My Etsy shop shutdown / closed now what

I was working on my Etsy shop as usual. I was printing packaging slips, labels, filling orders etc... It was business in my Etsy Shop as usual. I went in to pay my Etsy bill. It was nearly $100.00. I paid it and then about 30 minutes later I went to lunch. I was sitting down for my lunch as I grabbed my phone to check my email as I do a several dozen times a day... no joke here people lol! My world came crashing down as I read the email from Etsy. Here is the jaw dropping, life changing, devastating email I received from them...

      Hello, As you know, Etsy was contacted repeatedly about material in your Etsy shop in accordance with our Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy. Due to these multiple notices, Etsy has terminated your selling privileges, effective immediately. The Policy and the notice requirements are found at: http://www.etsy.com/policy/ip. This Policy is part of Etsy's Terms of Use, which you agreed to follow when you registered an Etsy account. I'm very sorry about this, but we must comply with the Policy. Below we've compiled answers to common questions about this situation for your reference: Q: What if I didn't replace the material that was removed: As explained in the email that was sent to you each time, Etsy terminates accounts when we receive repeat notices of infringements. We received repeat notices of infringements about your shop. The system terminated your selling privileges.

 Q: I don't have the emails. Where can I see the notices?

A: Each time we were contacted we Convo-ed and emailed you. Please check your Etsy Conversations and the email address registered to your Etsy account.

Q: I didn't know this could happen. Why wasn't I warned?

A: Each time we contacted you, our message included the following

FAQ: "What if Etsy receives multiple complaints about me? Etsy may be required to close your Etsy account.

" Q: What will my account look like?

A: Your shop and listings won't appear anywhere on Etsy. People who try to view your shop or one of your shop's listings will see a page not found error. Closing your shop does not prevent buyers from leaving Reviews. Reviews left for your shop and your shop's transaction pages will remain public and accessible from your profile. You can continue to view your billing history and Sold Orders in Your Account. If you have an outstanding bill or Non-delivery cases, you are still obligated to settle them.

Q: Can I be refunded the fees for my listings?

 A: Per the Etsy Terms of Use: "If Etsy terminates a listing or your account, if you close your account, or if the payment of your Etsy fees cannot be completed for any reason, you remain obligated to pay Etsy for all unpaid fees plus any penalties, if applicable." We ask that you or an agent acting on your behalf do not create new shops on Etsy. Accounts with shops created or used without permission may be terminated without warning. You may absolutely continue to use your non-seller account to make purchases and use Etsy features.

      It was a generic copy and paste response they automatically send to sellers when they shut the seller’s shops down. Isn’t it ironic how I just paid my Etsy bill then I got my shop closed down not  long after paying my Etsy bill in full? I think so! My shop was being closed due to copyright infringement. Ohh.. and get this... my other shop on Etsy that was not related to my main shop was also closed the same day! I believe it’s the IP address from my computer is how they track me. I accessed both shops from the same IP address.

 I was sooo crushed! I could not believe what I worked so hard to build up was now gone. My Etsy shop was the one thing (besides my family of course) that I had great pride in and now it was closed. All of my 2,000 plus positive feedback / testimonials were gone! I was left with no reputation and in the dust. All my pics I worked so hard taking and editing were gone! Well... not really.  Luckily I have most the pics I took on my computer. Thank gosh for that huh! All my descriptions and tags I worked on... all gone! The many thousands of hours and dollars I spent on building my Etsy shop all gone! I can’t get that back

!!! The monthly income I was getting from my Etsy shop I built up was also ... you guessed it.. GONE!

 To make matters worse Christmas was less than 2 weeks away! I was left with so much pain and depression. I put so much hard work into building my Etsy shop and promoting Etsy.  Heck... I linked Etsy to many web sites all over the Internet promoting my shop,  helping my shop grow,   but at the same time helping Etsy grow. I brought new customers into Etsy and my shop was in excellent standing. Isn't that good for something? I thought my shop was mine. I was no ignorant. I did not own my shop, Etsy did. Etsy owns every shop on their site as they are the host. They can do with their shops what they want to.

Immediately I attempted contacting Etsy. Unfortunately they don’t have a customer care line so that you can talk with them by phone. I had to email them instead and wait for a response. So that is what I did. I begged and pleaded. I apologized and let them know it was a mistake. Here is what I sent... one every few days

      Dear Etsy, I am very shocked and deeply affected and sadden by my shop being closed down. I really thought I had complied with your Infringement notifications on some of my Etsy listings. I believe I may have re listed one or a few that you deactivated by mistake. It has not been my intention to break your rules. I love and respect Etsy and your rules. I have been a good shop owner and have over 3000 Sales in my shop with excellent reviews and a 5 star rating. My livelihood and my family depend greatly on my shop sales. I never intended to break the rule or infringe. I am so sorry I have broken the rules. I beg of you with all my heart and soul to re-open my shop. I promise to delete and never ever list or include the copy righted name Hello Kitty or any other infringement in my shop listings again not will I break any other Etsy policy or rule. Please allow me to continue selling out of my shop. You will not have any more problems with my shop I promise. Please don’t take away what I have spent thousands of hours on and put lots of money into. I put my blood and sweat into my shop and I promote Etsy bringing in new customers to Etsy. My Etsy shop is my monthly income for survival. It is really upsetting what has happed. Please re-open my shop. Please allow me to continue to sell. I never intended to break the rules. I respect and Etsy and your rules. It was not my intention to do anything wrong. It is December and Christmas is just around the corner. I really don’t know what I am going to do if you don’t open my shop. I need it to survive. Thank you for your consideration and time. I love Etsy and pray that you allow me to continue selling your site.

