Rogue sellers are using the Etsy platform to resell name-brand products at inflated prices, passing them off as handmade by an artisan, an investigation has found.
“Our research shows that some sellers on Etsy are brazenly deceiving their customers by making false claims about their products,” said Rocio Conza, director of policy and advocacy for the Product and Services Analytics Institute. “The Guardian” reported on Thursday.
The survey revealed that some sellers were charging up to seven times more for an item labeled as “handmade”.
In its rules, the Etsy platform specifies that all items offered for sale must be handmade — meaning the seller must have been involved in the making of the item — and must be vintage or handcrafted.
The English medium continued that the notice should list all those who participate in the creation of the material.
By analyzing only the first page of several categories, including furniture, toys and clothing, Which? Of the 192 products analyzed and sold, at least 23 were determined to be “handmade” in fact from another site.
For example, a “handmade” antique nightstand sells for £44 ($75) on Amazon for £128 – about $215. A children’s book that costs £4 ($6.80) on Alibaba can rise to £28 (about $47.60) on Etsy, a sevenfold increase.
Etsy “needs to up its game by dealing with these unscrupulous practices,” Rocio Conza said, adding that “the crackdown on dubious claims and online advertising is long overdue.”
Last year, 36 million listings were reported to the site, more than double the previous year, Etsy said. In total, 1.9 million ads will be removed from the website, a 16% increase compared to 2021, according to British media.
“Pop culture practitioner. Award-winning tv junkie. Creator. Devoted food geek. Twitter lover. Beer enthusiast.”
