Seller ArtfulMarket is the latest shop to be shut down under confusing circumstances, according to this forum thread started by ArtfulMarket using another account. ArtfulMarket is one of Etsy’s most successful sellers, with close to 15,000 positive feedbacks, and who makes regular appearances on EtsyTools top sellers lists. At the time of this article’s publication, the ArtfulMarket shop is the “brick wall” indicating a closed account.
lynn61056 says:
I just wanted to let everyone know that I am trying to find out why my shop is gone. I have tried to contact Etsy about it and they sent me an abuse report from a customer who says they never received their order. Funny thing is I can’t find any record of the order in my PayPal account. So it appears they may have shut me down over an order that was never paid for. To all of my loyal customers I will continue to get all of your orders out from the invoices in my PayPal account until I can get this resolved. I am in shock that Etsy would shut me down considering I have almost 15,000 positive feedback. It appears there has been a BIG misunderstanding. I have sent several more emails to Etsy and have not received any response. Please be patient…I am still around!
Please note that Etsy’s version of this incident is not currently available, and ArtfulMarket’s post cannot be verified by UEN at this time.
edit by JB February 25
artfulmarket’s Etsy shop has been reinstated
As well, earlier today, seller Whatyoumacallits reported on the forum (via another account) that her shop had also been closed without warning. Their shop has since been reinstated. Whatyoumacallits has over 140 positive feedbacks and no negatives.
Edit:
A THIRD shop has been reported as closed without prior notice: Thatsmycharm, according to this thread posted by the sellers’s girlfriend (who is a top seller herself). As of February 11th, Thatsmycharm had over 1300 positive feedbacks and no negatives.
Thatsmycharm’s shop was reinstated on Saturday.
According to a statement by admin Kfarrell in this thread, this is Etsy’s notification process:
kfarrell says:
Transaction report emails go out automatically whenever a customer files a nondelivery report. The seller receives an email to let them know a report has been filed, and the buyer receives an email advising them to contact the seller directly. The emails do not assign blame to either party.If you get a notice of a nondelivery report filed against you, contact both the buyer and support ASAP with any information on when you mailed the package, how it was shipped, where it was shipped from, etc.
for previous coverage of this issue of shop closures without warning, please see these previous articles:
http://etsynews.com/584/two-seller-accounts-deleted-under-strange-cicrumstances/
http://etsynews.com/73/unwarrantedaccidental-shop-suspensions-sellers-be-warned/
http://etsynews.com/75/another-case-of-erroneous-shop-suspension/
http://etsynews.com/80/how-does-admin-handle-shop-suspensions/
http://etsynews.com/312/etsy-says-no-double-billing-has-occurred/?cp=5
(see comments, not main article)
Edit by Serena 2/22 1:30 ET:
Etsy admin daniellexo recommends the following steps to ward off surprise account closure:
1) Please make sure your email addresses are correct on file. If this address isn’t correct - we can’t contact you and neither can buyers.
2) Add support [!at] etsy.com, abuse [!at] etsy.com and billing [!at] etsy.com to your address book. This way it will not be forwarded to your spam/junk mailbox.
3) Keeping open lines of communication with Admin. We will try to contact you numerous times.
Source: Fora.
February 26th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Now that I’m out of work, I really want to post a lot, but my brain is fried. I’m having severe issues at work (if anyone cares to ask, just email me jlaskecook@gmail.com).
Anyway, I think that we need to get a list of muted/banned/closed shops & buyers. Then get a hold of all of these people to compile their stories. Maybe with the compilation of their stories, some of these drones will realize that it’s time to take their heads out of the sand and realize what is actually happening.
There was someone in the thread on Etsy about the Consumerist article that said that it’s such a small percentage of people that it’s not really that big of a deal (severe paraphrasing, remember I’m braindead). I don’t think that’s the point people are trying to make by pointing out the bannings/mutings/closings. I think the point people are trying to make is that it IS happening, but Etsy is continually trying to sweep it under the rug.
I think we need to start 2 projects here. 1, we need to get a list of examples of Danielle’s complete and utter “ineptness”. Including, but not limited to, screenshots of convos, emails & posts in the forums.
2nd project is what I mentioned earlier. Get a list of the mutes/bans/closes and compile their stories. When people see that so many people haven’t gotten those “emails”, it’s going to be hard to choke down. I’ve NEVER set my Gmail to accept email from Support, Community, Abuse, etc and I’ve NEVER missed an email from them. When you get a list of people that this excuse was used on, I’m sure it’ll open some peoples eyes to the lame excuse.
3rd project is what I posted about pages and pages ago if people are interested. We can get a basic forum and an IRC room set up for people to chat in. I have no problems paying for it and getting it set up. I would also make sure that the admin/moderators are a fair and wise choice of people (I don’t want all the responsibility myself). I would love to get UEN’s blessing on this, as well.
Thoughts?
February 26th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5488619&page=8
some interesting developments announced by Danielle
well hallelujah for that last part, at least! When they banned Thaidreams and others last month, on the Friday before a 3-day weekend, I said that was bad timing and then they just did it AGAIN this past Friday. I’m gad they are at LEAST making this small change after two monumental screw-ups.
As for SIX new CS staff, well that is pretty insane. Their staff is already hugely bloated and inefficient. The problems we see are not due to lack of manpower, they are due to poor leadership. They don’t need six new inexperienced kids, they need ONE new leader.
