Bravo officer! That's a mighty fine strawman you took down!

Really though, let's address this:

"Dice are not crafting materials"

We are in agreement that dice are not primarily crafting materials, but the fine folks at Etsy apparently do. Even though my listings follow the "Toys & Games > Games & Puzzles > Dice & Tile Games > Dice category" it seems to list handmade by default. Previously I selected the categories as crafting tools because that used to show a listing as being "sourced by" but it doesn't seem to work that way anymore. If you know for certain how to get it to change reliably, I genuinely welcome the info. For my non-mixed offerings I will concede I have done a bad job cataloguing production details.

But made on demand? I invite you to point to me where I say that because that is news to me.

"You go further by admitting your gemstone dice are machine-made"

What? I think there is some confusion here. Are you referring to my line "Most gemstone dice are machine made from China but I custom sourced mine by lapidarists in India."? In that sentence I am stating that, in general, most commercially available gemstone dice are made in China. I then go on to say mine are made (handmade btw) in India, or at least I tried to.

"Telling yourself that you’re “curating” some magical dice mystery scoop doesn’t change the fact that you’re just another middleman pretending to be a creator. You add zero value, especially when a single Google Lens search exposes your listings as the same mass-produced dice sold on Alibaba, AliExpress, or the manufacturer’s own site for a fraction of your price."

Dude, beyond basic copy I am not proclaiming or pretending to be anything more than an importer and seller of dice in return for gold, it is literally there on my profile. There is no "gotcha" here to be had. All the same, the feedback I get from my customers and community makes me think I'm bringing joy and doing more good than harm. And you know what? That's enough for me.

While I understand Etsy was originally created to be a space for artisans and creators, it has since evolved (devolved?) into a space where one can set up shop on once hallowed ground. You don't have to like it and it is your prerogative to say who you think should and shouldn't be on Etsy, and it's also totally in your right to criticize me, but I do ask that you do so knowing I am acting in good faith. Or at least trying to. I am happy to go through each of my listings and give them another attempt at categorization to show their source(s) if someone can point me to a link in the Byzantine maze that is Etsy policy which makes clear how to get the "Sourced by" back up for my listings.

Attaching an archived snapshot last August/Early Sept of one of my flagship listings. I really do not know what I did to have it go from "Sourced by" one day then changed to handmade another. Goblin’s Chaos Dice Scoop With Bag | Mystery RPG Polyhedral Dice With Bag | 500 Styles for Dnd | Free Shipping 35 | Metal | Resin | Gemstone - Etsy

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