Evil Etsy is Doomed in 2023 – Proven Online Marketplaces
As I am typing this as I now have an active Etsy account. I will update my online presence and remove myself and the company from Etsy because Etsy is Doomed. I just read an article tonight about Etsy stock soaring after hours and was very happy. Until I looked at the provided table for Etsy that lists the active buyers for this time in 2021 compared to 2022 and the active sellers. Do you know what I saw? A decline from last year to this year.
If there is a decline in sellers and buyers then how did Etsy have a higher revenue? That is a great question. After researching the issue, I found out why. The increase in transaction fees that they imposed on sellers back in April of 2022. Sellers are paying higher prices to be included in the marketplace.
My company has noticed the price margin is not the same as it was obvious since the increase. I have also seen less traffic even when adding trending products. This was a prediction that many had when Etsy announced the price increase. Hundreds of Etsy shop owners wondered if they were going to be able to still sell on Etsy. If not then which sites should they move to.
“For many of us, the increase is just the final straw,” Kristi Cassidy, a leader of the strike and Etsy shop owner who makes Gothic, Victorian, and steampunk wedding dresses and costumes, said. Previously, Cassidy explained, “We’d just been too tired to fight back. A lot of [the changes] came in the middle of all the absolute horribleness that has been the last two years. But this happens, and we’re just like, OK, we’re done. We’re gonna fight.”
When contacted for comment about the strike, Etsy justified the price hike, arguing that it allowed the firm to invest more in services that would eventually benefit merchants.
“Sellers have consistently told us they want us to expand our efforts around marketing, customer support, and removing listings that don’t meet our policies,” an Etsy spokesperson said over email. “Our revised fee structure will enable us to increase our investments in each of these key areas so that we can better serve our community and keep Etsy a beloved, trusted, and thriving marketplace.”
There is now an Etsy Strike subreddit which more sellers are flocking to daily to have their voices heard.
