3 ms·
Project idea for someone who's bored: Scrape images off Etsy, group items based on image similarity, and find obvious mass-produced items. Actually because an
by ma2rten 13y ago
Project idea for someone who's bored: Scrape images off Etsy, group items based on image similarity, and find obvious mass-produced items.
Actually because an item looks alike does not mean they are not handmade. Many people on Etsy follow instructions. Etsy's 'handmade' actually means more 'self-made'. A lot of mass produced item are made by hand in Asia. Opposite of our home in Thailand there is a small shoe factory in some families home. They make shoes up to spec for some big companies. So, Etsy requires that all items are made by the person that lists the item for sell. However, it does not require an original idea.
- rwg 13y agoI'm having a hard time believing these sellers ever even touch these items. Given the cost of an embroidery machine that can actually embroider these items, and the fact that nobody seems to have non-stock photographs of any the items, and the fact that ~90% of the images showing available fonts are completely identical, I'm guessing they're having a third party do the work and either drop-ship the item directly to customers or ship it to the Etsy seller, who then re-ships it to the customer. See also: http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?q=tutti+frutti+cosmetic&order=most_relevant&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?q=tutti+frutti+cosmetic&... vs. http://www.wholesaleboutique.com/wholesale/monogrammed-items/tutti-frutti-large-cosmetic-bag.html http://www.wholesaleboutique.com/wholesale/monogrammed-items... http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?q=tutti+frutti+beach&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?q=tutti+frutti+beach&... vs. http://www.wholesaleboutique.com/wholesale/monogrammed-items/beach-bag.html http://www.wholesaleboutique.com/wholesale/monogrammed-items... http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?q=black+toiletry+bag&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?q=black+toiletry+bag&... vs. http://www.wholesaleboutique.com/wholesale/monogrammed-items/black-toiletry-bag.html http://www.wholesaleboutique.com/wholesale/monogrammed-items...
- smoyer 13y agoWhen I browse the first Etsy link, I see four "sponsored" items above the selected store, with four identical images that coming from four different Etsy shops. My guess is that Etsy probably won't crack down on shops paying for sponsored listings.