February 26th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
daniellexo says:
Yes cassowary and bayou here’s what I said about that:
“27things said
1. It makes a very public statement which can be interpreted one of two ways. A. This seller has taken your money and run or B. This shop has been closed by Etsy for some sort of unscrupulous behavior. A better solution would be to suspend the shop, remove the items currently for sale and change the shop announcement to something like “This shop is currently not accepting new orders. Please check back again later.”
____
YES_ We now have the ability to do this so this would be a great option instead of the brickwall. I agree with you and I think that will be changing - let me check on that to be 100% sure.”
Having connections to Etsy or being physically close to Etsy has nothing to do with it. I noticed in one thread a quote of mine was taken out of context so I’ll explain it here now.
I was a top seller on Etsy. Top sellers get non-delivery reports every so often and I myself have received them in the past. I was assuring people that there is a regular form letter that goes out to all sellers involved in non-delivery cases because I myself have received one. Just like any other seller. (This happened when I lived in Detroit too and had no connection to Etsy besides being a seller). In one situation I just refunded the buyer, even though I was sure the item was lost in the mail and wasn’t my fault. I sent support a screenshot and the case was closed. In the second situation I resent out another necklace to the buyer and as soon as the buyer received it they contacted me and support and the situation was closed.
Now that I work for Etsy and talk to support on a daily basis, I know that this is how all non-deliveries are handled.
Something from that conversation I was having on the forums was taken out of context I believe? Is that what you are referring to bayousalvage?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I’m pretty sure I’m being called out here. I didn’t take her statement out of context whatsoever. She, however, worded it to sound like since she’s so close to Etsy that she got preferential treatment. Had she just left out the part about being close to them, it would have been fine.
February 26th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
the thread in ETC is getting very interesting…
February 26th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
the growing list of Etsy Users muted for their forum comments yesterday:
Todyefor (24 hours) (also threatened with account deletion)
whatyoumacallits (30 days)
Peldyn (30 days)
Halflyng (not sure of duration)
VeryBigJen (24 hours)
February 26th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206401189&pgno=1&queryText=
“Companies aren’t five-year-olds bringing their fingerpaintings home from kindergarten. We don’t have to put on a brave smile and tell them, “that’s just lovely dear,” and display their wares proudly on the fridge. I don’t care if Apple adds DRM because Lars from Metallica has incriminating photos of Steve Jobs, I don’t care if Sony BMG put a rootkit on its CDs because they were duped into it by a trickster spirit that appeared to their technologists in a dream. I care whether their product is worth my money. It’s the market — there’s no A for Effort.”
February 26th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
This is timely and related……
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/02/26/complaining-about-co.html
http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206401189
“…..Companies aren’t five-year-olds bringing their fingerpaintings home from kindergarten. We don’t have to put on a brave smile and tell them, “that’s just lovely dear,” and display their wares proudly on the fridge. I don’t care if Apple adds DRM because Lars from Metallica has incriminating photos of Steve Jobs, I don’t care if Sony BMG put a rootkit on its CDs because they were duped into it by a trickster spirit that appeared to their technologists in a dream. I care whether their product is worth my money. It’s the market — there’s no A for Effort……”
February 26th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Oh, and try to read that in a HAPPY tone.
February 26th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
“We owe you money? What money? Do you have proof of said money? No, not that proof, other proof. Vague ony-in-our-head proof. No? Well get back to us when you do and we’ll talk. Maybe. Not.”
February 26th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Yeah, this is awesome.
Nothing about any part of Etsy’s system makes any sense.
The sellers tools are bungled, incomplete and overall ill conceived. The buyers tools are the same, a mish mash of random item displays. The entire system of how the site works as far as selling and listing (think of the issues about renewing daily to be seen) needs a major, major redesign, but this does not even seem possible at this point. Given this outside appearance, I can only imagine the true technical horror of how the website is contructed under the hood.
They hire people based on how ‘cool’ the seem to be from their hip crafts and seem to exercise no managerial control over these individuals, or very ineffective control. The CEO’s duties seem to be relegated to talking about childrens books, seeking investment and thinking about how important he is to the world. The techs seem relatively competent, but they have no control over what to work on and seem to be directed to work on relatively useless tasks. Again, a lack of realistic management.
The ‘customer service’ operates less professionally than a Middle School theater team, and their policies are a sham. Even if the theoretical policies were enforced properly, they seem poorly thought out and incomplete to handle the realities of this business. Some of the people who work for Etsy seem reasonable, and I can only imagine their dismay.
Their web magazine is a tragic example (the gift guides is a good one, also). The design is difficult to use or browse through, busy and somewhat difficult to even look at. The articles and feature series are fairly irrelevant and poorly chosen. Search features are incomplete and very basic, as far as say, sorting through contributors by name. The sections are bizarrely chosen, overlapping and inconsistent. Worse, it is unveiled in this state and is NEVER updated, much like the selling tools. Sadly, it’s a great example of how every single department fails. The design staff, the tech staff, the content staff, and the management for even putting a focus on something like this when basic tools are so lacking.
All of these issues have been going on since I joined over a year ago, and one cannot help but wonder when the site and business will just plain melt down. It does not seem to be getting better, actually, quite worse.
Anyway, i’m really looking forward to the in-house payment system they continue to promise us. Full steam ahead over the waterfall, let’s go!