Etsy Sellers: Keep Calm and Carry On, Please

Fellow Etsy sellers, this is for you. And for those of you who don't sell on Etsy, or just don't read your Etsy news emails, and avoid the forums, and have just no clue about the changes, let me explain. 

Earlier this week, Etsy sent out an email to all sellers saying, in short, that they are now allowing sellers to hire factories to produce all or part of their "handmade" goods. 

Yup. Going forward, not everything you buy may be actually handmade. 

It was conceived and conceptualized by an artist, yes. But, this could mean that a designer conceptualized, say, a rug - and then hired a factory to produce it in that likeness. 

But, this does not mean the sky is falling for every Etsy seller. In fact, this may actually be a tremendous benefit to the small seller. Shops that are sourcing factory work, or using shared collectives to essentially outsource aspects of their work are required to disclose that fact in their shop "About" page. And you know what? Many buyers are looking at that. 

There are plenty of buyers who still want handmade - not just "artisan designed". 

And yes, this change in direction makes sense for Etsy as a company. It IS sad. But - and I am not defending Etsy here, by any means - at what point can they draw the line in the sand and still sustain themselves, too? (Etsy as a company, I mean)

They have investors, contributors, and employees to answer to as well. And I'm sure those people want to see growth. Not just in number of members, or numbers of items for sale, but in "Where is the company going?". Inevitably, another site will rise to the top at some point, perhaps - maybe CraftStar, maybe Zibbet, maybe someone else. But eventually, they will come to the same point as well. At some point, you either grow past what you've reached as a company and need to "go big or go home" or you risk the chance of stagnating, and then your market leaves anyway.

So, do you stagnate, and people leave because of lack of change? Or, do you take a chance and make changes for the good of the people that are essentially funding Etsy, through the revenue they make back via sales in those shops. Those shops need to grow as well. And it's a big, huge, tremendous leap in this economy, to go straight from small time Etsy seller to, say, opening a storefront. At some point there is a transition period where these businesses need to grow and see if they can sustain themselves on their own, and Etsy is essentially providing that format for them.

It is not my cup of tea. I will likely always make everything myself, because that is how I want to do it and I have no interest in expanding to the point where I need to outsource, or hire employees. Maybe to take over shrink-wrapping duties, because I hate that part, but other than that, no. There will ALWAYS be a market of shoppers that still want handmade in the more traditional sense, and those shoppers will stray from those that have gone too big, who are outsourcing the creation of their products. And those buyers will need to find new sellers to shop with. Some sellers lose interest, after a few years burn out and close up shop, just as new shops open every day.

I'm just saying, it's not all "fire and brimstone" over here at Etsy. I've tried the other sites, and for most people, they don't offer the features or traffic that you can get here yet. And so, fellow artisans, I say to you for the sake of all of us, keep calm and carry on, please.