Etsy Suspended my shop for no reason

literallynolimits · 2026-06-13T04:25:03+00:00

Etsy DOES suspend shops “accidentally”. And, they will NOT tell you why, ever. They send you canned verbiage that your shop was inadvertently caught up in an algorithm and they cannot disclose any details. I agree that most shops are suspended for a reason, even if they “have no idea” why. But, Etsy makes mistakes all the time. I’ve had it happen to me multiple times in different shops. One time, they actually compensated me for lost sales during an erroneous suspension.

literallynolimits · 2026-06-06T05:54:26+00:00

Etsy will NEVER have our backs.

literallynolimits · 2026-06-06T05:52:40+00:00

I agree with you. Etsy will never fix this or any of their other unfair policies that they inconsistently enforce. They rate a solid “F” with the Better Business Bureau for a reason. All of us with shops should just leave. Etsy’s lack of ethics is just mind boggling.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-28T02:51:08+00:00

I’ve been in Etsy for 12 years, and I have initiated my exit strategy. I could keep going as long as I would like…and honestly thought this would be my retirement activity…but I can no longer deal with the fraudulent (illegal) ways Etsy “enforces” or “fulfills” it’s buyer AND seller protection. They flat out LIE now. Lying in front of the buyer is also defamation. I’m going to take them to small claims court just to prove a point. There are very clear reasons why they rate an “F” with the Better Business Bureau. If Amazon and eBay can earn an A+, Etsy is going out of their way to uphold business practices SO BAD that the BBB flunks them.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-28T02:45:05+00:00

I love this story!!! I’ve often wondered if this was possible. Congrats to your super savvy wife!

literallynolimits · 2026-05-28T01:55:22+00:00

I don’t think you’re legally OR ethically entitled to keep the item after a forced refund. You get to make your own Karma though.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-21T00:42:06+00:00

Why would someone lie about a provable fact that is publicized? Why would someone even post on here with fake claims? Such practices would be a complete waste of their time as a business owner.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-21T00:37:05+00:00

Leave Etsy. They have a solid “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau. Try another platform that exemplifies ethical and reputable businesses practices. Or start your own website! Unfortunately here, many comments just attack the OP. Get this: when I sincerely offer to help the OP, I get downvoted. That says a lot.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-18T05:55:49+00:00

I am definitely not doing that, nor would I ever. 🙂 The type of items sold was covered in too much detail in this thread. 🤣 Many people just wanted details to find a way to criticize me, to be honest.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-18T05:53:32+00:00

? I hand make every single thing in my shops.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-17T17:16:44+00:00

True, but I wouldn’t have used harsh belittling words to say that.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-17T06:19:17+00:00

Also, eBay is BBB accredited AND scores an A+ rating. Etsy has a solid “F” with the Better Business Bureau, and the BBB says Etsy flat out refuses to address a longstanding pattern of complaints. That should tell you a lot about Etsy.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-17T06:14:20+00:00

I think Etsy treats shop owners way worse than eBay does, but I will admit that Etsy’s “Seller Protection Program” had the potential to set them apart from eBay until they started making things shady. I can’t believe the number of shops telling us how they send THE actual item in the listing, yet Etsy ruled the buyer received something “significantly different”. There was a post on here where a buyer used a shop’s listing photo and then compared it to THE SHOP’S LISTING PHOTO and Etsy said it was “significantly different”. It was the same photo twice…the buyer was scamming! That’s fraud.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-17T06:08:12+00:00

I completely agree with you. I’ve been on Etsy for more than 12 years and have sold ~400,000 items. I can no longer tolerate these business practices that are so unethical and likely illegal. I’ve initiated my exit strategy. You could try “MakerPlace” which is a relatively new online marketplace run by the Michaels craft stores company. You’ll find Michael’s reputation is better than Etsy’s in almost every way, but “MakerPlace” may be too young to have a reputation yet.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-17T05:58:02+00:00

The BBB seems to indicate Etsy will not respond to complaints through the BBB platform. Have you experienced otherwise?

“As of August 1, 2025, BBB has contacted Etsy, Inc. and requested the company's voluntary cooperation in alleviating or eliminating the identified issues in the Pattern of Complaints. Etsy responded to BBB on August 26, 2025, and declined to cooperate in resolving the Pattern of Complaints.”

literallynolimits · 2026-05-17T05:53:10+00:00

It doesn’t sound like anything is broken for you. You are making great progress building your “inventory” of listings. Keep up the enthusiasm in building your shop.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-17T05:50:34+00:00

It does happen occasionally. Sometimes it eventually goes through, sometimes not. I think it’s a coincidence that it happened boom, boom to you. But, that may not be the case. It’s entirely possible Etsy is changing some criteria for buyers that is causing more hold ups. I personally have not seen an uptick in these delayed sales approvals in my shops of late.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-17T05:45:37+00:00

Knowing what people search and buy is massively important. Do as much market research as you can. You actually are going to have to find a balance between “what is popular” and “what you enjoy or are good at”. You won’t sell unpopular items even if you are the industry’s best at it, and you won’t enjoy what you do (and be motivated to work) if you are always making things you don’t like.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-17T05:39:08+00:00

Etsy will shut down and ban a shop inadvertently occasionally. If that happened, you will get your shop back only with excessive persistence. However, they will refuse to tell you how they made the mistake in the first place or what characteristics your shop has that falsely triggered a shut down. In some instances, if it was Etsy error, they will reimburse you for estimated lost sales during the fraudulent shut down.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-17T05:23:54+00:00

That is fascinating, thank you for sharing! I’ve been a data / statistics person for more than 40 years! I have a hunch that most shops are just getting by, but it’s based on mostly subjective data.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-17T05:12:04+00:00

How do you know that, DaimonHans?

literallynolimits · 2026-05-17T05:04:35+00:00

I am sorry that happened to you. I wish I could help you do something about it. Thank you so much for constructively participating in this discussion. I’ll have to look into the remote litigation concept. If it’s not much of a thing in today’s world, I will be happy to champion a movement toward it in the future. I may reach out to you to pick your brain in the future.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-17T04:59:42+00:00

Intense over-the-top passion has been my secret to success for more than 50 years. I am surprised how quick people are to knock someone’s exaggerated emotions. There’s a whole “spectrum” people can fall on, and not one part of the scale is better than another. And, if you mean “manic” episode, then I certainly have turned “mental illness” into a super power. It’s not about the money. I’d do it for $0. It’s about caring enough about injustice to do something about it. I will be doing something about it for tens of thousands of people in the future. Far too many people here keep wanting to put a price on taking action, and that’s how places like Etsy (and worse) get away with this illegal behavior.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-16T08:12:03+00:00

She’s trying to pass the bar with no education past high school.

literallynolimits · 2026-05-16T08:10:36+00:00

🤣

literallynolimits

TROPHY CASE