Looks like Etsy is changing their tune again

[MakinTheBest]

They have long left the original mission statement where they claim to support handmade....now they are going to legitimately allow manufacturing.  Sad, handmade artistans are not going to stand a chance http://www.app.com/viewart/20131001/NJBIZ/310010049/Etsy-let-sellers-hire-staff-use-manufacturers

[MakinTheBest]

More in this thread on Etsy


http://www.etsy.com/teams/18091/new-guidelines/discuss/13091813/

[RiverRockArts]

I saw those threads too in addition to one asking what other alternatives were to Etsy.  I put a plug in for HandmadeArtists on that one.  Make way for eBay Jr.

The last of my items on Etsy expire the end of this month...glad I made the choice to leave there with this latest change.  The last order I had here was from a buyer who followed my link in my Etsy shop to my shop here...and it was the largest order I have had since I started selling online! That link will stay there until Etsy finds it.

[Larissa]

"Some sellers, he says in a blog post, worked long hours to maintain a one-person shop, while others began to bend the rules."

So they're caving to the rule-benders?  Nifty.

[MakinTheBest]

"Some sellers, he says in a blog post, worked long hours to maintain a one-person shop, while others began to bend the rules."

So they're caving to the rule-benders?  Nifty.

Basically they are following the money and the big sellers that outsource and mass produce are their paycheck; that being said, there has to be a place for a site that follows its ethics and basic beliefs. 

[MulchandMore]

I'm so thankful to have found handmadeartists before all this .... came about

[Beth]

I'd be interested to find out how many Etsy sellers came to Handmade Artists this week.  Any figures, Andrew??


I know over 260 people joined Zibbet just today, according to the CEO there.  I joined several days ago and I know several of you here also have shops on Zibbet.


I still have my shop on Etsy and will tough it out until the end of the year.  Too many listings that don't expire until then.  At this point in time, I'm too poor to just abandon money like that.


It's been a tough road for so many people on Etsy these past few months.  I've read where sellers who usually sell thousands of dollars a month have dwindled to several hundred and these folks have been with Etsy since conception.  It's too bad what is happening, but, I guess we all kind of figured it was in the cards. I sure can't live on three sales each month!
 
Anyway, lots to do on this site...it's been too long since I really addressed my listings and promotions, etc.

[Colette]

This whole thing is just sad!!!! 

[Blue Highways]

Grrrr! I have words but they aren't appropriate for this forum 

[chainmaille]

It really opens up the doors for mass produced being justified. I say follow the money and you'll see where etsy is going.

[RiverRockArts]

Following the money seems like what Etsy has been dong for a long time.  They are just being more open about it now in some ways.  From the threads I have seen a lot of Etsy sellers are going to Zibbet.  I put some plugs in for HandmadeArtists, so I hope some will come here too. 

[chainmaille]

We've picked up a few, zibbet must be doing well as it crashed today. Sort of funny, however I feel for them as I would flip out.
I haven't been pushing too hard as the new site is close. Be we welcome everyone of course.

[Larissa]

"Some sellers, he says in a blog post, worked long hours to maintain a one-person shop, while others began to bend the rules."

So they're caving to the rule-benders?  Nifty.

Basically they are following the money and the big sellers that outsource and mass produce are their paycheck; that being said, there has to be a place for a site that follows its ethics and basic beliefs.

Hey!  I know a site like that!   

[RiverRockArts]

Andrew, better to have quality than quantity.  Some of the Etsy sellers who came here gave up after a short time without even putting any effort into their shops.  I wonder what those going to Zibbet will do since it does not get the traffic that Etsy does.  Of course, that traffic might decrease if the buyers leave and go somewhere else to buy handmade.  Sounds like Etsy shot itself in the foot once again.

[chainmaille]

We had a huge infulx of etsy sellers in the beginning of the year, maybe 150 or so. Most did not do anything, some did a month, some two months. Some may still be here, not sure the actual numbers. Like you said it takes time, as soon as those people came our traffic stats went up and sales went up.

What we need is people that have been doing this awhile. We need people that were with Etsy in 2006, people who know what it takes to establish themselves, those are the ones that stay, the others are a flash in the pan.

When we went to etsy in 2006, etsy was a baby, it took at least a year I believe for our first sale.
We are etsy in 2006 basically, they were a handmade venue, they seemed to have a dream, they seemed to have values. We realized in a short 3 years, by 2009 that those values were gone.
It is the same thing, follow the money, they got 25 million in investors, etsy is not owned by etsy anymore. Add another 25 million a few years later, well etsy is definitely not etsy anymore.

The amount of artisans that leave are a drop in the bucket to etsy, do they care? I imagine they do, who knows. But with over 800k sellers if they lose a few thousand they probably will not even feel the financial impact much at all.

Sad right?

Like we've said multiple times. our goal is max out at 20k vendors, we have a long way to go though. That number is only a small percentage of etsy, we will still be tiny compared to etsy.
However we will be big enough to be a household name by that point. We will be big enough to be well known, and the vendors that are with us then will reap the benefits. The ones who left will not be able to get back in, they will have to go on a waiting list.

This is our ultimate goal, i still believe it is possible, however we need people to believe in it as well.

I know little about zibbet, I've heard all sides over the years, they are this they are that, who knows!

I believe in our goals, I believe in our vendors talents, and I'm very hopeful for our future together.