This week's episode is an absolute corker.
Super juicy, super exciting.
I cannot wait to share with you.
So go and grab a cup of tea, sit down, settle in
and listen up to this week's episode
of The Crafty Entrepreneur.
Welcome to this week's episode of The Crafty Entrepreneur.
I am your host, Sarah Jane Lewis, to talk to you all things
entrepreneurial, creative, crafty and business.
Right, I have had quite a week, many things going on.
Personally, business-wise, masterclasses.
Oh, it's just been a fantastic week.
But I know you're all hanging on by the edge of your seats
because I shared a little teaser at the beginning of the week
in my socials that Etsy replied to my email.
Now, let me go back a few steps and fill you in
to give you some context.
On April the 12th of this year, 2024,
I emailed a few people at the head of Etsy via LinkedIn.
So I contacted the chief product officer at Etsy.
I contacted the CTO at Etsy.
And I contacted the chief operating
and marketing officer at Etsy.
To be honest, I did it and I really didn't think
I would get a response.
I didn't hold much hope because I thought,
do you know what, I suspect people reach out all the time.
But then a little part of me was like,
you have just messaged like the C suite
of this global company.
Like somebody's going to pay attention
even if it's their VA.
So let me tell you what I put in this email.
Let me read it to you.
I'm Sarah Jane Lewis, a passionate advocate
for Etsy sellers across the globe.
I deeply appreciate the opportunities Etsy provides
to crafters, artists, and entrepreneurs worldwide.
As a dedicated supporter,
I helped sellers build successful businesses on Etsy.
However, I have recently become aware
of a growing concern within your community.
Many sellers have experienced shop closures
or listing deactivations without prior communication
or explanation from Etsy.
This lack of transparency has left sellers frustrated
and unsure of how to proceed.
I believe that working together,
we can address these concerns
and foster a more supported environment.
I would be grateful for the opportunity
to discuss how sellers can better align with Etsy guidelines
and how Etsy can improve communication
to prevent misunderstandings
and provide clarity when issues arise.
Etsy has profoundly impacted my life
and I remain committed to champion your platform.
By collaborating, we can improve the seller experience
and strengthen the Etsy reputation
as a platform that values its creative community.
Thank you for considering my request.
I look forward to the possibility of working with you
to create a more empowering environment
for Etsy sellers worldwide.
Best regards, Sarah Jane Lewis.
So I sent that
and I honestly didn't expect much.
I didn't think I would get a reply.
Even if the VA read it, you know,
or someone like the cleaner read it at Etsy,
like that would have been like fantastic,
but they read it.
And the next thing I got was this in my inbox.
So on the 19th of April, so a few days later,
which is absolutely fine,
it wasn't from them directly,
the three people that I emailed in the C-suite,
but they'd obviously forwarded on my request
and dealt with it and actioned somebody to contact me.
It gets good.
My name is Brendan and I lead the Etsy support team.
We appreciate that you've reached out to us
about your concerns and we are grateful
for your efforts supporting small business owners
and Etsy sellers through your channels.
Peer-to-peer communities like yours are so important
and your feedback is incredibly valuable
as we work to make Etsy
an even more supportive marketplace.
Great start.
I love that.
I love that they've come back to me.
I love that they've shown their appreciation.
There was a little bit of part of me that thought, you know,
by reaching out to them and they're gonna be pissed off,
you know, that I'm doing this,
but so far so good.
So we're always working to keep Etsy safe
so our sellers' businesses can thrive
and we aim to be transparent about our policies
and tools that help us protect our community.
Our terms of service and policies for sellers
outline rules for sellers on the platform,
as well as covering everything from sellers' basics
to service level standards.
Now they put a couple of links in there
in which I'll make sure is in the notes below,
the description below, wherever you're watching this,
you'll be able to access these links that they've shared.
While we're confident in the tools we use
to keep our marketplace safe
by identifying shops that violate our policies,
we know that on rare occasions,
I don't know how rare, but we make mistakes.
In 2023, we launched an updated appeal center.
Again, another link which I'll put below
because I think you'll find that really handy,
we haven't found this already,
where sellers can ask our team to review
and reconsider eligible account suspensions.
I think that's a really good start.
Our goal is to provide a more seamless experience
for sellers who have been suspended.
Again, another link which I'll share below
and talk about in just a moment.
This will help get their shops back up
and running when possible.
So the two links which I think you'll find really, really
handy if you haven't already located these is
a link to how to file an appeal
for a permanently suspended shop.
Now it does state in here,
you only have six months from the day your account
was suspended to file an appeal.
So I'll put that below so you can look through the process
and it has a button there to file an appeal.
The other link was how to reinstate your suspended account
and then there is some caveats to that
depending on the reason for your suspension,
Etsy may send you an email about the details, blah, blah, blah.
Check the banner on your dashboard.
So yeah, it lists some common reasons
why you may have been suspended,
which is usually pay your balance by the looks of it.
So these might not answer everything
but I think it's a really good way in the right direction.
So those links are below for you to take a look at.
It carries on to say, which this is what I really like,
adding more human reviews to our enforcement processes
is a part of that effort.
