>Crack down on resellers with a comprehensive plan that is transparent, so sellers can hold Etsy accountable.
This is very reasonable. Etsy is diluting it's brand and becoming a flea-market where I don't trust it.
This is very reasonable. Etsy is diluting it's brand and becoming a flea-market where I don't trust it.
If they had a separate site the consequences of cracking down harder would simply be that sellers need to move their products to this other site, not shutdown altogether. This is particularly important for the fuzzy definition of used (sorry "antique") goods. Thus there would be less push-back and gaming from the sellers, and less financial incentives for Etsy Inc to be lax with the rules. It would improve the experience for both buyers and sellers of handmade goods, without harming buyers and seller of used goods.
I think the main objection to this would be handmade goods sellers complaining that Etsy Inc is supporting knock-off sellers. While true, it isn't within Etsy's power to remove these off the internet altogether, and as long as the buyer is aware that what they are purchasing isn't handmade, I don't think Etsy has any obligation to avoid this market.
Etsy began as a service to a niche market, and was a good platform for small sellers. But they're a public company, and their purpose is to create more and more returns... ultimately, diluting their brand and flooding their site with slop might be a money-making proposition.