Etsy's latest BIG update - and a call for a NEW handmade category
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- Etsy came out with some interesting updates recently and made some comments in their Q1 Earnings report that has raised some eyebrows.
Will these changes help improve the platform for buyers and handmade sellers alike? Only time will tell, but they did say something which made me so happy as it mirrors something that I've been saying here for years.
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YESSS!!!! I have THOUSANDS of people copying me with new ones every day!! I am a top 1% seller and because of that, I am targeted and I literally just don't create new designs on there anymore. It's been absolutely horrible. Some RUclipsr at some point featured my images on one of their "How To's" and it killed my conversion rate and business in general. Now I'm focusing on items that are not easily copied and require some graphic design knowledge. Thank you so much for this video. SO tired of arguing with people about how they're not copying me when their listings are almost exact!
once they allowed POD i suggested Etsy be broken into sections: Handmade, Vintage, Supplies, Digital and POD
Same. Maybe one day they'll listen. Maybe.
I would especially luv categories for Digital and AI. Why are POD coffee cups allowed to be sold as Handmade? I want a mug made by a Potter on a wheel. Why is digital scrapbook paper that I pay a small fee for and print at home allowed to be sold in the same category as actual physical paper from a major scrapbook brand that somebody is selling because they're not going to use it themselves?
@@CricketsBaythere is already a Digital/Physical filter. If I'm looking for zines, greeting cards, prints, etc. I actually want to see both physical and digital products. I've bought a physical greeting card and a digital greeting card recently because I wanted the design that was the best fit for the recipient and occasion, regardless of the format. It doesn't make much difference to me whether I have to wait for my item to arrive through the mail or if I have to go to a print shop to get the item printed (usually, I'm able to print what I buy myself, though).
I never comment, but I want to give you a shoutout. I watch you because you make me smile. You said something years ago about “pivoting”. It hit home, and I did. Just celebrated my 7000th sale. All handmade by me. Having humor in the way you present (your too cute personality), speaks volumes to me. Thank you!
That's incredible, nice one! I'm glad your pivot went well and thanks for watching my nonsense for all this time. You definitely need a sense of humour to work for yourself. 😆🤪
Kim I just saw the piece by CNBC called "What happened to Etsy", and your face showed up on it. So if you're still wondering if etsy notices your "little" channel, I'd say they probably do! 😅
I saw! I felt a bit sick at first, but am pretty proud now. 😊
It's a conversation I'm glad to be a part of because while I feel very loyal to the platform, they have severely lost their way and need to do better by their sellers.
ruclips.net/video/KxxW9grVDfs/видео.html
I've just seen it too. It good that a big news channel has asked the question (as someone from the UK I'm presuming it's a big channel). Be proud Kim.
I just saw too and came to see if anyone else noticed.
There is a reason why they notice her channel...Because her insights are spot on!!! If Etsy wants honest (and kindly meant) feedback they get it from here! 😊
This is what makes any business successful - one needs to be sufficiently different from the competitors by having a unique selling proposition or whatever they call it in English.
And boy, wouldn’t having a HANDMADE category be great??
Thanks for the video ❤
Honestly, if Etsy could have multiple "marketplaces," I would love that. Different from categories- like you come to the site and you have the option to "enter" a marketplace, be it vintage, handmade, etc.
They also seriously need to fix their seller support. I stopped selling on the platform after my shop was accidentally shut down and I wasn't able to contact anyone with any measure of expediency.
This would be amazing. I'd jump on that too and I agree that they need to fix their support issues. They've acknowledged that innocent sellers are getting dinged by their automated systems, so to not have a plan in place to deal with these issues quickly is not a good look. I'm sorry you were affected by it. 😔
I want a pod category too. The problem is and always has been enforcement. The junk sellers will post their stuff in the handmade category too--they don't care. Etsy can't monitor what they've got now
They can, they just choose not to. 😔
Yesss! They need a new category for 'personalization' where people are just buying stuff and like...just putting a monogram on it and even for people who are designing something and having it mass produced (a category that definitely needs a keener eye looking at it because so many people are just buying stuff wholesale and putting 'China' as a production partner 🙄)
That is so depressing. 😟
I admire your optimism, Kim.
