Etsy sellers stage one-week strike to protest fee increase

Etsy sellers, a popular global marketplace, have joined forces to support an online strike to protest unfair and costly changes.

Sellers began a week-long strike on Monday. They opted to either open their online shops on Monday or continue their strike. “vacation mode,”They can either conceal them or declare their support for the effort.

Tens of thousand people signed a petition listing demands for the company.

Etsy announced in February it would raise the transaction fees it charges sellers on orders over $5 to $6.

Josh Silverman, Etsy’s CEO, stated at the time that active sellers saw a 23 percent increase in their sales in 2021 as compared to 2019.

Etsy increased its transaction fees in July 2018 to 5% from 3.5 %.

Kristi Cassidy from Westerly (RI), who helped organize the protest, stated that almost 23,000 sellers who signed the petition agreed to take part in the strike in some way as of Tuesday morning.

“It is taking off like you wouldn’t believe,”Cassidy spoke with CTVNews.ca on Tuesday via WhatsApp.

FRUSTRATION IS OVER CHANGES, FEES

Cassidy joined the platform in 2006. She currently makes and sells Victorian steampunk gothic Victorian wedding dresses. “wearable art for people who refuse to be ordinary.”

She says that Etsy has changed over time and she is now more focused on growth and profits, despite its initial praises.

Etsy was founded in 2005 and is an online marketplace that allows people to sell vintage and handmade items. It is based in Brooklyn, N.Y. and currently has 7.5million sellers and close to 100 million buyers worldwide.

Silverman was addressed the petition. It describes the marketplace as more like a “dictatorial relationship between a faceless tech empire and millions of exploited, majority-women craftspeople.”

Supporters of the strike also have pointed to Etsy’s record gross marketplace sales last year, as well as the company’s recent acquisitions.

“As individual crafters, makers and small businesspeople, we may be easy for a giant corporation like Etsy to take advantage of,”The strike petition reads.

“But as an organized front of people, determined to use our diverse skills and boundless creativity to win ourselves a fairer deal, Etsy won’t have such an easy time shoving us around.”

Cassidy, along with other sellers, expressed frustration at additional fees for offsite ads, payment processing, company’s Star Seller Program, auto-reply messaging, support tickets, and resellers who sell mass-produced items that are described to be handmade.

“Any change that favours cheaper products over more expensive [ones] is going to hurt the people who are actually creating the handmade products that the platform claims to be about,”Cassidy stated.

Cassidy decided that Etsy would increase its transaction fees after Cassidy made the decision to go to Reddit. There, the strike began and the idea of an Etsy sellers union took root.

Emma Kasper, a Montreal seller who has been selling on Etsy since 2017, makes and sells stickers and pins through her shop.

Kasper joined the weeklong strike and put her store on vacation mode.

While Etsy is not her main source income, she does have some issues with Etsy’s resellers and the free shipping offer for American buyers when they order US$35 or more.

She said that the latter can be costly for vendors, while those who sign up for the program are promoted much more often.

She says that she has a small store and would like Etsy to promote sellers like her.

Kasper said that Etsy is seeing more people support small businesses, which saw an increase in sales of homemade masks at one time during the pandemic. This suggests that the company may be moving towards an Amazon-like model.

Etsy also laidoff 15% of its workforce in 2017.

“I guess it doesn’t affect my livelihood very much, but I do find it quite frustrating, especially with their record profits,”She said.

NEW FEES TO INCREASE INVESTMENT, COMPANY SAYS

A spokesperson for Etsy stated that sellers’ success is important. “top priority”For the company.

“We are always receptive to seller feedback and, in fact, the new fee structure will enable us to increase our investments in areas outlined in the petition, including marketing, customer support, and removing listings that don’t meet our policies,”According to the spokesperson.

“We are committed to providing great value for our 5.3 million sellers so they are able to grow their businesses while keeping Etsy a beloved, trusted, and thriving marketplace.”

Kasper states that, given the amount Etsy made during the pandemic, it doesn’t make sense to charge sellers more to make the platform better.

She says that it is now more difficult for sellers to talk to a customer service representative.

“They made customer service for sellers worse and then they want more of our money to make it better again, which I don’t really understand,”Kasper stated.

Cassidy stated that the company’s statement does not really address the demands of the strikers.

However, the sheer number of people who support it shows that it is a successful endeavor. “huge”A majority of sellers agree with the way the platform treats them “outright wrong,”She said.

“They need to start really being that ‘Keep Commerce Human’ brand that they claim to be, and that means listening to us.”

With files from CNN