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Etsy has a rating of 1.8 stars from 1,555 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Etsy most frequently mention customer service, credit card, and phone number problems. Etsy ranks 717th among Marketplace sites.
Founded in 2005, Etsy is a legit online marketplace focused on homemade products from close to 2 million sellers. Each seller on Etsy is different, so always read their individual reviews and policies before making an order. Over 2,000 shoppers have reviewed Etsy and advise that since sellers are from all over the world, shipping may sometimes take a while. If you experience issues with a particular seller, Etsy has a customer support team to assist you.
This company does not typically respond to reviews
📢 Attention, Etsy Community and Support Team! My Etsy shop, NecklaceAura, was permanently banned right at the beginning of my journey with no explanation provided. To make matters worse, I was scammed as a seller on my very first day on the Etsy platform (Issue ID: #16571142). As a passionate and dedicated creator, I am deeply disappointed and seeking clarity on this decision. I kindly ask Etsy to review my case, unblock my store, and provide a transparent explanation. It is unfair to penalize a small business without a clear reason. My small business dream depends on it! #EtsyHelp #SupportSmallBusiness #NecklaceAura #EtsyCommunity
I tried setting one up, and it was instantly and permanently shut down by Etsy without so much as a hint of explanation. There weren't even any listings on the store—literally, all I did was create a profile picture. I appealed the closure, and guess what? Denied. No reason, no transparency, nothing. Now I can't sell or buy anything on my account, and if I try to set up a new one, that'll be blocked too. And to top it all off? Their denial of the appeal is permanent—no second chances, no reconsideration. Ridiculous.
(Warning, if you do have an account at Etsy: Do not allow people to "follow" you. Block them when you get the notification. I have seen the following function used to harass.)
In the end, I got my refund as a chargeback executed by Etsy, but it was a ridiculous fight to get there. Unethical seller still has his shop on this platform!
Update: I phoned Etsy customer support today and the rep hung up on me. Stay far away from Etsy.
Phoned back and asked for a supervisor. Was transferred to a man who identified himself as such. He repeated pretty much the same script I heard from the first rep I spoke with: "This has to be escalated to management." In other words, I am supposed to sit back and wait, and trust that Etsy will intervene. Someday.
Later, I received this absolutely bonkers communication from the seller, Shaynegreco (this rant is is harassment, btw, since I told him not to contact me):
" ETSY DOCUMENTATION:
This woman "patricia" is a scam artist and a skilled manipulator. Her extremely aggressive behavior, abusive language, and constant threats are a tactic to scam victims. It is apparent she has probably done this before to other people. Her main objective is to keep what she has ordered through Etsy and bully the artist into issuing a full refund without returning the item. I have not allowed this person bully me into getting ripped off. I have spoken to UPS and they have agreed that this is most likely a scam. I will issue a refund after UPS has inspected the box and made sure it is not filled with garbage or some other refuse.
I have been a member of Etsy since 2010. My reputation is crystal clear. I have written documentation of everything that has happened with this transaction. Also of My Contact at UPS, Seth SXXX can verify everything that has happened up until today including his recommendation that I wait to refund this "woman" until UPS can verify it is not a bunch of dented tin cans...
Further more, I ask that you consider banning this buyer "patricia" from ripping off anymore unsuspecting artists on Etsy. I will pursue this matter though the proper means after this specific incident is closed."
FYI: UPS packed the broken item for shipping, so who do you think they will back in this fight? Right. They don't want to pay the parcel insurance. UPS picked up an unopened parcel, for return. So how would I have replaced the (broken) item with "tin cans"?
This tantrum would be funny if this deranged person didn't have almost $1000 of my cash.
So, be aware that this quoted convo is from one of Etsy's longtime sellers. Such a fine man! And example of all Etsy stands for. I guess I really wanted to keep a pile of broken ceramic? Why? Astounding. As if I like wasting my time with people like this?
Totally through with Etsy. I feel sick having had any contact with people that are so clearly unbalanced. Etsy offers zero protection. And this guy has my address.
Original post: I was advised even encouraged by a Etsy customer support rep to file a case against the seller (Shaynegreco) who cheated me and violated Etsy seller rules. The rep told me that I would be able to file the case on X date, and that date did appear on the order page (as a click-on notation "file a case or leave a review after X date"). So I believed the rep, and I waited. But when that day arrived, the notation on my purchase page had disappeared, and there was no link for filing a case or reviewing the purchase! (I have since figured out that I could go around their block on reviewing because they neglected to remove the review link from my invoice, so right back at them...). In order to file a case against an Etsy seller, you have to go through your order page, using that link. So Etsy lied to me and sided with their crooked seller, "protecting" him against the evil customer who was cheated. I'm the victim here, not the seller. They did this even though the customer service rep had AGREED WITH ME that the man was cheating the system! What a farce. I cannot believe that a publicly traded company could operate so dishonestly. It's sickening, really. How can Etsy employees live with themselves, knowing that the company is devoid of ethics?
