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What got you banned on etsy?
 

Just curious here what got you banned? Im just learning about etsy right now. I thought they mainly sold vintage and craft made items. Are they just really hard on sellers for mistakes or something?

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

I have found that a lot of the competition will do you in - some of those people in your niche market are actively pressuring out the new sellers...one example

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

The problem with etsy is not so much that they suspend you; that will happen, sure, but that it's often so arbitrary and appeals are often completely ignored. Have backup accounts ready, and don't make similarities too obvious as the thugs that reported you before will pick up on the new accounts and report those too.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

copyright,

Want to go back but I have over 500 pics to edit if I don't want to get bullied by the big sellers.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

I know other sellers go after shops. I've had 2 very successful shops on etsy the past year and both got shutdown. I had a 3rd shop that I created with stealth but I just signed onto it on my vpn and it's showing suspended as well. I'm not sure how it was linked.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

I got suspended due to intellectual infringement. Had some brand name on a keyword and got reported from listing items similar to another etsy seller which I wasn't aware of. Given everything handmade, it's nearly impossible to make a full time income if you don't hire outside manufacturers. I do have a few handmade items here or there, but the more you list, the more you sell.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

I got suspended because they wanted photos of my process. I happily did all this but they wanted more which I felt was way too intrusive so I began my stealth journey... :)

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

Just joined after buying the book because I badly want to get back on Etsy. I loved the customers on that site.

I got shut down due to copyright infringement or intellectual property or something. I can't quite remember it was about a year ago.

But the sad thing is, the item that got me shut down didn't infringe any copyright, I listed a game as a keyword even though there was nothing on the item that referenced the game (it was a T-shirt that said GG and FU, as in good game and, well you know. But that was literally all that was on it). Game owners complained and that was it for me. Gotta love Etsy's Zero tolerance policy :rip:

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

I got 4 warning emails before I got shut down. I guess it depends on how big of a seller you are. I used to average in 4K USD sales per month so I had a couple of chances before I got shut down.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

I sort of had 5 warnings or at least the 5th was the end for me, I don't really class one of them as an infringement though as it was a notification from LEGO, they were ok with me using their name as long as it was on their terms, so it had to be full capital letters and not just lego, also had to have the registered trademark symbol on the end. But yeah Etsy took that as a black mark for me too sadly.

I understand where people come from on copyright infringement but it still makes me a little sad. Etsy items being hand made, usually made by fans. I know everything I made I made because it was something I had love for. I got a great feeling out of people buying my things because it was something I had thought up, drawn, and it was quality product that I had chosen and built, not a china sweatshop fall to bits effort. But then you sort of get a middle finger from the owners because they want the money you are making.

Worst I found were fox network (Futurama got me notices on Ebay and Etsy) and Minecraft too (again Ebay and etsy) they seem to have teams working on seeking these items out.

I also know from my old employer that Addidas have a specialised team for it. And are so bad that if you create a sports style product with two stripes, they will come after you, and they will win.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

Game owners can't complain, someone has to submit a DCMA for Etsy to take you down unless your goods were not handmade. There is a ton of copyrighted material on that site and unless the actual copyright owner submits a DCMA(or one pretending to be the owner) etsy will let it go. Search for Disney or Frozen. Close to 100,000 items that are 95% copyright violations.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

It was the game owners, A company called valve if you are familiar with them. They own DOTA which was a keyword on my item. Etsy's warning listed the contact details of who had complained, and listed every game that they had rights to. Like I said in my above post, some companies have departments that are there just to seek out people who infringe copyright.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

Sorry I though you actually meant video game players.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

Like one of the member on this forum said, the safest way to sell on Etsy is to stick with pictures of warm fuzzy cats and dogs.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

Jesus Etsy sounds more malicious than eBay.

Re: What got you banned on et-sy?
 

