Thousands of small craft businesses have been boycotting the online sales platform Etsy since Monday and until April 18, in particular to protest against a 30% increase in transaction fees.
“Work with sellers, not against them!” demands a petition signed by more than 75,000 people so far and addressed to Etsy President Josh Silverman.
Here are three of the frustrations that led to this high-profile protest movement.
1. Transaction fees increased by 30%
On April 11, Etsy hiked transaction fees from 5% to 6.5%, which is a 30% increase. At the same time, the company announced its best turnover since its creation in 2005.
The initiator of the Etsy petition and boycott, fashion designer Kristi Cassidy, laments a second fee hike in less than three years.
She also denounces the additional costs imposed by the company via the external advertising program. For each item sold through external advertising, a fee between 12% and 15% of the value of the item sold is charged to the seller, claims Kristi Cassidy. She wants sellers to be able to opt out of this feature to exercise “control over which ads to post and how much they spend on advertising.”
2. The platform prioritizes artists who sell to the United States
Canadian users of the platform deplore that Etsy encourages sellers to offer free delivery in the United States, for purchases of $35 or more, in order to have better visibility on the American market. The problem is that the platform would put more forward companies that adhere to free delivery, to the detriment of others.
“Algorithms make other companies that don’t offer it [la livraison gratuite] have fewer views, laments Charlie Bourdeau, a Montreal illustrator who has been selling her art on Etsy for a year and a half. Knowing that the platform will not push my products because I do not comply with its recommendations, it does not make me want to stay.
“It’s not just about money, it’s also about values and ethics. Etsy has become a big businessbut at the base, it was a platform for mutual aid between artists”, she adds.
Same story with Tricia Robinson, another Montreal illustrator who’s been on Etsy since 2014. She says her sales plummeted in the US after opting out of free shipping.
“I was selling a lot in the United States. It was really frustrating. I felt like I was being pressured,” the designer said in an interview with Workshop magazine.
Illustrator Charlie Bourdeau criticizes Etsy for not taking into consideration the postage costs in Canada, which are significantly higher than those in the United States.
“There are other alternatives like UPS or FedEx, but the fact remains that in the end, we lose and it eats into our profits.”
3. Top seller program penalizes some creators
The initiator of the protest movement wants an end to Etsy’s Top Seller program, which rewards users of the platform who offer an “excellent shopping experience”. In doing so, the program penalizes sellers who do not respond to customer messages within 24 hours, among others.
“On Etsy there are a lot of ‘solopreneurs’ or people who have very small businesses and aren’t doing it full time. We have mental health, limited time and we cannot act like Amazon,” insists Charlie Bourdeau.
For all the reasons mentioned above, the artist is considering opening his own online store. A good part of his customers already come from his Instagram page. She also plans to focus on craft markets.
“Right now I’m really focusing on in-person markets, selling my stuff face-to-face because I can’t swear by selling online,” she explains.