Etsy

Etsy used to be so great less than a year ago, but now Etsy are very dirty and scammy to sellers, one of my main complaints is that they started pushing this "free shipping" if you put free shipping on all your listing you get put higher on search engine, at the same time they started charging a fee on shipping "they say to prevent over priced shipping", they suggest for us offer free shipping to avoid the new fees and compensate the lost with raising your prices, what they failed to mention(or spun it well) is they raised the percentage they take out of your main sale price, so if you do free shipping and raise the price of your items they make more money, so I take the lesser of two evil and watch them take from my shipping that isn't part of any of my income, because it's shipping. If Etsy corp office was in touch with the real world they would have maybe thought about how the cost of shipping is sky rocketing every year, so anyway there's a loss for sellers instantly on shipping, whenever I list an item I get scolded for even having shipping prices on my listings like a 2yr old. So now I pay a fee for my listing, a fee for my sale, a fee on shipping, a fee for a cancelled order (this just happened today and why i'm here) because a customer decided to cancel her order out of the blue, a fee for taxes... I'm sure I'm missing one or two or three more new fees. Had my shop since 2009, they pull listings they think are offensive of items that I have sold for years (I sell vintage and antiques)and slap me with some hate speech, white supremacist, you are evil violation, that's pretty insulting if you ask me, you do not get to speak to a human if a question of problem arises, I swear my shop has at least 3 human babysitters watching what I list now. I could have debated them on how wrong they were, but that isn't a option, their opinion is the law forget facts. It's just a dirty company and I am so done. I am currently looking for another outlet to sell my stuff, Etsy has gone to the sewers!

I have been using Etsy for 3 years with little to no issue. The shops give freebies, write kind notes and products are always accurately described. I had an odd experience when I took a risk with a rule I never break- 'don't buy items that cost less than your s&h'. I've always had bad luck with this and that's just my opinion.
--
--
I ordered a scented product- everyone thought it smelled like p! Ss! Straight up. Like their pet did something to it before it got shipped over. That bad. I wasn't gonna say anything until I noticed just how strange the system is to refund it. It took almost a month of wheeling and dealing towards this. I have to argue my case because Etsy allow shop owners to have a policy that basically disallows any refunds, returns or exchanges. I mean, unless what you're selling is edible or underwear. Even then, ridiculous.
--
--
I have to 'present my case' to Etsy and hope they "rule in my favor." Can anyone think of just one website that does this? Its not because of individual sellers. Ebay has that, poshmark has that. So why does Etsy favor shop owners? Why would this process be so difficult unless it wasn't for profit on behalf of Etsy? If purchased products are too difficult to refund. A customer is going to give up. The shop owner and Etsy share profit- the end. Yup!
--
--
As I wrote my review after receiving a refund. Ofc I expected this outrageous reply from a shop owner who used all caps, exclamations and the most high school tone I've ever seen. What I didn't expect was for the owner to spread lies. Everything from the fact that Etsy disagreed with me but I got a refund soo? To she filed the case and escalated it? Um. No again. To my friends and family have concentrated on her shop and we all ban together to leave her bad reviews... yup. Oh and one more thing, I verbally abused her staff... I wish there was proof of it. I reported it and it was ignored ofc. No guidelines were violated according to Etsy which has all the info in their system to prove that these are lies. To be able to accuse a customer of abuse is "within their policy."

If your review is less than 3 stars out of 5, Etsy will not allow you to respond to the reply. Most replies you see on reviews are pre-written apologies. On this shop owners reviews, you can see the owner constantly berating the customer in the reply to the reviews.

Why did I do this? It was not for money; it was sheer morbid curiosity for the rumours I've heard against Etsy. Is this really how their system works? Is there really this odd community of witches there who get away with quite a bit? Its all true folks.

I am quite an avid shopper. There isn't a single website I ever been on that makes a customer do this when they are unsatisfied. Take your chances and be suspicious- If Etsy doesn't have your back, I encourage you to use Social media and spread awareness of this nasty bs.

P.s. I dont want to mention what the Shop is because I'm almost positive the witch will stalk this and complain, I cant be bothered! If you see an Etsy store preaching their ever-precious tumbled gemstones(some the size of miniature gravel) and handmade incense marked down to as little as $2-3 then you probably found the shop.

OH and good luck with tracking your item. Shop owners and Etsy have the right to apparently hide tracking information! I currently have to contact the post office to find out about $50+ worth of products purchased in Nov-Dec 2018. I'm obviously going to avoid going through Etsy to resolve this, just go to your bank for corrupt, desperate businesses like this.

I am sorry this is so long but these business practices are bizarre and I don't understand how its even legal.

For the second time in a month, I've tried to order items on Etsy for a remodel. The items weren't inexpensive. If I were the seller, I would have been highly motivated to get them shpped. But, no! Neither of the sellers bothered to ship. Sellers were given 3-5 business days to ship. When, after 11 calendar days I attempted to cancel on Etsy, I got a mealy-mouthed message from customer service offering me a list of potential excuses for why the seller didn't bother to send me my purchases:
"We're politely considering that the seller might be having an emergency, are part-timer, crafting orders or running an errand for the store (resulting to lack of response). "
Excuse me? I made a purchase. I expect it to be shipped. Since the seller didn't ship, it is time to give me my money back. I really don't care if the poor seller got a splinter in his big toe - or about anything else. End of story.
The response from Etsy made me so angry that I'm not going to wait for their process to finalize. Plus, I see that I'm not the first to experience this lack of response and poor customer service from Etsy. I will dispute the purchase with my credit card company. They, at least, are responsive!

Update: I initiated a dispute with my credit card company, providing them with screenshots of the ad. This showed the 3-5 business day shipping promise, and where Etsy showed that the seller had many of the items I'd ordered in stock. This negated the seller's claim that this was a "custom" order, and his claim that he had not missed the shipping parameters. I had several conversations with the seller, and I provided the screenshots to him as well. Aso, the seller thought that he'd be the one working with my credit card co, and that he'd talk them out of any dispute. I had to let him know that Etsy was the contact for that, not him. After taking more abuse than I should have, I told him he had a choice: cancel the order and refund my money, or go ahead and ship late. If he chose the latter, I would have an opportunity to review him and his work, and I guaranteed that that review would NOT be complimentary. He finally canceled the order! Meanwhile, my cr card co had suspended the charge and was working with me.

Lesson learned: when I shop online, I'll do it with companies that have respectable customer support. As much as I dislike Amazon, Etsy do host crafters, and their support has always been there for me. There is a reason why some bad players list on Etsy.

I purchased an engagement style ring from MichaelShea Diamonds through their Etsy site. I believe Etsy are physically based in Las Vegas. The ring on their Etsy site featured computer-generated type images of an engagement-style ring done in CZ and white gold, with a cushion-cut center stone held high in prongs above the ring's shanks which had channel set round stones. I ordered this ring to wear while I travel, because of my fear of losing my pricey real engagement ring. The ring arrived and is ugly and not functional.
The center stone looks completely fake. It has to be one of the worst imitation diamonds I have seen. It has a positively BLUE cast to it and a very shallow cut. No one in their right mind for a second would believe it's a diamond.
The center stone's prongs are squatty and short, causing the center stone to be inadequately elevated above the shank... this causes the center stone to sit too low in the design to be placed next to a wedding ring. I tried to seat this ring next to THREE different bands I own, and it won't sit flush next to any of them due to the poor design. The center stone is placed too low in the design and pushes against any band placed next to it, leaving an unsightly gap. How can you sell this as an "engagement" ring when you know the design doesn't allow you to wear it next to a band?
I contacted Shelia at Michael Shea and she will not work with me at all, not in any way, shape, or form. She is standing on the premise that this was a "custom" design and that there is nothing they can/ will do about it. I ordered the item right off of their page and other than choosing my size, did not "customize" it in any way. The product's description is a striking 720 words long, and buried in there, are the words "custom order." Therefore, apparently I have ordered a custom product, and even though it's a poor quality and a terrible design, I am out over $500 for it.
I opened a claim with Etsy which just involved another messaging argument back and forth with the same person, and resulted in nothing.
I cannot believe that this company would refuse to offer SOMETHING in the way of a concession credit, refund, or offer for a different product. They are content to continue to sell garbage product and hide behind their "this was a custom order" policy. Incidentally, their "return policy," if you read it, is most generous... obviously because they never have to use it. If they note in their verbose product descriptions that your order is "custom," their "generous" return policy is null & void.
PLEASE don't buy from them. Their designs, in my experience, are poor, and their customer service is even worse.