I had my account on et-sy for years. I was making a good chunk of my income there. I really liked the customers. I had one buyer who was a huge pain. He wanted a custom item (with a 6-8 week turnaround) done in 2 weeks. I told him no, that I couldn't do that but I would try to get it done asap. 4 weeks after his order he filed an 'item not received' case. I contacted trust & safety, they said it was close enough to the time frame, they would let it stand. Thank you for the seller support. He received his item and left horrible feedback about what a nightmare I was to work with. They would not remove it nor help me at all. A few months later I had a buyer who ordered 2 separate items, 3 weeks apart. She expected them to both be delivered on the time frame of the first order. When she received the first item without the second, she filed an 'item not as described'. Again, they let the claim stand and suspended my account. She received both items, on time. Et-sy will not take the suspension off. They said I had to deliver all my orders and pay all my seller fees, $129, and they would consider re-opening my account but I know they are not going to from the tone of the responses. In the meantime, one of my buyers contacted me telling me that Et-sy sent them an email asking them if they had any issues with the transaction and to please note that with feedback!!!! Talk about trying to hang me. Luckily no one did and everyone was happy but the 3 feedback that were left are enough that no one would buy from me unless they did not read my feedback. I feel really disappointed and let down by et-sy support. They really did nothing to assist me and I was not in the wrong on either case. In fact, they encouraged my buyers to leave negative feedback. My items are completely hand made, no issue with copyright or other sellers. Really a bummer. I am on this site to see if I can get back on and sell under a new name with new items.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

I was booted for not being handmade. So I sent in pictures of the way I handmake my product, by hand, every step. Got no reply. I think a competitor red flagged me :croc:

BTW can someone answer my question? Two down from this one in the et.sy section.:pry:

I think getting onto et.sy has just become VERY hard. Has anyone tried it in the last 4 days?

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

I was a pretty big seller of kids shirts ($55K in 6 months). It is WITHOUT A DOUBT a petty "push out" selling system. The other competitors don't like you sell more then them and they do EVERYTHING in their power to get you shut down. It's crazy. The traffic is awesome but the competitors SUCK!! I got shut down for Paw Pat** shirts yet if you look on Fu.esty you'll see 10+ selling transfer shirts still. I have reported and reported them....like 20x, but no, they are STILL SELLING!! Crazy how they pick and choose. And now it's impossible to stealth because they WILL ask for DL for EIN for a bus. acct. If anyone has anything to add that will help us stealth et.sy PLEASE help!!

Also, just as a note, I just received my 1099K from them. I started w a legit account and used my home address and changed it to a PO Box within 1 week because of possible returns. They actually keep my home address and that was were I received my 1099 and not the PO Box. The PO Box was in the the system for 7 months, yet, the 1099 came to my home! Please be advise they keep every change!!

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

I think I actually know who you are and who got you suspended. That entire circle right now is brutal.

Just don't use DC ...you may lose some money but eh, at least you're making money. Most people still buy if your price and the quality is right.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

Infringement???, question marks because I doubt the complains were legit but there's nothing I can do about it. I sell many things from clothing to , some belly piercings. All 250 pages of these jewelry on e-itchy are manufacturing stuffs from China. They are selling well. The other sellers are cashing in. But I don't sell them anymore. Not worth the troubles and the buyers of these stuffs are usually jerks.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

Hi there, yeah, I never did the circle crap! I stayed FAR away from the forum crap!! I'm positive of who done me in, she made several threats, which I reported and then she left. Payback is a bi*** and my comes with a LOL!! I might be old but my learning curve is fast!!:humble: I'm going to get my money back!!

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

There is so much Aliexpress on Et.sy is NUTS! I used to have a 2nd shop for that stuff too, but when my 1st shop got banned my 2nd shop did too. So I'll open both back up months apart and of course the ste.alth way baby. Good luck and a tip to the wise.....use a stand response to questions, like....customer...."can you make this in red".......you....."Hi there, thanks for asking. All information can be answered by reading the description". I found this works best....especially for trolling competitors looking to do something to your shop.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

Yeah, I clearly stated the sizes/materials...even pictures that I put it next to a ruler for size references. And then I got complains they were smaller/bigger than expected...blah blah...
I don't see why you are so struggled to get new stores? You said you have problems with international address. But guess what? e-itchy would never know. Just ship your stuffs from the US and send a written note in the package telling the buyer that you are currently in the US. A "real buyer" would not care , she would be even happier that she got the order quicker than expected
What are you trying to do with DC?

