the story is probably 2008 or so, maybe a little later but not by much. The author was long gone before any of the changes you're talking about happened. Etsy w

the story is probably 2008 or so, maybe a little later but not by much. The author was long gone before any of the changes you're talking about happened. Etsy was still very handmade for many years after this story takes place. It wasn't until after the IPO (2015) that activist investors pushed out the folksy leadership and installed a more corporate CEO (2016) that changed everything and made it suck.