I have only ordered from ETSY once before and was thrilled with the quality and service from the seller, so I decided to go back and order again for Christmas presents this year. I had three windchimes sent to a close relative in another state, from what I thought was a seller in a state close by. I requested a gift note to be included and tracking information. The items appeared to have been sent promptly, but then... nothing. No response from the seller when I asked about tracking. The items were ordered in plenty of time for Christmas. As time got close I began to get worried and found the seller's shop was apparently 'temporarily' closed. A few days later random AMAZON PACKAGES started showing up at my relatives house with horrible cheap mass produced junk windchimes. None of the return addresses corresponded to the ETSY seller who still failed to answer emails or give an address to return the junk to. I looked on AMAZON and felt like a complete fool because this is such an enormous scam, but it is being allowed by ETSY. Interestingly enough, Etsy fails to respond too, just as the seller does. Basically a seller is scamming customers by selling AMAZON junk at 400% profit, direct from AMAZON without the gift notes, return for refund address, parcel tracking or customer
Contact response expected. Perhaps ETSY feels it is the customer's responsibility to check every ETSY purchase against availability on AMAZON at a cheaper price. Well, to be honest, I wanted to support their principle of helping small business, independent artisans and cottage industries, so no, I did not look nor did I expect them to support scammers! But this is what Etsy are doing by not responding, not stopping this practice and casting aspersions on all the authentic and honest artists that utilize ETSY to make a living and sell their goods. By enabling this SCAM they are hurting their brand and the honest ETSY TRADERS. What a terrible shame. Of course, the old adage applies "Buyer Beware", but in this case, I hope my experience will make you extra cautious. What started out as a wonderful marketplace for the 'little guy' has turned into a fertile hotspot for greed and dishonesty, and it seems that ETSY is now big enough not to care.

I am so sick of Etsy selling products at outrageous prices that I finally have to write this review. Etsy also have "come-ons". Just $5 or $7 or $9 but that is for a swatch or a sample. Their ads don't say that but it is what they are. Not only that, but the sellers lie about what they are selling. I even contacted Etsy about it months ago. They just told me that the sellers set their own prices. So, almost anything with measurements is "not as described". This is, actually, illegal. Deceptive Measurements or Quantities "The federal Lanham Act allows civil lawsuits for false advertising that "misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities, or geographic origin" of goods or services. 15 U.S. C. § 1125(a). The FTC also enforces false advertising laws on behalf of consumers."

Etsy's homepage states "What is Etsy? Etsy is a global online marketplace, where people come together to make, sell, buy, and collect unique items."

Unique?!

I did a lot of online research and found the wallpaper that I wanted. So, I was happy to see that an Etsy seller had this wallpaper for $7.50 plus. How much could a roll be? As usual, when I went to Etsy, it was actually almost twice as much as most other sites.

Also, the seller lied. How? The seller described it as "Peel and Stick Vintage Chic Blue Florentine Medallion Tile Wallpops Wallpaper NU2235". The Wallpops and the NU2235 both gave it away. It's not vintage when I can find at many, many other stores. It is being sold at Home Depot, eBay, Amazon, Wallpops.com, Target, Walmart, Joann.com (Joann Fabrics), Bed Bath and Beyond, Overstock is out of stock but did sell it, and, of course, Etsy. The other sites I listed are the reputable ones. It's not vintage! That is a lie. If they had said "vintage style", they would have been honest. At least they didn't place it under the vintage category.

I guess Etsy sellers can sell their merchandise at any price they wish -- except when they have to lie to do it. I take exception to this.

This is not the first time, either. I tried to buy curtains and a prom gown from Etsy. Same story. I don't even go to Etsy anymore to buy things. I just like to look to see how much the seller lied and how expensive their items are.

Well, at least Wayfair's was a little unique. I guess I should find my unique items at Wayfair and I don't like them either. I never got exactly what I ordered from them but at least they gave me my money back when I returned merchandise.

So, cautious online shopping everyone!

Due to misguided information and rude and unprofessional behaviour of SHERATON on the falls Management team. During my stay on February 14th 2015 my family and I booked two rooms for two days. In addition, we received two breakfast vouchers per day that can be used during our stay, however I have been billed for breakfast where I used two breakfast vouchers per day. I called SHERATON on the falls to explain that the bill presented to me must be discharged since I presented breakfast vouchers to the restaurant staff for free breakfast. A call was then returned by the assistant general manager who had informed me that there will be no refund because " I should know better ". From my previous visits to SHERATON on the falls, there has been several changes made with their services, but I strongly believe that it is not up to me to know everything that is being changed at the Sheraton and if I was given two vouchers per day from the front deck attendant, Etsy are the ones who should know better since its their responsibility to give out the right information. Explaining to the assistant general manager that it wasn't fair to be billed for breakfast that I had vouchers for, the assistant general manager went even further and said that he will cancel all my upcoming stays at the Sheraton on the falls because I am not satisfied with their services. It is to my understanding that recurring customers are to be treated with more care as they are the ones who are constantly attending the hotel and speaks highly about the services that is being received. With the rude and unprofessional behaviour of the assistant general manager, I feel that I am not being treated as a customer especially since he is trying to neglect a valued customer by telling me he is going to cancelled all my upcoming stays with Sheraton on the falls. The staff at Sheraton on the falls need to be properly trained on knowing the changes so incidents like this one won't occur and if mistakes like this continue to happen, the staff are the one who should be held accountable and not the customer. To continue the assistant general manager should also rethink his strategy with dealing with customer since I str felt he was trying to expel me as a customer. Once again, I do appreciate the service that Sheraton on the falls have given my family, but if I have to pay for breakfast that I hav received free vouchers for and treated like a I valued person then I do not feel comfortable to ever return to the Sheraton on the falls.

(Update: Seller actually accused me of lying about the breakage! Also lied about when he put in UPS pickup request. Lied about everything, really. So this matter is being resolved through PayPal. Avoid this seller. Better yet, avoid Etsy altogether.)

Ordered a ceramic piece from Shaynegreco that was $850 plus tax and shipping total $945. Projected order fulfillment was several weeks out. Weeks later seller contacted me through direct email to tell me the item was finished and would ship "tomorrow." Days passed and I heard nothing from him. I messaged him on the Etsy site, and he said that it had shipped, but I had no tracking and my order was still listed as "not shipped" on the Etsy site. Next day he took the item to the shipper, and UPS sent me confirmation that it was waiting to go out. So that was the seller's first lie. I noticed that the purchase was still listed as "not shipped" on the Etsy site, and thought maybe the seller was just lazy about updating it. Then the item arrived obviously broken, clanking in the box. I did not open the carton. I messaged the seller to ask what to do. He said he would arrange UPS pickup of the box (I told him, preemptively, that I would not drive it to the UPS depot for him, so don't assume that he was being helpful), and he said I would get my refund "when UPS has it in their possession." That means a delay of several days, if I am to get it at all. I told him he needed to refund me immediately, and he stopped responding. So here is where the manipulative scam became apparent. I went to my purchase page to leave a negative review and put in a compliant with Etsy and I see that those two options are not available on this purchase because Shayne has not activated order fulfillment! (For those not familiar with Etsy, a buyer clicks through her order on the Orders and Purchases page to post a review or to report problems to Etsy. But those prompts do not appear on orders that are still awaiting fulfillment.) Given the fact that Shayne went around the Etsy system to notify me of (delayed) shipping, I am certain that he did not enter the order fulfillment into Etsy's system because he wants to block buyers from reviewing and reporting him to Etsy when orders go wrong. Really dodgy. Makes Etsy look bad. I have reported this to Etsy customer support, and will file a claim against the seller if he does not refund my money. But this may have turned me against Etsy for good.

Thinking of opening a shop on etsy.com? think again!