At this point, it's less optimism and more just trying to highlight their promises so that it might hold them accountable in some way. Or at least keep the conversation going in the seller community. 😊
Some years back, when I used to sell a small amount of handmade jewelry on Etsy, I recall seeing somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 million similar listings. Maybe it's improved some? But still, so many great products and makes get absolutely buried. No one will ever know what all is there. That's why unless you're already established, it's essential that you find a way to market yourself OUTSIDE of Etsy. Otherwise, what are the chances when someone does a search for "framed embroidery" or "cat art" or whatever...what are the chances your store will be on the all important front page of results? Not very good.
When Etsy first started, sellers had to submit an application to set up a shop on the platform. They had to show evidence of their process for making the items they wanted to sell, also naming anyone else involved in the process and what their specific role was. There were some amazing and unique items that couldn’t be found anywhere else. Since they sold out and went all corporate and dollar greed focused, the quality of items and shopping experience just plummeted. Maybe Etsy should consider bringing a proper application process back again. Probably would need to increase the fees for new sellers to cover the cost of paying real actual humans to do it, but at least it would create a barrier to entry for the low will no skill AI POD drop shipping brigade. As a buyer, I CBA trawling through all the crap to find something nice, there just aren’t enough hours in the day, so I just don’t bother with Etsy anymore
This makes me so sad, but I absolutely get it.
The worst part is that people incorrectly think that people don't sell handmade on Etsy anymore, that all the sellers have left the platform which just isn't true. They're just buried!
Didn't they recently implement a new one-time fee to open a business on Etsy? They can use that money to set up some system for people to apply and wait for approval to become a vendor on Etsy.
I'm perpetually confused at the platform's disregard for sellers. Are they trying to run every good artisan off their website?
You're in good company. We're all confused!
My shop has really taken off since July 2023. Finally my stuff is being found with, as you always say Kim, unique items. They can be a popular theme but much stand out.
Categorisation definitely still needs work by Esty. Too much mass manufacture and print on demand categorising as "HANDMADE"
I'm so sick of printed art sitting alongside my handmade fabric nursery wall hangings.
So how do they plan to validate that an item IS handmade? Because there is already a "Handmade" search option, and when you use it as your filter it still has drop shipped shit. What is to stop drop shippers from saying "yes, my stuff is definitely handmade" and listing their items under that category?
I am a software engineer lol and there is not an algorithmic way (like machine learning, for example - to my knowledge) to determine whether something is TRULY handmade. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Edit: I just asked my husband, also a software engineer, if there is an algorithmic way to determine whether something is truly handmade and he said no. So. Take that as you will.
Reselling is always going to be a problem. Although, my suggestion wasn't about removing resellers and Etsy are already on that anyway, as they stated in the report.
My suggestion was to make it easier for people to find handmade without having to wade through pages of POD and digital products. They have a place on the platform, but they're not handmade and should have a category of their own.
And that would be easy to do.
@@KimBliss That makes sense for those categories, yeah, you are right for sure about that.
My gripe is with people saying things that are clearly not handmade ARE handmade and drowning people that actually do hand make stuff in the search results (and pricing).
That's why they need humans to monitor what is being sold and not a computer.
In this same talk, Josh said they would use AI to identify Etsy products that are also being sold on other platforms as a way to filter out resellers. Recently there was an artist on Etsy who had a tarot deck of his original art taken down by Etsy because they saw the same product on Temu and thought he was reselling it. In fact, Temu had stolen his design. Fortunately, he was able to prove that to Etsy and got his product reinstated. So they can't specifically identify handmade, but can identify if the same product is being sold on several platforms and they're probably focusing on Alibaba, Temu, etc...
