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Etsy

1.6

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Etsy Reviews Summary

The company's reputation is marred by significant customer dissatisfaction, primarily stemming from poor customer service and unresolved order issues. Many customers report extensive delays in shipping and inadequate communication regarding their purchases, leading to frustration and a sense of helplessness. Additionally, there are widespread concerns about the platform's reliance on automated systems, which fail to provide effective support for both buyers and sellers. Despite some positive experiences with individual sellers, the overarching sentiment highlights a pressing need for improved transparency and accountability from the company to enhance customer trust and satisfaction.

This summary is generated by AI, based on text from customer reviews

service
383
value
352
shipping
315
returns
264
quality
318

We monitor reviews for authenticity

India
3 reviews
11 helpful votes
Follow alice p.
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Umm. Hey guys! I got Silver Oxidized Necklace which is worth $21.90 from etsy "footsoles24" store. Material used in this necklace are Gemstones, Glass, Synthetic Gemstones, Druzy, Agate.
This is a fabulous orange statement necklace. The necklace is beaded with orange beads and a replica of indian rupee coins of 50 paisa. This is a trendy necklace for awesome style.

Date of experience: October 29, 2015
Texas
1 review
5 helpful votes
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Sizing problem
October 25, 2015

I was so happy to finally find a v-neck Chiefs shirt for women. I ordered a 2XL. First I was not notified for about a week. Then... I was notified that it had gone to China! I'm in Texas! When I emailed and questioned the shipping I was assured it would be shipped to me. After a few days more I was told it was in California! About another week and it did make it to my address. This was an early Christmas present. I decided to open it and found it was beautifully made, but about the size of a Youth Large. When I emailed the company they just stated that (to them, I guess) it was a 2XL womens! Totally frustrating to have paid $59.00 and it wouldn't even fit! No more Etsy for me!

Date of experience: October 25, 2015
India
2 reviews
3 helpful votes
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Nice shopping experience
October 21, 2015

If there is one thing that a lady's adornment is incomplete without its ornate, it is the bracelets. Bracelets enhance the look of the hands giving it a regal appeal. Brilliant designs and patterns of bracelet for women are available in online portals such as footsoles24
I shopped Personalized Infinity Bracelet from here, which is awesome. Hanging from the infinity is a sterling silver heart charm and Swarovski crystal birthstone in a silver plated frame. This bracelet is 6.5 inches with a 1 inch extender chain. It cost only $31 which makes it a perfect choice for every golden heart. Its a nice shopping experience here.

Date of experience: October 21, 2015
New Mexico
1 review
17 helpful votes
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I sold on Etsy for several years and was a "quit your dayjob" story. I had a 4 ½ star rating and over 2,000 feedback. I got a sudden grouping of complaints and bad reviews because of international shipping delays and customs issues and strikes. They shut my shop down, saying that I had too many complaints and that "I was no longer suitable for their marketplace." Yet they allow re-sellers like Three Birds Nest to stay through MONTHS of horrid feedback and complaints, because it's giving them PRESS. I spent years marketing my site through facebook and pinterest and I have over a thousand pins that can't be re-directed to my own site. Guess where they lead? Back to Etsy. Chad $#*!erson couldn't craft his way out of a paper bag and BOASTS about not having advertise, and the reason is that they ride on the backs of hard working sellers that are doing it all. The backlinks to every sold item will always redirect to Etsy. I was a fool to spend so much time helping THEM, when I could have been building my own website. They have forgotten who their customers are - THE SELLERS - and are now forcing everyone to accept their in house payment methods to get a tighter hold on your business. DO NOT SELL HERE - THEY WILL SCREW YOU. The stock is crashing for a reason.

Date of experience: October 20, 2015
Florida
1 review
14 helpful votes
Follow Hampton B.
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Etsy is horrible. Use anybody else, but them.
No customer care.

Date of experience: October 20, 2015
Washington
1 review
7 helpful votes
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I had been looking for a small round coffee table for a long time and found an Etsy vendor who had a few things that met my needs so I communicated with the owner of the shop about a custom order to a particular size, with a distressed wood top and industrial legs. I went to Home Depot and got the color of the stain to use and the Rustoleum spray paint for the base. When he sent me a picture of the top, it was waaaaay too much stain. He said it was the color I'd picked. But it didn't look distressed, it looked stained. He said he fixed it, then shipped it before sending me another picture. When I got it it looked like it had in the picture. Waaaaay too much color. I contacted him and asked him to find out what I might do to make it better. It took him two weeks of excuses about grandkids and waiting for information on what to do. I contacted him again and he said he'd used the color I asked, and he would only charge me $100 to fix it if I'd send it back to him (I'd pay for shipping). It took me another few weeks to get up the nerve to just put the thing together, and when I opened up the box of the pedestal, it was the wrong color. I messaged him again just now; he sent me a picture of a Rustoleum can; I sent him a picture of the pedestal pieces which looked nothing like the top of the Rustoleum can. That can of paint had nothing to do with my table base. Some people lie as an excuse for their inability to admit they're wrong. And he keeps telling me he only did what I asked him to.

