I am extremely frustrated with Etsy's billing practices and lack of customer support. I closed my account and removed my payment method, yet I am still being charged small amounts months later. I no longer use the platform and do not authorize any further charges. Over the course of more than a year on Etsy, I only made about $5 total, yet I have been charged more than I earned and continue to see charges even after closing my account. I also invested approximately $150 into digital products and supplies while trying to build my shop, making this situation even more disappointing. What makes this worse is the lack of accessible customer support. There is no clear way to contact a real person, and attempts to resolve this issue have gone nowhere. Consumers should be aware that even after closing an account and removing payment information, charges may still occur, and getting support can be extremely difficult. I am requesting that Etsy immediately stop all charges and confirm that no further billing will occur.
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Etsy Reviews Summary
Positive Highlights
- Etsy provides a marketplace for handmade and unique items.
- Some sellers successfully build shops and earn positive reviews over time.
- The platform offers a wide range of products for buyers.
Negative Highlights
- Sellers report sudden account suspensions without clear explanations.
- Customer support is often automated and unresponsive to issues.
- Billing practices may include charges after account closure.
Most commonly discussed topics
The most helpful reviews behind these summaries
My Etsy shop (HoldTheMemory) was suddenly and permanently suspended without any explanation. I was actively delivering orders, communicating with customers, and had nearly all 5-star reviews. I did not violate any policies and never received a warning or notice. Etsy shut down my business without telling me what I allegedly did wrong, and every attempt to contact support resulted in automated, copy-paste responses. They refused to review my case and provided zero transparency. This decision completely destroyed my only source of income. Digital sellers deserve fair treatment and a clear explanation when their account is disabled. Etsy's lack of communication, lack of due process, and complete disregard for small businesses is unacceptable. I am asking Etsy to properly review my account instead of ignoring sellers who rely on this platform to survive.
Etsy blocked my account after 4 years of using the platform. I've sent multiple emails, yet I keep receiving the exact same automated reply: "To restore your account, please answer the security questions." I already answered those questions 3 times, but the response does not change, it feels like a bot, not human or even AI. Its all about my full name, previous order location. It almost feels like a phishing style loop rather than asking about my old password or confirmation my phone
My experience with Etsy as a seller has honestly been one of the most discouraging experiences I've had on any platform. I spent over a year building my shop from the ground up, learning Etsy's system, paying for subscriptions, creating products, and slowly earning legitimate 5-star reviews. Everything on my shop was perfect until I left an honest 3-star review on another seller's shop based on my actual experience. That same day, that seller purchased the cheapest item from my shop and left me a nasty 1-star review. Shortly after, another account did the exact same thing. What made this even more obvious was that one of those accounts privately messaged me and directly referenced the original seller, proving there was a connection between them and confirming this was retaliatory behavior rather than genuine customer feedback. I reported all of this to Etsy and provided screenshots, timelines, proof of the purchases, proof of the messages, and evidence connecting everything together. Etsy acknowledged my concerns multiple times and even told me I could publicly respond to the reviews. The problem is: I was NEVER given the option to publicly respond. I checked immediately after the reviews were posted and the option simply was not there. Years later, Etsy is now claiming I missed the response window, even though the feature was never available to me in the first place. Today, those reviews are STILL publicly visible on my shop. Meanwhile, the accounts that left them now show as inactive accounts. The original shop I reviewed also appears inactive. Yet the damage done to my shop remains. Those retaliatory reviews dropped my visible shop rating from a perfect 5 stars down to 2.3 stars, where it still sits today. Etsy tried telling me the reviews "no longer affect my stats," but that's misleading when customers can still clearly see the rating publicly before deciding whether or not to buy from you. Since those reviews were left, my shop activity and sales basically stopped. What's most frustrating is not even the reviews themselves anymore — it's the fact that Etsy claims to protect sellers and maintain marketplace integrity, but when presented with overwhelming evidence of retaliatory review behavior, they chose to do absolutely nothing about it. At this point, this isn't just about reviews. It's about trust, fairness, and whether Etsy actually stands behind the policies they publicly claim to enforce. I'm sharing this because other sellers deserve to understand how vulnerable small shops are on platforms like this. One or two malicious reviews can destroy years of work, and even with evidence, you may still be left completely unprotected.
