etsy.com

crhansen78 (Enthusiast)

The best use of this site is Other.

Comments: I personally love Etsy! I started using Etsy as a buyer and then opened my own shop, but still frequently buy items/gifts/supplies from other sellers. I love it, both as a buyer and seller. Most of the gifts that I give are purchased on Etsy.

drmatilda (Enthusiast)

The best use of this site is Shopping.

Comments: I use multiple sites for buying and selling. Etsy is wonderful. If you like Etsy, try BigValueDepot. Com . It is free to list items there and they get a fair amount of traffic (not as much as Etsy). I find that it is good to diversify my listings etc. Try BigValueDepot. Com also :-)

Facebook User (Power Visitor)

Comments: You have no freedom of speech at Etsy... Google the words coralgate and you'll see why. Hurry up before they shut this one down too!

hiraru (Power Visitor)

The best use of this site is Shopping.

Comments: As a buyer and handmade enthusiast, Esty initially seemed heaven-sent. However, over time, the complicated and unintuitive search function, vague categories, and mistagging/no curating made searching and browsing overly frustrating and time consuming. Unannounced/poorly announced and irrelevant site updates (heralded as something wonderful) cause confusion, while important tools, like coupon codes, are untouched. Resellers go unregulated, and despite repeated flagging, the resellers go unblocked because somehow Etsy cannot block individual IP addresses. This means that the buyer of handmade must wade through page after page of garbage listings to find good, quality, handmade items. For the time being, if you can manage to slog through the irrelevant and miscategorized items, you can still find those sellers still holding forth the light of handmade. Etsy stills receives the most traffic and still has the most authentic handmade sellers, so I would still recommend it (with reservation), but act quickly, as many sellers are leaving for other venues or for personal websites.

Facebook User (Power Visitor)

The best use of this site is Other.

Comments: Since I have a shop on Etsy (which used to be successful) I guess I qualify as a power visitor. I used to spend 4 to 5 hours each day communicating with customers, uploading new items, rearranging the pages and checking the forums for Admin posts regarding critical site changes. Now, since the reinterpretation of rules, there is a huge influx of huge mass produced goods that we can't compete with or even get our own truly hand made products seen because the search works so badly. I completely agree with everything ocean56 said so I won't repeat those observations. Esty seems to have abandoned all the original "dreams" and has a policy of muting people who criticize and bring up these issues in the forums. It has become an uncomfortable and unprofitable site for many of the "oldtimers" that Etsy built it's reputation on. Many are opening up new shops on other venues or working on establishing websites. It's sad because I enjoyed my first year there so much. I would say to friends, try to find and support the shops there that aren't the big mass producers of outsourced goods. Try to keep the integrity alive.

oceans56 (Power Visitor)

Comments: As both a seller and buyer for over 4 years on Etsy, I have to say that I am very disappointed in the overall decline of the site. It is overrun with sellers of mass produced overseas products labeled as hand made and vintage. As a seller, it's difficult to compete with Wal-Mart pricing, and as a buyer my confidence in the integrity of the site has declined immeasurably. Customer service is very slow and often not responsive at all. Generic messages are sent in reply to complaints and concerns that often do not address the problems. Administration can be very selective in their process of administering site policy, giving the appearance of favoritism and often displaying immature and knee-jerk reactions to complaints or criticisms. Communication is very poor overall. Often, changes made within the site are only announced when the membership comes to the forums to find out why something is different. There is a distinct lack of clarification and an unwillingness for administration to draw distinct lines as to what specifically is and isn't allowed in a given circumstance. This has created loopholes to be used, and the inability to know with any certainty if someone is breaking the rules or not, creating discord amongst sellers as the rules are unevenly applied. Site features are rolled out without adequate testing, resulting in numerous problems for site users. There is little, if any, long term vision into what the ripple effect of those changes might be. Categories are illogical and not suited to an intuitive shopping experience. Categories and tags are so misused and cause frustration for both buyers and sellers. The hype about Etsy does not match the reality. One would think that after 6 years, venture capital investments and a ten-fold increase in staffing in all areas that Etsy would be much further along than it is.

americaneagle9 (Power Visitor)

The best use of this site is Other.

Comments: Its a very good place for buyers but for a seller it can and is a daunting task to get your product noticed, Google feeds are not up to standards and it takes a very long time for your product to come up in google search and longer in google products, while the site is everything it claims to be, it is a bit overcrowded with sellers, which is a good thing for a buyer and the site but not so for a seller. I made this review in the eyes of a seller's prospective, other seller's will have a more positive view and others will not. I do encourage the buyer to visit Etsy and buy, because these are hard working people and it takes skill and time to make these products which are unique and not a massed machined product.

altissima says: I have been mostly a buyer on etsy for a couple of years. I did open a shop nearly a year ago, but I haven't made any sales (I didn't invest very much time in my shop and had only four items listed). I started buying inexpensive original art and some hand crafted items there. I also have been buying a few art supplies (usually custom mats to fit the artwork). More recently, I have begun to buy vintage clothing/jewelry items and vintage housewares. If you like original artwork, handmade or custom items, then etsy is a great destination. There are items at all price points - ranging from a few dollars to thousands of dollars. I am so happy that there has been a big increase in vintage items for sale. I used to buy vintage things from ebay, but quality items are becoming harder to find on ebay and easier to find on etsy. What I think is most interesting about etsy is how many of my favorite bloggers have shops there. Artists, stylists and designers who blog regularly and get even a little buzz going about their work, can do okay on etsy. As a buyer, I have purchased so many lovely items from the artists on etsy that I am glad the site exists!

thatsgreat says: I love this place for unique handmade items. I buy craft supplies too. I spend hours just looking around. Its a wonderful place to shop and sell. I sell sometimes my handmade items too.

Facebook User says: Etsy is a fabulous site, full of marvelous surprises. Here you will find thousands of skilled artisans with their own shops of handmade wonders. You can buy handmade almost anything; soap, jewelry, greetings cards, clothing, art, candles, needlecraft, crochet, Vintage items, supplies, toys and glass items, to name a few. Handmade items are unique, special and made with care; handmade is thrilling; try for yourself!