Etsy’s built on the backs of sellers who say the company isn’t helping them succeed.
This week, from the 11th until the 18th, many Etsy shops will be on “vacation mode.” It’s a way of halting sales on their shops without closing down. They’re asking Etsy users to join their boycott by refusing to buy anything this week. But just what happened to break the ties between Etsy and the sellers who keep the company alive?
Etsy is a platform for buying homemade and vintage products. It’s a great place for crafty people to sell the things they create, almost like an online farmer’s market. However, Etsy sellers haven’t been pleased with the direction of the company over the past few years. They’ve tacked on surprise “advertising fees” for successful sellers, allowed resellers to run rampant, and even opened the shop up to larger manufacturing options. Now? It’s basically Amazon but with some customizable products. With sellers of homemade goods struggling to make enough to keep creating, Etsy has seen record profits over the past year. Now they’re increasing the fees they charge sellers by 30%.
That was the straw that broke the crafty maker’s back. With that, over 14,000 sellers joined a strike, with more than 48,000 sellers and Etsy users signing a petition backing the cause. Etsy has millions of sellers, many of whom are just storefronts for manufacturing companies. The heart and soul of Etsy, it’s actual creators, are on strike, and the company will have to take notice.
In This Article:
The Etsy Sellers’ Demands
Etsy sellers have set up a website, EtsyStrike.org. There they list five demands, with the top one taking issue with the fee increase.
- Cancel the fee increase.
- Crack down on resellers with a comprehensive plan that is transparent, so sellers can hold Etsy accountable.
- Give ‘Golden’ support tickets to sellers affected by extreme AI actions (account termination, 45/90 day holds, etc.)
- End the Star Seller Program.
- Give all sellers the ability to opt out of off site ads.
If you’re not an Etsy seller, you may need an explanation for some of these items. So let’s dive deeper into each demand.
Cancel the Fee Increase
First, Etsy is increasing their fees from 5% to 6.5%. That’s a 1.5% increase into already narrow margins, and represents a 30% higher fee. But that’s not all. Over the past four years, Etsy has doubled their fees. Sellers just can’t keep up.
Crack Down on Resellers
The platform has an issue with resellers. These are people selling mass-produced products, pushing out homemade goods. They’re often backed by larger companies who can buy ads, produce more product, and push homemade goods to the bottom of search results. Etsy sellers want Etsy to crack down on them, and keep the process transparent so they can hold Etsy accountable.
“Golden” Support Tickets
Sellers want to be able to quickly appeal decisions made by computers which could suspend their account. This is especially bad due to bot interference. A person or company looking to improve their standings in search results could go after a smaller, but more popular, seller. A bot could file false reports, enough to trigger an automatic decision to ban the seller in question. Sellers want a quick way to get a human to look at their support tickets in these cases.
Ending the Star Seller Program
The Star Seller program is a combination of goals for sellers to reach. Once they have it, they get a badge on their profile. This tells users the seller aligns with Etsy’s goals. These include a fast response rate, 5-star reviews, fast shipping with tracking, and the volume of sales. However, sellers say this pressures them to use tracking services instead of the letter service for thin items like stickers or cards. It also pushes them to be on edge with each sale. A single mistake could doom their store. For customized items, or items made by hand for each sale, it could mean a seller losing their status because they simply can’t make the order fast enough. The program forces sellers to rush, cut corners, or keep unsold inventory on hand. That might work for retailers and small businesses, but for people making things out of their home, it’s impossible to provide good service and good products.
Allow Sellers to Opt Out of Offsite Ads
This last one is an exceptionally rough one, and an issue Etsy sellers have had with the company for years. Any Etsy seller making over $10,000 in sales per year is forced to pay Etsy for advertising. Etsy allows themselves to advertise a seller’s products elsewhere and takes 12% from the sale of an item if a customer comes from an ad. Etsy sellers looking to make their shops their primary source of income find that even a small yearly income could result in losing large amounts of money to Etsy for a program they didn’t want to participate in.
Take that $10,000. Etsy would claim at least $650 of that. Lets say half of those sales come from ads. It’s not unreasonable, Etsy plasters ads on their search results and often repeats ads, hiding the real listing. That’s $1250 out of a seller’s pocket every year, or 12.5% of their yearly income. Add in production costs, shipping, and the price of one’s on labor, and you can see how this is a sizable chunk of income lost to Etsy. Sellers should be able to choose if they want to participate in ads. If the ads actually help their shops, Etsy wouldn’t have to force them on them.
What You Can Do
As an Etsy buyer, you can simply boycott Etsy this week. Afterwards, attempt to support handmade products. Really look through what each seller makes on the rest of their store. If there’s a wide variety and large amount of stock, it’s likely a manufacturer. If, however, the products are unique or items you haven’t seen on other listings, then it could be a handmade item. Try to support those sellers.
You can also refrain from buying anything through an Etsy ad. If you see something in an Etsy ad you like, you can find the shop or the item by searching specifically, not clicking through the ad. That way, Etsy can’t take 12% of the sale away from the person who put the item together.
Etsy is a business, and their service is certainly valuable. During the pandemic, especially, creative types confined in their houses and apartments used Etsy to add to their income, help them through a rough time, and find a creative outlet. Etsy’s business grew, and profits soared. Now they’re taking advantage of the very people who helped them find that success.
Sources:
- EtsyStrike.org
- Mia Sato, The Verge
- Amanda Silberling, TechCrunch