I'm the owner of a small business, Roses Reimagined, in which I create rose products and upcycle unwanted items, with my customer rose work. Etsy permanently suspended my account before I could even open my first handmade shop, Roses Reimagined, and I received the following message from them: "This is Etsy's Trust & Safety team. Thanks for taking the time to submit an appeal. After a thorough review of your appeal and all relevant information, we regret to inform you that your appeal has been denied. While considering your explanation and the details provided in your appeal, we found risk concerns in your account, which violates our Terms of Use. To protect the security of our marketplace, we are unable to disclose the specific activity indicators we detected. What this means for you and your shop: You can't sell or shop on Etsy anymore using this account, or any other account you create. Any future responses or support requests will automatically be closed." I never received any email explaining why my account was suspended, and the dashboard link they provided only led to an error page. I appealed, asking for a specific policy citation or evidence of any violation, and Etsy responded with the above generic message — refusing to provide clarity or even acknowledge that their process failed to deliver promised details. Since then, I've reached out multiple times through email and Etsy's contact form, and they have ignored every attempt for months. No acknowledgement, no explanation, no human support — just permanent silence. This isn't just frustrating — it's devastating. Roses Reimagined is a legitimate handmade business I built from scratch, a labor of love and creativity. Etsy's unexplained lifetime ban shut down my business before it even had a chance to launch, destroying months of work and my opportunity to build a livelihood. Etsy claims to empower small creators, but this experience proves otherwise. Banning a creator without transparency, refusing to disclose the reason, and automatically closing all future support requests is not protection — it's negligence. Until Etsy provides accountability and a fair process for legitimate small businesses, I cannot recommend this platform.
Unjustified Permanent Suspension Without Explanation Immediately after my very first sale, my Etsy shop Atelier Drachenfunke was permanently suspended. At first, I received no explanation at all – only a message that my account was closed forever and could not be restored. I filed an appeal right away. After 2–3 days, I received a reply from Hazel saying the decision could not be undone. Later, she added a vague comment that I had supposedly violated Etsy's policies. However, no specific rule or action was mentioned. To this day, I have never been told what exactly I did wrong. I know I did nothing against their policies, yet I lost my shop without reason. For a small creator working with handmade woodburning art, this is devastating. Etsy is an important platform for handmade products, but instead of support or transparency, I was left without any chance to defend myself. This feels unfair and arbitrary. I am now forced to look for alternatives, but I want to warn others: your shop and work can disappear overnight, even after your very first sale, and you might never get a clear explanation.
I am an Etsy seller who recently experienced what I believe was an unfair and incomplete case resolution. A buyer purchased two handcrafted faux plant arrangements. Although my shop policy states that I do not accept returns, I agreed to accept a return and issue a full refund upon receipt of the returned merchandise. Instead of receiving the items, I received an 11x11x11 package containing only packing materials and no merchandise. I documented the unboxing with a video, obtained USPS documentation showing the return package weighed approximately 1 lb 1.60 oz. For comparison, the large arrangement originally shipped in a 14x14x14 box with a USPS acceptance weight of 10 lb 2.20 oz, while the small — in an 11x11x11 box weighing 3 lb 10.80 oz. The returned package could not physically contain the large arrangement and weighed significantly less than either original shipment. Despite submitting this evidence to Etsy, including the USPS weight discrepancy, photos, and informing them that a full unboxing video was available, Etsy refunded the buyer using funds charged to my account. After the case was closed, I contacted Etsy Support several times to explain that the returned package contained no merchandise and to request a review of the return evidence. However, none of my inquiries addressed the central issue that the merchandise associated with the refund had never been returned. Instead, the responses focused only on the buyer's claim that the item was "not as described." My concern is that objective evidence indicating that no merchandise was actually returned appears not to have been meaningfully considered before Etsy charged my account and issued a refund.