Good article. Etsy shut me down about 1 1/2 years ago out of the blue one day. Luckily, i always maintained an ebay business too but concentrated and sold mostly on etsy over the years. Etsy was and became my lively hood (huge huge! Mistake) i fought etsy ‘s action s with a lawyer but after a while could not afford further legal proceedings any longer, also filed complaints with the better business bureau.

I figured after the shock i better move on and tripled my business on ebay instead and opened my own website, went to artfire and bonanza. In hindsight i am glad i did. I had 7000 feedbacks on etsy 100% positive and was selling there for over 7 years supplies and my own handmade jewelery – all gone by the click of a mouse.

Reason: one day i bought an NYC subway iphone cover in a wholesale place in manhattan to resell so buyers could use that item to bling with my offered rhinestones like many other iphone covers with flower motives i offered. Then i got a complaint from the New York City Port Authority claiming copy right infirngment as Etsy apparently own the NYC subway map! Outragous!. Had no idea the nyc subway is copyright and as i bought the item in a legitimate wholesale outlet in the city on 27th street and broadway ( buyers beware!)

What pissed me off the most is they are sending emails to unsuspecting and potential sellers (including me) urging sellers to give up their day jobs and make etsy their career! What a scam! Every job is more secure then they are. I highly recommend to anyone if you ever consider them as your outlet – don"t take that etsy business serious – you could be in the streets in a second out of the blue totally unexpected! On top of that – their customer service is about the worst one can imagine. No phone calls, emails get answered so every other day if your lucky and if your shut down forget about it – no appreciation for any members and you will be treated as their slave having to be thankful forever to be able to sell on their site. Feel free to copy and paste my story to any site you wish.

First off it was so easy to use the site. My son's theme was a circus theme for his first birthday(this was the first time I used Etsy.com) so I looked up circus one year outfit and I found the cutest outfit ever. The instructions were easy to follow. The person who made it made sure I was taken care of. It didn't take long for me to receive the item tho I wasn't too worried since I ordered two months before his birthday. The product was made well. My son looked so cute in it. Kudos to the person who made it. Anyways the site is great. I love homemade stuff. So much creativity. Now I did order my son's two yr old shirt. Themed Mickey Mouse. From a totally different person. Totally different experience. I put the order in. Took a few days for the maker to see it(so I guess not everyone checks to see if Etsy have any orders daily so keep that in mind) it did take a month for me to receive an email from the maker that it's being shipped. I was super excited. 9 days later nothing. So I contacted the maker and she replied back pretty quick that she will look into the tracking and find out what's going on. A few days later she contacted me back. She was super nice. Told me I definitely should have gotten it. She had talk to the post office supervisor. That she will make and ship another and ship it expedited. And message me the tracking info. That was a few days ago. Now the only down side that I hate after this experience is the tracking. You don't get any tracking info unless the maker contacts you with it themselves. So there's no way to track it once your items been shipped. Which sucks. So IDK if she's sent the other one out yet. Unless she message me the tracking info. So again I feel blind as to when I'm supposed to receive it. Hopefully by next week. We will see. Worse case scenario I will have to file a claim that I haven't received my item. Which BTW if you're having the problem that it said your item is shipped but uts been over a week. Always message the maker first. To work something out and to figure out what happened. If you hear no response for awhile then fine a claim. Unfortunately anyone can use any site to scam you. Just be careful. Read reviews first look at what they are being rated. And I don't like how the money gets taken out of my account right away. Before the maker even saw my order. I think that needs to change.

BEWARE: Oklahoma business Oliver and Olivia Apparel / Jill Snow-Ford and Trent Ford. Etsy are now using the name "Buffalo Shirt Company" on ETSY under false names. Jill Ford and Trent Ford previously owned Oliver and Olivia Apparel which they filed bankruptcy on March 17,2021.
I never leave bad reviews, but I'm coming here to warn every individual I know about a company I've been with for the last few years and the couple who "operate" it.
On March 2nd at 9PM Jill sent her team of 35+ a text message to tell us we were all out of our jobs with no prior warning. We are now unsure if we'll get our final checks for the last 2+ weeks of work - her track record of blatant lies and deceit, and her mind-blowing financial oversights which caused the company's downfall precede this worry.
Leading up to this, she's been fraudulently listing products on Etsy, Amazon and Jane that she knew we could not deliver on. If we even had inventory of the items in the listings, they were advertised for production times that were drastically shorter than what we were able to accommodate. A few days after she let the employees go; Jill Ford and Trent re-branded "Oliver and Olivia Apparel" on Jane to "Printed Tees Shirt Company." Jane has closed the shop but it is still visible to the public. I attached a link below.
Real example: you see a Christmas stocking on Amazon that says "2-day shipping", when in reality you will not see the item for 90 days at least. Our shop then prints the shipping label without having the item ready, which makes it ineligible for a refund and allows her to blame mail carriers.
It doesn't make sense, right? It is more than accidental bad book keeping, and more than a crazy "holiday rush". She's been doing intentionally deceitful business for a long, long time. This is just the surface of it. There is SO much more to this story, and I will invite others to share their experiences in comments. The thing that made all of this tolerable is the team I worked with - in case you're wondering why we all stuck around.
At the time of operations closing, we were still catching up on pre-Christmas orders because she had refused to take the listings down in November, when we were desperately trying to tell her we were at production capacity for the Christmas season. Around the same time we were all watching her spend company money frivolously, having just closed on a million dollar estate for herself.
I have watched this woman use her managers as scapegoats for her own poor decision making, throw an absolute fit like a child in front of her entire team to try and garner sympathy, and threaten to fire staff if they did not come in for overtime during Christmas weekend. She is not fit to run a business.
TLDR: Several of us are in contact with the labor commission over fear of not receiving pay, and we're all struggling to find new jobs or file for unemployment (painstakingly). Hundreds, maybe thousands of customers will never receive items they paid for nor will they see refunds from O&O. Be sure to share so that both employees and customers alike can save their time from an untrustworthy company.

Here are some links:
OLD ETSY SHOP (can only be viewed on a computer or laptop)
https://www.etsy.com/shop/OliverandOliviaKids
JANE SHOP (CLOSED) REBRANDED FROM OLIVER AND OLIVIA APPAREL TO PRINTED TEES SHIRT COMPANY
https://jane.com/sellers/printed-tees-shirt-company
AMAZON SHOP
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Oliver+and+Olivia+Apparel/page/E97BDC0B-143D-41D6-...⇄ /> NEWS REPORT
https://kfor.com/news/in-your-corner/i-want-my-money-employees-fight-for-final-p...⇄ /> REDDIT POST
https://www.reddit.com/r/oklahoma/comments/m4ef9y/local_edmond_business_oliver_a...⇄ /> NEW ETSY SHOP
https://www.etsy.com/shop/BuffaloShirtCompany?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listin...⇄

I ordered 5 dresses from Sara Sims, Vintage Opulence for my wedding. I based each design off of dresses that she and previously made with some changes in color and length. I sent her detailed measurements, heights of wedding party and colors and styles Etsy wanted. I had to have her re-dye and change 4 of the dresses as she seemed to be having trouble following directions. She only delivered one dress that was what I asked for but still looked a bit plainer than her original design.
She sent the 5 dresses stuffed into a box the size of a phone book. The dresses were very wrinkled and I had to pay $9.00 in additional postage. They did not look like the dress designs she had posted. The green was way darker than the example I sent her, the burgundy was lighter than her design. Only one was the correct size and color. All were incorrect length.
I ordered the following:

