I have read with interest your cases when eBay was unfair to its sellers, but eBay is a picnic compared to what Etsy sellers have to endure. Many, like me, depend on it for making a living, but we are powerless against its often arbitrary decisions.
I have opened six Etsy shops since 2007 and it has closed all of them on two occasions. The first was when we were mistakenly linked to a seller in Portugal who’d had a complaint filed against them. Although Etsy admitted the error within hours, it took five days to reinstate them.
This year they were closed without warning again when a buyer returned a coat outside our 21-day return deadline, damaged and without the tags. When we refused to refund her she opened a case against us. Etsy has ignored our complaints and we have no right of appeal. ES, Marmaris, Turkey
Etsy operates a seller protection scheme, but this simply means it will arbitrate if you can’t resolve a dispute. You are not protected if it decides against you. In your case, despite a message trail showing the buyer returned the goods outside your deadline and gave the wrong postage date, it gave her her money back.
Dismayingly, despite a good track record, your businesses were closed on the strength of this one rather dubious complaint.
Etsy, however, is unrepentant. “We cannot comment on specific cases but our commitment to best assist our members, and enforce our policies without bias, does not differ for buyers and sellers,” it tells The Observer. “We thoroughly consider all the information provided by both parties.”
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
