4 ms·

Etsy is a hell hole and this is just the latest head of the hydra

by yinser 2y ago

lopis 2y ago
I don't think there's a single mark place nowadays that isn't a complete shit show and a travesty of what they set out to be.
- jameshart 2y ago
  The inevitable lifecycle of any marketplace - Individual sellers in this sector struggle to get seen among all the big corporate offerings. Let's make a marketplace to help them find and connect with customers! - Wow! Now small businesses in this sector can make real money! <-- here is where the original business plan ends - So much money that new people are trying to get into the sector now... - That means there's money to be made selling the ability to enter the marketplace to those people - Big businesses are happy to franchise their offerings out to people who want some of that sweet marketplace money - Market economics of a never-ending supply of new rubes looking to get a piece of the action, and the dominance of the big suppliers, makes sure their resellers' margins are cut razor thin, and big business collects the bulk of the revenue - Marketplace ends up full of get-rich-quick-scam victims undercutting and driving out of business the very small sellers the marketplace was set up to benefit AI means you can skip the MLM scam component of the process and just destroy the marketplace with sock puppet bots.
- cleandreams 2y ago
  I use ebay a lot. I think it is fine. The difference between ebay and others are several: much better search. It's set up to allow customers to target what they want. Better filters. It includes the capability to have a complex user defined search that emails any new items that meet the criteria to the customer. Layers of search: one set of results can be searched to provide another set. It's amazing how other sites don't do this. The result is that ebay provides benefit to customers that in practice is not so easily gamed by big sellers. It gives you very, very, very niche results. E.g. arts and crafts pottery of a particular vintage and maker and color. I've found replacement parts for kitchen implements that haven't been manufactured in 20 years.
serf 2y ago
Etsy as a platform for buying and selling is fine, its discoverability and search that hinders the customer experience. I've bought lots of art commissions and actual hand-made knickknacks and toys from actual non-print-mill individuals. The experience has always been fine for me -- but I was aware of the artist and what I wanted going into it rather than searching for 'something cool' only to be inundated with mass-production "I LOVE MY DAD" mugs.
- Loughla 2y ago
  Exactly. Etsy is still great if you explicitly know what you're looking for, in the case of bespoke jewelry or art, and/or if you explicitly know the artist. As a discovery tool, it's worse than anywhere else.
- surfingdino 2y ago
  I used to run a shop on Etsy. 20+ daily messages from scammers pretending to be buyers or Etsy support. Etsy ads bringing zero new customers, seller bans for no reason... it's a decent experience for buyer, but not fr he seller.

Etsy is a hell hole and this is just the latest head of the hydra

by yinser 2y ago

Etsy is a hell hole and this is just the latest head of the hydra

I don't think there's a single mark place nowadays that isn't a complete shit show and a travesty of what they set out to be.

jameshart 2y ago
The inevitable lifecycle of any marketplace - Individual sellers in this sector struggle to get seen among all the big corporate offerings. Let's make a marketplace to help them find and connect with customers! - Wow! Now small businesses in this sector can make real money! <-- here is where the original business plan ends - So much money that new people are trying to get into the sector now... - That means there's money to be made selling the ability to enter the marketplace to those people - Big businesses are happy to franchise their offerings out to people who want some of that sweet marketplace money - Market economics of a never-ending supply of new rubes looking to get a piece of the action, and the dominance of the big suppliers, makes sure their resellers' margins are cut razor thin, and big business collects the bulk of the revenue - Marketplace ends up full of get-rich-quick-scam victims undercutting and driving out of business the very small sellers the marketplace was set up to benefit AI means you can skip the MLM scam component of the process and just destroy the marketplace with sock puppet bots.
cleandreams 2y ago
I use ebay a lot. I think it is fine. The difference between ebay and others are several: much better search. It's set up to allow customers to target what they want. Better filters. It includes the capability to have a complex user defined search that emails any new items that meet the criteria to the customer. Layers of search: one set of results can be searched to provide another set. It's amazing how other sites don't do this. The result is that ebay provides benefit to customers that in practice is not so easily gamed by big sellers. It gives you very, very, very niche results. E.g. arts and crafts pottery of a particular vintage and maker and color. I've found replacement parts for kitchen implements that haven't been manufactured in 20 years.

serf 2y ago

Etsy as a platform for buying and selling is fine, its discoverability and search that hinders the customer experience. I've bought lots of art commissions and actual hand-made knickknacks and toys from actual non-print-mill individuals. The experience has always been fine for me -- but I was aware of the artist and what I wanted going into it rather than searching for 'something cool' only to be inundated with mass-production "I LOVE MY DAD" mugs.

Loughla 2y ago
Exactly. Etsy is still great if you explicitly know what you're looking for, in the case of bespoke jewelry or art, and/or if you explicitly know the artist. As a discovery tool, it's worse than anywhere else.
surfingdino 2y ago
I used to run a shop on Etsy. 20+ daily messages from scammers pretending to be buyers or Etsy support. Etsy ads bringing zero new customers, seller bans for no reason... it's a decent experience for buyer, but not fr he seller.