While we need to use automated systems
given the millions of shops and listings on Etsy,
human reviews are critical to ensuring
those decisions are accurate.
We understand that shop suspensions
and listing removals can be disruptive
and we believe making more space for human reviews
will help reduce instances where sellers
are impacted in error.
So I love that, like they know it's not perfect
but they have to use AI and automation
to just make the business work and streamline it.
But I love that, you know, they are aware of this
and they're trying to make improvements.
So good, I love this.
Now, this work gets really good.
And thank you for offering to collaborate with Etsy going forward.
As you interact with our community of sellers,
I'd be happy to connect you
with a member of our community engagement team
so that you can introduce yourself
and have a point of contact around human being
for future questions.
Let me know if this is something you are interested in
and I will introduce you.
Once again, we appreciate the outreach
and opportunity to connect with you about this.
Honestly, I read that, I was like, oh my word,
like this could be pivotable, pivotable?
Oh, you know me, I can't get my words out.
This could be mega, having that direct link,
direct access into Etsy to bring up your issues.
I doubt if I'll be able to do it one by one
but I suspect if I can get a good overview
of the issues that we're experiencing,
which to be honest, I know is like opening account
and instantly getting suspended, what's that about?
Not getting emails when things happen.
I mean, what's that about?
Like I know they use an automation
but there should be some form of communication.
Having listings deactivated
when you cannot see why they've been violated
and there's no clear communication
but I'm sure there's like a whole other host
of things as well.
So I'd love for you to kind of get back to me
either in the comments below
wherever you're reading this and listening to this
or send me a DM on the social so I can build that together.
Now, this is where it gets even better.
Right, so they said somebody would be in touch
and I was like, okay, I'm half expecting,
just some random help desk person to get back in touch.
No, that's not the case.
Let me share this with you.
So I sent an email via LinkedIn.
Somebody, Brendan got back to me
and said we'll get somebody back in touch with you.
Thank you for your appreciation.
Love it, love it, love it.
Next, I get an email from the vice president of communications.
So let me read that email to you.
Sorry, it's all about reading emails
but I think you need to hear what I said, what they said
so we can like figure out together how to manage this
and how to get the most out of this opportunity.
So vice president of communications emailed me.
My name is Kelly and I lead communications
and community engagement at Etsy.
I've also CC'd my colleague, Isabel,
who works on the community team with me.
She's also a longtime Etsy seller
and you may recognize her from EtsyUp
and videos on Etsy success social channels.
Go and check them out if you're not already on there.
Our member services team passed on your information.
As I know you were recently in touch with them
to help escalate a few issues on behalf of the sellers
that you've reached out to.
Thank you so much for all your support and advocacy.
You do for our sellers
and helping to nurture the Etsy community.
Isabel and I would love to connect for a few minutes next week
to introduce ourselves, learn more about you
and how you work with sellers
and make sure you have a point of contact at Etsy.
If you're open to it, please let us know
and we'll find a window that works for you
to meet up and chat.
And that's where we actually have a meeting in the diary
for Wednesday the 1st of May at 3.30pm UK time.
I'm gonna be meeting with the vice president
of communications at Etsy to make that connection,
have that introduction,
to find out how we can best work together.
So I can support you with your ventures on Etsy
and see how we can just improve this
and make this a better platform for you to sell on.
Now, I really hope you're just as excited as I am.
I am absolutely over the moon,
a little bit crapping myself to be honest with you,
but I would love your feedback.
I would love your thoughts
and I want to come from a place of positivity
and improvement and development.
I don't want to use this as an opportunity to go,
you're shit, this, this and this.
We know it's not perfect.
We know they've got flaws,
but nothing in life is perfect.
We can make this better.
And the only way we can do that is feeding back
and engaging with them
and having a professional mature discussion
about how we can move forward together
so that we can all prosper on this platform.
Right, I will keep you posted.
Hopefully the next episode of this podcast
will be the outcome of that meeting.
Thank you so much for listening.
I'm super excited.
I cannot wait to share that with you.
Make sure that you're subscribed,
make sure that you follow
and make sure that you share this with other Etsy sellers
so that we can build the community even larger
to get even more feedback and improvements
and communication with them.
This is like a pivotal moment in my career and business
and potentially with all of us and how we work with Etsy.
So I am extremely optimistic and hopeful,
but I think that's a good place to be
in order to maximize this opportunity.
So go tag in, sharing, let everybody know this
and I will keep you updated.
So make sure you're subscribed to the podcast
so you can get it into your inbox next Saturday morning
with the latest on my meeting
with the Vice President of Communications at Etsy.
Exciting.
Right, have a fabulous week.
Happy selling.
Come up here next month.
Jazzy Zap Aria Papa,
and I'll see you all next year.
So I'll see you next Saturday.
It's been got good.
I hope all of your subscribers are Obama and all of you
really get excited and listen less than me about the erro reconstructions
I had in boxing.
Reach out to All Hyun'nak from Etsy.
Thank you so much for watching this video.
Thank you so much.
I will handle this conversation over the weekend
with one of the descendants of the All Images