      Dear Etsy, Please reopen my shop. I will do whatever is necessary to re open my shop. Please I beg of you. I need my shop. It is my main source of income right now. I have got bills to pay, food to buy, and rent to make. I really need my shop. Please tell me what I can do to get it reopened. I never intended to break the rules. I must have mistakenly re listed a hello kitty item. Please forgive this mistake. I have over 3000 sales in my shop and growing. I drive people to Etsy. I pay my Etsy bill. I am a good member on the community. Please re open my shop. My family and I rely on this income. Please respond. I am so upset over this. I am so sad and worried. I need my shop PLEASE!

      Dear Etsy, Please tell me what it is I need to do to get my shop up and running again. It was certainly not my intention to infringe. I took out all of the copy righted HELLO KITTY names and tags from my listings. Please tell me what listing I had the copy right infringement on. I feel there may have been a mistake. Please tell me what I must do to get my shop re open. I will happy and immediately correct any copy right infringements on my Etsy listing. I respect Etsy Rules and Polices. I love helping Etsy grow by being an outstanding Etsy Seller providing great Etsy shipping experiences for all my Etsy customers. If you provide me with the opportunity to continue selling on Etsy I will help you to continue to grow by continuing bringing in new customers, blogging good things about Etsy, Twitting Etsy, Face- booking Etsy, Myspacing Etsy Etc. Please allow me to continue Selling on Etsy. My shop means everything to me and my family. I have spent my last 3 years growing my shop on Etsy to what it is today. I would really appreciate the chance to continue selling on Etsy. I will do whatever it take to reopen my Etsy shop I have built up. I look forward to hearing back from you soon...

      I waited for a response to my email checking my email every chance I got. I waited.... and waited... and waited. As time passed and waited I was left feeling so depressed. I took naps and every time I woke up I woke up to a sick feeling in my stomach. I felt like I was waking up to a nightmare. I had no sales. No orders to fill or customers messaging me. I had no $$$ sounds coming from my phone (from using the Etsy app) that I would hear every time I would receive a sale in my Etsy shop. Finally after several days of waiting they sent me a response. Here is what they sent me...

 Hello,

When you use Etsy you agree to our policies. As you know, Etsy was contacted many times about the content in your shop. We were told that certain material in your shop infringed on certain intellectual property. These notices gave Etsy reason to believe that content violated Etsy's policies. Each time we were contacted, we Convo-ed you and emailed you. We take allegations of intellectual property infringement very   seriously because it may have serious consequences. Etsy's policies are clear. As explained in the email that was sent to you each time, Etsy terminates accounts when we receive repeat Notices of infringements. We received repeat notices of infringements about your shop. As a result and in accordance with our policies, we terminated your selling privileges. Best, Daniel Etsy Legal ____ This message is a private conversation between you and Etsy. Please respect this confidentiality and refrain from distributing this Communication without permission from Etsy. If you feel this message was sent to you in error, please delete it and let us know. Thank you.

Notice how they ask that I keep their messages private? Hahaha that is a joke! They CLOSED my shop, are putting me through hell,  I have no income from my shop now, have me wait days for a response (and a copy paste response at that)... the list goes on AND THEY WANT ME TO KEPT THEIR MESSAGE PRIVATE!!!! Hahaha dream on Etsy! Can you sense my hostility? Well yeah.. I am just a bit ticked off lol!

 I continue to send them emails, but I am still waiting for a response. I started searching the Internet for comfort. I hoped that I could find out if they would reopen my shop from stories of others this may have happened to. I found a few posts and came to realize my shop was most likely closed indefinitely. Slowly the realization burned into me hurting so badly. I cried a whole bunch, but I am not one to give up or give into this pain and just do nothing. I knew I could do it again even if I could not open another shop on Etsy (as it stated in the first email)... well at least not with the same IP address (hint hint). 

 I read worse stories than mine about Etsy closing shops. In my opinion as well as lots of others Etsy is ruthless and doesn’t care about us little DIY people who paid their fees up the ying yang and promoted them relentlessly. We are the ones who built them up to the multimillion dollar company they are today yet they don’t care that they devastate people and their families by closing all our shops that we pour our blood and sweat into. There should be another chance given! I am willing to do whatever necessary to reopen my shop, but they don’t care. They don’t care if we go homeless now because we can't afford to pay rent or mortgage from losing our Etsy shops income or if we can’t afford to buy our children's clothes, food for their stomach etc... They don’t care that I had 100% positive feed backs or that I have over 3,000 sales. They don’t care how much was invested in my shop or how much in Etsy fees from listings, merchandise and Ads I had tied up in my Etsy shop. They downright don’t care! They press a button and POOF your shop is GONE! They go home and sleep at night with money in their bank account able to live their life, buy their family's food, cloths, have a roof over their head, pay other necessities etc. They will shut you down with a click of a button and not have another thought! It’s rare to get your closed Etsy shop reopened. I know how difficult it is to have your shop shut down by Etsy so I have created a support group on face book for anyone who is experiencing the same or similar situation. Click below to join and share your stories or get support. https://www.facebook.com/etsycastawaysupportgroup.

I also have a face book page for my jewelry and jewelry supplies business that I would love if you could share, join and comment on. Click here https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sparkle-Bliss-Jewelry/183784038487176

I have not given up and neither should you! If you’re facing the same or similar situation please know there are other options. I am working on Building up my shop on Art fire now. Art fire treats their shop owners a hell of a lot better than Etsy! Click below to check out my Art fire shop where I sell handcrafted jewelry and jewelry making supplies http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/SparkleBlissJewelry

Visit SparkleBlissJewelry's Art Fire Shop

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