Thursday, December 18, 2008

Etsy thinks wool is not a supply!

Ok, it's official I think. Etsy will no longer let me sell my wool sweaters. Without any notice or warning, they removed all my listings, and have been very negative & slow to respond to my emails.

This is the official rules, cut & pasted from Etsy (I highlighted what pertains to me):
"Commercial crafting supplies

* These are not items handmade by you.
* This section is for items that can be used to make other items you might find
for sale on Etsy (such as yarn, beads, instructional books, patterns, tools, etc.
* Shipping supplies and packaging materials are also allowed in the Supplies
category.
* These listings must be placed in the Supplies category, and tagged as
commercial. (Categories such as Books and Zines are for handmade items only.) "


This was their email:

"Hi Kris, Thanks so much for the email, and I'm sorry for the trouble caused by this. I have re-instated your listing privileges, but unfortunately the sweaters do not qualify to be sold on Etsy. On Etsy, a supply is an item that is specifically manufactured to facilitate the creation of new crafts. Unfortunately, sweaters would not fit this requirement. http://www.etsy.com/dosdonts.php#selling http://www.etsy.com/terms_of_use.php You may list sweaters that are 20 years old or older in the 'Vintage' category, but any other sweater that does not meet our Vintage requirements cannot be sold in your shop. Thanks again for your cooperation in this! Best, Amber Etsy Support"

Notice they link the passage I quoted from the rules. Apparently they can just make things up as they go along.




I will be starting my own website soon, so hang in there! In the meantime if you need sweaters, please feel free to contact me directly at krisnstevep@netzero.com. I'll post my new website here when it is up.



6 comments:

Archie and Melissa said...

hi kris!
oh my! that makes no sense to me! it is a supply...wool! For reusing to make well...everything.

I do not understand that, but I am so glad you are starting your own website.
I will stay tuned and I am so excited to give my sister her sweaters this weekend.

Melissa

HMaas said...

I was wondering what was up with your shop - I was hoping you had sold out. Really do they not understand that people buy your sweaters to use for wool and not to wear.
I am glad you found a solution to your problem - and once your website is up and running - I link you in my blog.
Best of luck
Heather

Resweater said...

Thank you both for your support! I will have limited time to work on it in December, but should have plenty of time to get it up & running in January. Let me know if you need something specific in the meantime. They may have taken my listings away, but I still have all the sweaters! ;)

Delainie said...

I wonder... if you cut the sleeves off so the sweater isn't "wearable", does it then count as fabric scraps/sweater scraps, which are allowed? I don't know you, didn't get a chance to see your shop, but I think this is just ridiculous. Wool sweaters can be hard to find!

Resweater said...

I think they would let me do that at the moment, but what if they change their mind about that? They stole away my listings (at least 60), and with it hours & hours of my hard work. Also, If I cut it I have to felt it first, then it's costing me a lot of money in utilities, and a lot more time. I think I am done with Etsy. The only way I would sell with them now is if they put back up all my listings & apologized to me for putting me through this ordeal.

Sorry for the gloomy reply, lol. I'll get a store up soon, & be excited about wool again!

Kris :)

The Dangerous Mezzo said...

That makes NO sense whatsoever. Like, NONE. AT ALL.

Sigh. Sometimes, Etsy makes me crash my head into my desk so hard my brains reverberate.