This is a really thoughtful article on the evolution of Etsy and why they became what they are today. Etsy doesn't seem to embrace handmade anymore or the people that contributed to their early success. The "New Etsy" is very different from the Etsy we knew in the beginning.
I wonder - could Etsy grow and remain what they were before or at some point it becomes impossible for a company of that size to balance profits with social responsibility? The pressure to turn profits drove Etsy to expand into mass-produced items, adding unrelated categories (vintage, supplies etc) and forcing sellers to absorb the shipping cost.
If those changes are good for Etsy as a business, would sellers complain, but stay and try to adapt to the changes on the "new Etsy"? Or would they leave, as Etsy becomes an unsustainable option for many of them?
Is the "new Etsy" really good for buyers? I can't imagine that mass-produced items that pollute Etsy now enhance buyers' experience.
What are your thoughts?
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Was Etsy too good to be true? As a stockholder, Jeni Sandberg loves Etsy. As a vintage homegoods purveyor selling midcentury glassware and linens on Etsy’s platform, she can’t help but feel like she’s being played.
In July, the company announced it would be encouraging sellers to offer free US shipping on all orders over $35. Or rather, it announced that sellers who didn’t offer free shipping would be de-prioritized by the site’s highly competitive replacement algorithm, which — on a platform with more than 60 million things to buy — can be the difference between regular sales and functional invisibility. Read full story
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