Hello everyone!
I just wanted to jot down a few things about me leaving Etsy. I also want to let people know that I don't hold anything against anybody who chooses to continue to use Etsy either as a buyer or seller. This is simply my personal conviction.
First of all, I should tell you that I'm leaving Etsy. Yep. I'm not sure exactly when yet. [edit: June 1, 2022] I still have so much to add to my website, but when I get everything transferred over that's when I'll shut it down.
It's a little difficult to let go because I have many wonderful buyers there. I have had many great experiences with them. I also have so many 5-star reviews there that are hard to let go of. So why would I want to leave? (Make sure you read the last reason, it's my biggest.)
1. Fees
Every platform has fees of course. It's part of doing business. Etsy's fees seem to be a bit excessive, and in April it went up even further. There are listing fees, transaction fees, payment processing fees, unpredictable off-site ad fees. There was even a strike recently over the fees. (It wasn't JUST the fees, but that's what sparked it. You can read more about that here.)
2. Increased Resellers
The market is becoming saturated with people selling mass produced goods that they have not even designed themselves. I have nothing against mass produced goods. Etsy is just not the place for them. These goods are also being sold cheaper, which is pushing out those of us who take a lot of time to create items and therefore have a higher price point.
There are a few other small things, but I think it's time to tell you the biggest reason for me personally...
3. Vulgarity
First of all, I'm not saying vulgar content should all be taken down. I'm for freedom. People should be free to sell things that I don't agree with. People should be free to create art and items with whatever images and words they want to have on them.
I just don't want to see it, and I don't want my children to see it.
Etsy is doing NOTHING about all of the accounts who are violating the mature content rules. I've even reported some of them myself and nothing was done. Mature content should be tagged, it isn't supposed to be shown in the first listing image, and it may not appear in the public areas of accounts. Those are Etsy's rules, yet the rules aren't being followed.
It's sad how much vulgarity has saturated Etsy. What really drove home my decision to get off of Etsy was in my search for a coffee mug. I wanted to buy someone a gift, I wasn't sure what, so I searched "coffee mug". Oh my. I saw so many f-words and private parts right there in my face in just the first couple of pages I was stunned. My children were in the room!
Do you think I want to direct people to that? Tell people to go shopping on Etsy, possibly with their children in the room? No thank you. I can't support that. I decided to only direct people to my own website where people can safely shop without seeing things they don't want to see.
So that's why I'm leaving Etsy.
Besides, another benefit of leaving there is the ability to focus more here on my own website. I have so many plans! So I hope you stay tuned here or on @jessicamatthewsart for the latest updates.
Smiles and blessings from me to you (and nothing vulgar!),
Jessica