the other sellers mentioned here, my store was in the top 3% on Etsy with thousands of sales and hundreds of solid 5-star reviews, with only 2-3 cases occurring in a period of 6 months.
I made serious 6 figures on there, only to have my shop shut down mysteriously one day.
No explanation was given, and only an automated bot email was sent in conjunction with the suspension which was AFTER the matter of fact.

I attempted to contact Etsy's customer service, which turned out to be a total joke. Keep commerce "human", when the bulk of your customer service agents are incompetent crooks who will not hesitate to disrespect and harrass and eventually end the call and cease further communication.

I've never been so disappointed and disgusted by this company's lack of ethical values. Their desire for profit over ethics and morals is genuinely shocking.
If you think you're indispensable and irreplaceable, think again.

Read about the rexburg seller who had 30k sales and five star reviews who were got unfairly terminated as well.

Recently, more innocent buyers AND sellers BOTH have been kicked off the site.

Most of the time this is due to a technical glitch, but even if it was an honest and innocent mistake, such policies have COST people's livelihoods and incomes.

Etsy will not give a TOSS about you.

If you're a real entrepreneur, start on your own website. LEARN how to do your own SEO (search engine optimisation) and drive organic or paid traffic to your OWN website domain.

Etsy isn't some American dream. Wake up. It feels exactly like working for a nasty corporate boss, because that's what it is. The CEO has utterly ruined and destroyed this platform. And it's shameful.

Anyone new to Etsy needs to be aware that when it comes to buyers Etsy couldn't care less. I opened a case against a seller after waiting nearly three months for an item I'd paid for to arrive. I did this because the seller claimed that I was being unreasonable to expect to have received an item sent from Canada to London in that time period and assured me that I just needed to be patient. After checking the shipping times between Canada and the UK, I realised the seller was being less than honest, especially as they could not furnish proof of postage receive a. I believed that Etsy would agree I should receive a refund. However, a short while later I received a form email from an Etsy customer support person telling me that they decided in the seller's favour, as they had an admin number which was proof the item had been sent. I queried what an admin number was and was sent another form email this time claiming that the seller had shown them a tracking number as proof. This was news to me as the seller had told me that a tracking number was not available. I contacted Etsy again and this time was told it was not a tracking number but a 'shipping receipt' When I asked what that was, I was given a very convoluted explanation, which basically boiled down to the seller having printed off a shipping label from Etsy. I pointed out that was not proof that the seller had actually posted the item, just proof they had printed off a label and that I wanted to see proof of purchase. The Etsy representative tried to use the confidentiality excuse before admitting they had actually seen a proof of purchase. In other words, despite their 'investigations,' they had done no more than look to see if the seller had printed off one of their labels. I fail to see the purpose of inviting users of the site to open cases when they clearly can't be bothered to actually investigate. Instead they simply wait a few hours before emailing a draft email. The three I received from three different representatives were identical. But don't take my word for it, check out the scores of bad reviews they racked up and judge for yourself.