ETSY, ETSY, COUNTERFEITSY
Etsy, Etsy, Counterfeit-sy--
How does your dollar grow?
With front-page pets, and no regrets
As resellers line up in a row.
©2012 DelectablyDiva
Another lamentable low for Etsy this week, with their front-page Featured Seller fiasco:
Ouch. As an Etsy seller, this makes me cringe and wince. Is anyone else hearing faint Echos of the Huzzah-Huzzah days of another Alibaba-loving, globe-trotting, BS-spouting Etsian? Just reading the original interview should set all working BS meters within a 5-mile radius flailing. (Actually, there's still a fair amount registering in the edited-for-ToS-compliancy version, now that Etsy has added its own generous cupful to the brew.) From seller ecologica-malibu:
“As
a child, I always felt that there was magic in the trees and a mysterious
energy in the ocean. As I grew older, I began to notice how easy it was for
people to take advantage of their natural resources, and it really bothered me.
Trees are alive, and forests breathe, supporting life and giving off the oxygen
that we need to survive. I believe that everything in life has a purpose and
that every living thing plays an important role in the ecosystem, far beyond
what we can observe.
I
have a degree in design from Panamericana Art and Design School, but my passion
is handmade artistry. After I gave birth to my daughter, I traveled the world.
This opened my eyes to the unique qualities inherent in every human being and
connected to the way I thought about nature. I realized that I wanted to fuse
my beliefs about sustainability, nature and the environment with the
individuality of humanity. That’s how my business was born. Every piece of my
furniture tells a story…” http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2012/featured-seller-ecologica-malibu/
...and then for some reason I start imagining I'm smelling Nutmeg in the air...
”Dear Sir or Madam,
We are a family of American artists
living and working in Hyderabad, India. We have lately discovered the tragic
tale of a child in grave peril. Though never given a name, we have decided to
call her Adia, which means 'Gift of God'.
When we met little Adia, she was
lying in the dust at her mother's feet, shrivelled and badly starved. Her frail
body was being used to entice passers-by to give coins to her plump and smiling
mother.
The haunting image would not leave
us, and over the next several days we returned to visit the family many times,
bringing money, clothing and food for Adia and her four siblings. We discovered
that as the youngest and weakest girl child in a very large family, her father
had forbade her nourishment. She was kept alive by being fed sugar water and
diluted milk in secret by the women of the family….
In our constant attempts to rally
support from local state and charity organizations we have been consistently
met with either indifference or incapacity. We feel that by bringing Adia's
story to the international media it will command the attention of those who can
help, and appeal to those who can open avenues for her continued recovery.…
We implore you to give this issue your urgent attention,
to save not only the life of this one small soul, but to make new strides in
improving the lot of imperiled female children worldwide.”
(Press release issued during Etsy's Huzzah Daze. If you missed it, you can wade through the story and its 1674 comments here:
http://etsycallout.wordpress.com/tag/scams/)
If you are a buyer or seller at Etsy, study these two selections carefully. The writing style, at high school level, spells S-N-O-W-J-O-B to any self-respecting English teacher. At the adult level, it shoots out scam-alert flares. (At least it should.)
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