Fanning the Flames of Indignation

As you may know from last week's post here, my FrenchKissed  Etsy shop was closed last Thursday.
I was guilty of subversively and deceptively with obvious criminal intent of MISCATEGORIZING some of my scans -- God forbid!
One word that Etsy often uses in their posts is "transparency." That transparency is vital to a good community...blah, blah. When you post a standard PS at the end of all your emails that says "don't share this with anyone," I don't think that's very transparent at all, but more like just the opposite and a tad threatening.
In an effort of full disclosure and true transparency, I wanted to tell you what else happened in my situation.

I ruminated.
I fumed.
I debated with myself about letting go and forgetting it.

But ... remember how Dr. Phil became famous for his phrase, "We teach people how to treat us"? If we little people keep letting the big guy intimidate us because they hold all the cards, well.... nothing will ever get better.
 I pay Etsy a sizable chunk of money every month -- not that I'm making a lot of money. Not at all. But in comparison to my product, my Etsy fees are high. Think about it. It costs 20 cents to list an item whether it's $125 or $3.99. Since I pay to use Etsy as my selling venue, we are, in essence in a contract with one another. However, the closing of my shop without warning showed me that it is a very lop-sided contract and I have no rights!
As sellers paying for a service, we should have some rights, some due process of law. Not just wake up one morning and find our shop is closed.

PROTESTY:  Shops closing on May 10

No wonder that hundreds of Etsy shops are closing on May 10 as a protest against Etsy not living up to its original mission statement to support the handmade market. IF you haven't heard about this movement, click here. When I visited this site last week, there were 280 shops pledging to close for 24 hours. Right now there are 3500!


Anyway, awake at 3:30 a.m. Monday morning from arm pain, I got an early start on my fuming and festering:) So I wrote to the Etsy's CEO Chad Dickerson. He had posted in Etsy's forum a lengthy response in regard to the uproar over a featured seller ... that Etsians should treat one another with "kindness and respect." He reiterated the rules about no name calling or calling out specific shops, etc. Hence, my decision to come back and blacken out the name of the original "Integrity" team member who wrote to me before I shared my blog post link with him....

re: Kindness and Respect

Between you and Chad Dickerson from chaddickerson

• Add to Folder
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Trishia Jacobs-Carney

April 30 2012 9:03am EDT

Dear Mr. Dickerson,
In a recent post, you talked about the 'respect and kindness' that should always permeate communication at Etsy.
Last Thursday I had a very traumatic experience at the hands of the
Marketing Integrity Team. My shop -- which is my livelihood, not a hobby --
was closed down without warning simply because a few of my listings
were mis-categorized. After you receive this note, my shop may get
 closed again. As a seller and Etsy customer, it has become clear to me
 that I don't have a Bill of Rights. There's nothing like feeling utterly
powerless and at the mercy of another person. Part of me says I should
 move on and put this behind me, but the way I was treated was
 wrong, wrong, wrong!
I didn't get 4,000+ positive feedbacks treating my customers the way
 the Marketing Team treated me. And the sad thing is that one email
written with kindness and respect, communicating clearly and relaying
 a deadline would have averted the whole ugly scenario.

Here is the email exchange:
frenchkissedpostcards.blogspot.com/2012/04/etsy-bitchin-and-batch-editin...

Here's the email I WISH I had received: 
Hello,
This is Etsina from Etsy's Marketplace Integrity Team.
On behalf of Etsy, I'd like to thank you for being a 
valued shop owner since 2008! With more than 
4,000 positive feedbacks, we recognize that you are an asset to Etsy. 
As we endeavor to excel at marketplace integrity, we look to 
shop owners like you to help us keep to a high standard.
As such, it's important that all items in shops are properly 
dated, tagged and categorized correctly. It has come to our 
attention that a handful of your listings are improperly categorized.
 Accurate tags make for better search results, which helps 
the entire Etsy community.
Unfortunately, Etsy does not have a batch editing tool
 at this time. However, there is a free third-party application
 you can use called Betsi that will help you go through
 all 500+ of your listings in just a few minutes. 
As soon as you have edited and updated your items,
 please email me. I'll expect to hear back from you by 
Thursday, May 4. If you can't meet that deadline, let me know.
Sincerely,
Etsina

Mr. Dickerson,
I'm struggling so hard to be a successful business person. I'm working
 harder for less money than ever before in my life. I've got a
great product,but I need a larger customer base. I wish I could
say Etsy cost mea lot of money closing my shop that entire day,
 but the truth is,I may have missed $20 in sales. So in one sense,
 money isn't an issue and in another, it is very much so.
(That's why I was late paying my fees this month.)
Perhaps I should freelance and teach customer service skills
 on the side?:)
Sincerely,
Trishia Jacobs
FrenchKissed

I never received a reply from Mr. Dickerson, but shortly thereafter, 
I got a new convo from Julian Wong, the "Integrity" team manager.

Hi Trishia,

We're happy that you're a member of our community. I want to add that
 your feedback on your process to fix your items has been helpful.
 If you receive a message from us and have questions or are confused,
 don't hesitate to ask. Maintaining the integrity of the marketplace is
 very important to us and we're here to help.

-Julian

 "your feedback on your process to fix your items has been helpful" ......??
 OK. At first, I would have settled for an apology.  But now ....


Feel free to share my Demanding a Seller's Bill of Rights. 
Maybe it will help increase awareness about Etsy and force them to
change for the better. Maybe we'll actually get a Bill of Rights 
and shops won't be closed down without due process. 
You know, that whole thing about innocent until proven guilty. 
At the very least, if that woman's look 
doesn't illicit a laugh or two -- check your pulse:)


PS Don't forget to vote for the first place winner in the Kissed Again! contest. And send in your entries in the Love Me TWO! challenge. Don't worry about deadline. Just get your entries to me! Details at top right column.