Tiel Green size 4 -I received dark green size 10
Burgundy size 12 -Color okay size 4/6
Aqua size 14 -Color fine, size 4/6
Purple size 12 -Plainer than design but okay
Wedding dress size 14 -Size correct underlining of dress a complete disaster
After many emails she offered to make the dresses that were too small again but after seeing her horrible workmanship or lack of: holes in all 4 dresses, lace sewn haphazardly onto dress connecting wherever, crookedly instead of sewn into seams.
Seams not finished. All stitching very crooked. Loose threads, rotting material that frayed and came unraveled. My wedding dress was so crooked that one side of the skirt went up under the overlaying lace while the other side hung way down making the dress look like a drunk cupcake. When I tugged at the underskirt it frayed and came almost completely unsewn. I have pictures.
Sara took no responsibility for her terrible work or making the dresses the wrong sizes. I sent her pictures of all the holes and crooked lace, etc. I sent two dresses back before the wedding and sending a third back because the dressmaker told me it would cost more money to fix the green dress that was too big than to go buy a new one. We had to buy 3 new dresses plus buy a new under dress to wear under the wedding dress she made, after I took out all the lining and skirt.
I was so surprised she made them so quickly. I chose her because I like her designs and that she takes old lace and slips, etc., to make new dresses. The problem is she does not know how to sew. She tacks her dresses together so they look beautiful on line but in real life they look like a drunk made them. The worst part is she does not care that she is a bad seamstress and takes no responsibility and no refunds. If a mechanic messes up my car and three of my neighbors cars, I am not going to trust him to re-fix the problem on my car. That is how I felt about her making me new dresses.
I asked her for 50% refund. I thought I was being rather generous. No word from her since August 5th. I got married on August 27th. My last communication with her was on August 18th when I let her know I send her 2 dresses back and wanted 50% refund or my husband would contact his credit card company and ask for a full refund.
My husband went on line to find complaints and they were very hard to find but they were there and were comparable to mine.
In my correspondence with her before I paid she was very polite and accommodating, supposedly doing what I asked but in reality she did what she wanted, and did it poorly. At one point I asked he if we could talk on the phone because it seemed she was not understanding me. No comment.
She is messing with peoples special occasions and that is not okay. Everything about my wedding worked out wonderfully except her and the dresses.

Pathetic excuse for a company, dreadfully corrupt.

My girlfriend had started her selling business on Etsy selling merchandise which she put a lot of time, money and effort into. She had lots of orders coming in and business was extremely healthy for her. We had been looking at moving out of my parents house and into our own flat, put the deposit down and within the hour have had to pull out of moving because Etsy have shut her account down and held all of the money owed to her until September!

Turns out this links back to an issue a little while back where an anonymous person had made some sort of inquiry to Etsy to see if she had permission to sell her products (she is selling under a brand) and she had sent proof of permission to Etsy and this person so it was cleared up, She had done nothing wrong here bear in mind. Etsy put her on a probation period where if she broke any of the terms Etsy would suspend her account. That's fine, she had been doing nothing wrong so had nothing to worry about. But they still did this even though nothing was done wrong.

So now they have suspended her account for 'extortion' because she hosted a giveaway for her customers. If they bought an item, all they would have to do is leave a review of said item and they would be entered in to a draw to win free stuff. Apparently this is extortion and was listed in the T&Cs. Well actually it wasn't, but they said it anyway.

When my girlfriend noticed this she got in touch with Etsy to ask what was going on they told her that doing giveaways was against their policy, she replied asking them to explain further as she couldn't see it listed in their terms. They then sent her a blunt email telling her to refer to the previous email, then blocked communication with her. Disappointed with this she tried contacting them via Twitter, which they also blocked her on.

They had around £1900 of her money from buyers which she won't see until September, she still had to find money to make and ship orders. They left her without income without warning, and refused to talk to her and hear her voice. What an absolutely disgusting way to treat the people that are keeping you in business. I will be sharing this far and wide and to everyone even slightly inclined to using ETSY.

ABSOLUTE SHAMBLES OF A COMPANY. Do not support this selfish, lazy establishment. Spend your money elsewhere, or better yet buy from the sellers directly.

Update: I phoned Etsy customer support today and the rep hung up on me. Stay far away from Etsy.

Phoned back and asked for a supervisor. Was transferred to a man who identified himself as such. He repeated pretty much the same script I heard from the first rep I spoke with: "This has to be escalated to management." In other words, I am supposed to sit back and wait, and trust that Etsy will intervene. Someday.

Later, I received this absolutely bonkers communication from the seller, Shaynegreco (this rant is is harassment, btw, since I told him not to contact me):

" ETSY DOCUMENTATION:
This woman "patricia" is a scam artist and a skilled manipulator. Her extremely aggressive behavior, abusive language, and constant threats are a tactic to scam victims. It is apparent she has probably done this before to other people. Her main objective is to keep what she has ordered through Etsy and bully the artist into issuing a full refund without returning the item. I have not allowed this person bully me into getting ripped off. I have spoken to UPS and Etsy have agreed that this is most likely a scam. I will issue a refund after UPS has inspected the box and made sure it is not filled with garbage or some other refuse.
I have been a member of Etsy since 2010. My reputation is crystal clear. I have written documentation of everything that has happened with this transaction. Also of My Contact at UPS, Seth SXXX can verify everything that has happened up until today including his recommendation that I wait to refund this "woman" until UPS can verify it is not a bunch of dented tin cans...
Further more, I ask that you consider banning this buyer "patricia" from ripping off anymore unsuspecting artists on Etsy. I will pursue this matter though the proper means after this specific incident is closed."

FYI: UPS packed the broken item for shipping, so who do you think they will back in this fight? Right. They don't want to pay the parcel insurance. UPS picked up an unopened parcel, for return. So how would I have replaced the (broken) item with "tin cans"?

This tantrum would be funny if this deranged person didn't have almost $1000 of my cash.

So, be aware that this quoted convo is from one of Etsy's longtime sellers. Such a fine man! And example of all Etsy stands for. I guess I really wanted to keep a pile of broken ceramic? Why? Astounding. As if I like wasting my time with people like this?

Totally through with Etsy. I feel sick having had any contact with people that are so clearly unbalanced. Etsy offers zero protection. And this guy has my address.

Original post: I was advised even encouraged by a Etsy customer support rep to file a case against the seller (Shaynegreco) who cheated me and violated Etsy seller rules. The rep told me that I would be able to file the case on X date, and that date did appear on the order page (as a click-on notation "file a case or leave a review after X date"). So I believed the rep, and I waited. But when that day arrived, the notation on my purchase page had disappeared, and there was no link for filing a case or reviewing the purchase! (I have since figured out that I could go around their block on reviewing because they neglected to remove the review link from my invoice, so right back at them...). In order to file a case against an Etsy seller, you have to go through your order page, using that link. So Etsy lied to me and sided with their crooked seller, "protecting" him against the evil customer who was cheated. I'm the victim here, not the seller. They did this even though the customer service rep had AGREED WITH ME that the man was cheating the system! What a farce. I cannot believe that a publicly traded company could operate so dishonestly. It's sickening, really. How can Etsy employees live with themselves, knowing that the company is devoid of ethics?

Everyone must agree to the Etsy policies. Vintage items must be at least 20 years old. Handmade items must be made by you or someone in your shop. You can not resell items made by someone else less than 20 years old. YEAH RIGHT - this is not true and fair for all sellers. If someone reports one of your items Etsy Legal "reaches out" to you by removing your item and threatening you with shutting you down, even if Etsy are not sure there is a violation. They spew rhetoric intended to impress but has no meaning in content. Etsy Integrity team has "hit or miss" integrity that is not equal for all sellers. I have sold hundreds of items on Etsy over the years, until suddenly they removed an item that they were not even sure if it was in violation. If they really cared about integrity, all they had to do was search their site to find that there were many, numerous items listed on their web site ranging from brand new, (as stated in some of the listings) to vintage, whether it was vintage, handmade or NOT. There are numerous listings for brand new American Silver Eagle coins including 2017 all the way back to 1998. There are numerous listings for designer purses that are brand new listed as handmade, obviously not vintage or made by the seller or someone in their shop. The list goes on. Google searches frequently bring up items in Etsy that are not vintage or handmade. For someone like me, I depend on sales for my income. This is not a hobby, and their double standards affect my ability to support myself. They should be reported for not treating everyone equally or not providing a fair opportunity for all. It is shameful. Some sellers may make a mistake in listing an item, but many sellers complete the listing incorrectly (otherwise known as a lie) in order to publish their listings. Of course Etsy isn't looking at all of these. It is my personal experience it could appear they only care about making money and do not really have any ethics. If you choose to sell on their site, have a back up business plan and rotsa ruck, you're gonna need it!

It just keeps getting better! I have nothing but glowing praise as both a shopper and a retailer with 15 years of experience.

I adore this site. I have 3 storefronts on Etsy currently, and with each passing season I have seen dramatic improvements and innovations.

I first tried Etsy several years ago with only passing flirtation, not completely convinced, but with time it has become my #1 favorite for both buying and selling.

