I’ve had a few emails over the last week concerning items that somehow end up in the Gift Guides.
Obviously no one’s going to like every single thing in each guide, but there’s still some WTFs and like with everything else, Etsy should really do a bit of research before posting something in the GGs and FP. The pictures below are just a few of the things I’ve been emailed.
Take the last photo of a laptop cozy. This one I came across myself and you might already know if you follow me on Twitter. It was featured in the Geek Chic GG along with another very similar item in a different colour. They were from 2 different stores who turned out to be by exactly the same person. I also found the same seller (galerieurbana) in both the Luxury and the Her GG, so these sellers are getting featured twice while other talented people don’t even get a look in.
“The Gift Guides are hand picked by Etsy staff from hundreds of thousands of items available”. Hundreds of thousands of items, eh? Is it laziness or favouritism that keeps them picking from the same stores then?
Reader Marni sent me a link to the third item, along with the “Crochet Gem Ring”, which are both featured in the Her GG at the moment. I think the moss ring looks slightly ridiculous. If you didn’t know what it’s supposed to be, you would think “WTF?”.
Then there’s the second item, described as “Little baby party bunny…. This little sweetheart wants a home! Do you want to adopt him?!”. Gee, where would I put it where it wouldn’t freak the shit out of guests?
And finally (or firstly; didn’t plan on working my way backwards), there’s the item in the first picture – a crocheted rug costing $3,700 from the Luxury GG. Luxury price, but I’m not convinced it’s worth it.
With the obvious repetitiveness of Etsy’s front page and GG items, and I’ve heard several people already voice their dissatisfaction on the subject, why are Etsy still doing it?!
Posted by FreckleyRedhead on August 19, 2009 at 1:23 pm
One thing about the gift guides, though. There are gift guides and then there are gift guide SHOWCASES – any Etsy seller can purchase a slot in a showcase and put whatever they want in there. So it’s possible that these weren’t all picked by admin. Let’s hope so, anyway.
Posted by EtsyWTF on August 19, 2009 at 1:34 pm
All the emails I got said which GG each item was from, and none of them were from the Showcase
. But looking at the GG Showcase today, looks like the seller who prints the colouring books bought a slot.
Posted by Patty on August 19, 2009 at 6:20 pm
What better then to charge someone for a chunk of THEMSELVES …UGH !! I gotta go throw up Bleech !….is that supposed to be skin ????? ..eeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww
Posted by Max on August 19, 2009 at 11:21 pm
I don’t sell on Etsy – buyer only. So no one can say I’m expressing sour grapes. I don’t spend a lot of time researching sellers, but I clearly see the same sellers on the FP, GG and Featured Sellers and QYDJ features. I’ve even seen 1 seller featured in QYDJ twice, with 2 different shop names (neither of which showed enough sales to even marginally approach QYDJ status).
Admins have multiple shops and don’t disclose them clearly. They have shops which infringe upon copyrights, which violate TOUs, and which they promote in GGs. They promote their friends, who have shop announcements and profiles which direct buyers to get discounted rates via other URLs.
Etsy is a clique, and not a particularly business savvy one at that.
Posted by Dagnabbit on August 20, 2009 at 5:33 pm
I cannot look at the GGs, because a lot of the stuff they pick is depressingly bad. It’s beyond laughable in many cases. The Showcases: well, people buy those slots so you expect to see bad stuff. But specifically chosen to represent the quality that can be found on Etsy? Good luck finding quality when Etsy staff can’t seem to be able to discern it themselves. Good luck finding what you want thru the search engine.
If I were looking for beautiful hand made things and browsed the GGs and Showcases, I would probably be too disgusted to even bothering with the search.
Posted by Nicky on August 21, 2009 at 5:09 pm
That rabbit thing is creepy…
Posted by PussDaddy on August 29, 2009 at 9:12 am
That fricking moss ring has made it into enough treasuries that you could sod my entire lawn with the damn things.
PussDaddy
Posted by red leaf on October 8, 2009 at 2:22 am
A piece of you? Just no no no. What the HELL is that supposed to be? Earwax? And the moss stuff needs to just be gone already right up there with felt beards and scrabble pendants.