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As an avid user of Etsy for gifts and home goods, I'd noticed the uptick in cheap generic mass-produced items for sale. While most were easy to spot (most didn't do much to hide the fact) there is no way to filter them out...making finding the REAL artisan items tedious! Etsy seems to be suffering from its own success. Shareholders demanded growth, and sales boomed during lockdown as lots of people bought masks. "The stock price quadrupled in 2020, and the number of businesses selling goods on the site more than doubled to 9 million between 2020 and 2023." And it seems they turned a blind eye to resellers...even though there was a policy that "“everything listed for sale on Etsy must be handmade, vintage, or a craft supply.”" Etsy hopes that recently updated rules, and an expansion of what defines "artisan" will help pull them back to their original core model. #CSCCSCM #Artisan #handmade #art #resellers #supplychain #logistics #retail

What in the world has happened to Etsy? #ecommerce #marketplace #etsy 📢 Etsy, a company worth $37 billion, has run into some hard times. Shares fell by 30% last November, and many are concerned about seller revolts due to changes in the company's rules. Additionally, the company has spent a lot of money on acquisitions, including the overpriced purchases of Elo7 and Depop. Despite this, Etsy still has a solid operating margin and has generated more than $650 million in cash over the previous year. However, the real problem is that Etsy is no longer the unique and buyer-friendly environment it used to be. This loss of differentiation is what is causing concern about the future of the company. So what exactly went wrong here? Dropshippers, ubiquitous on the internet, are all over the platform. Rather than selling handcrafted products, these vendors act as middlemen, precisely the kind of person Etsy was designed to cut out of the market. Counterfeit goods constitute an increasing percentage of products offered. Earlier this year, Citron Research claimed Etsy was one of the biggest counterfeit distributors. Small sellers are leaving. The conditions of the pandemic were singular, and many of the folks who decided they wanted to spend their lives crocheting portraits of other people’s cats have subsequently changed their minds. Large sellers are leaving. Mandatory opt-ins to advertisements led to an exodus of bigger sellers. In 2020, Etsy started automatically advertising on sellers’ behalf, with most shops obligated to pay Etsy a cut. Etsy’s search algorithm is not as effective as it used to be. It is now harder to find unique items on the platform, and the search results are often cluttered with irrelevant items. The decline in Etsy’s fortunes is a reminder that even the most successful companies can falter if they don’t keep up with the times. 📉

Etsy: A Unique Marketplace for Creative Goods 1. Etsy's History, Growth, and Mission 2. Differentiation Through Handmade, Vintage, and Craft Supplies 3. Key Features and Policies Supporting Small Sellers 4. Successful Shops and Notable Products 5. Challenges and Future Trends #Etsy #Ecommerce #Handmade #Vintage #SmallBusinessSupport #GlobalExpansion #AugmentedReality #MobileCommerce #SocialCommerce #EcommerceTrends #FutureTrends #SupportSmallBusiness #smartshopping #onlinemarketplace #businessopportunities #digitalmarketing

Since its founding in 2005, Etsy Shop had a secure moat around its business: handmade goods that delivered the personal touch in each package. But over the past two years, it didn't enforce those guidelines and got flooded with goods that didn't meet those criteria. Now, it is moving to put teeth into its established policies, but the question remains why did it take Etsy so long? with Juan Pellerano-Rendón #handmadegoods #makermarket #smallbusiness #businessmodel

https://lnkd.in/gNcsZNuK This is a pretty positive article overall. Basically saying that Etsy intends to compete with Temu etc, by not competing with them, and making a push to distinguish themselves. I genuinely believe that Etsy regrets the lack of policy enforcement and buyers getting items mass produced in China instead of the handmade items they thought they were getting. It's gotten out of hand, but I believe there is genuine intent from the top to try to fix it and make Etsy stand out from Amazon, Temu, etc. I think they've realized that mistakes were made. We've seen a few positive changes recently including the change from "handmade by" to "designed by" and "made by"... finally not forcing POD to be listed as handmade. I am cautiously optimistic. I hope we can see Etsy recapturing at least some of the way it was. Allowing only items actually made by the seller themselves to be listed as "made by" is a start.

After a 2013 change in policy, handmade-goods platform Etsy became overrun with dropshippers and cheap, factory-made dreck. But the loss of Etsy's initial quirky, artisanal charm is starting to affect the company's bottom line, and the company is now attempting to "revert all changes" and go back to its roots. Going forward, all items sold on Etsy will have to fall into one of the following buckets: 1. "Made by" (handcrafted) 2. "Designed by" (original designs produced by a third party) 3. "Sourced by" (items that enable buyer creativity) 4. "Handpicked by" (vintage) In today's market, Etsy can't hope to compete with sites like Amazon and Temu, so leaning on its key differentiator could be a smart move to attract people back to the platform. https://lnkd.in/eu_e_WJF

Updates announced by Etsy today seem to be getting little interest from sellers, customers, and media alike. Adding categories like "sourced by" and "designed by" seem to open up the platform for selling more low-quality, mass-produced, and largely imported product. What started as a platform for primarily #MadeInUSA products continues to struggle. This change in direction may be helpful in importing short-term earnings for shareholders, but it seems to push the platform into competing with other online marketplaces, rather than continuing to distinguish itself. https://lnkd.in/gXGmj2H9 #OnlineBusiness #Makers #SmallBusiness #Etsy #Marketplace #Ecommerce

“WHAT IS ETSY'S PROFIT POTENTIAL: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO STRATEGIC SUCCESS” This article explores how sellers can profit on Etsy, a global online marketplace for handmade, vintage, and unique items. It covers Etsy's operations, the countries where it operates, and various earning methods, including product sales, custom orders, digital products, and advertising. By leveraging these strategies and Etsy's supportive tools, sellers can maximize their profits and achieve long-term success in this vibrant, creative ecosystem. To readout in detail, click on link below:- https://lnkd.in/ebmpjhYs

My updated thoughts on how Etsy sellers should deal with last week's removal of write-in shipping options in the US & UK. ▶ The company's workaround does work better than you might expect, but it is not remotely ideal. Check it out before giving up and closing your shop. https://lnkd.in/ga-G8G6K #EtsySellerNews #ecommerce #Etsy

With so much uncertainty on Etsy right now, many sellers are afraid that they shops may be randomly suspended. Though our collaborative research efforts with Printify, today I’ll be covering the TOP reasons Etsy sellers are being suspended in 2024 so you can stay safe. 🟠 Watch it here: https://lnkd.in/gG5YjjvM #etsybusiness #etsy #etsyseller #etsysuccess #handmadealphas #etsy2024