5 ms·

Etsy should charge the sellers fees per sale, and make them post an expensive bond. Then Etsy can ban drop shipping, give instant refunds, pay return postage, a

by irq-1 2y ago

Etsy should charge the sellers fees per sale, and make them post an expensive bond. Then Etsy can ban drop shipping, give instant refunds, pay return postage, and generally hold the creators to high standards. Etsy should also mandate the inclusion of a scan code in the package, which the customer can use to show they received the shipment but it wasn't as advertised. This would catch people lying about the contents, when the creators take a photo of the item & code in the box (and send it to Etsy before shipping.) Creators taking a photo and then changing the item will be caught because of the number of complaints, and customers can be refunded long after the transactions using the bond.

iLoveOncall 2y ago
This would be a minor inconvenience for drop shippers but kill small businesses by drowning them in fees and paperwork. Etsy already charges fees, even just to LIST items, regardless of whether they sell or not. I've been wanting to sell some of my 3D printed designs, but I'm not paying a buck a piece for a listing that will earn me 5 to 10 bucks if I manage to sell.
- alwillis 2y ago
  > I've been wanting to sell some of my 3D printed designs, but I'm not paying a buck a piece for a listing that will earn me 5 to 10 bucks if I manage to sell. The listing fee on Etsy is 20¢ ($0.20).
  - iLoveOncall 2y ago
    In the UK it's more if I remember correctly, and this is only the basic fee which doesn't offer all the functionalities.
    - marcinzm 2y ago
      That's not true. https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115014483627-What-are-the-Fees-and-Taxes-for-Selling-on-Etsy?segment=selling https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115014483627-What-ar...
marcinzm 2y ago
Fun thing about a two sided marketplace. It needs two sides. If you make life hard for sellers then they won't join and then you, by definition, don't have a marketplace.
- RileyJames 2y ago
  The point of the article was that Etsy has already established both sides of the marketplace. And that both sides of the marketplace are not equal, as competitors/disruptors are discovering. To be successful, they need a large consumer base, and a small seller base, who sell high quality goods (which is subjective, but mass drop shipping is certainly not what those consumers are expecting). Of those, the hardest to attract is a larger consumer base. Sellers will ultimately go where the buyers are.
  - marcinzm 2y ago
    > To be successful, they need a large consumer base, and a small seller base, who sell high quality goods (which is subjective, but mass drop shipping is certainly not what those consumers are expecting). The only way a small seller base can support a large consumer base is if it's some form of mass manufacture. That more or less leads to drop shipping as the logical conclusion and optimization.
    - yowlingcat 2y ago
      1stdibs, Grailed and Depop would beg to differ.
- quartesixte 2y ago
  True, but I think when creating marketplaces, you want a little bit more friction on the sell side. Sellers undertake risk + labor to bring products to market. In exchange, they are rewarded via profit. Buyers take no risk + labor in exchange for paying that profit. The market exists to match sellers and buyers and provide a forum for price discovery. Make it too easy to sell but not have equal reduction in price penalty is how you get Etsy's current problem. Removing the dropshipped items will (hopefully) remove race-to-bottom conditions that in turn allow for small time creators to charge higher prices + profits and buyers to regain confidence that they are getting more perceived value despite the non-commodity prices. But so long as the dropshippers exist, that balance gets destroyed.
INGSOCIALITE 2y ago
the /actual/ etsy creators can't afford an expensive bond. etsy should vet their sellers, simple as
- lbotos 2y ago
  I have a friend who has an etsy store. He sells some custom woodcuts as well as custom laser etching on cheap chinese cups/mugs/glasses/etc. Where is the line?
sidewndr46 2y ago
this back and forth between protecting sellers and protecting buyers has been done plenty of times before on eBay. There is really no reason to continue repeating that cycle

by irq-1 2y ago

iLoveOncall 2y ago

This would be a minor inconvenience for drop shippers but kill small businesses by drowning them in fees and paperwork. Etsy already charges fees, even just to LIST items, regardless of whether they sell or not. I've been wanting to sell some of my 3D printed designs, but I'm not paying a buck a piece for a listing that will earn me 5 to 10 bucks if I manage to sell.

alwillis 2y ago
> I've been wanting to sell some of my 3D printed designs, but I'm not paying a buck a piece for a listing that will earn me 5 to 10 bucks if I manage to sell. The listing fee on Etsy is 20¢ ($0.20).
- iLoveOncall 2y ago
  In the UK it's more if I remember correctly, and this is only the basic fee which doesn't offer all the functionalities.
  - marcinzm 2y ago
    That's not true. https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115014483627-What-are-the-Fees-and-Taxes-for-Selling-on-Etsy?segment=selling https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115014483627-What-ar...

marcinzm 2y ago

Fun thing about a two sided marketplace. It needs two sides. If you make life hard for sellers then they won't join and then you, by definition, don't have a marketplace.

RileyJames 2y ago
The point of the article was that Etsy has already established both sides of the marketplace. And that both sides of the marketplace are not equal, as competitors/disruptors are discovering. To be successful, they need a large consumer base, and a small seller base, who sell high quality goods (which is subjective, but mass drop shipping is certainly not what those consumers are expecting). Of those, the hardest to attract is a larger consumer base. Sellers will ultimately go where the buyers are.
- marcinzm 2y ago
  > To be successful, they need a large consumer base, and a small seller base, who sell high quality goods (which is subjective, but mass drop shipping is certainly not what those consumers are expecting). The only way a small seller base can support a large consumer base is if it's some form of mass manufacture. That more or less leads to drop shipping as the logical conclusion and optimization.
  - yowlingcat 2y ago
    1stdibs, Grailed and Depop would beg to differ.
quartesixte 2y ago
True, but I think when creating marketplaces, you want a little bit more friction on the sell side. Sellers undertake risk + labor to bring products to market. In exchange, they are rewarded via profit. Buyers take no risk + labor in exchange for paying that profit. The market exists to match sellers and buyers and provide a forum for price discovery. Make it too easy to sell but not have equal reduction in price penalty is how you get Etsy's current problem. Removing the dropshipped items will (hopefully) remove race-to-bottom conditions that in turn allow for small time creators to charge higher prices + profits and buyers to regain confidence that they are getting more perceived value despite the non-commodity prices. But so long as the dropshippers exist, that balance gets destroyed.

INGSOCIALITE 2y ago

the /actual/ etsy creators can't afford an expensive bond. etsy should vet their sellers, simple as

lbotos 2y ago
I have a friend who has an etsy store. He sells some custom woodcuts as well as custom laser etching on cheap chinese cups/mugs/glasses/etc. Where is the line?

sidewndr46 2y ago

this back and forth between protecting sellers and protecting buyers has been done plenty of times before on eBay. There is really no reason to continue repeating that cycle