handcrafter
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Oregon
Etsy has long billed itself as the place for hand-made goods, supplies for crafting, and vintage items. For a long while now they've had a problem with resellers, people importing goods for resell or buying bulk goods and reselling them. This is against the TOS, and they've claimed to be working diligently at weeding these resellers out. However the cake was taken and smashed yesterday when they promoted, right on their main page, in an interview, an importer and reseller based in California who buys furniture made in Bali to sell in the US. http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2012/featured-seller-ecologica-malibu/ The woman's own personal webpage actually proves that. http://www.ecologicafurniture.com/blog/refutation-of-spurious-comments-placed/
Allowing resellers, and indeed promoting them, in a venue advertised to sellers as a place where mass-produced goods and reselling is not allowed does hurt sellers who are paying just to list items (plus a fee in things that sell). This company is falsely advertising it's purpose and intent, and tens of thousands of sellers have been misled and have paid money for the privilege of selling on a venue dedicated to hand-crafters when the reality is they were tossed in the reselling pit. While Etsy has been given leeway for the resellers before now, their blatant promotion of one is strong evidence that Etsy doesn't really plan to do anything to deliver the marketplace promised to us. (Buyers have also been angry to find out that the "one of a kind" item they bought was actually mass-produced.)
What I want to know is if there is a way to force Etsy to return to sellers the listing fees the sellers paid while being misled and lied to, millions of dollars Etsy has gladly taken while doing nothing about resellers, and now while actually promoting resellers (yet the TOS still forbids it). Let me assure you, many sellers were happy to pay the fees when it was believed blatant reselling wouldn't be allowed. But many many sellers now feel duped out of their money but being delivered a venue full of resellers.
Is this the sort of situation in which a class action would be a good idea? How does one go about starting one?
I'm not a sue-happy person, but I am living that Etsy has made millions off of selling fees alone while refusing to deliver the promised venue that is "the place for all things handmade." I'm also only in it about a dollar right now, but over tens of thousands of sellers, it adds up to serious money this company has not earned because they've refused to deliver what was promised and is still advertised.
Thank you for any assistance or advice.
Etsy has long billed itself as the place for hand-made goods, supplies for crafting, and vintage items. For a long while now they've had a problem with resellers, people importing goods for resell or buying bulk goods and reselling them. This is against the TOS, and they've claimed to be working diligently at weeding these resellers out. However the cake was taken and smashed yesterday when they promoted, right on their main page, in an interview, an importer and reseller based in California who buys furniture made in Bali to sell in the US. http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2012/featured-seller-ecologica-malibu/ The woman's own personal webpage actually proves that. http://www.ecologicafurniture.com/blog/refutation-of-spurious-comments-placed/
Allowing resellers, and indeed promoting them, in a venue advertised to sellers as a place where mass-produced goods and reselling is not allowed does hurt sellers who are paying just to list items (plus a fee in things that sell). This company is falsely advertising it's purpose and intent, and tens of thousands of sellers have been misled and have paid money for the privilege of selling on a venue dedicated to hand-crafters when the reality is they were tossed in the reselling pit. While Etsy has been given leeway for the resellers before now, their blatant promotion of one is strong evidence that Etsy doesn't really plan to do anything to deliver the marketplace promised to us. (Buyers have also been angry to find out that the "one of a kind" item they bought was actually mass-produced.)
What I want to know is if there is a way to force Etsy to return to sellers the listing fees the sellers paid while being misled and lied to, millions of dollars Etsy has gladly taken while doing nothing about resellers, and now while actually promoting resellers (yet the TOS still forbids it). Let me assure you, many sellers were happy to pay the fees when it was believed blatant reselling wouldn't be allowed. But many many sellers now feel duped out of their money but being delivered a venue full of resellers.
Is this the sort of situation in which a class action would be a good idea? How does one go about starting one?
I'm not a sue-happy person, but I am living that Etsy has made millions off of selling fees alone while refusing to deliver the promised venue that is "the place for all things handmade." I'm also only in it about a dollar right now, but over tens of thousands of sellers, it adds up to serious money this company has not earned because they've refused to deliver what was promised and is still advertised.
Thank you for any assistance or advice.
