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Best path forward? (suspended shops, but also have ones still active)
 

So I have a unique situation here..

I have (had) three Etsy shops. And about 6 months ago, one of them was suspended (with option to appeal) for accumulative IP infringement claims. What was interesting about this, is that the other two shops remained unaffected.

Now a few weeks ago, a second shop was suspended due to the same cause. And similarly, the other remaining shop was left unaffected.

I am really trying to make sense of this in order to determine the best path forward to have at least two active shops. As I still have one at the moment, this would mean either appealing a suspended shop or opening another.

Here is where things are murky..

I've dealt with Etsy stealth in the past, circa 2016, where I had two shops and when one was suspended (again, for the same cause) they went after all active shops under the owner. And since this was some time ago, along with many Etsy business changes since, I can't help but wonder, does Etsy not suspend all shops related to one that has been suspended? In this new situation, I have no idea why my other shops remain unaffected while two of them were suspended individually. I can only assume either I am lucky, or that they have changed their policies on suspended shops for this cause. Can anyone comment on this as to if their policies have relaxed regarding this or something?

Now I have two options to add a second shop back into my operation.

1. Appeal one of the suspended shops
2. Proceed to open a new shop

My goal here is to minimize as much risk as possible with my current existing shop. As of course it would be better to have one shop than none at all.

What I am trying to determine is:

1. Would appealing one of the suspended shops "bring heat" to my current active shop?
2. Would opening a new shop as the same owner as the current shop (and other banned shops) be problematic given this situation?

Many, many thanks! 🙏

Re: Best path forward? (suspended shops, but also have ones still active)
 

no one will be able to tell as it is not disclosed by marketplaces whether they enforce chain suspension

the only way out of this situation is the same as everywhere else , you open more and more accounts even if you need none at the moment

Re: Best path forward? (suspended shops, but also have ones still active)
 

I wouldn't appeal, i mean you can but you know when you're dirty. Follow the gut and open up other shops as back up. How many hits does it take to get closed? I've been hit a few times. I can imagine other shops selling the same thing in your niche.

Re: Best path forward? (suspended shops, but also have ones still active)
 

Now I have two options to add a second shop back into my operation.
Appeal one of the suspended shops
Proceed to open a new shop

Might as well both - new shop stealth-style

Re: Best path forward? (suspended shops, but also have ones still active)
 

Out of interest how many IP infringement did you have and in what period of time?

Re: Best path forward? (suspended shops, but also have ones still active)
 

Great clarification - and on what category of products?

Re: Best path forward? (suspended shops, but also have ones still active)
 

I appreciate the insights here. I'm going to forego poking the bear with any appeals and instead proceed with new shop openings. This is the way.

More more info to help you all with your shops:

IP violations were 7 on one shop and 4 on another. "final warning" was received on both. One shops claims were over the span of 6 months and the other, 3 months.

Re: Best path forward? (suspended shops, but also have ones still active)
 

Well without more details, it's difficult to analyze further - good luck on the future shops - hopefully you aren't making the mistakes again and again

Re: Best path forward? (suspended shops, but also have ones still active)
 

opening new accounts should be the only strategy , this strategy must be adhered to even when you do not need new accounts otherwise you will join the ranks of people who come here crying in panic that their shops were closed down

most people do not understand that ebay/amazon/etsy are like a minefield ,
you are ok as long as you do not step on one and there are lots and lots of different traps which people do not know about because marketplaces do not want to disclose how they work so that people can not circumvent it

Re: Best path forward? (suspended shops, but also have ones still active)
 

There are no further details required in order to ascertain this situation. The context is black and white however what's happening behind the scenes with Etsy can only be chalks up to what people are experiencing over the past short-term. It's unclear if they are relaxing their internal processes or if this is an outlier.

Re: Best path forward? (suspended shops, but also have ones still active)
 

Yep, agreed. However it doesn't matter how many shops you have if Etsy one-fell-swoops your ass.

Re: Best path forward? (suspended shops, but also have ones still active)
 

Nice analysis - set it and forget it, move on, etc