I would have to say no, with LOTS of exceptions. In the past few years Etsy has allowed business to claim handmade if it meets certain criteria. I often see many items that claim to be handmade but I have seen them on Alibaba being sold in bulk. That being said I look very closely and have purchased some wonderfu items from great sellers. The biggest problem with Etsy is that they no longer protect customers from fraud (they say they are not liable) but in doing that lots and lots or resellers and counterfeit items have saturated Etsy' s marketplace. I would never buy anything "vintage" there. What I have seen you are getting thrift store rejects or modern fake. Buyer beware! Investigate all vendors carefully!

There are many handmade items on Etsy. Sadly, resellers have saturated the etsy marketplace and given it a bad name. Like above, do your research, ask questions of sellers you're interested in buying from, check their feedback. See how long they've been selling. Believe it or not, there are still a large number of them putting out very nice handmade items.

Lots of it is not.

I cannot speak for other sellers just for myself when I had a store. My products were all handmade except items in the gift baskets obviously. Etsy closed my store for putting items in my gift baskets and there are other sellers on that site that are selling non handmade items but get away with it. Etsy is persecuting certain sellers such as myself and not others on that site. I personally would not buy anything on that site due to my bad experience with them that shows me how they conduct their site rules!

Some of the items on etsy.com are authentic BUT MANY ARE NOT.

etsy.com CONCERNS:

1. ~80% of etsy's business is repeat customers yet a close friend of mine was banned by their "market integrity" department for reporting numerous incidences of counterfeit or trademark infringement (Channel, LV, Hermes, etc) merchandise. Ironically until this time, my friend was a long term and loyal etsy buyer. It appears that every counterfeit seller who gets kicked off eBay.com finds a welcome home on etsy.

2. A lot of etsy sellers have abandoned selling on etsy and moved to eBay, com based on website exposure, supposed abusive management and selling structures / fees.

3. etsy has no on-line support / help desk for buyer questions or issue resolution. You can send an email to etsy and MAYBE they will email you back.

4. etsy is resource / overhead heavy with no obvious end user awareness/visibility as to WHAT function these resources actually perform.

5. If you think eBay is bad, etsy is 100% worse from ALL perspectives, IMO.

5. etsy current on-line web survey results has a rating of around ~50%. We all know that most of what you read on the internet may or may not be true but some the stories shared by both buyers and sellers on etsy will render one speechless.

Stay clear. etsy.com is BAD NEWS!

Not sure what you mean by "authentic". Quality control is something that is left to the seller. So for instance, you have someone who misrepresents an item the only way to appeal is (1) to the seller (2) to Etsy via a complaint or (3) through your payment method (credit card or PayPal dispute).

You have to be careful when purchasing used clothing (i. E., vintage), a lot of it is not as nice as it looks in the photos. There is a wide range of talent, skill, workmanship and integrity when it comes to jewelry and art. Also I've noticed some people sell vintage without knowing much about what they sell so it is questionable as to whether it is authentic.

It seems to me there are 3 major groups of sellers. One is a supplier; someone who has supplies, new or used for artisans, crafters and others who create. Another type of seller is manufacturers and most of these are from countries in Asia and you will find they have the largest stores often underpricing American shops but you have to wait longer to receive items that are shipped internationally. The last group of sellers are artisans and crafters who sell what they create and the skill level, workmanship and talent varies widely.

So what is the best way to shop when you don't know the seller? Know your product, read every detail, look very closely at photos (see what is there, not what you want to be there), ask lots of questions and if a seller seems too annoyed or too busy to answer your questions go somewhere else. Finally, read customer reviews. If someone is going to take the time to write a review they will tell the truth most of the time. If reviewer after reviewer says the same thing then it's probably true consistently. Oh! Also read the shop policies. It is too late to check a shop's return policy AFTER you have made a purchase. If the shop owner runs their shop like a professional, their policies will thoughtfully address FAQs and provide other information.

Last, some sellers have never owned or managed a business, have never been educated in their craft and do not have the integrity or pride of product to meet customer's reasonable expectations. They usually stand out like a sore thumb - avoid these shops. You know, you can just tell by the design of the shop, the seller is eager to help customers, the products they sell are presented thoughtfully, descriptions are transparent and truthful.

There is no such thing as a web venue that has "anything and everything" and Etsy has it's flaws, like everyone does but I shop regularly because I like supporting the art community and the natural remedies community. I also shop supplies for my own creations and I don't let the occasional horse's $#*! seller ruin the experience for me.

P.S. I have to mention that as a customer, you have a responsibility, too. I have heard of customers who are demanding, disrespectful and all around difficult on Etsy. I guess it goes hand in hand with shopping on the internet where you are not face to face. Courtesy goes a long way in forming a positive relationship with your seller.

The products on Etsy are made by many various sellers. Most of them are hand-made. BestAutoRenew helps sellers improve their shop exposure...