Etsyone of the most popular e-commerce platforms today, is facing a mass boycott starting today. And it is that the recent increase in sales commissions has caused great discontent among thousands of sellers. Although they have tried to get attention in less “aggressive” ways, Etsy has not listened to them, which is why they have called a strike that involves not only them, but also the buyers.
TheVerge states that the boycott begins today, April 11, and will run until 18 of the same month. During this time period, vendors who wish to participate must pause the operation of its stores using “holiday mode”. At the moment, they have the support of approximately 15,000 vendors, who have signed your engagement in just one week. It is expected that in the following days the figure will continue to grow.
Now, in any e-commerce platform, buyers still play an essential role. For this reason, vendors encourage them to not make any purchases through Etsy within the specified period. The above, of course, would benefit the cause, but at the same time it would harm the stores that are not interested in participating in the strike.
Etsy drags several problems for a long time
The scandal facing Etsy today was born on February 24, when the company reported that the fourth quarter of 2021 was the most successful in its history in terms of revenue. However, Josh Silverman, CEO of the platform, took advantage of the financial report to announce that sales commissions would increase by 30%. Namely, from 5% will grow to 6.5% starting April 11.
Kristy Cassidy, who owned one of the most popular stores on the platform and is now leading the boycott, says Etsy has been making a number of decisions that have hurt sellers for a long time. Some of them since Silverman became the new director in 2017.
In addition to the issue of commissions – this is not the first time they have been increased – there is also the fact of forcing some sellers to participate in advertising programs or allowing mass-produced products to be sold. Another action that is damaging the image of the platform is that there are many resellers They don’t even offer their creations.
Cassidy warns that this boycott is only the first protest action against Etsy. She even thinks it could set a precedent for vendors to form an organized community to defend themselves. Fortunately, many buyers are also on your sideWell, a good part of them buy on Etsy not only for the fact of obtaining a product, but also to support the creators.
“As Etsy has drifted further and further away from its founding vision over the years, what began as an experiment in democratizing the marketplace has turned into a dictatorial relationship between a faceless tech empire and millions of artisans.” exploited, mostly women,” mentions a part of their petition on Coworker.org.