A Follow Up to "Of Bali Boats & Scallywags"

Today’s post is a follow-up to Wednesday’s post. Yesterday, Etsy's CEO Chad Dickerson wrote a lengthy 'note' to the Etsy community concerning the recent furor over the items offered by the unnamed shop. I had hoped to offer it here as a reassurance from the top to sellers of handmade on Etsy. Unfortunately, as you'll see if you read it, it offered nothing of the kind.

Instead, all I can offer to you is the response I made in the Etsy forums today, since he invited it at the end of his letter:

DelectablyDiva from DelectablyDiva says

I read Chad's letter yesterday, hoping it'd be something positive I could post on my blog as a follow up. But instead, I found a lengthy tome that skillfully managed to say nothing...and yet, upon reflection, everything (to me). The slippery slide has begun.

[Earlier in these comments] GiftsAndTalents said:

"Just to be sure I am understanding the situation...instead of working endless hours making my products (12-16 hrs. a day 7 days a week). It is now okay for me to outsource all of this labor and call it "collective" as long as I disclose that I have hired a bunch of people to do the work? Is this correct? Also, if I find something that is handmade in a foreign country, as long as it's handmade, it is now okay for me to import it and say I handmade it? Is this correct?"

While I have not had time to read all the comments on these pages, I could bet the contents of my shop that that question has not been answered by Etsy admin yet--nor is it likely to be.

In that Etsy has declared a policy of having no egalitarian policy, but instead, reviews each shop's case "individually," I predict the outcome will be that many, many shops here (particularly the newer ones) will begin to do what is most economically advantageous for them, individually. Since the shop accounts on Etsy are multiplying exponentially, sellers can count on the fact that 1) they will not be discovered, or 2) if flagged, and if they are pulling in the $, they can "work with" Etsy to rewrite their shop/item descriptions in such a way that they, too, can say 'nothing, yet everything.'

Chad, any company that relies on the uninformed nature of their consumers is bound to go down. Consumers that know about Overstock.com, Alibaba, or similar online sites WILL NOT BE BACK to shop on Etsy if they discover products listed here that they see offered there. (And they will discover them, eventually.) That is because Etsy bills itself as being made up of entrepreneurial, small businesses offering one-of-a-kind, uniquely handmade products. Moreover, these buyers will be justifiably inflamed about being taken, and will spread the angry word.

You've been quoted as saying you want to take Etsy public. The article also states, "While many artisans have made a good amount of money by selling through Etsy, Dickerson said the next step is to help them grow and expand in whatever way they want to. And that means rethinking what Etsy is and its value proposition for its sellers." gigaom.com/2012/02/02/etsy-to-become-an-indie-biz-one-stop-shop/

But going public means Etsy had better get a handle on its PR...which is very, very bad right now--particularly internally. Can a company ultimately have good PR with its customers if it can't have the same internally, with the people that supposedly make it what it is? I don't think so; it would be doomed to implode.

And if 'rethinking Etsy' truly means letting them "grow and expand in whatever way they want to," then...I think that's really the beginning of the end of what Etsy used to be all about. With the change in CEO leadership, it seems we really do have a change in definition re Etsy.

Of Bali Boats & Scallywags...

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:

http://www.regretsy.com/2012/04/21/the-etsy-featured-reseller-ecologica-malibu/

http://www.regretsy.com/2012/04/24/update-ecologica-malibu/

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.”

http://adiainindia.hrafnsvartr.com/media/adia.pdf.

(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.)

Buy this Sam Moon bracelet for just $6,500 on Artfire

I love shopping online. A Diva's gotta have her (costume) jools...and this Diva's only looking for bargains in this present economy. So, when I clicked 'vintage bracelets' over at Artfire, I didn't see this offering by sassy9406 of Colorado until last, as it was last in the price list from 'low to high:'

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=298888

Well.

Apparently I didn't know just what a bargain I got over at Sam Moon a couple years ago when I bought this same $6,500.00 bracelet for less than $15:

"Materials Used: Jade, Diamonds, Gold, Multi-colored Freshwater Pearls."

"Product Description: This Bracelet is Beautiful. 6-rows of Multicolored Fresh water Peals with 16K yellow gold 1mm chains and leading to the filigree sides adorned with Jade and Diamonds."

Wow!! I ran to my dresser, yanked open a drawer, and brought my unappreciated bracelet out into the light. To think that I'd assumed all those chain sparklers must be rhinestones, simply because of the low price tag! And jade, and GOLD! Silly me...how could I have thought those darkened, antiqued ridges on the back of the ornamentation were anything but solid gold with the venerable patina of time?

                            

But....how very strange that such a treasure didn't have a true clasp, and that humble stretch cording was used to string those pearls; who'd have thought? I'd never seen nylon cord mixed with diamonds and gemstones before...maybe this was a new trend? Come to think of it, I'd never seen a gold and diamond bracelet encased in a plastic sleeve, with 'lead-safe' written on it, either. (And piled in a bin with about 60 others of varying color schemes.)

Well, no WONDER they sold so fast.