My Etsy account is permanently suspended and I don’t know why: my disappointing journey on Etsy
In my previous post, I’ve talked about my early days on Etsy, and how different it was from what I expected.
Today things went worse. My Etsy account is permanently suspended and I don’t even know what I did wrong for that ! Etsy did not give me any explanation and worse: they say their decision is definitive and is not subject to review !
It all started three months ago when I decided to start selling on Etsy. I followed the advice of many YouTube videos that promised easy and quick sales of products made with AI.
My journey on Etsy
The beginnings: looking for a niche
At first, I listed print on demand products with designs I had created with Midjourney. But after a few weeks, I realized it wasn’t so easy. The market was saturated and my products didn’t stand out.
So I decided to change my strategy and sell printable educational content in Arabic. I thought it would be a less saturated market and I would have a better chance of getting noticed. And I can produce something of a good quality in my native language.
I also invested in Etsy advertising to promote my products and to drive traffic to my shop.
Despite all my efforts, I couldn’t make any sales. I ended up giving up and stopped listing new items.
Finally I did it: my first sale
Just as I was about to give up, I received a notification of a sale. I was so happy! I had finally managed to sell a product.
Etsy asked me to do a final step to verify my bank account. Thing that I did successfully.
The sale was still in a “Waiting for payment” status.
Two days later, I received an email from Etsy informing me that the purchase had failed. I thought it was because of the customer. However, a few hours later, when I tried to log in to my account, I was surprised to find that it had been suspended.
The account suspension
I was confused about what happened. I checked my email, but there was no notification or warning. I just saw an ugly red banner on my dashboard saying that my account was suspended and all my items were deactivated, with no further explanation.
I contacted Etsy’s customer service, but they didn’t respond. I contacted them again, but still no news. After more than one week and a reminder, I finally got a response from them, but it wasn’t the news I was hoping for.
My account has been terminated with a permanent suspension. No shopping, no selling, and no opening a new account.
They told me I violated their policies, without giving me a single detail !
And guess what ! It is a Final decision. No discussion, no appeal, nada.
What I am reproaching Etsy for
I understand that Etsy is trying to protect their platform and maintain a high standard of quality. However, there are still some things that I don’t understand about their policies and procedures.
Lack of Transparency
Etsy says that I violated their rules, but they have not provided any specific information about which rule I violated, how I violated it, or why they believe I violated it. This is like being charged with a crime without knowing what law you broke.
No Warnings Given
Etsy didn’t give me any warnings before suspending my account. They didn’t even send me a yellow card or a penalty. It felt like they went straight for the red card. One day I was able to access my account, and the next day, I was suspended permanently.
Double Standard?
If it’s my products that violate , here’s the catch: Etsy happily published my items and charged me listing fees, even though they didn’t meet their standards. They also took a cut of the profits from marketing these items. So why did they take a cash grab for products that they knew were violating their policies?
Another suggestion could be to include a checkbox option for “handmade” or “non-handmade” when creating listings. This would give sellers the chance to clearly indicate whether their products are truly crafted by hand or not. Because, let’s face it, with millions of items listed, it’s hard to be certain how many are genuinely handmade.
Communication Breakdown
If the problem is with me (which sounds quite bizarre), I wish Etsy would have just given me a heads up. A simple “Hey, we’re concerned about something” would have been enough. Instead, I was left in the dark until my account was suspended.
Etsy Treats Me Like a Criminal
Etsy suspended my seller account, which I can barely accept. But what I can’t accept is that they also suspended my shopper account. I feel like Etsy is treating me like a criminal, even though I’m a law-abiding citizen who works in a big company and pays my taxes. I’ve never committed any crime (except for minor traffic violations). I don’t understand why I’m not allowed to buy items on their platform anymore. What did I do to deserve this? It’s like they’re putting me on a wanted list.
In conclusion, I’m disappointed with how Etsy handled my account suspension. Their communication felt unfair and unclear. While I understand their need to safeguard their platform, I believe they should improve how they talk to suspended sellers.
Etsy needs to make sure that the products being sold truly match their policies before they start charging listing fees.
Etsy’s business practices make me feel like they are only interested in maximizing profit. They seem to be riding the wave of popular YouTube videos that make it look like selling on Etsy is a dream come true. They have all the power and they make the rules to suit themselves. This is a bitter pill to swallow, especially when you have invested time, money, and effort into your business.