I am deeply disappointed and outraged by my experience on Etsy. I purchased a 'lifetime access' to a digital store from a seller named DesignsbyAnnaB, investing a significant amount of money. However, just two months later, she completely revoked my access and annulled our agreement without any valid reason. This is a blatant, calculated scam. Naturally, no partial refund was offered for the unfulfilled terms. To make matters worse, when I confronted her, the seller resorted to toxic threats and gaslighting, accusing me of 'harassing a small business.' Such extortionist behavior is absolutely unacceptable. Desperate for a solution, I contacted Etsy Support. While they initially sent automated responses, they did absolutely nothing to resolve the issue and have now completely gone silent, ignoring my follow-ups. It is sickeningly obvious that pocketing the transaction fees from this high-volume fraudulent seller is more profitable for Etsy than protecting an honest buyer from being defraled. This has been an absolute nightmare. Etsy provides zero buyer protection against scams and financial fraud. I have cleared my cart, deleted my account, and blacklisted Etsy forever.
15 years on the site, i'm done. I sold a $26 item, Lipstick... LOOK at all the charges i had to pay ETSY Fee and tax Net Balance Dec 16,2025 Marketing Fee for sale made through Offsite Ads Order #*******877 15% of order total -- -$4.05 -$4.05 Dec 16,2025 Fee Transaction fee: Shipping Order #*******877 6.5% of shipping total -- -$0.29 -$0.29 Dec 16,2025 Fee Transaction fee: Estee Lauder Pure Color 67 Mystic Mauve... Order #*******877 6.5% of item total -- -$1.46 -$1.46 Dec 16,2025 Tax Sales tax paid by buyer Order #*******877 Remitted to tax authorities -- -$2.64 -$2.64 Dec 16,2025 Fee Processing fee Order #*******877 3.0% of the order total plus $0.25 -- -$1.14 Charged almost $9.00 on a $26 sale... Cost and charges are 50% of my sales, and i'm not counting the cost of shipping supplies
I was EXTREMELY skeptical when my daughter asked to order from this site. I figured the dress wasn't that expensive and I told her she would have to wear it no matter what. Well... that dressed arrived and blew me away! It was a very high quality garment. Absolutely stunning. We chose not to do the alterations as my daughter is a competitive swimmer with a tough body to fit, so I cannot speak to that part. I can tell you that her dress was a show stopper!
The clothes are nice of good quality, but the shipment took too long. In addition to the fact that their customer service is very bad and their return policy does not convince me at all.
I got caught three times with this shop. If you receive an item that is not what it is supposed to be, it is next to impossible to get return and refund. They represent sellers that have no ethics, and they won't support you in any ways. A wrong item is sent? They let you deal with sellers that will try everything possible to discourage you from asking for refund. You will be asked to take photos, take measurements, and so on, and when you do, they do not refund, they keep asking for more and more information, then your case gets closed! I did sent them photos showing clearly that the item I ordered and the item I received are clearly different; they just insist making the communication more and more complicated to the point you abandon. Fortunately I have a credit card that is solid protecting from fraud, so I finally got refunded, but my friends, this took so much time and effort, thank god I am retired, that the average person would simply abandon. Etsy will not help in the process, they let their suppliers get away with sending bad merchandise and that is it. As long as they make money, they won't support you at all. I will never again buy through this rip off shop. I hope sharing my experience will save people going through the trouble I had to go through. You do not save money buying from this shop, you just buy yourself headaches.
Etsy bears many claims, like most businesses they tell you how great they are. They're just another Ebay without the auction. Sellers can be honest people or complete scammers. Personally I haven't been scammed with Etsy. For the most part I'm cautious on any website that hosts personal sales, as you should be. My problem mostly is I find it hard to believe that Etsy is like carbon neutral. They claim from the hosting servers to the app and etc. Not a chance. The amount of energy required to run a warehouse of servers is immense and those companies defiantly don't choose areas where they pay a premium for "green" energy services. Don't get caught up in the hype over this green energy fiasco. There is no such thing as green energy, just the distribution of carbon footprint.
I am not the only one they have done this crap too I was a loyal customer with Etsy since 2017 2023. I decided to be a seller I made about $100 in one year just starting to get business February 2024 they permanently banned my account and suspended it for no reason I've lost money. I was a five star review, everybody loved my products. I did not violate any of their policies and they basically stole money even though my account was suspended and permanently banned from making any other accounts. They still had my information and was still charging my card every month. Etsy is a huge scam. Don't waste your time or energy with them, there is no customer support. They don't care about you. They just want your money and they will steal your information and make other accounts to have people get scammed with. They need to be sued and shut down.
