Etsy selling mass produced stuff

[itsbiblical]

Isn't it meant to be the opposite of that? I always thought it was hand crafted stuff.

Just had an ad for Etsy come up on fb - advertising those colourful scandi socks that you can buy from Ali express 5 pairs for 2.59. All they've done is market them as "personalised wild swimming socks" and attached a printed label to them with your name on it 😂

Yeah it has got a bit shoddy. I have mixed feelings because I have sometimes found lovely interesting things on there that are from a factory. I’ve also ordered things that look gorgeous in photos but very mass produced on arrival. There also seem to be a lot of fake reviews saying that whatever item was a perfect gift, but that doesn’t tell me anything about the quality of the item.

It's a bit of a lottery now - I always google lens the pictures and that can give an indication whether its being sold elsewhere by others.

This has been an issue for years and years. There was a blog called Regretsy ranting about it...

Used to be very good, now it's like Amazon, full of cheap tat.

Drop shippers have ruined pretty much every open market place on the Internet.

Always do a reverse image search - I found a so called handmade wedding dress on Etsy also on Ali express for 10% of the price!

It's been like that for years now.

As a small handmade business who has my own website and Etsy it's so frustrating on Etsy now. The real handmade businesses can't be found through all of the resellers and digital products. I make pretty much everything by hand (bar a couple of products I design and outsource to UK manufacturers) but there is now a general mistrust of all products on Etsy and it massively impacts the true sellers.

Etsy has been like this pretty much since it started, very quickly resellers realised they could mark up a margin pitching cheap items to buyers attracted Etsy - who are often rather naïve and too uncritically accepting of Etsy's projected image of itself.

I have also noticed on Etsy several items which look amazing, but are just AI images and nothing like the product.

For example, companies making cushions that have these amazing 3D designs… but the reviews show the actual product as just a printed picture of that image on a square cushion.

Or I saw one last week that was a kids rug with a race track - looked brilliant - but again the review just showed it was that AI image printed on a normal (cheap!) rug.

Sometimes these shops have positive reviews too… which must be fake?

All v bizarre and Etsy is cheapening its brand by not removing these sellers.

Do you have any tips for being able to tell whether a seller is genuine or not? (Google lens is a good one that PPs have mentioned, I'd never thought of that).

Last thing I brought from Etsy looked lovely in the picture, turned out to be imported crap. I've stopped using it.

I have a small handmade business selling through Etsy, and have seen it change over the years. I've also had photos of my items stolen and put on Ali Express (which I had to tackle myself - Etsy did nothing to help), so Google Lens may not help to identify the genuine product. If you are unsure, contact the seller and ask for details of the making process, including photographs. Those who request this of me get additional photos of the garment with descriptions and a short video of me in my workroom.

Every time someone on here suggests a thoughtful handmade present , the universal cry of "try Etsy" happens I always point out ( several name changes) that to be aware as so much of it is now drop shipping and the same items are on eBay/Amazon temu etc
Yes there are some legitimate small /artisan businesses but also lots of massive produced items
See also "artists" who "paint" your child or pet, when all they do it uses computer programme to manipulate the image ( if you wanted to, you can do it yourself very easily)

You’re better off trying EBay or Folksy.

Etsy treats their sellers (individuals not big business) like shit. Lots of Etsy sellers have folksy or eBay and charge less there as the fees aren’t as high. As a buyer you also have better protection on eBay or Folksy - you can actually get hold of a human.

Is big cartel still a thing? I used to know someone who sold through that platform

Have a look

Have a look at a seller called ivory cream boutique. They are a religious fundamentalist family who are basically selling on second hand clothes they have been donated for their many children. The mum has made £700 dollars so far and is still selling even though there have been many reports.

I only buy from Etsy now if it's from a specific seller that I've been directed to from elsewhere e.g. social media or personal recommendation. Search is absolutely hopeless.

It's a real shame as I thought the original business model was really good.

Sadly Etsy has been on the slippery slope of mass production for at least the last decade.

Platforms such as the British Craft House are a lot better as they curate sellers much more carefully

I have used folksy on occasion and got a few nice bits. It seems to be what Etsy used to be.

I used to sell my handmade products about 4 years ago but I pulled my store after COVID because it was full of mass produced stuff and even copies of my work. I've never gone back and focus on my own website. It's such a shame because it used to be so good.

Yes you are right OP there are some great handmade things mixed with some tat. Even reading the reviews I ended up buying a cheap plastic tablecloth when I expected it to be an oil cloth.

I'd make a small protest here in that lots of people are a) crap at things like that (partly why Regretsy exists!) and b) wouldn't know where to start.

But I agree they don't quite belong on Etsy, but there IS a case for that sort of service.

I used to sell on Etsy - my product included a self-handmade item, combined with other handmade items into a small gift set. I stopped because the site fees made it really unprofitable - if you're competing against drop shippers who make money purely off the original concept with no further effort, so it's all profit and no work post the original design.

I do some digital downloads now instead.

Reverse image search. I found someone 'making' clothes that actually came from SHEIN. It's rife now unfortunately.