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I'm a seller on Etsy and relatively new at that. In less than six months the handmade touting site has had numerous changes and loads of drama as a result. I was a buyer long before I was a seller and did not make the decision to become a seller on this venue lightly. FYI, I was a seller on Ebay for a very long time so I'm not a newbie at the online selling game.
As a seller my needs are very simple and I've expressed them in the Forums, Ideas, Site Help, etc. Currently Etsy is making changes to the venue that most don't want and won't use. Not the least of which is the dismantling of the Forum as it is today; and now the implementation of opt in/out to import email contacts. The administration has written new privacy policy for this function ~ but what is to keep them from changing that policy on a whim at a later date? They would love to have my contact list ~ I have over 3000 email contacts. And not one on my contact list has the least bit of interest in my mosaic tile sales! Etsy "says" they will not be storing my/our contacts. I have actually used a similar function on other sites such as Linkedin with much success. However, Etsy has demonstrated that as a company they cannot be trusted and I'm not about to drop my pants.
Etsy doesn't seem to understand that sellers are customers. As a business person, if I pissed off all or most of my customers the way Etsy has done these past few months, I would have no revenue at all. It is the sellers/customers who pay the bills. Etsy has forgotten or is ignoring who their customer is ~ and it's not the investors.
Instead of going down the "hide it" route and the social direction, if Etsy would implement some very smart and relatively easy to code tools, we could actually make money and be happy little selling campers.
1. Batch listing ~ I could go on for pages about how much time this would save sellers. It has been suggested that there is an Etsy hack that will allow this function. While I'm not completely sure what this means, I suspect it's a 3rd party site that opens me up to potential listing problems, potential virus, trojans and the like. And frankly, if I'm going to pay Etsy, I want this tool on Etsy!
2. Easier editing when listing. If you find an area that you need to edit during the listing process, the hoops are endless AND you have to re-enter certain pieces of information TWICE just to make one small edit.
3. Search - there is currently no viable search engine on Etsy. As a small business, how the hell are we supposed to do business when customers can't adequately search?
4. Promotions ~ this has been a total waste of money for me. It's like pissing in the wind ~ so the alternative is to renew your listing just to find a place in the first 10 pages!
5. Teams ~ So OK, they're hiding us into little rooms so our comments won't be seen by the masses. Sounds like they are readying themselves for an IPO ~ but whatever. My gripe is that whatever team I belong will automatically appear in my Shop Profile. Think about this...if Etsy doesn't want their dirty laundry in public view, would I want my customers to see my comments within a team? I don't want my customers to be able to follow me around Etsy to see where and how I find information to better run my business! I want my customers in my store buying things! Seems like a blatant violation of MY privacy.
6. Circles ~ What a waste of bandwidth! Enough said.
7. Treasuries ~ I'm beginning to see the benefit of Treasuries but Gawd, why is it so difficult to develop one. Opening two browsers to create a treasury, clicking back and fourth seems to be a stone age work around. I truly admire those who spend the time and effort to make Treasuries ~ but for me, creating, listing, selling, shipping, etc. leave little time for me to do flips making a Treasury.
I'm sure I can think of more issues but I haven't had enough coffee yet and don't want to ruin my day with more ranting. More to come!
Check out my store (who's days may be numbered)
As a seller my needs are very simple and I've expressed them in the Forums, Ideas, Site Help, etc. Currently Etsy is making changes to the venue that most don't want and won't use. Not the least of which is the dismantling of the Forum as it is today; and now the implementation of opt in/out to import email contacts. The administration has written new privacy policy for this function ~ but what is to keep them from changing that policy on a whim at a later date? They would love to have my contact list ~ I have over 3000 email contacts. And not one on my contact list has the least bit of interest in my mosaic tile sales! Etsy "says" they will not be storing my/our contacts. I have actually used a similar function on other sites such as Linkedin with much success. However, Etsy has demonstrated that as a company they cannot be trusted and I'm not about to drop my pants.
Etsy doesn't seem to understand that sellers are customers. As a business person, if I pissed off all or most of my customers the way Etsy has done these past few months, I would have no revenue at all. It is the sellers/customers who pay the bills. Etsy has forgotten or is ignoring who their customer is ~ and it's not the investors.
Instead of going down the "hide it" route and the social direction, if Etsy would implement some very smart and relatively easy to code tools, we could actually make money and be happy little selling campers.
1. Batch listing ~ I could go on for pages about how much time this would save sellers. It has been suggested that there is an Etsy hack that will allow this function. While I'm not completely sure what this means, I suspect it's a 3rd party site that opens me up to potential listing problems, potential virus, trojans and the like. And frankly, if I'm going to pay Etsy, I want this tool on Etsy!
2. Easier editing when listing. If you find an area that you need to edit during the listing process, the hoops are endless AND you have to re-enter certain pieces of information TWICE just to make one small edit.
3. Search - there is currently no viable search engine on Etsy. As a small business, how the hell are we supposed to do business when customers can't adequately search?
4. Promotions ~ this has been a total waste of money for me. It's like pissing in the wind ~ so the alternative is to renew your listing just to find a place in the first 10 pages!
5. Teams ~ So OK, they're hiding us into little rooms so our comments won't be seen by the masses. Sounds like they are readying themselves for an IPO ~ but whatever. My gripe is that whatever team I belong will automatically appear in my Shop Profile. Think about this...if Etsy doesn't want their dirty laundry in public view, would I want my customers to see my comments within a team? I don't want my customers to be able to follow me around Etsy to see where and how I find information to better run my business! I want my customers in my store buying things! Seems like a blatant violation of MY privacy.
6. Circles ~ What a waste of bandwidth! Enough said.
7. Treasuries ~ I'm beginning to see the benefit of Treasuries but Gawd, why is it so difficult to develop one. Opening two browsers to create a treasury, clicking back and fourth seems to be a stone age work around. I truly admire those who spend the time and effort to make Treasuries ~ but for me, creating, listing, selling, shipping, etc. leave little time for me to do flips making a Treasury.
I'm sure I can think of more issues but I haven't had enough coffee yet and don't want to ruin my day with more ranting. More to come!
Check out my store (who's days may be numbered)
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