(Update: Seller actually accused me of lying about the breakage! Also lied about when he put in UPS pickup request. Lied about everything, really. So this matter is being resolved through PayPal. Avoid this seller. Better yet, avoid Etsy altogether.)
Ordered a ceramic piece from Shaynegreco that was $850 plus tax and shipping total $945. Projected order fulfillment was several weeks out. Weeks later seller contacted me through direct email to tell me the item was finished and would ship "tomorrow." Days passed and I heard nothing from him. I messaged him on the Etsy site, and he said that it had shipped, but I had no tracking and my order was still listed as "not shipped" on the Etsy site. Next day he took the item to the shipper, and UPS sent me confirmation that it was waiting to go out. So that was the seller's first lie. I noticed that the purchase was still listed as "not shipped" on the Etsy site, and thought maybe the seller was just lazy about updating it. Then the item arrived obviously broken, clanking in the box. I did not open the carton. I messaged the seller to ask what to do. He said he would arrange UPS pickup of the box (I told him, preemptively, that I would not drive it to the UPS depot for him, so don't assume that he was being helpful), and he said I would get my refund "when UPS has it in their possession." That means a delay of several days, if I am to get it at all. I told him he needed to refund me immediately, and he stopped responding. So here is where the manipulative scam became apparent. I went to my purchase page to leave a negative review and put in a compliant with Etsy and I see that those two options are not available on this purchase because Shayne has not activated order fulfillment! (For those not familiar with Etsy, a buyer clicks through her order on the Orders and Purchases page to post a review or to report problems to Etsy. But those prompts do not appear on orders that are still awaiting fulfillment.) Given the fact that Shayne went around the Etsy system to notify me of (delayed) shipping, I am certain that he did not enter the order fulfillment into Etsy's system because he wants to block buyers from reviewing and reporting him to Etsy when orders go wrong. Really dodgy. Makes Etsy look bad. I have reported this to Etsy customer support, and will file a claim against the seller if he does not refund my money. But this may have turned me against Etsy for good.
Amending this review to give people a heads-up on one way sellers manipulate the system on Etsy. I recently received a destroyed shipment from an overseas seller, and the heavy breakage was clearly due to careless and inadequate packaging. The seller did refund my money, but he also cancelled the original transaction rather than categorizing it as a return or refund. I thought this was odd. It's dishonest because the confirmation for the transaction said that the "seller and customer agreed to cancellation" as the reason for the change. I did not agree to it. What the cancellation did was stop me from posting a negative review. It also keeps his seller record clean because Etsy will kick out sellers with too many one-sided cancellations by sellers, where orders could not be filled.
Etsy does have some reliable vendors. It also hosts some charlatans. I've been buying from the site since the early days, and have been ripped off a few times. But I've also purchased some great stuff. Unfortunately, seller ratings mean nothing these days because Etsy deletes negative reviews. So in assessing a seller you have to look at number of transactions, how long the seller has been on Etsy, and this is crucial look for reviewer photos of purchased items in the reviews. Do they look like the listing photos? Use a form of payment that provides you with a consumer protection guarantee. I am very careful about overseas sellers because three of my worst transactions were from sellers in Thailand and Ukraine, but I do still buy from overseas. (Back when Etsy had a small window for filing a dispute, some overseas buyers would purposely delay shipments long enough that they would arrive after the window closed. But Etsy has since extended the window to I think six months.) Etsy response time for customer service enquiries is good these days, but they still side with the seller in almost all cases. The sellers are who support Etsy, with the fees for listings and extra for promotions. Buyers aren't as loved.
Buyer Beware, worst online experience ever. Lindsey from Etsy Modernmama sent a $300 Christmas order to the wrong address, when asked to assist to fix the problem she shifted all the blame to me the customer which is very unfortunate. The idea of the product is good, quality is ok but the service, shipping QA, refunds and value are not worth the purchase.
Tip for consumers:
Buyer beware, customer service is more than lacking.
I am obsessed with etsy and everyone on it! I love do it yourself projects and crafts so when I see the creativity that goes into some of the etsy shops out there I just get giddy.
