Competition on Etsy front?

emoon · #1 2010-11-28, 11:32pm

I was a bit disturbed to see this listing on etsy tonight. Responses I got to the question about it is that even though it is tagged wrongly, it IS, in many people's eyes, considered a supply. Don't like it, no I don't...

http://www.etsy.com/listing/63202397...?ref=fp_recent

philomena · #2 2010-11-29, 1:05am

Write to Pandora and send the link. I think it will take a day and it's gone

Kathrin

truegem · #3 2010-11-29, 3:41am

I never liked the Pandora lampwork beads anyway. I don't have any on my Pandora bracelet. But I hear ya. I don' t consider it a supply. Aren't supplies supposed to be for making the handcrafted Items?

Copperrein · #4 2010-11-29, 4:38am

I reported it to Etsy, you guys should as well. They don't allow items not made by the seller (or seller's family) to be sold on their site for just this reason.

Report the whole shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/dew24710

SuzyQ · #5 2010-11-29, 6:18am

Wrong. You can list that on Etsy.

You can sell that bead as a supply. It isn't against the TOS. But it's listed as jewelry and that you can flag for.

DesertDreamer · #6 2010-11-29, 6:32am

I feel dumb asking this, but is that really a Pandora bead? As in genuine, jewelry-store type?

If so, I really don't know what all the fuss is about (with Pandora, not the seller's inappropriate listing). I looked through all of the listings and they're not nearly as pretty as some of our LE folks' beads are.

Beadanna · #7 2010-11-29, 7:07am

I thought that Karen.

Deborah · #8 2010-11-29, 8:17am

Quote:

Originally Posted by DesertDreamer

I feel dumb asking this, but is that really a Pandora bead? As in genuine, jewelry-store type?

If so, I really don't know what all the fuss is about (with Pandora, not the seller's inappropriate listing). I looked through all of the listings and they're not nearly as pretty as some of our LE folks' beads are.

I don't know about that particular bead's heritage, but I have seen 'real' Pandora beads in a jewelry store. I was surprised at how small they were and how uninspiring they looked. Yeah, there are much more beautiful beads made by the folks at LE.

Roo Blaty · #9 2010-11-29, 8:42am

I, too, was BORED with the jewelry store Pandora's...and the others as well. Troll, et al.
They looked kinda cheap, as though they came from...ummm...that-lady-who-makes-an-awful-lot-of-beads.

Maybe I've seen some of you referring to her and her "family"???

Anyway, what concerns me more is the comment SuzyQ made. (You may have just saved me from my own ignorance!!)

It concerns me b/c I may be getting flagged YIKES!

Please let me know how you all are tagging your etsy shop beads. I DID tag as jewelry, not supplies...???? Can I go back and change that?

I JUST started my little shop and don't even have all my stuff in it yet.
Is a bead, "jewelry" or "supply" if it's a little snow-guy focal type of bead?

Please help me not get flagged!

Now I'm a nervous wreck!!

Thanks!

Roo

emoon · #10 2010-11-29, 8:50am

Roo. You can tag your beads as supplies, or in my case I list them as handmade. That is honest and I have never heard any negative feedback on that. I don't know if you want the SECTION as jewelry, but a jewelry tag makes sense to me, though I haven't done it. And yes, you can change your category by going into the shipping feature under edit.

Hate to be a snob, but the beads looked like Chinese stuff from Michaels. Yes, I think the members here are much more creative. It was the whole idea that bugged me. I did report it, but wanted to alert others to do the same. the seller was new as of November 28, so this is maybe just a misunderstanding...

SuzyQ · #11 2010-11-29, 8:55am

I would tag as handmade. People take supplies to mean that they were purchased and are being resold to make things. You made them so they definitely are handmade.

Roo Blaty · #12 2010-11-29, 9:10am

Thanks you guys!

jaci · #13 2010-11-29, 10:12am

I reported them as well. Did you see, the store opened yesterday........ ha I hope they learn their lesson.

emoon · #14 2010-11-29, 4:29pm

Etsy says they can only list it as a supply. Etsy is contacting the seller, I guess. Wonder how they can sell those ugly things so cheaply??

