I just visited Facebook to check things out and saw that one of my favorite Bloggers had shared a blog post that I think we all need to be aware of. Apparently there is a seller on Etsy who calls them self “youstupidbitch”. This seller has a store full of inappropriate greeting cards. Etsy has been made aware of this seller by multiple people and has not pulled their listings or put this person on probation. In fact the most offensive card in this persons store sold today.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/60054498/greeting-card-congratulations-for
This is a congratulatory card for being sexually assaulted, abused or raped. (*sold today after it was brought to Etsy’s attention)
While there is no excuse at all for the above card and should never have been created let alone sold on Etsy the seller does not stop there. Apparently they think Breast Cancer is funny and created this card:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/60052809/greeting-card-congrats-you-got-breast
This is a congratulatory card for being diagnosed or treated for breast cancer.
Then you have this card which in and of itself goes completely against ETSY’s rules and regulations
Rule number 10: * Items that promote or glorify hatred, racial, religious intolerance. I am just not sure what part of this card does not promote intolerance. http://www.etsy.com/listing/60053498/greeting-card-congrats-your-kid-has-down
Here is the Email I just sent to Etsy after checking that the links for myself as to how inappropriate they are. I have deleted out the first part which is just verbatim what I have posted above.
[…]By allowing this store to stay open people are now calling for a complete boycott of Etsy which will hurt your sellers at a time of year that they truly count on sales. You are quick to jump on Bloggers who contact sellers directly about doing product reviews for them which actually benefit your site (with the links to your site) as well as the Sellers themselves. Yet when faced with a seller with complete disregard for your rules you do nothing about it and allow them to function as usual. I know that my friends who sell on Etsy will be very upset to hear that people are calling for a boycott of Etsy completely as they count on the sales from their store to pay their bills. If your goal is to protect your sellers then the thing to do is to pull this persons store until appropriate material is posted and then put them on probation to keep watch on their store to make sure they do not keep violating ETSY rules.
Felissa
I know that all of the Etsy sellers that I know and have worked with would be devastated to hear that Mommy Bloggers are calling for a Boycott of Etsy and have taken their information to traditional Media Outlets. With so many sellers who follow the rules and produce beautiful work it is a shame that Etsy is allowing their site to be used by someone in this manner.
Kudos to you for speaking out, informing US, caring and having guts to do something about it.
Please keep us posted as to what Etsy's reply is and THANK YOU for sharing this important information!
Im disgusted! Im going to emails them as well!
Very sad indeed
He has a new card:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/64689483/mature-greeting-card-people-with-down?ref=pr_shop
Thank you for not only doing something about this but passing this information on. The only way to destroy rape culture is to call it own when you see it. I will be sending my own letter as well.
Here is Etsy's Response:
Hi Felissa,
Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. As you may know, Etsy is a marketplace where individual crafters and artists set up and maintain their own individual shops.
Etsy is a diverse global marketplace and community. We respect that our members come from all walks of life and may hold different beliefs and express their artistic perspective in many different ways. Etsy does not pre-screen users or the content or information provided by users. You may find some content to be offensive, harmful, inaccurate or deceptive.
We are looking at this shop and if it is in violation of our policies we will privately take the appropriate action.
Best,
Corinne
Etsy's Support Team
Wow, I'm glad that they at least responded to you. I know that they can't monitor every listing that goes on their site, but I hope that they remove this seller.
Thank you for passing this on! I reported SEVERAL of the items and stated why I feel they should be pulled. I hope to hear that these disgusting, intolerant items are pulled soon.
Amazon.com was selling that pedophile's “how to” book until they had so much heat from the public, they pulled it. I think something should be done and will gladly stand with you on this.
Sherri
First Amazon's nonsense and now Etsy.
If they don't think women have any buying power or influence then those businesses deserve to fail in my opinion.
I wonder why some intelligent woman with money doesn't start up her own business for seller's of homemade items that do and always will meet certain guidelines, and where the people have to electronically or via mail sign a contract, whereby if they violate it will be sued for unspecified amounts (which means for big bucks) and also be kicked out of the seller's market there.
I hope you don't mind but I shared this on my Facebook page, also I tweeted a question to @Etsy.
Facebook page Lauralee Hensley
Twitter ID lfhpueblo