Etsy is Destroying its Own Soul

This announcement has shook the very core of the Etsy community. The response has been overwhelmingly NEGATIVE.
I have been a member (in one form or another) since 2007 and immediately found the forums a absolutely invaluable resource on everything imaginable. It has been the one thing that keeps me coming back literally just about everyday. I have made many friends, a few I even had the pleasure of meeting in real life. It is a rare place, where many diverse people get together and talk about everything under the sun, and then some. We laugh, cry, rant, scream and help each other in ways I have never experienced anywhere else on the web. I literally have never been to a place where you can have such extremely heated discussions, and both sides stay amicable through the whole thing. People (gasp) agree to disagree. Newbies are helped out. Buyers meet sellers and sellers meet buyers. People promote and stumble on hidden treasures. You laugh until your sides split and get your daily dose of news and drama all in the same place. It is literally a place like no other on the web. This wonderful place will now be coming to an end by the hand of it's own creator.
For some unknown and stupid reason, Etsy has decided that the free flow of ideas and ease at which information is disseminated to it's users should be cut off and segregated. Welcome to the land of Teams... Rumored to be modeled after Flickr groups, these teams can be made by anyone and everyone. Each one can have what ever rules they want. The common 'watering holes' will be gone and the community and it's bonds will splinter and scatter in the wind. Where will newbies ask about banners? Which of the countless numbers graphic artists teams, promotions teams or banner teams should they choose? Want to discuss the finer points of the TOS? Too bad. Want to suggest something to Etsy admins? I guess it is just super clear that they dont want to listen to you.
BTW Etsy, Flickr groups suck... that is why I never visit them.
I want to make it clear that I support artists, and I always have. I am now no longer supporting Etsy the idea or Etsy the corporate. It is clear they have lost their way by their actions of late. I will no longer renew my swag on Etsy and only sell it in my own store. My other shops may open again some day (personal circumstances do not permit it right now) but I will now just view Etsy as a venue to sell... not a community for artists and creative people to thrive. I hope that some shred of the forum spirit survives, but I am not going to hold my breath.
Etsy has killed its own soul for no reason except it 'wants to be like everyone else'. Guess what Etsy, you arent everyone else. You were special and unique, only you couldnt see that. Instead you are going under the knife to try and sculpt yourself to fit in... to be the next facebook hybrid with ebay. There is one thing I have learned being different and unique. Embrace it because if you try to be anything else, you just look like an insecure poser trying to hobnob with the cool kids... then no one will accept or respect you.

To all the wonderful people I have met (especially my ETC peep):
Damn, I love you guys. Even those who make me want to pull my hair out and take a shotgun to my monitor. I am sorry we all have to go through this. I have treasured these last 4 years with you. I hope we can make it, but this wound may tear us all apart. I hate to drift apart and loose great friendships from this stupid move that was forced upon us.

To Etsy:
Fuck you. Yeah, I am pissed right now. I am on the verge of crying as I type this. It is hard to see you piss away a great idea and a rare treasure you had. Fuck you for not seeing the value in free idea exchange and community. Fuck you for destroying a place I have called my internet home. Fuck you for putting many of my good friendships in limbo. FUCK YOU.
And to think, you once said THIS!  Community my ass. You destroy the backbone of your community but turn a blind eye to resellers. You no longer have any integrity in my eyes.

So I guess this is my break-up letter to Etsy. We had some great times, you and I... but you have changed. I dont like what you have become, and I cant stand by while you destroy yourself. We are not buddies anymore.
I will continue my blog, because I love the odd artists and crazy creations. Since I will no longer be able to mine ETC and the forums for artists, I will need to rely more on my readership than ever.

Heck... maybe I should form a Celebrate the Odd Team. At least I might be able to recover some good from this whole cluster-fuck.

**UPDATE** Here is a thread by Catbooks1940s that is attempting to consolidate all of the Admin responses in one place:  http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6752658

Comments

  1. Okay, I am completely creeped out by Rob White's avi - when did he start channeling Charles Manson?

    As far as the forums go, those have been sliding down greasy poop mountain for some time. It ain't murder, it's euthanasia.

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  2. right on, sister!
    I'm gonna share this!