Some handmade items are so well made, they look manufactured. Just saying 😂
How do you stand out when you get copied every time? There is nothing unique on there anymore. Any product, handmade or not, gets copied when it succeeds. It's brutal.
That's due to all the advice out there to look at what your competitors are doing and "model what's working". It's been going around for years and now this is the result.
Tools that let you snoop on your competitors just amplify this too. It's not just on Etsy either. Here on RUclips creators face the same problem.
To answer your question though, I can only share my own approach and that's to choose a medium that cannot be easily copied, create designs that I'm not precious about and switch things up every year or so.
Certain mediums will get thrashed by copycats though, if it's easy enough to do.
The separate categories for handmade vs pod is genius!!! I make candles and they have pod candles now. Very much not the same as my product. ❤
What they really should do is get rid of commercially mass produced items. Etsy used to be strictly for handmade goods; not anymore. On another note, art is subjective, so If etsy does not like your product, you are screwed. Time to move on to a different platform
As someone who was thinking about selling my original paintings on etsy a few years ago, I was disgusted to not be able to filter out "prints" from originals. Even in the original painting subcategory. I never tried actually selling because I could barely find a half dozen actual original paintings in hours of searching, and then it was mostly by searching highest to lowest price. I did do a search the other day and it actually gave me relevant results, so with this push for originality and craftsmanship, I might have to finally give it a go.
It'll definitely be interesting to see how this plays out.
Digital is kind of a weird one because it includes items that were made entirely from premade elements AND items that are digitized pieces of original handmade art. There are also educational & therapy product sellers who use premade elements, but only as a base for original written content. For example, I have purchased some very helpful materials from registered counsellors and occupational therapists on Etsy. The visual elements are not the most important part -- the original written content based on clinical education and experience is.
There's also art that was made by hand, from scratch, using software (e.g., with the use of a drawing tablet), which I would consider to be handmade.
I personally don't have a strong preference for digital vs physical because the vast majority of the items I buy are for the buyer to read and/or write on and I have a printer so I'm covered either way. I've purchased digital and physical zines, for example.
For me the major distinction is actually whether the seller made a major component of the product from scratch. A few Canva elements that took 2 minutes to put together and are then sold as POD products is way different, in my opinion, than a hand-drawn illustration sold on POD products.
And for AI. Which has no sense in the first place, because those are really low quality, no skill no will stuff.
I design and print/engraved/customised items.. I've noticed my Etsy sales have gone from 1 sale per week to nothing.. total sales 27.. which I guess is fine, it could just be seasonal.. but I think you're right about the UK rece... 😲😉
It's hard to trust Etsy now
There needs to be a category for MADE IN CHINA also🙏
I'm just all-around discouraged and wonder how to make my minimalist knitting bags made from repurposed fabrics stand out! Maybe I should make them elaborate, which isn't my style but maybe I need to step way outside my box? I have no idea 🤦🏼♀️
I had a product design ripped off on Etsy with subsequent cheap imitations flooding the site. Because of dwindling sales for one of a kind, handmade textiles that sell for what they are worth, I made my page dormant while I search for a better platform. I'm sick of people who can't create themselves and steel from others, and buyers who don't understand why quality goods cost what they do. Beginning to think I should try and get some of my things into a few local shops, have my quilts in cafes or shows to get them out there on view rather than waste my time on Etsy.
I am in the middle of watching your video, but I need to comment to say that yes there is cognitive overload for the Etsy customer when trying to find items! I say this as a customer with a not big enough budget but wants quality items, not random garbage dropshipped from Chinese businesses. I have found some really great stuff over the years on Etsy, including some custom-made stuff like a custom-size photo frame and clothes. But sometimes it is a lot of work to find the right item that serves me well.