I recently decided to dip my toes into the world of online selling and thought Etsy would be the perfect platform to showcase my unique designs with print-on-demand. Oh, how wrong I was! My journey with Etsy turned into a nightmare faster than you can say "handmade".
Without any warning or explanation, Etsy decided to suspend my brand-new seller account. I had just set up shop, uploaded my first listing, and eagerly awaited my first sale. I noticed a banner on my shop saying my account was suspended and that they sent an email with details, but I received no such email. When I submitted a case to get more information, they said my account can no longer be reinstated and provided no justification as to why it was suspended in the first place. Etsy provided zero clarity on what I supposedly did wrong. It's like being punished without knowing the crime. I tried to delete my account out of frustration, but I have to pay a listing fee for something that wasn't even live. They also have my personal banking details which I can't seem to delete. Who knows what they might do with that sensitive information? It feels like I'm being held hostage by a platform that couldn't care less about its sellers.
Etsy's lack of transparency and accountability is appalling. It's not just bad business practice; it's downright unethical. My advice to anyone considering selling on Etsy: proceed with extreme caution. Your hard work and livelihood could be jeopardized at the whim of an algorithm or an overzealous moderator. In conclusion, Etsy isn't just a platform for artisans; it' a platform for frustration, disappointment, and feeling utterly helpless. Save yourself the trouble and steer clear of this scam of a website. There are plenty of other, more reputable platforms out there where your talents will be appreciated, and your rights as a seller will be respected. Etsy, you've lost a potential seller (AND BUYER) for life. Shame on you.
The jewelry was hard to choose from lots of options. I bought pieces for bridesmaids the bride and the mothers of bride and groom. Only 2 of 15 pieces were disappointing one the clasp won't open and the other the necklace won't sit right like a piece was put on incorrectly!
Bought a mother of the bride dress which unfortunately was too small. No fuss to send it back and ordered the same dress in a larger size. Very impressed that the on line chat is manned out of normal hours.
Etsy is full of fraud and scammers. Their contradictory policies enabled a particular scam but they don't care to fix the problem. They won't refund my money, even though I follower their explicit policy, and they refuse to even make any changes to stop the same scam from continuing. Not to mention the site now flooded with cheap cr*p from overseas. Buyer beware. Avoid.
After around 6 emails with the seller they agreed to reimburse me for the item once they received it, but not the shipping cost. Turns out the seller is from London UK. Post office quote to return the item was 40 something dollars and around 100 at the ups. Not worth sending back a 20 dollar item that I assumed was the correct one just by looking at the picture. If it was Amazon, they would of refunded everything. But why are these items coming from overseas with out us knowing? Why are they selling from overseas when this item can be found in the USA. Making it more expensive for us to return, so we get stuck with an item that does not meet our needs. 2nd item I bought from Etsy with problems on both, so I closed my Etsy account. No more inconsistent descriptions and charges. If I can't find it in the USA, I don't need it. But I'm sure I will not have that problem with AMAZON. Don't waist your money...
Beware of investing time and effort with this platform. You may find at some point that you get banned and it's impossible to find out the reason. All you get is one chance to guess what you may have done wrong and if this fails that's it! Your site is closed forever
I am fed up I cannot get an answer from Esty regarding my order. Why is it so easy to take customers money, and very difficult to reach anyone when there is a problem. Problems like these are happening far too often. It has soured me on ordering anything else on line. I will go back to going to stores in person. That way, one can see the product, and take it home immediately. Less stress.
The worse customer service ever. Will never buy from them again. Everytime I try to contact them, I get a out of office message. Will never buy from them again.
I received an incorrect chocolate bouquet from a seller in Maryland who is all about making chocolate/candy bouquets. I ordered a Reese's chocolate bouquet "explosion" and was incorrectly sent a candy "explosion". I left a 1-star review explaining the situation. Leaving a review is standard in most other industries to get things corrected. Instead, the seller got ahold of my personal email and said "I wish you had reached out before leaving us a 1-star review. We will ship a new bouquet on Monday to arrive Wednesday. If you could update your review once you receive this new bouquet, we would very much appreciate it". By the time this replacement bouquet reached my location, the occasion would have passed. Therefore, I declined. The seller was also trying to perform review manipulation, which is against Etsy policy. The seller should have refunded my money immediately but did not. I wanted to report this misbehavior.
