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Etsy first started losing their appeal when they gave up even pretending to not allow Alibaba resellers, and lost the "hand-made" distinction that made their si

Etsy first started losing their appeal when they gave up even pretending to not allow Alibaba resellers, and lost the "hand-made" distinction that made their site unique. Currently they're going through a round of "let's alienate all the small unique sellers that are still using our service" by changing their payment policies. Sellers are being required to accept Etsy's payment processing, where before accepting Paypal was sufficient. Signing up for Etsy's payment processing requires giving Etsy a whole bunch of private information that a lot of sellers (at least in the internet circles I run in) are not comfortable giving out to Etsy, especially sellers that do not live in the US. Etsy is quickly losing the sellers that make their site worth visiting to Storenvy.

chiph 9y ago
I had a look at Storenvy's store owner's agreement. There's several exclusions in there that would be problematic, such as: > Any product containing any hazardous or dangerous material including mercury or any product whose use is regulated by any law in any jurisdiction. I get what they're trying to do, but that's pretty broad https://support.storenvy.com/customer/portal/articles/93987-store-owner-s-agreement https://support.storenvy.com/customer/portal/articles/93987-...
- cowpewter 9y ago
  By "internet circles I run in" I'm talking about the ball-jointed doll hobby, so probably 90% of the products we're talking about are handmade doll clothes and wigs. The dolls themselves are usually made of polyurethane resin, which I don't think could be considered harmful once it's cured. Most of the other hand-crafted things I would consider checking Etsy for first are things like jewelry and pottery. Unless you're using lead-based glazes, I think those sellers are all pretty safe going to Storenvy. I just know that a large percentage of the makers I follow on social media have been complaining about these new payment policies in the past few weeks, and many of them have already opened Storenvy shops.
  - RugnirViking 9y ago
    > any product whose use is regulated by any law in any jurisdiction. That doesn't mean say product which is banned in your jurisdiction. It means any product that is regulated (as in, there is any law at all governing its use) in any jurisdiction. Like for example plastic is normally pretty harmless, but maybe theres a law in Portugal saying there can't be a certain amount of plastic in soft drinks and now its restricted IANAL but I thought this wording was interesting and took it to its logical extremes.
    - cowpewter 9y ago
      True, the wording is pretty vague. I assume it's a CYA-clause for Storenvy so they're not liable if someone sells something illegal somewhere. IANAL either though, so who knows. It looks like Etsy's policy is a little more explicit about it being the seller's job to make sure whatever it is is legal wherever it is. https://www.etsy.com/legal/prohibited https://www.etsy.com/legal/prohibited > Due to the potential harm caused by hazardous materials, as well as complex legal regulations surrounding such materials, including shipping restrictions, hazardous materials are prohibited on Etsy Etsy doesn't define "hazardous materials" in their policy though, just provides a few examples. > Our marketplaces provides a direct connection between buyers and sellers around the world. If you buy or sell an item from another country, or if you enter into a transaction with someone across international borders, you are responsible for complying with international trade restrictions, including restrictions put into place by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), regardless of your location.
  - mncharity 9y ago
    >> any product whose use is regulated by any law in any jurisdiction > handmade doll clothes and wigs Toy safety? For example, all the "toy" sections of 16 CFR Part 1500?[1] [1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/part-1500 https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/part-1500 Found via a link on my (shameless plug) "A feel for: torque"[2], under 10^-1 Newton-meters. [2] http://www.clarifyscience.info/part/ZoomB?v=A&p=CK6Ji&m=torque http://www.clarifyscience.info/part/ZoomB?v=A&p=CK6Ji&m=torq...
- djrogers 9y ago
  Would this include anything that would fall under California's Prop 65 warning labels? Because if so, that'd cut out a LOT of things you'd never worry about... [1]http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-pro-con2-2009nov02-story.html http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-pro-con2-2009nov02-story...
yeukhon 9y ago
I have used Storenvy before to buy alpacasso plushes because my then-girlfriend liked them very much and I did too. But those plushes are not made by the sellers, they are just resellers because the plushes are only available in Japan. But the sellers I had business with often gave gifts and handwritten card/letter to thank me for the business. This is an important thing to note when comparing the products being sold on either site.

chiph 9y ago

I had a look at Storenvy's store owner's agreement. There's several exclusions in there that would be problematic, such as: > Any product containing any hazardous or dangerous material including mercury or any product whose use is regulated by any law in any jurisdiction. I get what they're trying to do, but that's pretty broad https://support.storenvy.com/customer/portal/articles/93987-store-owner-s-agreement https://support.storenvy.com/customer/portal/articles/93987-...

cowpewter 9y ago
By "internet circles I run in" I'm talking about the ball-jointed doll hobby, so probably 90% of the products we're talking about are handmade doll clothes and wigs. The dolls themselves are usually made of polyurethane resin, which I don't think could be considered harmful once it's cured. Most of the other hand-crafted things I would consider checking Etsy for first are things like jewelry and pottery. Unless you're using lead-based glazes, I think those sellers are all pretty safe going to Storenvy. I just know that a large percentage of the makers I follow on social media have been complaining about these new payment policies in the past few weeks, and many of them have already opened Storenvy shops.
- RugnirViking 9y ago
  > any product whose use is regulated by any law in any jurisdiction. That doesn't mean say product which is banned in your jurisdiction. It means any product that is regulated (as in, there is any law at all governing its use) in any jurisdiction. Like for example plastic is normally pretty harmless, but maybe theres a law in Portugal saying there can't be a certain amount of plastic in soft drinks and now its restricted IANAL but I thought this wording was interesting and took it to its logical extremes.
  - cowpewter 9y ago
    True, the wording is pretty vague. I assume it's a CYA-clause for Storenvy so they're not liable if someone sells something illegal somewhere. IANAL either though, so who knows. It looks like Etsy's policy is a little more explicit about it being the seller's job to make sure whatever it is is legal wherever it is. https://www.etsy.com/legal/prohibited https://www.etsy.com/legal/prohibited > Due to the potential harm caused by hazardous materials, as well as complex legal regulations surrounding such materials, including shipping restrictions, hazardous materials are prohibited on Etsy Etsy doesn't define "hazardous materials" in their policy though, just provides a few examples. > Our marketplaces provides a direct connection between buyers and sellers around the world. If you buy or sell an item from another country, or if you enter into a transaction with someone across international borders, you are responsible for complying with international trade restrictions, including restrictions put into place by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), regardless of your location.
- mncharity 9y ago
  >> any product whose use is regulated by any law in any jurisdiction > handmade doll clothes and wigs Toy safety? For example, all the "toy" sections of 16 CFR Part 1500?[1] [1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/part-1500 https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/part-1500 Found via a link on my (shameless plug) "A feel for: torque"[2], under 10^-1 Newton-meters. [2] http://www.clarifyscience.info/part/ZoomB?v=A&p=CK6Ji&m=torque http://www.clarifyscience.info/part/ZoomB?v=A&p=CK6Ji&m=torq...
djrogers 9y ago
Would this include anything that would fall under California's Prop 65 warning labels? Because if so, that'd cut out a LOT of things you'd never worry about... [1]http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-pro-con2-2009nov02-story.html http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-pro-con2-2009nov02-story...

yeukhon 9y ago

I have used Storenvy before to buy alpacasso plushes because my then-girlfriend liked them very much and I did too. But those plushes are not made by the sellers, they are just resellers because the plushes are only available in Japan. But the sellers I had business with often gave gifts and handwritten card/letter to thank me for the business. This is an important thing to note when comparing the products being sold on either site.