I appreciate Etsy as a platform because I have bought things that I don't think I would have easily found on disparate sites from random sellers all over the world. It is upsetting to see what is becoming of Etsy. As a customer, I hope they actually improve.
I would LOVE to see handmade, print on demand and printables separated.
Thankgod I ignored the guru advice and decided to try to stand out from the start. I hope this is what it means too.
Hello Kim
Love your unique style of podcast. You do make me chuckle 😂.
Apparently, Etsy has previously tried the different categories for Handmade, POD, Digital, Supplies etc however without success.
I guess it would be arduous and difficult to enforce. People will just post their items across several categories, thinking it will increase their potential reach.
My products fall under digital, handcrafted supplies🙆🏾♀️
THEY DID? 😳 When?? They must've been very quiet about it or perhaps it was a test. This actually makes me happy though because it shows they have the ability to do it. Perhaps they were just testing to see if it increased sales or something.
Oooh you've got my brain running now. 😄
Thanks for letting me know, Gloria. I had absolutely no idea! 💚
@KimBliss I'm not sure when tbh. Someone asked the question of another RUclipsr. It was called Etsy Studio 🤷🏿♀️
Esty can do anything, question is can they be arsed ?!
Etsy Studio rings a bell actually.. wow. They've clearly brought in so many tweaks and changes over the years that I've started blanking them from memory! 😄
@@KimBliss I Googled it hoping something would show from archive but nowt 🤷🏿♀️
I love your videos! Thank you
I like the toothpaste analogy - yes you can organise toothpaste, diffrent tubes for different brushes (works for my kids). There is so much Canva/Template/AI junk in the pod category. Canva has its place but seriously, some sellers are really degrading the feel of Etsy with the technicolor trippy ai and primitive block colour Bauhaus poster nonesense.
I don't understand why Etsy have decided to allow AI. My only guess is that they either don't know how to keep on top of it or they can't afford to lose the revenue. Either way, it's a dumb move.
@@KimBliss Its really puzzling and short sighted. Apparently Etsy's CEO (or one of the higher-ups at least) likened AI images to music artists using sampling, but I don't think its like that at all. Music sampling is more like using Rebelle or Photoshop, whereas Midjourney is something else entirely. Fingers crossed its just a fad and will all blow-over in a year or two.
Yes I saw that! As someone who often comes up with random analogies, even I couldn't understand the logic behind that one. 😄
I guess Etsy has gotten to a point to where it's catabolizing it self. So much of the same stuff and look to where it's dragging down the platform. That tooth paste won't go back into the tube, but your suggestion to break it into categories would be so helpful. You'd think it would also be easier for Etsy to oversee too. But to get it to that from where it is now would be a huge job. But I so hope they take note. I did hear you years ago when you shouted out for people to be different. Stop copying!!!! Right arm Kim!!😁👍
Hehe, cheers John. I'd love for them to update the categories and certainly hope they do it one day. Here's hoping! 😁
What I offer doesn't fit Gift Mode, I am trying to figure out how to do that. Thanks for your amazing video!
The problem with Josh saying they are going to suppress the lower quality stuff is that Etsy (either humans or AI) are going to be deciding what 'low quality' is. This scares me. It might not be what you and I consider 'low quality' 😬What also worried me was them saying, in order to 'highlight the very best of Etsy' they were going to 'curate the marketplace to show the newest and best listings on Etsy'. I'm thinking about the 'newest' part of that statement. Does that mean that older stuff won't get shown? Do they only want shiny new stuff that is cutting edge? I do agree about more categories though. And make people using AI art label it as such. Just so people can make informed choices about what they are buying.
Yeah, that bit had me wondering too. I think if something is selling well, it will be relisted frequently, which would mean recency *could* act as an indicator of a bestseller? That would of course once again ding sellers of OOAK items, but who knows.
Speaking of photo quality, I actually don't care if the photos are "amateurish." I don't expect an artisan or artist to have advanced photography skills if I'm buying an essential oil blend or bath salts. Someone could have the most amazing smelling bath salts but their listing could get buried by listings for not-as-good products by marketing-savvy sellers.
