Still Not Paying Attention

Today's Etsy Finds email has three items from the same seller (with an item in the Etsymini at the end of the article, so they actually appear 4 times in the same Etsy Finds article/email). And they live in NYC. hmm

TeenAngster is just getting lazy. She's not even trying anymore. What the hell are the Storque writers getting paid for? Shopping from their favorites?

And again, not all of the featured items are appropriately tagged. Imagine that.

Edit: They've changed the items in the blog post.

Enough with the bullshit about Treasuries

Most of you are just getting this in the latest Etsy news for sellers-email:

"In other news, we have clarifyied [sic] the Terms for the Treasury, a very popular site feature on Etsy. Because many Treasury lists are "promoted" in part or in their entirety to the home page of Etsy, this site feature is followed closely by many member of the Etsy community. Please note, nothing has changed about the functionality of the Treasury itself. Visit this post on Etsy's blog to read more about this. Additionally, we've also updatedthisa how-to article, How-to Make a Treasury: the Nuts and Bolts, that explains how you can curate your own Treasury list." (4/16/09)

Nothing has changed about the "functionality"??? Well, a lot has changed about the functionality of the treasuries since they started, Etsy.

First, the treasuries created by sellers are listed in the treasury queue, but they do not appear randomly; they are screened, picked and edited by the site.

Second, the treasuries have developed into a tool for those who regularly create them to continue to make them with Etsy’s heavy-handed editing pattern in mind. Treasuries are increasingly created to make sure they get picked by Etsy for the front page.

Third, Etsy has taken over 50% of all front page treasuries with their own picks. While this may look like it addresses the longstanding issue of "everything looks the same" and the widespread complaints about "same sellers all the time"--it means that the FUNCTIONALITY OF THE TREASURIES has changed, and changed drastically. Etsy picks or edits every item that appears in the front page treasuries.

Lastly, sellers who are eager to create treasuries and wait for hours for that tiny window of opportunity to add them to the very long queue have an even smaller chance of ever seeing them get to the front page.

If the seller-treasuries don’t meet the formula Etsy has developed for the front page, they will never get picked. So, why bother to spend the time and energy to create them?

Be honest with your sellers for once, Etsy. The treasuries have changed. And that’s why the complaints of "everything looks the same" and "same sellers all the time" persists.

Just read your own forums before you lock another thread--those same complaints appear week after week after week. The treasuries are for Etsy picked promotions, no more, no less. That's very different from the original concept behind the Front Page Treasury on the site.

As an aside...

Because I think it's bitchable on it's own and because I just noticed it: the featured seller in the clip in the last post has a statement in their Etsy intro to their OWN off-Etsy site, with url, offering a $4 discount if you buy their underwear there INSTEAD of Etsy.

Hey Etsy, isn't that against the TOS??? (FYI - yeah it is.)

Wow, nice way to prove that the rules for ordinary Etsy sellers are NOT the same rules their favorites get. Real Nice.



EDIT: Thanks to a commenter we learned that within a few hours of this and the below post the offending foul language and violations were removed from the shops' intro. Who says we never help anything? :D

Not another "Handmade Weddings" and stream of consciousness from Etsy (again)!

Now that Etsy has announced another foregone conclusion - their “marketing themes plan” for the next several months, we’d like to say, “Thank you Etsy” for forgetting (again) about including your sellers in your new plan for the site and telling them what you want them to make that suits Etsy's tastes. At least we're not the only one who is seeing what is happening.

Like the famous and stagnant and repetitive Gift Guides, like the Etsy takeover (and extensive editing) of the Front Page Treasuries to promote yet again the same stores they promote in all other areas of the site - Etsy sellers are presented with a “creative plan” that was put together with very little (if any) seller input. Etsy said it’s so, and therefore Etsy sellers will have to adapt to something that sounds a little... airy fairy???

Oh, the trendy titles like “Earthtones” and “Etsy-Eco” are so... Etsy-ish!!!

We sellers are ooooohing and aaaaahhhhing at the lofty, completely confusing Etsy-isk rhetoric:

“Our plan is to communicate upcoming merchandising themes in advance each month. If you are designing new handmade items that fit well into our thematic calendar, we encourage you to make and list them as we introduce upcoming themes in advance. Tagging relevant items with appropriate themed tags is a great way to get on board with our merchandising efforts.”

“Thematic Calendar” – geeeeez loooeeeze!!

But wait! Etsy is the expert on what their shoppers like!

“We are following what shoppers are looking for (on Etsy and in the retail world at large) and we want to share those insights with you. Think of it as a promotional initiative that you can opt into if it's a good fit. If your items don't fit a theme, don't worry. These themes — loosely interpreted so we can highlight a diversity of items — will not take over 100% of the site, but will be sprinkled throughout to greet shoppers and give them touch stones.”

Touch Stones!!!! Poetic!

How about this: Etsy promotes what Etsy likes, including a small number of stores that produce those Etsy products for the Etsy price so that Etsy can promote them in their now “themed” (and oh so completely confusing, ridiculous titles that make no sense) sections SO THAT ETSY CAN CONTINUE TO PROMOTE THE STORES THAT ETSY PROMOTED ALL THROUGH 2008 AND INTO 2009. That’s “what shopper are looking for” on Etsy ‘cause that ALL ETSY PROMOTES!

The gig is up Etsy. You’re just calling it something else. It’s no different than what you’ve been doing for the last 14 months.

Only your language has gotten more obscure than ever. Etsy-speak = gobbledegook squared.

Good luck shoppers! If you can figure out what the hell Etsy is selling, good for you. Otherwise, there are plenty of sellers that used to be on Etsy but left for better sites. Where the shopping tools are clear, quick, easy and checkout is a breeze.

The New Etsy Front Page

Hello EB Faithful!

Have you seen the new front page??

The Gift Guides are prominently displayed along the left hand column!

How's them apples? Those sellers who are not fortunate to be featured in said gift guides get the short end of the stick!

Sometimes it takes up the entire left hand column, and others, its just the corner, but LOOK! The GG selections are where the treasury curated page is supposed to be!

Assholes, the whole lot of them.