A friend pointed out an article in Wired Magazine to me, apparently Etsy is struggling with the same issues that art fair promoters are faced with and getting ready to embrace businesses that have grown to big for a single artist:
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Etsy has been struggling with this problem for years now. It seems that they struggle with the same issue as art fair people do, that it is not a receptive environment for reporting offenders. Often, people are called out online for reporting copycats and buy-sell, as if they are the bad guys, and not the original offenders. Etsy has gotten so very large, that it is really hard to be found. Great idea, but just too much competition.
A couple of years ago, I found an alternative site composed entirely of people calling out people on Etsy who are buy/sell, or just seriously bad crafters, called "Regretsy". I have to warn though, while sometimes really funny, there is a lot of snark that just seems a little mean at times. I also have to warn about the "not safe for work aspect", can be quite vulgar... ;)
http://www.regretsy.com/category/compare-and-save/page/2/
That was very funny. Amazingly I saw a bunch of friends in the "likes" images ...
The calling out is a tough thing to handle. Usually the people getting called out here are the imposters, or the buy/sell people, but every situation is different and circumstantial evidence is not always the fact. But it sounds like it is a little twisted on that site.
Sounds like Etsy is just becoming like some show promoters - greedy. They don't want to lose out on making money from successful people so they change their policies to allow them in. Very disappointing.
That was an interesting article, Amy. Thanks for sharing. I know there have been a number of disgruntled makers on Etsy. This idea that etsy will evolve from "makers" to entrepreneurs is indeed an issue we've been dealing with in our business for many years.
A friend who turned from a maker into an entrepreneur with a shop and employees thought he should still be able to do the same shows. "What has changed in America that because I've built a successful business I can't still do the shows?" Indeed, why not? Oh, right, the rules of this particular show say "made by the artist."
There was a big issue not long ago on etsy as they seemed to have a "vintage" department and people were actually only slightly repurposing vintage goods and selling them as handmade.
Etsy, I'm sure, can figure out how they want to position themselves for the long haul. We are faced with that eternal tension though how can I grow my business without help, how much help is too much? When do I cross the line?