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Q&A: "How can I compete with unfair Etsy sellers?"
Hey there, my name is Jamie and I'm a big fan.
I've been selling on Etsy, which describes itself as the world's handcrafted marketplace. But many of the sellers appear to be cheating. They're selling mass-manufactured products in large quantities. Some of them operate multiple storefronts that sell the same thing with slight variations, or sometimes no variations at all.
If it's made in a factory in China, how can it be called vintage or handmade? These sellers appear to be cheating, but they're good at SEO and seem to be crowding out honest sellers such as myself. Is there anything that can be done?
On Etsy's seller policy: "Everything listed for sale on Etsy must be handmade, vintage, or a craft supply. Handmade items are items that are made and/or designed by you, the seller."
You can report them. Any Etsy listing has a button to do that, and presumably some moderator somewhere looks at those submissions.
Otherwise, this can just be an annoying thing. Big companies don't always delist sellers who are breaking the rules. Sometimes it takes a long time, or some kind of media coverage before they take action.
In the long-term, it's better to focus on what's within your control. If someone is selling mass-manufactured items, are they really competing with yours?
