Etsy

Etsy allows suppliers who scam ustomers with defective products. Quality control is absent from this company. All that matters is money paid by suppliers. I have purchesed a walking cane made of wood and brass head. The wood's dye runs and the brass head stinks. I have ruined a perfectly designer's top when I transferred the black dye to it .

I’ve bought several items from Etsy over the years - special things for special people in my life. Overall I’ve been happy with what I’ve received and, if I wasn’t, I found Etsy’s customer service acted promptly to provide resolution. The things I bought were not cheap, but that’s OK - I expect to pay more for the skill, time, materials and effort… Read more

that goes into a handmade item. So when my daughter expressed an interest in outdoor garden art for her upcoming birthday I went to Etsy. I looked at some metal wall art and was a little surprised to see the same product for sale by different Etsy sellers. The price ranged from $30 to over a $100 and many of the entries urged to to ‘Hurry, only three left’. I took a screenshot of the item and found it to be available on several platforms including Ali Express, Amazon, and Temu (and at a significantly cheaper price). I noted that there is a facility to report items on Etsy but didn’t think it fair to pick out one of so many so I contacted Etsy Customer Support with my concerns that these items were mass-produced imports that did not seem compatible with the Etsy ethos. I was promptly thanked for bringing it to their attention and reassured that Etsy works hard to ensure their site is maintained for handmade, vintage and unique goods and would look to review and improve these listings. I was also encouraged to provide them with other examples.

That might have been the end of the story had I not received, the next day, an ‘Etsy picks based on your recent interest’ email from Etsy that showed the item I’d been looking at in ads from 5 different sellers. This suggested to me that their system is set up to recognise multiple copies of an item to direct toward wherever the cookie crumb trail leads. It would seem that Etsy already has the ability to screen and regulate for products that fall outside of their handmade, vintage etc guidelines. So I started to look at other items for sale on Etsy to get a taste of how widespread the hosting of sellers selling mass-produced items is. The answer is very widespread - these items are ubiquitous. Here is a link to an item generally described with keywords ‘elephant, family, shelf-ornament, mother, babies, hanging, ornament’’ https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/4467619550/elephant-family-shelf-ornament-mother?ls=s&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=elephant+ornaments&pro=1&frs=1&content_source=5727dcec-aba5-485a-ba31-6a629d367740%253ALT5072f01e14d51a73b24395faae3bb193fd9a24f0&logging_key=5727dcec-aba5-485a-ba31-6a629d367740%3ALT5072f01e14d51a73b24395faae3bb193fd9a24f0

(See image) There are multiple shops selling this on Etsy. There also multiple platforms outside of Etsy offering an identical product, including Temu*, where you can get it for $7.01: *I chose to compare with Etsy for ease of writing, but Etsy sells products available on may other platforms, including Ali Express, Adobe, Walmart, Alibaba, BigW, Shein, eBay, Trade India and so on.

While it’s not about price differences essentially, pricing is a factor I think. We pay more expecting more. We buy into the warm fuzzies of handmade (note that the above elephant figurine is described as either handmade or hand-painted in some instances). It’s akin to buying organic or free range - we pay more for the qualities that we value.

After several emails between Etsy Customer Support and myself I have received the same placatory message but I have not been able to access any other Etsy representative despite my requests. I have accumulated a collection of examples where mass produced items are being sold by multiple shops on Etsy and am preparing to submit my concerns to the relevant trading standards bodies in New York, where Etsy is based.

I’m sure there are genuine craftspeople for whom Etsy provides a platform to make sales. I sincerely want these craftspeople to flourish as they are a dying breed and they actually do create one-off, carefully and lovingly made items that make wonderful, unique gifts or additions for the home. So my advice - don’t ditch Etsy completely but before hitting ‘buy’ take a screen shot of the item and search the web. Or copy the keywords and enter them into a Temu, Amazon etc search. Or hit ‘more like this’ on the Etsy page you’re looking at.

