Etsy was designed for small businesses to sell their vintage and handmade wares. But a woman is warning that might be a thing of the past due to resellers misusing the platform.
Etsy’s guidelines clearly state that “reselling mass-produced items is not allowed on Etsy” and that “everything listed for sale on Etsy must either be made, designed, handpicked or sourced by” sellers.
But therapist and TikToker Dr. Madison Perry (@drmadisonperry) warns in a video with over 37,000 views that Etsy shoppers may be getting “bamboozled and fooled, duped, tricked, led astray” by resellers who violate these terms.
“Those same items are on Temu and SHEIN,” Perry says. “People are buying them in bulk and then reselling them for … 10 times the price on Etsy.”
The Daily Dot has previously reported on an Etsy shopper who bought a shirt off the platform. He found a SHEIN label in the shirt when it arrived.
“And y’all are thinking it’s a good deal, and it’s coming from a small business,” Perry says.
@drmadisonperry Your etsy finds are from TEMU 😭 If you are about to spend your hard earned money on etsy, i highly recommend searching the item on amazon first. If you see it being sold on amazon for less $$, i can almost guarantee it’s available on temu (from the same local warehouse as amazon) for a tiny fraction of the cost. Example: $199 singing bowl in etsy = $39.99 on amazon = $18.67 on temu 🫶🏽 #etsy #temu #temuhaul #scammers ♬ original sound – Dr. Perry | Therapist
Hm, I knew that looked familiar
Viewers shared that they have come across Temu items on Etsy.
“Omg yessss!!! I seen a painting on Etsy for 85$ & randomly went on Temu one day & seen it for $2.50!!!!!! Yes, $2 & 50 cents,” one user shared.
“Absolute FACTS, I used to shop Etsy SO much, and I was so anti Temu until I started browsing and realized all that Etsy stuff I like is like 87 cents on Temu,” another recalled.
These viewers join other people online who have complained about such resellers.
What is Etsy doing about it?
In 2023, Etsy CEO Josh Silverman shared the steps Etsy is taking to crack down on resellers—specifically Temu resellers—misusing the platform.
“We were able to launch a filter on Etsy that identified and pulled off any item that’s on Etsy that’s also on Temu,” Silverman said, per E-Commerce Byte. “We’re very focused on suppressing visibility on items that are not handmade because the Etsy brand is about things that are made just for you, made by the maker, and we think being even more Etsy is the right answer for the commoditized commerce.”
Steps you can take
Perry shared in the caption of her video steps one can take to ensure they are actually supporting rule-abiding Etsy shops. “If you see it being sold on amazon for less $$, i can almost guarantee it’s available on temu,” Perry says.
Perry adds an example in her caption. She says that a bowl being sold as one-of-a-kind on Etsy may go for $199. But if you search for the bowl on Amazon, it will cost around $40. And, if it’s on Amazon, that means you can likely find it on Temu for a lot cheaper.
The Daily Dot reached out to Perry via TikTok comment and direct message as well as Etsy via press email.
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