A couple of weeks ago I was talking to a seller who said something like she couldn't believe that the mods were not doing more regarding the topic she was referring to. And I was like.... "It's not them....they are simply doing and telling you what the investors want them to do and tell you. That's their "day job" @ Etsy.
And it's not like I'm cupcakin' with any of the mods..... I just would think that expecting them to "resolve" any real issues is a bit much on the expectation ladder of what their job duties actually allow them to do :)
So the stars are there now....
and hey....it's their site.....they can do what they want. Yep. Bottom line.
Free country.....don't like it leave it sort of dealio...
I just wish they would be more up front about it. A heads up....not a drop it and slam and say it was what the sellers wanted like doing sellers a big favor kind of thing. (hmnnn---Isn't that kind of like getting kicked in the balzzzz and suddenly seeing stars even if ya don't have any?) I highly doubt that this is what the sellers asked for on that survey ! I also highly doubt if many sellers even yet are aware of how significant these changes will be to their shops.
When eBay did this.....they were trying to make like "Amazon".....they romanced those big box sellers......started calling the "auction" sellers "Flea market non noise makers" etc. and the mass exodus began. And yes eBay is still surviving. But to me....the site will never ever again be as good as it was B.J. (a.k.a. "before Jon") And many a seller on that venue will remember the day when they became a part of the disheartened crew. We still like eBay but we fell out of love with eBay. And just like in any relationship.....man when you lose that "trust" or feel as if you have been treated like you really don't matter in the over all picture.....it's hard to get it back. (That love feeling in your heart that is LOL!)
So after the first couple of rounds of investment @ Etsy... I was still thinking "Right On!"....more money means more successful sellers right? But at the point when the reseller deal got huge....and people started realizing....."the times they really are a changin'" it was either accept the fact that Etsy would never be the same again.... or act like there was no way this could actually be happening. I still love Etsy. I reopened up my little shop there because of that. And the reason? All of the great interactions you can find there with unique individuals and items... and it is still for me at least a fun place to shop. And all of the wonderful fun zany people I have met there......no way that can ever be over looked.
eBay to me now seems like some sort of a big boring discount store with some blue light specials going on here and there. And it used to be such an exciting fun place to spend waaaaay toooo much time.... because the variety that you could easily find (before it got purposefully hidden in the search.....) made it worth spending the extra time there.
Etsy to me is still a unique hand made venue..... you just have to look harder and be smarter and know what is going on in order to bypass all of the stuff that is now on there. But to me it is pretty crappy that they are using that "fact" ( the hand made uniqueness of the site)..... to seemingly turn it into another $ machine of cheaply made massed produced goods. Like I said I know that any business is in it to make money....and the more money the better especially if ya have a bunch of investors in your pockets.
But in my opinion..... doing things like a "one way feedback stars" system.... is not at all helping your artisans and unique sellers or even sellers who are selling quite a bit there. And it is not helping Etsy in the long run. They should instead be doing anything they can to keep these sellers on their site and to keep them opening up new shops there. If the site simply becomes filled with bubble necklace and fake vintage item vendors (for instance).........people will indeed lose their desire to shop there.
Okay.....this is a little scenario I would be thinking about.....
Etsy has a built in cache A.K.A free cash cow of advertisers on their venue. Namely the sellers...the ones who spread the word..."Hey check out this awesome venue" yada yada...even if they have a shop there and have made let's say....less than 10 sales so far. Do ya'll understand how many of those Etsians are out there every day Facebooking tweeting and promoting your site....yah....trying to promote their little shops too...but at the same time telling everyone how great Etsy is. Etsy gets all of this free word of mouth advertisement and not only are they getting it for free..... the many people spreading the word around about how much they love Etsy are also at the same time spending 20 cents per listing and buying things yada yada. Okay.... I view that as a cash cow. Now LIL ole me...I'm just a country bumpkin from Bakersfield so what do I know about this overall pic in the long run?
But.....if all you end up having are these mass produced resellers...."hey come buy my cheap chit...good price good price....come buy it here"...... what does that lead to in the overall profit picture?....Do we get more buyers and sellers of cheap mass produced items.... or does this in some way keep your unique artisans happy and willing to freely promote your venue ?
I would have to think that if this is really where the site is headed..... you lose out on all of the free advertising and promoting that you have gotten over these years from sellers paying you in the meantime to promote your site :)
but hey.....once again just a little ole country bumpkin from Bako's opinion here :)
They say that no publicity is bad publicity..... but I just would have to think that all of this recent attention is not all that positive for the venue.
And like so many have said including me so many times......
never keep all of your eggs in one basket....
I am on several different venues but admittedly don't spend as much time as I would like to on any of them because I have a day job and the on-line deal is not something I can put a lot of time into.
Things like this recent change at Etsy are always going to happen on any site that you do not own yourself. But all of these venues are indeed good stepping stones to get your product out there.
And what you do with it from that point on is up to you.
And that's my ramble for the day except I would once again like to repeat my opinion on this---- that I have seen a lot of neg comments in various places about the mods in the Etsy forums....and me thinks that they are only doing what they are being paid and told to do. (Just like so many people who have to do what their boss tells them to do or they do not get a pay check....)
their day job is Etsy and some of them might be in the Etsy fluff or cupcake department.
I guess alzz I'm thinking here is that if you have a complaint you hope will be heard....send it to some of those venture capitalists.....they are the ones rolling the dice here.
Sometimes stars are a good thang.... :) but in this new Etsy roll-out.....I hazz no hollahs for the starzzz
# Déjà vu # noise #starzzz #feedback #B.J. #eggs in a basket #cracked an egg
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