I would have given it 5 stars but I have been having problems with the app crashing on me which is obviously frustrating.
After I paid listing fees, subscription fees and spent a lot on external ads, etsy abruptly suspended my store with no communication whatsoever. When I called them, no one knew why it happened but I still had to wait a week for someone to look at it before they could figure out why. I'm a brand new small business, I don't have the kind of resources to waste on scammy platforms that took my money and ran. I will NEVER use etsy again.
Tip for consumers:
Sell Elsewhere
Products used:
Seller
My first experience with Etsy was good, but I'm having problems with it now. I recently ordered a second plant from them, but now I have trouble; delivery was delayed but it should arrive in the next week. However, I'm trying to get tracking information, but it wants my password which they won't accept. One of my computers that's running an old version of Windows, says It is denying me log-in because I tried to enter the password too many times, although it was my first try. The new laptop with a current version of Windows, won't accept my password because it says it's the wrong password, so I tried changing it but it still says it's wrong. I can't contact support via the computer because I need to log into the site with my password which it won't accept, and the phone number listed online is not in service. There's no email address to write to, so there's nothing more I can do but wait and hope my order finally comes through.
Tip for consumers:
They're normally good, but trying to contact them if you have a problem is difficult and right now, for me, impossible.
Products used:
plant
I ordered a product from a vendor on Etsy and never received the item. They want me to wait a week to resolve the issue even know the store closed in the middle of my transaction and took my money with them. Don't bother with this generic amazon.
I have been shopping on Etsy for years and have purchased hundreds of items. I am rarely disappointed. The creativity of the US artists amaze me and the products are quality made. I do stay away from overseas shops as Etsy has little control over mass produced items.
Zero customer service, zero accountability for horrible sellers, everything on the site is too expensive and then after you never receive it, they cant do anything for you. Their sellers do not reply and they don't intervene. Just a horrible mess and the customer is who suffers!
Products used:
Never received!
I bought a few items from Etsy for my granddaughters BD, 2 of which never arrived. I reached out to sellers many times to no avail. It's very difficult to "open a case" on this issue. That tells me the Etsy mgmt really doesn't give a crap if you receive your items. I will never buy from this site again.
Used to LOVE etsy. I had wonderful sellers that truly made hand made items. They were beautiful and amazing. After a brief break ( about 6 months - 1 year) I went back to on line shopping. I am so SAD! Where did all the real artists go? I was looking for a cute Frozen dress for my daughter's birthday, that I just don't have time to make. I have seen a ridiculous amount of sellers claiming hand made items but I know I have seen them on Amazon (for way less) from China sellers. If I wanted that I could pay way less on Amazon. When I looked closer into ETSY's new policies, this is actually ok to do. To the true artist still on ETSY: you do amazing work I hope that the Chinese re-seller trend does not destroy you business. My issue with ETSY is that if you allow re-sellers than you have to monitor it somehow so shoppers can choose to buy from handmade businesses only and you need to monitor business that are claiming handmade when it is obviously not hand made by them!
They will slap additional charges despite paying all the delivery charges and their customer services is the worst not bothered to address any issues or give refunds. Their specialist team has no time to revert and resolve issues. It is actually a the most dishonest organisation and no safety or security for buyers.
If you are thinking of opening a Etsy shop, DO NOT. Avoid them at all costs. I run a shop on Etsy that has done tremendously well. They have run out of ways to grow their business without taking revenue from their shopkeepers. Read that again. They do not have your best interests in mind and their business goals are in direct conflict with yours. If you play that out, you have no leverage and will lose. This results in you giving them more money, more of your time, and leaves a feeling similar to working for a boss you don't like.
I have invested all of my marketing into a store elsewhere on my own domain and am now just counting down the days for when I finally shut it off if they don't do it beforehand. I have made 10x as much by NOT USING etsy. Do yourself a favor by not falling for the Etsy trap.
Hi
I really give zero of possible.
I use a lot of online platforms to sell my stuff and this platform is amateur.
Accepted all my documents but on the first sale I made I problems start.
First the id card that was considered jump to invalid.
Second the credit card I use on all my buys online was invalid?
But to get my money from Etsy do I need my credit card?
I made an appeal for this decision and they keep their decision but don't give any reason for that.
What a shame.
Tip for consumers:
This review is as a seller point of view
Products used:
Seller
I like it overall. Nice place to hang around and enjoy all those creativity there. When they started allowing vintage, I was a bit disappointed, as I prefer all handmade goodies. But it has nice tools and large variety.