Date of experience: October 5, 2015
Pennsylvania
1 review
5 helpful votes
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Horrible
October 2, 2015

I ordered invitations and thank you cards for my daughters birthday from a seller. The seller advertises that the file would be sent to me with in 24 hours. Four days later and several emails from me to the seller and nothing. I filed a complaint with Etsy and the seller did write me back saying her computer broke and she would send me the file the next day. Again, I heard nothing. I am still waiting on her. I have a complaint to receive my money back. I then order the invitations from another seller and again, I hear nothing from them. So two orders and no product. They both have my money though. I will NEVER purchase another thing from Etsy again. Such a horrible service.

Date of experience: October 2, 2015
South Carolina
1 review
4 helpful votes
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Horrible seller
October 2, 2015

I was in the process of asking questions about a chair I was buying from Chateau Chicago. First I asked about layaway. Then I asked them to hold it for 100$ for only a week. They didn't want to, so I scraped and worked it out and got the money together within 3 days. I then asked if there were any stains or anything I should know about. They cut off communication and jacked the price up. I didn't do anything outside the norm. I ask questions about everything I buy, especially furniture. I buy everything from etsy! It hurt to be treated like that because of 4 questions. If you don't have the patience to answer questions then don't sell on etsy.

Date of experience: October 2, 2015
California
2 reviews
16 helpful votes
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Etsy gets a lot of negative reviews for the way it treats buyers, but the way is treats its sellers is even worse. If you have stuff to sell, sell it on eBay or any of the other sites, Etsy is run by a horrible man who has a very child-throwing-a-tantrum method of dealing with sellers who express concerns. There's no mystery as to why this company hasn't turned a profit in years, their customer service and seller support are a joke, SHOP AND SELL ELSEWHERE.

Date of experience: September 30, 2015
Pennsylvania
1 review
6 helpful votes
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Product not received
September 28, 2015

Seller Kirstywright, representative Brian Shellock. Product ordered and paid for but was not received. I was refunded the $8.00 for the purchased item but not the $15.00 shipping. Sellers comment was.". I'll refund for the puppets but not the postal costs, that was your call from ordering abroad".

Date of experience: September 28, 2015
California
1 review
7 helpful votes
Follow Reenie V.
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I've been selling on Etsy for sometime now. I have had only good experiences with my sales, feedback and customers. I follow the rules, make sure my orders are out within 24 hours of purchase and follow up and make sure those packages have been delivered.

Many of the complaints I have read about Etsy and shops being closed is because the shop owners did not following Etsy's policies or are not selling authentic handmade.

As a buyer either on Etsy, eBay or Amazon, I research the seller first for red flags. If they have bad feedback or no sales, I don't purchase from them.

All in all, there a many, many reputable sellers on Etsy that sell wonderful, authentic handmade items.

I'm sorry to all those shoppers that had a bad experience with a bad shop owner.

Hopefully more of those bad shops will be closed soon so that they will no longer smear the reputation of good and responsible shop owners on Etsy.

Date of experience: September 14, 2015
New Jersey
10 reviews
43 helpful votes
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I opened my Etsy store, Vintage Vixen's Attic years ago. I had used the name in the early 1990s in some brick and mortar stores in NJ. Last week I got a email from the owner of Vintage Vixen Clothing complaining I was infringing on her trademark, which dates from what I saw from 2015, well after my usage began. She rudely claimed I had one week to change MY name. The 2 names are not the SAME, do not show up in the same google search of each name and no reviews have been posted claiming anyone has been confused between the 2 names. Her store has 4k listings, mine hd 30. Hers is a typical retail vintage store, where mine PLAINLY states mine is to sell off the estate of my aunt, who was a Broadway actress in the 1920's. Really, anyone confused here? When I told her that I felt her demand was out of line and wrong and refused, plus informed her that due to being elderly and dealing with an illness that I was closing my shop in 2 weeks at the end of the month, she insisted she had the right to demand I change it in a week. I refused, as this would make it impossible for my customers to find me. She decided to act like a bully and complain to Etsy. Etsy sent me a notice saying there had been a complaint and I had one week to change my shop name. Seems they don't care who is right, only who complains first. I asked their legal dept to look into this to insure this person had a valid claim and was told they do not do this and can't give any legal opinion, just act on the complaint regardless of merit. Guess when you are paying fees on 4k plus listings, you have a lot more rights then when you have 30.