Mitosis Glass · #15 2010-11-29, 5:05pm

Roo, I tag my beads glass>bead>lampwork. The first tag of "glass" implies that it's handmade by me (so far as Etsy's screwy tagging system is concerned) and when you click on it on your own listing you'll then get a menu to choose from as to what form of glass. Click "bead" then it'll give you a menu of what materials the bead is made from. Click "lampwork". Then go ahead and fill in the other fields with your own wording. It's fine to use words like "jewelry supplies" and "handmade".

Mitosis Glass · #16 2010-11-29, 5:09pm

As far as the rest of this is concerned, don't believe for a minute that Etsy will close the shop down. Resellers have been renamed "collectives" by Etsy, and if their listings imply factory production then Etsy will coach them as to appropriate wording to fit the definition of "collective".

I'm on the Etsy forums constantly (well, whenever I'm on the computer, anyway) and there is a lot of consternation about this. Etsy's in it for the big bucks. They aren't about handmade and independent artisans anymore at all. Remember their slogan used to be "For All Things Handmade"? It hasn't been that for quite awhile now.

Resellers and factories are here to stay on Etsy.

If anyone knows of a good handmade site, please let us all know. I'm letting my Etsy shop wilt away since I'm selling a fair amount in person, and once I get my own site up I may just maintain an Etsy presence in order to use their shopping cart. Otherwise they can kiss my butt.

Mitzy B · #17 2010-11-30, 5:59pm

The thing I found curious way they said the silver cores were screwed in, I thought the real pandora had solid cores that were flared and then stamped after the flaring?

AKDesigns · #18 2010-11-30, 6:09pm

I believe that the real Pandora beads screw onto the bracelet. Obviously the knock offs are doing that now too.

emoon · #19 2010-11-30, 10:05pm

Angie,

I have registered on several other selling sites that are linked to Etsy, so that I only have to develop the listing once and it shows up on the other sites. They seem like nice sites, but I have not gotten a sale from them. Artfire, for example.

Disappointed in the way Etsy is going, but then i got fed up with Ebay, too. Money talks I guess...

beadaddicts · #20 2010-12-01, 8:52pm

I think we're overlooking one important factor here.....

The "supply" sellers are also bringing more buyers to Etsy! More registered users mean more eyes to look at our handmade wares, too! Don't be threatened by competition....be bold enough to know the value of your own work and spend more time developing your own business plan and customer base and less time bemoaning the way Etsy is run. Etsy is a business, too....its only natural for them to want to make a profit as much as any of us do. Mother and I picked up more first-time customers on Etsy in the last five months than I can count, and after looking through some of their feedback, I realized many of them began on Etsy buying commercial supplies and have since become regular buyers of not only our beads, but many other lampworker's as well.

Mitosis Glass · #21 2010-12-02, 7:33am

That's encouraging to hear, Angie. Thank you for posting that. This is how I found lampworked artisan beads myself, by becoming enamoured with glass beads from factories then discovering artisan-made beads and never looking back!

My complaint with Etsy is there are a lot of shops of resellers, and I don't mean supplies. There are people selling shoes from their closets, that are no more than five years old or so. There are people selling clothing from factories, I mean "collectives", that have over a thousand people employed (according to their off-Etsy website(s)), that kind of thing.

emoon · #22 2010-12-02, 1:16pm

I didn't know that I could tag my beads as supplies as well as homemade. Good to know!

ChaseDesigns · #23 2010-12-02, 2:48pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by beadaddicts

I think we're overlooking one important factor here.....

The "supply" sellers are also bringing more buyers to Etsy! More registered users mean more eyes to look at our handmade wares, too! Don't be threatened by competition....be bold enough to know the value of your own work and spend more time developing your own business plan and customer base and less time bemoaning the way Etsy is run. Etsy is a business, too....its only natural for them to want to make a profit as much as any of us do. Mother and I picked up more first-time customers on Etsy in the last five months than I can count, and after looking through some of their feedback, I realized many of them began on Etsy buying commercial supplies and have since become regular buyers of not only our beads, but many other lampworker's as well.

I'm looking for the like button...

beadaddicts · #24 2010-12-02, 5:13pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Travelin'gal

I'm looking for the like button...