@@KimBliss 'Who knows' seems to be the war cry for Etsy sellers these days 😆Have you seen CNBC's video about Etsy? It was put up on RUclips yesterday and is 12 minutes long. If you search 'CNBC Etsy' you should find it. It was a nice little documentary on the state of the business.
@@TheNiftyNeuron Yes! I agree. We are expected to produce beautiful images these days but a lot of small sellers don't have the skill, ability or equipment to produce magazine quality images. Bigger businesses with a big marketing budget do, and those with marketing skills know how to get seen. We can't compete with that - yet that is the measuring stick Etsy is using to find 'quality' listings. It's sad 🤕
Reality is that people have more money to spend, just a fact, so let’s not make excuses. Wages and investment are way way up and inflation is only 0.8 above average soooo.. yeah. Real data yields real answers.
Is that reality in the room with us?
@@KimBliss 😊 just saying to keep it real.
By allowing pod they have killed the etsy people knew and loved. Photos of handmade goods would never create that field of purple cows, they would be unique. A bunch of pod listings that use the same mock ups do... I feel bad for people who actually design and print their own tshirts in house because they have to compete with pod spam. Etsy has really given those sellers the middle finger.
Not to mention, they've sent out conflicting info that could impact pod sellers too.
They're saying everyone looks too samey, but they also want pod sellers to use the same mock up images... so the problem they're complaining about is a problem they've helped create? I really don't understand the thought process that goes on there. 😄
Ironically an Esty ad in the middle of your vlog 😅
They are all over RUclips at the moment! 😄
What about all the sellers who sell copyrighted stuff, clothing, stickers, cups, disney, marvel and other copyright items, they should be jumping on that
Etsy legally can't. The copyright holder has to go on the platform themselves and lodge a takedown notice for all the infringing sellers. Which is why every now and again there will be a massive sweep where these shops get shut down. Unfortunately, many of these sellers just open new accounts and make as much money as they can before the next sweep. HOPEFULLY the fact that etsy is now linking accounts to legal identification, these shops will become more difficult to relaunch
Hi Kim I got invited to let Etsy optimize my listing titles etc I was a bit wary now I hear you I should let them do this do you agree I really value your opinion and I agree with all your suggestions for organizing Etsy categories makes so much sense
Thanks for all you do
Margot
Is that the AI thing they've been talking about?
Hmm. I don't like to tell folks what to do with their shops because you know your business better than anyone.
All I will say is that *personally*, I wouldn't let Etsy mess with my own listings or shop if I could at all help it. Especially with one run by AI. Their automated systems always start off clunky (and often stay that way), so I wouldn't want them testing out their new tools with my business.
@@KimBliss thanks Kim my thoughts too actually 😊
Get rid of POD. POD is not handmade.
Hard Agree. I know the genuine graphic designers are going to complain, but there are plenty of platforms that specialize on POD products and t-shirt designs; some of them have been around before Etsy was even a thing. So there's really no need to do this on Etsy
@@Claudia-vn3fb agree
Apart from anything else.. your surname must be the coolest on this planet 😁
Id be curious to see how they deal with AI generated product listings. We make wood shelves and our segment has become inundated with fake AI products, its insane. When you look at their reviews its for random other product catagories such as jumpers.....
Your guess would be as good as mine.
If it walks like a duck and sounds like a duck..........hmmmmmmmmm?
QUACK! 🦆
As much as a print-on-demand category would be so useful I fear shops like yourself (and me too!) who sell both handmade and POD with their own designs could be negatively impacted. Not everyone will understand that although not handmade the design was handdrawn and your item could get thrown in with all the POD tat on Etsy never to be seen again! and if etsy (or malicious sellers looking to cut out the competition) might use it to shut down genuine shops claiming it's not handmade. Where's the line between handmade and designed yourself but made by someone else because you can't make it like keyrings and washi tape? Sorry, genuinely think you might be onto something with a new category but then my stupid brain started overthinking it! 😂
I don't think they would be though because if people are genuinely looking for handmade then they won't want POD items in the mix, even if they do have original designs on them.