The site design is easy to use and attractive, but not overbearing as some retail sites can seem. I love the interactive potential that it offers, so people can window-shop and "favorite" items, show support of their favorite things, without feeling pressured to buy, and without feeling overly confidential about everything or worrying about a "big-brother" presence, which I have not seen any other retail site quite match up to.

Etsy seems to effortlessly straddle that fine line between retail shopping and social networking that so many other retail sites seem to stumble over and collapse. Etsy copy but cannot seem to capture the magic of Etsy.

I sell my own handmade, up-cycled furniture art there with great success and positive atmosphere. On other sites, I felt as if I had to mask or make excuses that I was selling old stuff turned into something new, for fear of big brother's disapproval. On Etsy, this kind of artistry is encouraged. Years ago, sites like ebay had restrictive rules about selling custom goods or handmade, which are now mostly prohibited there. Etsy has become my refuge for my old-become-new art without having to write my own website, and I get immediate, fast support and search engine status just by listing something wonderful, artistic, and unique. I am not scared to put my own personality into it in public forum.

I also set up my mother with her vintage collections of pottery, glassware, collectibles, and interesting objects. And then I set up a 3rd storefront to sell my own collections of vintage toys and ephemera, which I also shop for to purchase on Etsy. And all of the storefronts we have tried there have been successful. All the sellers I have bought from there have been wonderful to deal with.

Years ago I fled ebay after being scammed terribly, which ebay only worsened and provided no support for over 2 months. I fell through the cracks there and abandoned an ebay store with great reputation of over 10 years! I would go so far as to say that other retail sites, especially ebay, through their terrible misguided corporate policies, only worsen problems and risk for buyers and sellers alike. It makes for a negative atmosphere that discourages business.

Since I have come to Etsy, it's been completely problem free. Ebay and Etsy are like night & day. Ebay is nothing but problems and a lack of support, and Etsy has been totally problem free with wonderful support. It's not just the availability or speed of support, but rather the quality of the response- on Etsy, the support is well trained with rational thinkers who treat everyone fairly and ethically. I never got that from ebay.

I had one problem as a buyer on Etsy, which was quickly resolved dealing directly with the seller. It was a case of simple mail loss, which can happen anywhere you buy or sell.
I had one claim as a seller, which was also quickly resolved through Etsy, and Etsy provided courteous, unbiased, and reasonable help and intervention. Etsy backed me in that claim by seeing that the shipping carrier's insurance was going to cover the damage and not forcing me to repay a sketchy claim in advance. The insurance did cover it, the buyer got a refund and thanked both me and Etsy, and all parties were happy. I could not be more pleased.

Compare that with ebay, who once attempted to debit my bank account without my consent for refund money that a buyer had never even paid to begin with. Ebay is SCAM CITY in my experience. I've never seen those problems on Etsy.

Aside from fair, unbiased, and conscientious dispute resolution, their payment practices far exceed what other sites offer. Since Etsy put the new creditcard shopping cart in, my sales soared! Providing customers a choice of payment methods, including old-fashioned checks/MOs, the ever-popular (but sometimes risky) paypal, and also letting them pay directly through Etsy's own creditcard shopping cart system has made a huge impact on my selling and buying there.

Many online shoppers prefer to simply enter a creditcard for payment. People do not want to have yet another account just for paying. Giving people open choices for payment has made a positive impact on Etsy. Sales over the x-mas season were fantastic and far exceeded my expectations, and many of them were direct creditcard sales through Etsy's shopping cart system, deposited directly into my bank within 2 days. It was easier and cheaper than paypal, and the buyer's loved it.

And lastly, the costs are extremely reasonable, FAR cheaper than sites like ebay or amazon. The ability to print reduced-cost postage right there on the site is extremely convenient and helps with the bottom line as well.

Tracking numbers are automatically generated and sent to the customer, and yet I can still do my postage, fedex, UPS, or freight delivery arrangements off site. Navigating sales history and receipts is a breeze.

I have nothing but good things to say. I feel safer. I feel supported. The atmosphere is open and accepting.

I have 15 years of experience with internet retail, and in my opinion Etsy has fixed a lot of the problems caused by other internet retail sites. Many of these other sites could learn a thing or two from Etsy. Thumbs up Etsy! And THANK YOU!

When Etsy first began I watched for a few years to assess if Etsy would be a venue I'd like to advertise my merchandise with. They seemed so very responsive to sellers and their needs. After I joined, they went "public" appearing on the stock market. I knew they will become investor-oriented, not seller/buyer oriented. Historically going public means a business would be charging more fees for everything. Sure enough, first they raised selling fees, then they began taking a cut of the shipping fees and passed along the increase in cost to the seller. Add to that an increase of transaction fees, advertising fees, venue fees of 3.5%+ then forcing people to advertise and just deducting the money from their account whether they agree to the advertising or not. Many of the sellers are otherwise unemployed, stay-at-home moms, talented and able to make something someone wants to buy, but there is a tipping point at which the small business owner/operator can't make any money because all their venue costs continually rise, so they must raise their prices. Then customers say "enough with the raises in prices!" and stop buying. Etsy did something they said they would never do - they invited in global manufacturers, including the huge factories of China and sellers had to pay more for advertisement competing against conglomerates with large advertising budgets. Their listings pushed the listings of individual sellers out of view, but did Etsy care? Not at all. Also, they began to sell a search program that went to the highest bidder pitting small shops against each other and the little shops lost again. Sellers were making less and less and the expense of doing business went higher as Etsy greedily took more fees from the sellers to make the investing public THINK they were actually earning more money by shifting numbers around. Now Etsy's latest thing is forcing people to give free shipping at the expense of the seller or their listings will not receive priority placement. They lie and say it should only cost a certain amount to mail but let's face it, items are mailed by weight and distance and there is no such thing as a single formula that is going to fit everyone. I've watched talented sellers drop out one by one. I hate that Etsy gave in to corporate greed and sold out their original mission. Last, they no longer give sellers or buyers easy access to customer service, in fact, customer service is virtually non-existent. They used to have a in-listing way to report violations of Truth In Advertising but they took that away. Now questionable sellers claim that their items are authentic this or that or actual vintage or antique when in fact they are not. Some are reproductions but Etsy does not care about anything but their bottom line, making the money whichever way they can. So buyer beware, read and ask questions, pointed questions because if you don't look out for yourself, Etsy sure won't do it for you. For most people with small owner-run shops on Etsy they make less than minimum wage no matter how hard they work. It just does not pay.

I was thrilled when ETSY came along. I am a fine artist, oil and watercolor paintings. But after a few years I got tired about the lack of support for fine art. Even when I list a painting there is no style specific to fine art, like Impressionism, Drawings, line art, etc. styles that pertain to fine art. I can't recall ever seeing the front page promoting original paintings. ETSY became a place much like EBAY huge and a Goliath of rules to wade through. From what I have read from other sellers that were removed, there seems to be an arbitrary removal of sellers over Handmade rules. I see people list nothing but images from Society6, an on demand maker of pillows, bed spreads shower curtains etc. These seller list these items as handmade even using the pictures off Society6. Yet Etsy are made in a factory and basically drop shipped. I stopped listing much of my original art since ETSY simply is not a good place for fine art oil paintings. My average start price for an original is $300+ The exposure and love I get from ETSY is dismal. ETSY is best for under $ 100.00 stuff. If you are a serious artist listing on ETSY is not the way to go especially since the literately hold your lifelyhood in their hands and can drop you without any due processes and without any explanation much like EBAY did. I now have my own online presence, my own domain and a storefront created with shopify and I control my SEO. I have sold some originals already. Now when I spend advertising dollars I promote my art, my web site. Not ETSY. I occasionally I list an original and make it for a limited time only, then it gets moved to my website. ETSY isn't doing anything for me as a traditional fine artist. All my buyers had been happy, and many signed up with ETSY just to purchase one of my paintings or two. ETSY started out as a great idea of uniqueness and handmade and has morphed in to the New EBAY, where true artisans have to compete with lots of junk and mass manufactured items, claimed to be handmade and the high end spenders/consumers don't look at ETSY.

As far as a buyers I can say that I sometimes buy soap or clothing on ETSY and my experience has been positive. It does take time to investigate the sellers and make sure you're not being mislead.

