An Etsy customer is claiming he got scammed by a seller on the popular e-commerce website, alleging what he thought was a custom shirt turned out to be something from Shein, the fast-fashion brand.
In a video posted on Sept. 18, TikTok user Morgan (@morganic2percentmilk) shows how underneath the tag of a shirt he purchased was a black Shein label. The video has been viewed more than 455,000 times as of Saturday.
“Me paying a ton of money on Etsy for a shirt that took forever because they were ‘waiting for materials,’” the text overlay reads in the video.
Morgan then lip-syncs to “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” by P!NK, uttering the lyrics, “I think you’re full of s***.”
@morganic2percentmilk Like @Etsy ??? I don’t use shein for a reason… … … #etsy #clothing ♬ Make an actual original video for once – Mage Man
“Like Etsy??? I don’t use Shein for a reason,” Morgan captions the video.
The Daily Dot reached out to Etsy via email for further information and to Morgan via Instagram direct message.
According to The Washington Post, some websites, such as Etsy, have become notorious for “dropshipping,” which is a “sales practice wherein someone offers products for sale online that they don’t actually have or make themselves.” If the customer decides to buy the product, the seller then buys the item from overseas to ship to the customer.
Etsy has marketed itself as a company that “supports independent creators.” However, there’s at least been one instance of a seller having her work counterfeited, when her Etsy shop became popular for its bedazzled cowboy hats amid Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour.
“Most people that are buying from me message me really nicely, like, ‘I want the one you made for Beyoncé,’” creator Abby Misbin told The Washington Post. “… [But now] there are a lot of people who … are like, ‘Um, girl, AliExpress already has it for $45. Don’t try and scam us.’ I was like, ‘Buy it from them, I guess. See what you get.’”
In 2022, a group of Etsy sellers went on strike to protest fee hikes and also the “proliferation of resellers,” tricking people into thinking products sold were handmade when they’re actually made in factories.
Commenters on Morgan’s video shared their mixed feelings about the e-commerce site.
“Aw and I used to love Etsy because it was unique handcrafted items when did that change?” one commenter asked.
“Etsy has turned into a shirt printing business/resale store for Alibaba and Shein,” another person wrote. “I almost never use it anymore.”
“No, because now when I find something cute on Etsy, I immediately reverse search it and see if it’s on SHEIN or Temu,” a commenter remarked.