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  3. <3 Hell yeah. I've been considering leaving Etsy since my first in-person major craft show last year, where I made more in ONE DAY as a total unknown with competition than I have since 2006 on Etsy, despite constant renews, new listings, blogging, and adverts.

    I think this was the last straw. It's BS. Forums are the second-to-last reason I still visit Etsy, the last being when I need to buy something from a seller that only has an Etsy website.

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  4. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
    I will cry

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  5. Tweeting this. Great post!

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  6. Now what will I do with all this wit and wisdom I have been saving...It's just a nightmare...I will wake up soon...It's just a nightmare....

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  7. I left Etsy a long time ago. I keep the shop open so that old customers wont flip but in months I havent, nor will I ever again, market with that url or give it out to press.
    I left Etsy when Etsy left me. You did the same. Soon more people will leave and the amazing thing is: Etsy doesnt give a damn. Which doesnt make any sense as we are the customers.
    Thanks so much for posting this. Your wonderful, you know. :)

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  8. Please let me know about other places on the web I can find odd handmade stuff... cause I am branching out!

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  9. Artfire would be the ideal place to go. Its not perfect yet, but its trying. It was started by a dissatisfied Etsy seller. The more people that turn away from Etsy, the more they will realize they need to get back to their roots. Plus, the more money that goes into Artfire the more they can improve the site. <3 <3

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  10. Artfire is wonderful, they are constantly improving the seller and buyer experience, and they don't charge closing fees, or listing fees. If you want to be a pro member the price is very reasonable and you get some powerful tools for your money.

    I wish Artfire had the traffic, I'd leave etsy in a flash.

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  11. I hadn't heard this news!! This is not good, I love the forums, they are so very helpful.

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  12. http://www.artfire.com/users/CelebratetheOdd

    Cant wait to start searching around!

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  13. I left Etsy last Fall for good, or, as I call it now, ComeNGetsy...mostly for reasons that aren't covered here, but would be piled in the same mound as all the other corporate crap that has happened since then..
    I feel your pain, but as Negatasubebe said, I make more in one day selling in person at my weekly Farmer and Crafter Market than i did in the 2 years I was part of the site as both a buyer and a seller..
    I am going to suggest, that, like so many others, you consider ArtFire as an alternative..I 'went back' there when the $5.95 per month offer came in, and have not looked back at all..I am currently in a guild (AF's version of 'teams') and we do have our own Forums, as well as the open ones..a much better idea.
    Also we are automatically given so many tools to use that ComeNGetsy sellers only dream about..it's well worth it for that alone..
    I went to the site you are hating on with stars in my eyes, like a fool, expecting the grand promise to be there, and briefly it was..
    I actually miss aspects of the Etsy Forums, but mostly not, since, unlike you, i found them terribly nasty and clique-ish most of the time..as a newbie, they were certainly helpful, but that is even more true at AF..
    I too am sad that it never reached it's potential, but look on it now as a false friend who just moved on without me...

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  14. Yep, I'm on ArtFire, too, under the same name thecattsuglybabies.

    I couldn't agree more with your 'break up' letter. VERY well stated.

    You know what it reminds me of? I joined eBay over 11 years ago. There were three message boards back then. I learned more by going and reading there every day than anything else I could have done.
    And I send tons of newbies on Etsy to the forums to do the same thing....read, learn, participate.

    However, as eBay began to adopt seriously stupid policy changes, people would congregate on the message boards and plan boycotts, etc.

    eBay quickly put a stop to that. How did they do it? By breaking up the three main message boards...and they did this by instituting a ton of 'topic specific' message boards. This scattered everyone into pieces.

    Then they further broke things up by instituting 'groups'. Now it's impossible for like-minded people to band together and actually get organized. Each little group and message board can get angry and talk about it, but it can go no further.

    This is why I think they did this...to keep people from being able to be organized and speak with one voice over stupid changes.

    And their email system is another way to limt the organizing of people together. It's easier to worm a cat than it is to try to contact more than a few people a day via their email system.

    And now I see Etsy doing the same thing.

    One of the first things I loved about the Etsy forums is that people were basically listened to and 'change' or 'non change' happened. I felt like the Etsy members had a real voice and could exact REAL CHANGE. They were heard.

    Not anymore.

    So, ex-eBay members came to Etsy, and now ex-Etsy members will go to ...ArtFire? And where else?