Date of experience: September 14, 2015
Texas
1 review
4 helpful votes
Follow Mary S.
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The etsy store "FromAppalacia" has a terrible seller named Jen who lacks any common curtesy and will not make any attempt to fix her mistakes. She was creating wine charms with personalized gift tags for a wedding shower that I was hosting and they came in after the wedding shower took place. She then dropped all communication until I opened up a claim and then she was extremely rude and refused to refund my money, even with me offering to ship the charms back to her. Do not buy from this etsy store. Save yourself the trouble.

Date of experience: September 14, 2015
Texas
1 review
13 helpful votes
Follow steve J.
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Any company that shuts down shops without notice, should be shut down as well. They have no regard for sellers, and the people in their trust and saftey team are complete morons. I am not sure they even know how to read. Nothing is hand made anymore, and they are now turning on their buyers as well. Stop using etsy!

Date of experience: September 13, 2015
Pennsylvania
2 reviews
4 helpful votes
Follow Daryll B.
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Etsy is the BEST!
September 12, 2015

Etsy is the best for homemade, artisan crafted items. You can find anything and everything on Etsy! You purchase from individual vendors, but in all of the transactions, and there have been many, I have never been disappointed, not once! I have purchased engraved vintage silver teaspoons with meaningful messages, jewelry, soap, vintage figurines and many more item. I love Etsy so much I want to tell the entire world. :)

Date of experience: September 10, 2015
Florida
1 review
16 helpful votes
Follow Peeved O.
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I have sold on Etsy for almost 2 years and have built my business up to doing over 100 large ticket items per month and still growing. They have shut my store down numerous times for false allegations. Everytime I would prove that we were in the clear and they would reopen the store. Each time they did this they re charged me the fees and I had to repost items. They just recently closed my shops permanently because they said they had to many allegations against us in the past year (even though we had proven that we were ok each time) I had over 250 5 star reviews and took great pride in my craftsmanship. When Etsy shut us down they of course took all the fees(over $600) out of my account and cut off access to my open orders! I had over 100 open orders with no access to my shop to know what orders I needed to make, when they were due to ship or where the orders were going! Talk about a complete cluster! I basically had to wait till customers complained in order to contact them to ask all the information so I could produce and ship their order. I contacted Etsy numerous times to just give me access to my open orders so that I can complete them for all of my customers but they failed to respond. They also dont offer any phone support AT ALL!. My belief is that Etsy is ran by a guy in his garage. My suggestion for all sellers out there is to find another site for handmade items. There are bunches of them and they are better platforms, less fees, and they HAVE customer service.

Date of experience: September 2, 2015
Washington
1 review
6 helpful votes
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Search engine is terrible
September 2, 2015

Next to impossible to get a decent search. The more descriptors you add, the more Etsy pushes you toward something they either want to sell or something they're making the most off of. Eventually the search craps out and you have to re-enter. Etsy also selects a category for you even after you have said what category you want to search in.

Date of experience: September 1, 2015
Ohio
10 reviews
29 helpful votes
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Really like shopping here
September 2, 2015

I've bought multiple things from this site. It really depends on the seller. Everything ended up being quality but somethings took a really long time to arrive. Definitely research the seller before buying.

Date of experience: September 1, 2015
Canada
1 review
6 helpful votes
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Esty is worst company I ever deal with it! All the agents had no respect to seller. Suspended me without notice and any explanation. There is many websites you can start business. BUT ESTY WONT BE A THE CHOICE FOR YOU!

Date of experience: August 30, 2015
Australia
2 reviews
18 helpful votes
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When you do discover a legit artist, who creates their own wares and is ultimately professional in all their endeveaours, Etsy is truly an amazing craft marketplace. Topnotch service, hassle free sales & purchases, quick & efficient help from Etsy staff should transactions turn sour...

However Etsy lately has been inundated with mass-produced Chinese re-sellers, counterfeits, art thieves, copy-cats, and the cherry on top are the otherwise real artists who will fight tooth & nail to NOT issue you your entitled refund as per Etsy & Paypal's policies. They will drag it out for weeks to escape handing out refunds or replacements should an item not arrive, arrive damaged, or incomplete.

I have had a lot of Etsy sellers start off sweet and friendly, only to become quite hostile, once I have patiently waited for a missing order to arrive after eight weeks. Or if it were not at all what I had purchased.

Etsians have sent me threats, looked up my prior buyer history with other sellers, accuse me of cutting up/damaging my own purchase to receive a petty refund, track me across the internet, and make threats against my own family members, all because I had opened a Paypal and Etsy dispute once refund negotiations had failed. Etsy staff did not take kindly to their illegal activities, suffice to say, but it is an ongoing, growing problem in the Etsy community.

Buyer beware: not all Etsians are calm, professional, and mature. Quite a number are juvenile, have meltdowns if you have any issue with your orders, and threaten you if you do not accept their refusal to send a refund despite their own store's policies, Paypal's, and Etsy's. Thankfully I have resolved these issues with the help of Etsy and Paypal stepping in to shake a fist at the Etsian for violating their ToS.

Date of experience: August 27, 2015