A large number of Etsy sellers received malicious complaints, affecting sales during the peak season

During the peak holiday season, a large number of Etsy sellers reported that they had been the subject of malicious complaints and that their sales had been affected.

According to foreign media reports, an Etsy seller received more than 40,000 likes on a post on TikTok. She said that one of her products was removed from the shelves due to malicious infringement complaints, and it was not until half a month later that Etsy restored her link, which greatly affected her sales.

The seller said that the product she sells is called "Magic Ball " , which is a witchcraft-themed holiday ornament. The person who complained about her was another seller who sells "Fairy Ball" ornaments, but there are no similarities between the two products.

Another Etsy seller received a product removal notice a few days before Black Friday. The seller said that the animal skull ornaments she sold were complained of copyright infringement, but besides her, there were at least a dozen other sellers on Etsy offering similar products.

Moreover, Etsy did not tell her which copyrights were violated, and she searched the federal copyright database herself and found no relevant copyrights.

The sellers who were maliciously complained about said they tried to get help from Etsy, but to no avail. "They actually won't support sellers," one seller said. "They won't chat, call, and never respond to the 'email' function."

Compared to the difficult rights protection process, filing a complaint on Etsy is much simpler. It is understood that submitting a copyright infringement claim on Etsy does not require any evidence, only a signature to prove the authenticity of the claim. The seller who is complained can file a counterclaim, and if the complaining party does not respond within 10 days , the product link can be restored.

Etsy's " infringement " complaints against sellers of homemade toys, clothing and furniture grew 60% in 2020 to more than 54,000, according to the latest data from the company's website.

Not only Etsy, a former Amazon executive said that malicious complaints of infringement on the Amazon platform are also common, and some Amazon sellers have even lost more than $1 million as a result. "The complaint mechanism is often abused by competitors because Amazon is afraid of being accused of not protecting trademark rights. " said the former Amazon executive.

Etsy

Seller

Peak Season