Not only was Etsy's customer service number deactivated, but I could also not start a case independent of the seller. I should be able to reach out to Etsy privately and separately instead of having to go through the seller again. Seller was petty, rude, and unprofessional. The last thing I wanted to do was reach back out to see if they refunded my order.
Buyers have as much, if not more agency than sellers. Etsy fails to see that. Etsy has thousands of shop owners (which are not regulated) and you need to have a proper method of escalating issues. Making incorrect or low-quality orders right should not be in the hand of sellers who value dollars over their customers.
I had a seller account on Etsy, everything went well, sold good amount of products in first 2 months of opening my shop. On 25th of December, my account got suspended without any email or message warning. They closed my business just like that. Didn't get any explanation what happened, so today I don't know any reason why they closed it. Try to appeal, with no success. Worst thing is they still owe me over £580 of my money which I made and they still did not pay me. Them customer support is horrendous it's actually non exist as they have only option to send email, but they never respond. Absolute scammers! I advice for sellers to move out of this website, open your own website as ETSY ARE FRAUD.
I have purchased from several Etsy sellers with fantastic results. However, when a seller fails to refund monies on returned merchandise, Etsy DOES NOTHING! I provided proof of the return and delivery confirmation. Seller's communications stated a "...refund would be promptly issued.". Etsy has this information, yet they do nothing! NO HELP AT ALL!
I like Etsy, I buy a lot through it and I recommend it. What I don't like is Etsy not enforcing its own regulations. One such rule says that sellers are not allowed to sell items that mock or demean any group or religion. Several Etsy sellers sell "art" that mocks Christianity. If they sold posters, prints and other items that mocked Islam, for example, you can bet those sellers would get an earful from Etsy.
Etsy closed our store without notice, we appealed the decision 21 days ago and we are still waiting for an explanation. This is the worst company to work with, do not use them as a sales platform for your store. The charges are very expensive and there is no customer service at all, not even a phone number to contact them. In addition, they can close your store at any time with no explanation. And there is nothing that you can do, to re-open it.
WARNING, WARNING, WARNING!
This site is run by a bunch of apathetic people who will remove/deactivate your listing for NO VALID reason other than their own sadistic pleasure, because they can!
They are uneducated and ignorant and their ignorance will effect your goods and your store.
Stay away at all cost!
You were WARNED!
I would give no stars if that was possible. I have recently started getting into making some little trinkets as gifts and someone suggested i sell on Etsy - so i decided to set up a shop. Before i had even received an email to verify my details they suspended it for 'appearing fraudulent'. - i'm trying to sell handmade cake stands and already have an account with them, so they have all my details. Anyway, I got a message via the legitimate app from someone claiming to be "customer service" who told me that I had to verify my email account and bank details. They then said they needed to verify my bank further by taking a small amount and immediately re-crediting it - and said this money would not actually leave my account. Usually this is an amount of £1 - they took £23.50. It did leave my account. They then said they would send me a request to return the money - and took a further £23.50. They then said "their mistake because they didn't realise what country my bank was in" and to accept another push notification to return both sets of funds. The next request asked for another £23.50 - obviously i refused to accept this as they are now just emptying my account. The so-called technical support advisor accused me of being unco-operative and "drunk" for refusing this and that they are "the most senior because they are the best at their job" and the only person higher than them to talk to would be the CEO. I realised this was a scam due to the vile way I was spoken to by this person and the constant requests for funds and attempted to contact etsy to have this rectified seeing as the scammers are facilitating this via their app. I have been completely ignored and had to go to my bank to have it rectified. I have attempted to follow up with Etsy after receiving a further 2 scam requests via their site in under 24 hours since opening my store, and have again been ignored. Etsy are not doing enough to remove these accounts purporting to be "customer support", "verification" etc despite some of them having sales accounts and followers of their own - while they scam other sellers! This is 100% an AWFUL experience and their support is SO BAD that getting any rectification via the site I am relying on is impossible. Appalling site management across the board.