My mugs have my original designs on them sure, but they are definitely not handmade no matter what Etsy says! 😄
It doesn't matter what the advice is, if enough people follow it, then everyone is the same again. Stand out, you say? Ok. I stand out from a crowd of 100, but then 89 other people decide they want to stand out, and now what do you have? Wouldn't we be right back to cognitive overload? I'm not trying to be negative, just being realistic.
Emphasizing quality may be a better way of separating the wheat from the chaff. If someone without the will or the skill just puts up products, then they shouldn't appear in a search until page 50. The downside is that decent quality never gets seen because there are plenty of higher quality products/listings that can fill 2-3, or more, pages. Just what I was saying before. The advice is create a quality product and listing. Suddenly, we're back to cognitive overload. Add to that the frustration of decent products not being seen and now you have sellers leaving, which goes against what Etsy really wants.
Separating handmade from POD and digital may be the way to go. They could make it one of the filters and let the user decide. Right now they just have physical products and digital downloads. That's not enough.
I think what people mean when they say this is to find a small niche with high demand. An example of this could be creepy, truly scary-looking plushies or pastel goth wedding planners. (I don't know what the demand is like for those products, but you get the idea). It does take creativity and research to find such a niche and figure out how you can address it. A lot of people aren't willing to spend the time and effort to figure that out, though.
Easy need to put all print on demand and such product in category " custom made" or " individually made" . Handmade products are those that made without use of power tools. If you use power tools( such as electric scissors) and you CANNOT substitute them with hand scissors, IT'S NOT HANDMADE. IT'S CUSTOM MADE.
Gift Mode is for low skill, low will customers.
Yeah! All the friggin POD things that I thought were handmade until I started digging in is astounding. And they’re charging handmade prices!
I’m not spending $50 on a POD hoodie that I thought was hand embroidered! The audacity!
I found finished embroidered art that turned out to be fabric with stitches printed on it and then added to an embroidery hoop.
As a hand embroidery artist, you can imagine how impressed I was! 😂
@@KimBliss Oh my gawd, whoever listed that needs a gold star for being top turd 😂
In the words of Iggy Pop "You're going to reap just what you sow".
While I loved his comment about "low skill low will" sellers, he ALSO said that Etsy considers AI "art" to be handmade.
Like... whaaaaaaat? If you're talking low skill, low will, that's AI prompters ALL OVER.
Talking about having too many products that look the same? Also an AI problem! Wall art on etsy is absolutely rife with that "same-y appearance" coz it's full of AI art 🤮
They need to at the very least add an AI category. How do they police people who label AI art as handmade? They can scrape midjourney for images the same as they're looking at temu and aliexpress images to identify dropshippers. Use AI to weed out the AI, hell yeah 😎
I know! What the heck were they thinking??
I took most of my watercolour art and related products off Etsy this weekend. There is so much AI art on there now that my stuff wasn't getting seen at all. There is just no point in having it up there. It's hard to believe but I used to sell hundreds of paintings a year on there 😕
@gillianmcmurray Oof, that sucks, I'm so sorry that's happened to you. Watercolour is one of the mediums hit hardest I think, AI loves the abstractions in the paint. 😑 Have you looked into using your art in shadow box designs? Shadow boxes take too much effort for AI bros so they pretty much ignore that niche, but your wildlife pics would look lovely in that setting!
@@belindaroadley Aww, thanks for your kind words. Funnily enough I was thinking about shadow box work this week 😀 However visibility on Etsy is dropping by the day. I think Etsy is the wrong place for me to sell my art now. Time to find some other outlets ☺