Amending this review to give people a heads-up on one way sellers manipulate the system on Etsy. I recently received a destroyed shipment from an overseas seller, and the heavy breakage was clearly due to careless and inadequate packaging. The seller did refund my money, but he also cancelled the original transaction rather than categorizing it as a return or refund. I thought this was odd. It's dishonest because the confirmation for the transaction said that the "seller and customer agreed to cancellation" as the reason for the change. I did not agree to it. What the cancellation did was stop me from posting a negative review. It also keeps his seller record clean because Etsy will kick out sellers with too many one-sided cancellations by sellers, where orders could not be filled.

Etsy does have some reliable vendors. It also hosts some charlatans. I've been buying from the site since the early days, and have been ripped off a few times. But I've also purchased some great stuff. Unfortunately, seller ratings mean nothing these days because Etsy deletes negative reviews. So in assessing a seller you have to look at number of transactions, how long the seller has been on Etsy, and this is crucial look for reviewer photos of purchased items in the reviews. Do Etsy look like the listing photos? Use a form of payment that provides you with a consumer protection guarantee. I am very careful about overseas sellers because three of my worst transactions were from sellers in Thailand and Ukraine, but I do still buy from overseas. (Back when Etsy had a small window for filing a dispute, some overseas buyers would purposely delay shipments long enough that they would arrive after the window closed. But Etsy has since extended the window to I think six months.) Etsy response time for customer service enquiries is good these days, but they still side with the seller in almost all cases. The sellers are who support Etsy, with the fees for listings and extra for promotions. Buyers aren't as loved.

I opened an Etsy shop approximately 9 months ago. A friend, who had been doing business with Etsy for several years, helped me to open the shop and helped me to list the items I wanted in my shop. Recently, my shop was shut down. Even though Etsy claimed to have sent me an e-mail, Etsy did not. They sent that e-mail to my friend. She has violated Etsy policy. Because her IP address was used to log into my shop, Etsy not only shut her down, they shut me down too. I contacted Etsy and only received automated responses from Etsy legal. I question if they actually have employees in that department as I would send a message stating that I had never received an e-mail from them and did not have any associated shops. The response was always "check the e-mail we sent to you for the information'. I would reply "I didn't get an e-mail from you" and the response was "check the e-mail we sent to you for the information". I think the respondent is either a computer or a terribly lazy employee. After getting nowhere with legal, I filed a dispute with Etsy. The note I received after the dispute was filed said that someone would be in touch with me when my dispute was reviewed by the legal staff. I went into the dispute center to check the status of my dispute and guess what? The dispute was marked "Complete" and I NEVER received any communication at all from Etsy. In addition, they are holding my last pay for 6 MONTHS AND I DID NOTHING WRONG! I guess they can scam some interest $ on my money for the next 6 months. My items were custom made and nothing could be returned after 30 days so there was no reason to hold my money for 6 months! Etsy has also taken money from seller's bank accounts without authorization (see google search for February 22,2019) and it appears they are now skimming money from the top of sellers accounts. Sellers are setting a minimum charge for Etsy services and Etsy is over charging those folks by a penny or so each time they provide the service (which is multiple times a day). With hundreds of thousands of sellers, they are making a killing stealing from their sellers! Etsy is the most unethical company I have every had the non-pleasure of working with. This business is a cesspool of unethical behavior and unscrupulous business practices. If I could give 0 stars, I would.

Ask me a month ago, and I was a prophet for ETSY. Etsy made it easy for me to list my products, arranged my payments, brought in customers, and I could print my shipping labels from the site itself. I was okay paying their fees, because it was less work for me. I was a sucker.

I had a shop for nearly 2 years selling hand made crocheted items. I had 100% positive feedback, used all my own images for my listings, shipped every item and worked with my buyers to handle my own refunds so they would not bother etsy. Like all other shops, I paid my bills on time and really caused no trouble. I got a notice that one of the items in my shop was deactivated for copyright infringement (a white cat hat with big, colored eyeballs, but I put a red bow on it) from Sanrio. It's aggrivating, because I never used the search criteria for hello kitty, and my hat looked nothing like the cartoon character (it was modeled after my nieces cat, a hat I had made for her birthday!). Other searches for Hello Kitty brought up 1000's of listings. It was the red bow, I was told, was what was copyrighted. Shortly afterwards, my entire shop was deactivated and I was to provide proof, receipts and photos of my work in a certain amount of time. I provided all that they asked, and still never got access back to my shop.

I got tired of waiting, and created a sub account for myself to relist all my items on again, and within 24 hours, the new shop was suspended. I used a completely new email, new shop name, new credit cards linked to a new address, new paypal, everything. I even changed my name, to my married name rather than maiden like my previous shop. I was set up to being a whole new shop and lose my customer base and standing with ETSY just to be able to sell again. I got an email from legal that I had broken their terms of service and am now seemingly banned from both buying and selling on ETSY. There's an upcoming lawsuit against ETSY for using tracking cookies, and now I fully believe it. I left no trace that the two accounts were similar, even new IP addresses, because I did not want this to happen.

I will be taking my shop elsewhere. I could have set up my own shop on my own domain if I knew it was going to be this much trouble.

Through various screen/store names I have been there from the beginning and I have watched the website decline from a handmade utopia to the 7th level of hell for handmade sellers.
Here is just an outline of some of the major problems (there have been dozens more than what is mentioned) that I have encountered as a seller on Etsy:
I had my *1st major* issue with them when Etsy allowed another seller to replicate my products, to the T, sell them as her own and tell people on other websites I was the one stealing from her. I tried getting etsy to intervene since it was their selling platform that initiated the 1st attack and was being used to fraud my business and they refused. They sent me a message that basically read as "we encourage sellers to steal popular designs from others"
--My 2nd major issue was when a "front page seller" made the front page in October with an item that she stole the pictures and wording/description from me and they didnt change the item to link back to me, instead they just took it off the front page. I had to fight them for weeks to make that seller remove over 20 pictures and item descriptions stolen from my store.
--My 3rd major issue with them -and when I closed my etsy store the 1st time- is when a jewelry company stole one of my jewelry designs, copyrighted it and used etsy to send me a cease and desist. Etsy Legal team sent me a hostile and threatening email telling me not to relist the item. Etsy ALSO removed the item from my store and removed every single transaction of the item I sold in the past so I couldnt use Etsy to prove I was selling the item before "company x" stole the design.
--4th major issue. Only about 5% of what is currently offered on etsy as handmade is actually handmade. Etsy allows factory and/or slave labor products to be sold as handmade. These sellers know that certain buyer have caught onto them selling mass produced items so they set of fake locations in the united states as 'shipping from' address. Etsy support staff does nothing about this.
--5th Major Issue; My etsy store is now closed for good because I had a yet another customer try to use the feedback system to blackmail me for a refund on a product received. Etsy refused to interceded. Out of the 4,000+ positive feedback I have this ONE negative brought down my entire store rating. Not only did etsy refuse to remove the feedback they locked my account and sent me several threatening emails to remove what I have stated about them or they would not allow me to use their site to buy/sell. Once locked out of my account I could not respond to customer messages or send current open orders. Anyone whom purchased from me via Etsy checkout was not able to receive their orders. It has extended beyond etsy issue, now the company, by not allowing me to complete orders and contact customers, is giving my 16 year old business a bad name.
--6th major issue, I found out that for over a year after I closed my Etsy store, that Etsy was still using my business name, products, keywords, photos and item descriptions to lure search engine users to the site to purchase my products even though my store was closed against accepting orders. Once one of my items -no longer for sale on their platform- showed up in a search engine, Etsy website would redirect the buyer to 'similar' items

As seller who had been with etsy since week 1 of their launch and has tried to work with them and overlook their CS issues and refusal to side with sellers in the event of issues I can honestly say I will never use etsy again for buying or selling.
Etsy company is nothing but a bunch of misleading thieves. Abusing sellers and buyer alike.