    I joined ArtFire because I knew it was a matter of time before Etsy went the way of eBay. What starts off as a genius idea eventually goes by the wayside because the bottom line is what the stockholders think. It's all about appeasing THEM. The bottom line is money.
    And the more successful they get, the further from the original idea they become.

    They all end up killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

    I had just hoped to be here long enough to enjoy it's 'golden days' like I did over on eBay before it was totally fucked up and destroyed.

    It's a sad day, indeed.
    :-(

    Catt

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  15. OMG tattiara's comment was so hilarious.

    My take on it is that I find it hilarious that many of those crying and ripping their hair out and rending their outer garments in agony are some of the same ones who if they don't like you will tell you you are there 24/7 and you can't stay away. Where will these people bitch all day now? Where will they show their asses? What will they find to do to occupy their time now? I can see why they are upset. This must have rocked their underworlds.

    PussDaddy

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  16. P.S. I also find it hilarious that now that some of the people they like got muted they are all for second chances and people being unmuted.
    Hypocrites.

    PD

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  17. Hey, wait! Wasn't eBay supposed to be the new Amazon? And it didn't work, did it? Not only that, eBay totally alienated thousands of small sellers, those sellers who made eBay a wonderful and whacky place to visit....and buy, buy, buy. I loved the old eBay and I did well, becoming a Power Seller after three months. But when eBay began doing everything it could to hurt the seller, and using the same feeble excuses Etsy is now, I left.

    I joined Etsy sometime in 2007 and had my first sale in 2008. I did really well on Etsy too, until March 2010, when I believe Etsy capped its searches, but didn't tell us. I went to ArtFire and have never regretted it.

    So Etsy wants to be the new Amazon? Feh! What a joke. Last month it wanted to be the answer to FB. Guess that didn't work out.

    They are getting rid of the forums because they don't want criticism. The groups won't be crawled by Google so none of the furor will get to the public. But by getting rid of the forums, Etsy has totally shown what it's all about...and it's not about caring for small time sellers, be they handmade, vintage, or supplies.

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  18. I do agree that it is because of the bad publicity the forums bring down upon them (them being Etsy). People may have bitched themselves out of having a forum IMHO. Then too it all becomes public fodder for blogs to blog about as well as evidenced by my own blog. Not to mention some of the unbusiness-like idiocy posted in the forum that really doesn't do much to enhance Etsy and the sellers there let alone give buyers who stumble in there a good impression of the site. Now the only people who will see all of this bitching, pissing, and moaning, and stupid immature shit is their fellow team members. Also maybe they didn't want to pay forum moderators anymore, to save money maybe.

    Right now I buy mainly on Artfire, and Zibbet, or by having a seller Paypal invoice me. Artfire did have some glitches and faults when it first started what with them annoying the hell out of everyone by sending people in to pimp it for them, then there was that little security glitch I blogged about, also an admin's little public meltdown. But most sites have glitches when they first start, and in all honesty if I had to listen to that forum of hyenas bitch all damn day I might have a meltdown too eventually. I do have to say that I don't trust ArtFire to be impartial when it comes to helping you, especially if you and they have had differences for some reason, and this is speaking from my own experiences with them. But overall they do offer sellers a lot more than Etsy does IMHO, but I think it costs more too doesn't it?

    PD

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  19. I'm taking a wait-and-see stance. I want to stay positive since I'm brand new to Etsy as a seller (though it has been my go-to for gift buying for years). Since I have not had a chance to build meaningful relationships with other forum members, I don't have that connection. I cannot imagine what I'd do if my favorite pet forum of which I've been a member for 5 years or so disappeared, though-- probably much like long-time Etsians are feeling.

    Right now I am still learning and I post in both Etsy forums and UEF. I won't be joining any teams, not for me. If, after the change, I can still browse the forum without doing so, I will. If not, I'll make UEF my Etsy "home."

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  20. Yeah, I post in flickr groups, but that's a once a month type of thing, not like the etsy forums. It's totally different.

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  21. I'm going to miss Etsy's forums but I'm switching over to Artfire. I have a shop there and there's more gadgets you can use in your shop than Etsy has. Also the price is right only $9.95 per month and that's for as little or as much items as you want to put in your shop.

    Too bad greed got in Etsy's way!

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