Over the weekend (March 15), Etsy published a Storque article announcing some changes to the billing procedure, which included the removal of payment minimums, and the implementation of both an overdue notification process and the future plan to implement the use of a collection agency for accounts 90 days, or more, past due. In the course of these changes, it was mistakenly reported that the previous 15-day grace period had been reduced to 14 and, beginning on March 15 at 12:00 UTC, overdue notices popped up during logon, and in e-mail boxes, for those sellers with a balance in any amount that had been incurred in February (or earlier) but not yet paid.
The confusion led to a series of forum threads asking for clarification, eventual corrections by several admin, an amending of the Storque article that announced these changes, and, ultimately, an official apology from Etsy CEO, Maria Thomas.
Excerpt:
Dear Etsy Sellers,
This is the kind of note CEOs generally don’t enjoy writing. Because, this is the kind of note that says, “We messed up, and we’re sorry.”
Over the weekend, Etsy messed up. We prematurely sent out notices to sellers whose bills we had identified as “overdue.” This overdue notification was a change in our billing process. We did a poor job of fully explaining this change and consistently messaging it across the site and in other communications with our seller community. In addition, the change was poorly timed relative to the March billing cycle and poorly coordinated with our recent introduction of enabling sellers to pay their Etsy fees via PayPal. Introducing PayPal as a payment option for seller fees also allowed us to accept payments of any size, so we simultaneously eliminated the $1.00 minimum payment threshold. We now ask those owing less than $1.00 USD to pay their balances in a timely manner, just like other Etsy sellers.
Regrettably, we did not lay all these messages out in an easily digestible form, and we didn’t deliver them to you in a timely and clear way.
I am ultimately responsible for this poor execution, and I apologize. I know that Etsy sellers need clear, consistent, timely communication from Etsy in order to plan your businesses. That’s our goal, and we will all work harder to be more diligent and timely with future announcements affecting all sellers.
I asked Etsy staff to roll back the changes (that is, to go back to the billing policies and process in effect prior to March 14, 2009) until such time as we are able to more thoroughly and consistently email all of you about what we’re doing and why. Let me repeat, we have moved back to the policies and process that were in effect prior to this weekend’s communications about overdue bills. Please note that sellers will still be able to pay your Etsy bills via PayPal, and you will be able to pay your bill even if the balance is below $1.00 USD.
Read Maria’s full article here.
Editorial comment:
Kudos, Etsy and Maria, for handling this so quickly and professionally, and for owning and correcting the mistakes made during the initial rollout. This is a huge step forward in Communications, and is much appreciated.
March 17th, 2009 at 2:59 am
The article they published on March 15 was an answer to all the forum threads.
Timeline of events:
December 3, 2008: Etsy announces they will begin using a collection agency on overdue bills. This change was also mentioned in the Etsy Success email for Dec 2, 2008.
March 1, 2009: The Etsy bills are emailed as usual and as usual, they contain the following sentence:
“We don’t allow payments to be made unless they’re $1.00 or more. If you have a balance under $1.00, it will not be considered ‘due’ until it hits or exceeds $1.00.”
Sellers had 15 days to pay that bill, until March 15. Bills become overdue on the first minute of the 16th (in GMT).
March 10, 2009: Etsy announces that you will now be able to pay your Etsy bill with paypal. This announcement is made via the Storque and the opt-in Etsy News emails. On March 10 Etsy also “announced” a change in policy that you were now able (and required) to pay bills less than $1.00, however it was buried a few paragraphs deep in the paypal article, so many Etsy sellers never saw it. There was no separate article or separate email about the policy change for bills less than one dollar.
Also, since this announcement came during the grace period, and after the March bills had already been sent, some sellers assumed that would take effect in the next billing cycle, not the current one.
Midnight, the last minute of March 14 and beginning of March 15, GMT:
At midnight on the 14th, many late notices were emailed out (a day early) and sellers got a suspension warning when they logged in, if they were even one day overdue. In some cases they were not even truly overdue, since the warnings started 24 hours earlier than they should. This incited many unhappy and confused forum threads.
March 15, 2:01 am: Rob White is the first admin on the scene, and replies to many forum threads with reassurances that no shops will be shut down and also posted the incorrect information that the grace period ends at the first minute of the 15th. (it actually ends the last minute of the 15th)
The afternoon of May 15 2009, 1:03 pm: Matt posts an announcement in the announcements forum.
The evening of March 15, 2009:
This Storque article is posted.
March 16, 4:39 pm:
The above Storque article is edited.
March 16: 6:41 pm: Robwhite corrects his mistake about the due date.
March 16 , 6:51 pm:
Maria’s apology article is posted in the Storque.
March 17th, 2009 at 8:54 am
Thanks for the clarification, JB.
*wipes egg off face*
Seems I’m the one owing an apology this time . . .
Sorry all, for rushing and being a bit sloppy in my reporting. Won’t let it happen again.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Ah and don’t forget the threats of suspension. I owed 94 cents and some stupid ball of yarn told me my account was going to be shut down!
March 17th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
They seriously need to dump the angry yarn monster. I want to stab it with knitting needles. If all these changes with billing and collection agencies are their attempts to become more professional and efficient, why are they mucking it up with childish cartoons? It reminds me of their silly “oh noez” error screens (which they thankfully got rid of). I mean the yarn monster does fit in with Etsy’s other “branding” graphics, but all of those are childish too. I guess I just don’t understand why they have chosen such infantile cutesy branding when the overall site design is more sleek and sophisticated.
March 17th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
“I mean the yarn monster does fit in with Etsy’s other “branding” graphics, but all of those are childish too. ”
Did you see the mural on the wall of their usability space, it was in Maria’s vol 2 Storque article (I think). Bad drawings of paper dolls in Etsy-style. Someone said it looks like a Kindergarten rather than a office - actually my nursery school had better murals than that! I can’t get over how unprofessional it all is. If I had known that when I first signed up I wouldn’t have become a seller there. I’m tired of not being told about changes and having to scour their stupid blog for information. And the billing messes scare the crap out of me - in these times, when finances are rough, and I have to worry about being double, over, or mis-charged for a 94 cent bill! ridiculous
March 17th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Yeah I saw that mural on the wall, it’s embarrassing that is what brand new users will see? That will be their first impression before they even turn on the computer.
Plus now they have added more kiddie cartoons to all the category pages as well. In their eyes it makes the site more “cohesive”, but all it means to me is that I have to scroll further down to see what I was looking for. It’s just visual clutter, taking up space without generating any revenue.
March 30th, 2009 at 3:25 am
I’m sooooo with you all on those goofy cartoons, and I totally agree that it makes the site look less than hip. Maybe my idea of “hip” is out of phase with their idea of hip?
December 29th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
silly cartoons sometimes gets the point across to millions of people that are lets just say “slow thinkers” hehe
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