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

I was banned for IP infringement. I used key words and my shop was closed. I was growing very fast and didn’t know how vicious Etsy competitors are. Now I’m looking into opening a new account. Not sure on how to yet but I’m here to figure that out.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

People need to stay in their own lane and out of everyone else's business. Did you get a notice from a company or was it a person that reported it? Everyone is so righteous when it comes to IP issues. "How could you steal someone's idea?!" As if using images from a billion dollar company is the same as swiping the artwork of an individual person. "Maybe if sellers stopped infringing, people would buy things from people that are actually creative enough to come up with things on their own!" Sorry Mary Macrame, people not being able to buy products that use popular characters or trademarked words does not equal more sales for you.
"****, I can't buy an unlicensed Disney shirt?! I guess I'll go buy this beautiful homemade wooden sign" - Nobody Ever

Rant over

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

I got banned because I couldn’t handle the amount of orders I was getting.

They removed my listings from search in to give me time to catch up on stuff that was overdue but then within four months my orders got crazy again and people started opening cases. I think when my shop got shut down I had 6 cases opened. I just didn’t have anybody to help me and a certain range of products I was making was very popular.

What pissed me off is they refunded people who had received their orders and stuck me with the bill, which I refused to pay. I made that clear and I haven’t heard from them since. I get an email every couple or months to say my bill is ready to view.

I actually miss not having that popular product in my stealth shop because the revenue they bought in was crazy. Also I miss making things because my stealth shop is strictly POD. The profit is lower but it means I don’t have to physically make anything so there is no way for me fall under that pressure again.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

pay your bill,Etsy makes it possible for you to sell,

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

it is not ETSY fault you cant fill your order,if you cant,then you should remove the listings until you catch up with your backorder.
stop whining

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

i got banned because the seller never shipped the item and i did a chargeback

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

When you open a store, pretend you have opened an etsy store for the first time in your life. Click on each page of the store, browse, read. Do not show that you are an SEO expert when opening the first products, let the first products look simple. Change mac address of the computer. Use vpn. Don't use the same photos when you open the store. Or add something to your photos, or remove. Rename pictures and delete background data.

You will be fine.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

There is a retired antique dealer who exposed Etsy sellers selling antique,handmade,vintage items when in fact they are new from ALIEXPRESS.
This dealer is mean,she has a website and she even copied the items,pictures ,etsy seller id and give the $ you pay if you buy it on Ali.
and she will keep checking your store and keep posting when you add more Ali items.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

Sorry at which point did you hear me moaning about being shut down for not doing what I was meant to do? I fully accept my reason for being shut down. The post said what got you banned and I answered. I never said it was Etsy’s fault at all.

If you read it correctly you will see that I said I was annoyed that they refunded orders that had been received by customers and expected me to pay for that. I have every right to moan on that basis.

Am I right in saying that you are whining about someone pointing out those who are selling ⊗⊗⊗⊗ goods and deceiving unsuspecting customers? If that is why a shop got shut then Etsy did their job in my opinion.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

do you have proof you have delivered the goods to the customers when customers claim they have not received the goods?
Item not received dispute is usually resolved by showing an online viewable tracking number from a commercial carrier,if $750 or more,signed for.
For intl shipment,Etsy policy is that you show a shipping label proving you have shipped is good enough,not necessarily delivered(unless etsy has changed its policy).
if you accept credit card payments,you are expected to ship within 24 hours,thats why mail order company does not charge you cc until they are ready to ship,and Federal trade rule expect most orders to be shipped within 30 days.

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

if you do not like Etsy policy or credit card rule,do not sell on ETSY and do not accept credit card or paypal,set up your own website,and accept money order,personal check.postal order.
There was a time most sellers do not have way to accept credit cards,all payments are mailed -money order,postal orders,cash,personal check or wire transfer

Re: What got you banned on etsy?
 

Again, I never said anything about not liking their policies.

Yes, I have proof of customers receiving their orders and I even had one email me to say they were confused that they received their products and then a refund later.

A customer may open a case just because their order hasn’t arrived when they think it should. When it does arrive unfortunately they don’t always come back to update the case. As my shop was shut down I assume they just automatically refunded the open cases and open orders.

I asked them why they were adding the fees to my account but kept getting the same generic responses so I stopped bothering. The fact that I have proof of everything I delivered is probably why they haven’t done anything else.

Etsy’s policy/credit card rule is not “ship your orders and we will refund the customer anyway”. That is what I had a problem with. Nothing else.

You seem to still be confused about what I mean for some reason :doh:

I do not have a problem with them or their rules. I wouldn’t be on here if I did. My stealth shop has been going for 4 months now and everything is running smooth and fingers crossed it stays that way. Looking forward to my Black Friday/Christmas sales already!

Good luck with A.Express :yar: