If you like your Etsy you can keep it — 2 Comments
It’s an interesting move by the Etsy crew. I think it’s an unfortunate one, but at the same time, it’s probably a financially smart one, opening the floodgates to other small businesses. I suspect they will gain more than they will lose.
I’ve seen it happen before. A craft fair allows mass produced items. The flavor of the fair changes. The mass produced items undercut the one-of-a-kind items in a lot of categories, driving many craftspeople out. Finally, a lot of the charm and true individuality that had been there,infused into an item that eagerly waited to go home with someone who valued it, disappears, and a different crowd wanders through.
Another craft fair opens up somewhere else.
I’m absolutely not against mass-production. It is what allows each of us to have many, many delightful and useful products. It especially allows us to have some truly beautiful things that would normally cost way beyond our means if they were individually produced.
But to each type of production its own marketplace.
It will change Etsy, and after a while a new marketplace will be created, and there will be a lot of movement over time. Perhaps Etsy would have been wiser to have created a new, separated marketplace. Craftspeople could occupy one or both, with selected products. Mixing them will cause problems that will only grow.
But that’s just my opinion. As an artist, I’ve moved in both worlds, and both have their value. (I’ve never been involved in Etsy.)
There is a great deal of emotion involved in this decision, and Etsy might want to consider what they are doing. A lot of people who make handmade items invest a significant portion of their spirit in what they make, and it forms an important part of their identity. A lot of people will feel betrayed, and that’s something that must be considered.
I can’t put it into words, but there is a deep undercurrent of emotion that is at play here. I hope Etsy thinks long and hard on this.
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It’s an interesting move by the Etsy crew. I think it’s an unfortunate one, but at the same time, it’s probably a financially smart one, opening the floodgates to other small businesses. I suspect they will gain more than they will lose.
I’ve seen it happen before. A craft fair allows mass produced items. The flavor of the fair changes. The mass produced items undercut the one-of-a-kind items in a lot of categories, driving many craftspeople out. Finally, a lot of the charm and true individuality that had been there,infused into an item that eagerly waited to go home with someone who valued it, disappears, and a different crowd wanders through.
Another craft fair opens up somewhere else.
I’m absolutely not against mass-production. It is what allows each of us to have many, many delightful and useful products. It especially allows us to have some truly beautiful things that would normally cost way beyond our means if they were individually produced.
But to each type of production its own marketplace.
It will change Etsy, and after a while a new marketplace will be created, and there will be a lot of movement over time. Perhaps Etsy would have been wiser to have created a new, separated marketplace. Craftspeople could occupy one or both, with selected products. Mixing them will cause problems that will only grow.
But that’s just my opinion. As an artist, I’ve moved in both worlds, and both have their value. (I’ve never been involved in Etsy.)
There is a great deal of emotion involved in this decision, and Etsy might want to consider what they are doing. A lot of people who make handmade items invest a significant portion of their spirit in what they make, and it forms an important part of their identity. A lot of people will feel betrayed, and that’s something that must be considered.
I can’t put it into words, but there is a deep undercurrent of emotion that is at play here. I hope Etsy thinks long and hard on this.