Mailing to Germany from Etsy / JFJones was less than a happy experience. Im posting this as a heads up to anyone considering making a gift to someone in Europe review the process carefully. In summary, the recipient had to spend $60 in taxes, and took 2+ hours to fetch the item. (plus it took over a month to arrive, and if the recipient had not been home, the package would have shipped back to the US).
>I purchased a larger mobile on Nov 30,2017. The item listing notes VAT included (where applicable). Shipping within the US was free, shipping to Germany not. After I made the purchase, the receipt includes an additional comment Additional duties and taxes may apply. (see link below). The receipt marked as gift.
> Received notification of shipment on Dec 12,2017 as three day priority mail. A different note mentioned having it in a 6-10 days.
> The Tracking (USPS via Etsy) provided updates including Customs clearance processing complete on Dec 23 and showed the item as delivered (no details as to not delivered to the shipped to address on Dec 30, though the recipient had not received the item.
> On Jan 4 2018 the recipient received a letter from Customs that after 10 days Etsy would be charged a holding fee and in total 14 days (from Dec 30) before it would be mailed back. There was no warning of the process in the tracker recipients could have been on a winter vacation and missed the time window.
> Customs officials stated that the package did not include the proper documentation to show this was a gift, therefore they had stopped delivery to demand a tax payment. Giving them after the fact the documentation I received from Etsy did not suffice. However, I think the cost ($225, and $42 shipping) was likely the determination for the tax of about 50 Eurp/
> Though the sales page notes VAT included (where applicable) if you dig into Etsy you find a disclaimer (plus post purchase the receipt I received included Additional duties and taxes may apply.). The link https://www.etsy.com/help/article/502 includes the following: When a package is shipped internationally, it may be subject to import taxes, customs duties, and/or fees imposed by the destination country. These charges will typically be due once the shipped goods arrive at the country of destination. Please note that certain countries may require certain documentation before the items are sent. If the necessary information is not provided, this may result in delays in the order. Most sellers on Etsy are unable to predict which of these fees, if any, will be applied, and Etsy does not expect sellers to calculate or collect these fees or taxes. This information should be clarified in sellers' shop policies.
The item itself is lovely. Just note that it will come at a much higher price and hassle for the recipient.

The good: lots of unique handmade and vintage items
The bad: If you are not living in USA, you pay lots for shipping (many of the sellers are from USA). Many are handmade so Etsy took a long time to make (beware if the items take too long you will no longer be covered by Paypal - 45 days after purchase rules). So if you never received your items or items are damaged or not as described and 45 days have gone by, you cannot file a complaint and can not get a refund. My advise is to file a non delivery to paypal if you have not received items after a month.
The ugly: Bought some items from etsy seller. 2 months gone by and no delivery (not knowing the 45 days rule of paypal). Sent conversation to the seller asking about the item and no reply. Waited a few more days and sent another email to seller. Finally told me she never got the email (which is weird since I sent through Etsy conversation box), and that items cannot be tracked because it's first class shipping (i did not know this since i am not from USA). That's her only explanation and no other communication after that. I was upset obviously. Especially because of her lack of response and her zero effort in rectifying the situation. After waiting for another week and still no communication and no delivery, I finally gave her a negative feedback stating the truth: Items did not arrive and lack of communication (which is normal if you buy through sellers via amazon or other online shops). Except with Etsy, the seller has the audacity to give me negative feedback stating that she is not responsible for missing items and that she has warned me that first class shipping is not trackable if lost! (no where in our conversation previously did she mention this to me). Besides, what professional merchant will literally give negative feedback and blaming customer for items that the customer has paid and never received? I did not even ask for refund. I felt insulted. Never in my whole life i had such a bad experience from a shop. There are other good sellers in Etsy but this one just upset me too much for me to want to come back to buy again. Stick with reputable shop that will not insult you if they do not deliver. Do not trust the positive feedback you see on etsy. Buyers tend to give positive feedback even if not good to avoid conflict like mine or they give neutral feedback instead. Also, sometimes seller can cheat and cancel the transaction so that they can avoid negative feedback. Beware!

I have been a seller on Etsy since the beginning and for the last 2 years I have seen the implementation of a dictatorship like system, the coming of Chinese resellers with mass produced junk, muzzling of complaining sellers by repressive measures like banning from the forum and shops arbitrarily taken down.
Favoritism is rampant as well and if your are not part of the "privileged cast of sellers" you will suddenly and helplessly see your livelihood and years of hard work go down the drain with 60% or more of your monthly income disappear. Etsy manipulates your store visibility and control what you sell to the dollar. YES, Etsy CAN AND THEY DO!
The new search engine is an enigma. The admin's favorite sellers are mysteriously and ALWAYS more relevant than the others in the search results, establishing an obvious dominance and by the same token enjoy the advantage of a free promoting tool while most sellers become invisible, no matter the "relevancy", quality and number of items in their stores. A bias search engine with an agenda?
These same privileged/favorite sellers can also infringe copyright laws with impunity and Etsy turns its head the other way.
Customer service/support is inexistent and limited to email but if and when you are lucky enough to be granted an answer to your inquiry, it is a condescending and/or mean one.
Recently Etsy has removed the dual feedback system and implemented a one way and arbitrary star review, leaving sellers at the mercy of dishonest buyers.
The last five months Etsy has multiplied its testings on thousands of unsuspecting stores and many sellers have seen their income slashed to nothing while the "privileged cast", under the Etsy protectorate, is enjoying an exponential multiplication of their sales.
For the past 2 years and particularly for the past months Etsy has taken away the livelihood of many, ruined families and destroyed lives without even a flutter of hesitation.
Etsy has become a heartless entity devoid of compassion and moral ethics. It has fallen to the level of the big corporations where bribery, corruption and repression are prevalent.
Wouldn't it be time for a class action lawsuit?

I ordered a TV riser for $139 from Jim's Woodworks on their website. The website indicates that the risers are custom-made and, as a result, shipment can take 7-8 weeks. I ordered on 2 July and expected shipment by 27 August, 8 weeks after my order.

I followed up in mid-August to inquire on progress and was told that the riser was progressing well and would ship on time. When the end of August came and went with no riser and no communication from the proprietor, Jim Thoman, I grew suspicious and inquired again. When no one answered my email for more than 2 weeks, I grew more concerned and wrote again on 21 September, a Monday. Only then was I told that the riser in August was actually flawed and had to be rebuilt. The new completion date was the end of that week, Friday, 25 September. I followed up on 24 September to ensure the riser was progressing as expected but got no response. Friday came and went with no contact so I followed up on Saturday, more than 12 weeks after my order, and again got no response.

I wanted to trust Jim but, between the long delay, the broken promises, and the unresponsiveness, I finally filed a dispute with PayPal asking for the riser to either be shipped or for a refund. In distinct contrast to the prior long response times, Jim responded within hours. Unfortunately, the response was neither constructive nor conciliatory: Jim blamed me for filing a dispute and vindictively told me that, even though the riser was completed, he was canceling my order and refunding my money. If it was truly finished, I would have preferred to receive it but Jim apparently preferred to punish me for not wanting to wait longer than 3 months to receive my order.

The entire experience was very unpleasant and suspicious. My belief is that the project was never completed. Based on my experience, this seems to be a scam to hold your money for as long as possible hoping that you'll either forget about your order or give up on waiting. Even if you remember and ultimately get a refund, Jim will still have gotten to keep your money in the bank for months without any liability. Win win for him. Lose lose for you.