Wonderful sellers with first rate products. The administration is another whole matter altogether, however. They are all about the big. Money making sellers, and very abusive to the little shops. I was warned that if a big money maker for etsy felt threatened or if you made them angry, etsy would run you off. This happened to both my daughter and two friends. My shop was closed down, or more accurately all of my items were removed on several occasions while they looked at my vintage items. This was after I returned a damaged purse to a high volume seller. My shop was eventually reinstated, but not for several weeks each time. They didn't refund the showcase fees I couldn't participate in either. I eventually closed my shop completely as I became sick and tired of their harassment. The abuse is horrible as is their abuse of power over sellers.
I collect vintage electronic items and Etsy.com is a good site to help locate them. Unfortunately, sellers can cancel a purchase after you have paid for it with little or no explanation. If a seller cancels a purchase, it is difficult if not impossible to leave any feedback on that seller. A final purchase on Etsy is not necessarily a final purchase if the seller decides they could sell a vintage item for more money somewhere else. They can refund your payment and simply say the item is no longer available.
Love, Love the sign we purchased from Love LLC.
Steve and Deanna are awesome. We had questions and they got right back to us. Can't wait to give it to my son and Daughter in-law for a house warming gift. Highly recommend!
Esty is absolutely a scam.
They are selling cheap products that are from Walmart and other retailers. Also a lot of shein and wish products.
50 percent of the store is not handmade.
Can someone please tell me how this is allowed?
Tip for consumers:
50 percent of store is not handmade
No matter how many time's i email them about problems with my shop i get no answer. They have just charged me for making my shop, which i can't sell on because of the issues I've emailed them about and still nothing
When I located a wall sticker on Etsy's site it read price including GST. At checkout the total of item + freight + GST was then subject to GST.
The wall sticker was of Palm Trees, and no matter how careful I had been, and I did read the instructions, I could not separate the palm tree's leaves from the backing paper without damaging the sticker, the result was a mess, I had to throw it away. I think maybe the glue was to strong or to old.
Etsy was absolutely no help, they responded just once to say they only charged GST once. All in all it cost me almost $90 and have nothing to show for it. Etsy did not offer anything.
Etsy you stink! The owners of businesses like yours should be jailed for fraud.
Refused to provide refund unless customer paid original shipping cost of $10.90 PLUS the return shipping cost of $10.90, for a total of $21.80. The item originally purchased for $17.00. You lose money dealing with this little company.
The original item was sent by VintageandCraftsCo, apparently a subsidiary of Etsy. They were hostile and argumentative when responding to customer emails. The company had sold and shipped a Corning Ware item that lacked the lid without stating in the ad that it would be sent "incomplete--lid missing."
Tip for consumers:
Be cautious. Ask all the tough questions before sending this little company any money.
Products used:
Seven-inch Corning Ware skillet. Was shipped by company incomplete--lid was missing. My order number was *******720, order dated 1/9/2021. Photo of skillet not available
I ordered the bad m***** F***** Napa Italian leather wallet for my husband's anniversary I'm so pleased with the quality, spend the extra money rather than the 20/35 $ imitations! Esty thank you very much. They even gift wrap =) Debbie Young Georgia
Don't buy anything on this site, you will not get a refund if there is a problem. Etsy does not care. Stay away from Psychics there, they are all fake and will rip you off. Etsy should ban Psychic readers but they are greedy and won't, won't give you your money back when you file a complaint.
People sell junk and dont list things correctly. Etsy will ALWAYS side with the seller and these sellers know it. Expect to get screwed over by the seller and then etsy. This is by far the WORST site EVER. If you're thinking about creating an account- dont say we didnt warn you about getting $#*!ed over.
Also, customer service is 100% unhelpful. Takes forever to get assistance and they dont even help.
I ordered many things on one site, yet had to do 12 different orders. So I had to pay s&h 9 times for that one order. The others had free shipping
That made my life quite confusing. 15 emails saying what i had purchased, 15 confirmation emails from PayPal. Then 16 more emails from the purchases I made being sent, and 15 more confirming my items were on their way then 15 more saying they had arrived. What a nightmare. Never ever again. That was some bullcrap. Also very difficult & time consuming. Then just try & reach them, what a joke.
Its a shame bc they sell beautiful pieces, but not worth so much hassle. I feel sorry for the vendors on this site.
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Etsy is a marketplace for buying and selling crafts, handmade and vintage goods, as well as art and craft supplies. Etsy is a private company based in Brooklyn, New York and has raised more than $90 million as of May 2013.