The Etsy tab reads: ‘Etsy Australia - Shop for handmade, vintage, custom and unique gifts for everyone’ ‘The Etsy Australia claim is: Etsy is a vibrant online marketplace for unique products where Australian buyers and sellers can unite over their love of well-crafted items and gifts.’ I conclude that these statements are false and misleading at the very least.

Don't buy from this platform! They are very bad and almost dishonest! The suppliers and the quality of products are Pffft!! The delivery time is unbearable! I think it needs more regulation on suppliers. Second time ordering here but definitely the last time!

THIS REVIEW IS NOT SOLEY ABOUT ETSY - Etsy is great (most of the time), I've utilised it many times to purchase unique items not available in shops for presents, weddings etc. The only problem I have is that you can't leave feedback if a seller gives you a refund. I just wanted to warn buyers to be careful of the actual sellers, most are honest… Read more

and genuine. I purchased 3 items a couple of weeks ago from 3 different sellers - two were great and the items arrived fairly quickly and were fantastic, then I had one that sent an item with no tracking, told me they resend when I didn't receive it and then just issued me a credit (well at least I got my money back - but not the point I really wanted the item I ordered as a gift for my granddaughter to match another gift I'd bought for her) anyway I then went to leave feedback to warn other people, but as soon as the refund was issued, Etsy wouldb't let me leave feedback, and it looks like she is a great seller because her feedback rating is 4.6, when infact it should be lower because people can't leave feedback if refunded (but she's had the use of your money for a few weeks before she issues refund), therefore I couldn't warn other buyers about this particular seller - so I'm warning you now "Po's Page" from central Coast NSW is not the seller she makes out to be.

Ah ETSY. Buyer beware. Lots of lovely items on here but my experience, was pretty ordinary which is unfortunate for those genuine people wanting to sell their items. I ordered a crochet pattern but was sent the incorrect pattern. When I brought this to the sellers attention she was very apologetic and offered a refund or another complimentary… Read more

pattern which I accepted. I reflected this on my review. The seller then contacted me promising to send the original pattern I wanted to buy and if I could update my Review. Which I did, but also reflected this. The seller continually emails me asking me to update my Review and I've contacted ETSY but their response is less than acceptable, telling me to read articles on how to lodge a complaint, rather than following it up with my contact to customer support.

Months later, I've received the item... damaged and parts broken. Rubbish!

I purchased 2 baby blessing pics valued at $79.95 each, it was only when my payment went through (lack of concentration from me too) that l saw l was charged nearly as much for the delivery. So the pics both cost me $150 and they are nothing special, just a print inside a white frame that you would get in Kmart for around $20. Bitterly dissapointed and annoyed with myself for not being more thorough when purchasing

Absolutely Rubbish They've no support system for buyers. My parcel remains in Spain for the past two weeks. Their response for my request for help or support... It's not due for a few days. Hello, it's still in Spain! Nothing.... Simply Nothing Today's tracking.

No wonder Etsy has such bad reviews! I could not believe the response customer service gave me for not refunding my order of a piece of jewelry which was nothing like the picture. They either need glasses or they are in cahoots with their sellers.… Read more

They told me that I cannot get a refund after "washing an item". Washing an item? I wore the fake ring for ONE WEEK. Then the coating wore off!!! Shonky or what! I've never seen it before. Now I know. I also know better than to give Etsy any of my money again. I AM DONE WITH ETSY. In one pic you can see what I ordered, a nice colourful opal with a red flash. In the second pic you can see what I was left with after one week of NORMAL wear.

This was very disappointing on delivery. Hardly a crystal decanter, cheap glass and looks cheap and nasty. Why did it not have any Makers Mark in the decanter? I would like a full refund for a very poor quality product, nothing like what was… Read more

advertised. Not even close to your pictures or description. Please advise ASAP so I can use the money to buy my grandson a decent gift. This looks like it's from a junk shop.

I got scammed by a seller claiming to create "custom hand-drawn cartoon portraits". Instead they provided an image that was obviously created by AI. Etsy used to be a site to buy hand-made items and artwork, not anymore.