Note that Jim Thoman also does business at:
https://jimswoodworks.com
http://whitehorsepottery.com

Also note that this business is based in Dinosaur, Colorado and is not affiliated with other Jim's Woodworks businesses in Sonoma, California or Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

As a former Etsy seller since Mid 2015, I have to say that Etsy make very difficult to contact them. They are more interested in getting buyers than reliable seller. Etsy has allowed non-sense reviews to be published on my store.
Etsy is abusing their power in times of glory. They just suspend my store without any prior notice. It is like going to work in a bright WED morning to find out that you don't have a desk anymore. This happened to me last WED and the reason was that I selling silver chains (not handmade) to accompany the pendants that Ameogem (my store)make. Not enough, Etsy also evicted me from being a Buyer! I felt that I was selling illicit drugs instead of handmade jewelry!
And how about Etsy Partners? Etsy allows 'partners' to all stores, which is vague and which led me to 'misunderstood' their policy, latter NOT clear. As a result, Etsy closed my store, and also other two stores I had with them. I have had top reviews as a seller, making a good income for me, for Etsy and making my customers quite happy.
They just evicted me out of silver chains. Mind you, I have seen many 'made in china' products being sold on Etsy. The smarter seller just take photos of mass produced items and post them on Etsy as a 'handmade' item, including silver chain. Hilarious!
I have paid Etsy all fees, shipped all items, and yet, they will only release my monies after 180 days from suspension! Now is June, and will get back my AUD$2,000 only in December! My monies will be at Etsy bank account, while I am borrowing money to pay my debts! This is extortion as simple as that.
Etsy has a very condescending language and attitude, no human feeling. Zero customer service for sellers.
Etsy email messages to me as always being cold, automated, wanna-be-big-corporate type attitude. I have to say that eBay customer service for sellers are warm, understanding and professional.
NO ETSY. Arrogance is for Trump not for professionals, serious and customer-based sellers like me.
Oh! Their policies are not clear and totalitarian style. When you read you can feel the lack of human touch there. Scary.
Also, when a seller full refund an item, the amount the buyer will receive is lesser than the actual amount. Etsy collects part of the refund money from the buyer, and also charges the sellers for each refund. Money savvy culture.
I do NOT recommend Etsy for any sellers.

Oh dear. Please do not trust all sellers on Etsy. If you aren't sure what you are getting, don't purchase it. Too many buyers complain about what Etsy got from those "mystery" purchases with a random shirt or sweater and don't end up liking them. I'll admit it's great to find nice handmade stuff and it's great for artisans. I appreciate handmade work and help supporting Etsy shops.

However, I encountered so many bad sellers, I was quite disappointed and didn't want to buy from this place again. You would charged $11.95 to have them ship a pair of pants that aren't even heavy denim. $12?! Not only that, but I got ripped off so many times, it was crazy.

I asked a seller to ship me a pair of high waist jeans with 1" cuffs. She sends me a pair with 0.5" inch cuffs and the cut-off area keeps showing which was NOT what I wanted. I requested another seller to sell me a vintage sweater that was black. When I received it, it was a dark navy blue and it was very scratchy!

Afterwards, I purchased a ring that says it was handmade but it was actually a mass produced product from Asia and it was only obvious after I saw 4 sellers selling the exact same item. Then, I purchased a cardigan and a vintage bag from a seller. When I received the item, the cardigan was not "soft" and comfortable as she said. It was very stiff and uncomfortable. The bag she shipped me was in great condition the first time I gently used it. The strap broke off on its own after storing it nicely!

A lot of sellers are always like "contact me with questions". When I did contact one of the sellers, she took FOREVER to reply and I felt like she was playing the bargaining chip while giving me an attitude at the same time. It's either that, or they think as a buyer, you're being annoying.

As another reviewer said, always double check and research the item you want to purchase. The ring I originally purchased that was NOT handmade, was $20 and $4 shipping. After a few months, other shops sold the same exact ring and charged only $9 per ring.

Etsy in theory is great, but I never made a sale there. I listed a ton of items and wasted a ton of money and sold NOTHING. The only positive thing about selling is that their fees are actually reasonable ($0.20 a listing, and 3.5% fee for items sold). Compared to eBay, this is a heaven.

As said earlier though, be careful of sellers. At the same time, be a reasonable buyer. I respected a lot of no-return policies from those bad purchased. Sadly, almost all the items were either donated, given away, resold or thrown out. Advice from experience: Don't be tempted to buy trash or get charged retail price for clothing that are three decades old. I wouldn't even buy crafting supplies here. I don't know where some sellers in their right mind charge $6+ to ship 3 oz of wool roving. Absolutely ridiculous.

There are many honest sellers on Etsy, but you must most vigilant for scammers. I was badly scammed by one seller advertising "handmade plush rabbit toys, made in England" which could be "personalized with the baby's name on it." The item arrive within 12 hours. It was a completely flattened white 'thing' not even remotely resembling a bunny with a large tag on it "MADE IN CHINA". I sent a message to the seller and asked for a complete refund. The seller refused, claiming, the 'item' "met their standards and criteria". I wrote back, "Well, it certainly does not meet mine. Why would I receive a completely flattened toy bunny?" Their response was that I "should expect to receive a flattened bunny due to the air pressure in the aircraft." I wrote them, "I have traveled all over the world with my animals and we always arrive in three dimensions." I asked this 'seller' how it was possible for a package arriving from the UK to land on my doorstep 12 hours later. The response was that Etsy "had a special on-line customs service which enabled them to override US customs." Sorry, there is no such thing. The "personalization" writing was illegible and despite their claims that the special "sublimation imprinting process was indelible" the cheap fabric marker color rubbed right off in my hand. My son, a computer analyst told me the classic sign of a scammer is that they use two English names combined. This 'shop' on Etsy is called "AmyLucy" designs and features a photo of a super model blonde woman. I posted a negative review and it was removed within a half hour and they closed their 'shop' for a week. I should have examined the site closer. All 50 pages of reviews are five stars with no comments. It is not statistically possible to have 50 pages of all five star reviews. Apparently 23 people had this item in their cars. More likely virtual people. I contacted Etsy and was forced to listen to the most inane, idiotic 'music' for an hour before speaking with a non-virtual customer service representative who assured me my $50 would be refunded, It never was. I gave this 'thing' to my dog. She took one sniff at it, and walked away in disgust. It went straight into the trash.

I have just had a very bad experience with an Etsy seller. First let me say that I really hate having to write anything of a negative review however when it is warranted I will do so. That said I have been a shopper on Etsy for years and have had pretty great exchanges with the many sellers that I have shopped with. Some of them have been absolutely magical! This one has been more like a slow train ride through hell! I placed an order on August 22,2016 for two necklaces and one pair of earrings. Nothing crazy or even custom made items. The beaded necklace was comprised of ready made beads and one simple "crafty" style pendant with college logos. The other necklace was a ready made pendant on a chain and the earrings also ready made items. This should have been a really quick simple order to fill and ship. But that's not the case! The shop said it needed 5 to 10 days to fill orders... Okay? Then we add in shipping time. I only live a few hours away from the sellers location so shipping should be a breeze! Nope! Trying to communicate with the seller was less than great with only unhelpful robotic responses when she felt like replying! I did actually get a shipping confirmation which was useless because the tracking info stated a label had been created but no item had been shipped? I tried to find out what was going on and the seller told me she would look into it with the postal service and meanwhile she would reship the items I had ordered. Still waiting... 3-4 days later no new shipping confirmation and no explanation as to where the first shipment is? So today( Sept 8.2016) I get a convo message stating that I will be getting a refund and that the seller could not fill my order because she doesn't have the earrings I paid for!?! Seriously! So the seller as good as promised this order would be(re) shipped she said she would reship and didn't know that she didn't have one of the items BEFORE telling me that? I feel very jerked around by this seller. I am sad and so disappointed in this whole experience. I'm not sure if it's an issue of being under stocked on listed items or being disorganized and having poor communication skills. Perhaps a lack of business acumen and not understanding that it's NOT about the sale IT"S ABOUT THE CUSTOMER! It doesn't matter if you please the easy people. Etsy will come and go. It's about pleasing the hard people. They will often times become the most loyal CUSTOMERS not just an easy one time sale! This seller has certainly lost my sale and any future business or referral I may have made in future. Really, she could have offered me the items that were ready and explained the delay on the beaded piece and I would have been ok waiting on that.( At least I would have gotten something!). She could have offered to send the necklaces and explained she was out of earrings offered me a coupon or something on the re-ship items. So many simple ways to resolve this and keep the sale and maybe the future CUSTOMER! I will tread carefully from here on when shopping at Etsy and I would advise the same to others as well. Sorry... SassyGirlsX3 you blew it! BTW: Etsy if you're reading this think about offering some business education to sellers with less experience so maybe shoppers could have a more smooth experience across your platform offerings.

PS: So had another look at the email sent by the seller and it appears that I should be getting the two necklaces but not the earrings. A refund for those should be coming. So far everything this seller has said about shipping has been inacurate and dodgy all the same. Even if I do get the necklaces it will be uncomfortable wearing them. If I happen to dislike them forget about returning anything because frankly I've had enough of this drama... Good Luck if you choose to shop there folks!