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 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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