I’ve just read this from my twitter feed. I don’t have a shop on Etsy, but I have posted the link here because I think its interesting reading for us and Folksy as a whole, because now, isn’t Folksy’s status as a truly handmade site suddenly become far more unique??
Heidi
That site if infected with re sellers of massed produced rubbish. Which is sad for the real handmade artists and uneducated potential customers who don’t know the difference between handmade or mass produced.
Folksy has the odd problem with the odd re seller but thankfully we are still a site for real handmade.
What an interesting read, I know a few people who are only just discovering Etsy and recently re-opened on that side but I’m starting to think again. I love the Folksy values of being a handmade only place and I really do hope that as more people discover it the Folksy values won’t change. Britain and British makers can only benefit from places like this as long as we all work to bring more traffic to the site as a whole.
Yes - I wonder if the magazine journalists realise this now as well? When journalists are searching for images etc, I hope they now go to Folksy for UK handmade!!
This all apparently happened last year too (the change in Etsy’s rules) so I’m surprised I hadn’t spotted this from elsewhere…
I hope Folksy don’t go down the same route. They do already allow small-scale outsourcing but only if the items are designed by the seller. It would be a shame if they were tempted to allow mass-produced items on here as well in order to make more money.
I think the Etsy changes have hit US makers hard, and there doesn’t seem to be much of an alternative for them. At least by restricting Folksy to UK sellers, it keeps most of the international resellers out…although I have spotted one or two trying to sell on here.
Fascinating article, certainly food for thought. Thanks for posting the link!
Interesting article something I hadn’t realised when I opened a shop on there which I did because of lack of sales, but that is now improving on here and none yet on there.
I must admit that in spite of everything I really love being part of Folksy and it’s handmade principles which I sincerely hope they stick to.
It’s also the way that quite a few craft fairs are going organisers for whatever reason just want the stall money and don’t really care where items for sale have come from or whether it conforms to Trading standards and copyright all helping to devalue the true crafter who works so hard to get things right.
Gill
I agree with Gill, some craft fairs out there don’t have all handmade items, and one can usually work out which items have been bought in for a quick resale, pretending to be handmade.
The craft venue I mainly sell at, is quite good at sending out reminder emails to crafters to tell them of the policy on selling craft goods, but some do still slip through.
It’s quite nice to read a positive view of Folksy for a change. We have a wonderful niche here and being restricted to British sellers, with a UK base for the company and the opportunity of international sales is why I went with Folksy over Etsy in the the first place. Since their changes came in too I am even more glad, I have seen Folksy go from strength to strength, my sales have continued to increase steadily through it and the format of the site and all the little changes have added up to a really good selling site, still keeping the core values and handmade ethic. I know it has expanded into allowing materials to be listed for sale however we don’t have the mass produced tat that does seem to be turning Etsy into Etsbay which is really sad for something that had a good thing going in the first place, and I am pleased that Folksy does allow the kinds of products I sell on here as my products are all pretty much printed pieces/products rather than my original papercut works and some of these are outsourced from different places however they are all UK made and in small quantities so not compatible to 50 pages and sellers with exactly the same item.
Hmmm… I remember someone posting a “Treasury List” on Etsy, with all slots filled by one identical item, from 16 different shops. All items were the exact same pendant, all listed as “Hand made”… They were totally identical.
The Treasury was taken down by Etsy - though not before many people had noticed and commented!
I was already fed up with the mass-produced items for sale on Etsy, that were ignored by their admin; since the changes it’s ridiculous. So much for “Hand Made”…
I definitely find it harder to make sales there, than I did when I started my shop in 2009.
I’m definitely making more sales on Folksy now, Charlotte, than I was at first. And less at Etsy!
I never made one sale on Etsy Lizzie and was already getting steady sales through Folksy so I gave up on it, I’ve still got an Etsy account perhaps one day I will use it again and nobody can steal the name of my business and hold me to ransom for it! I also find it easier just to manage one single shop and to promote/advertise it as a one stop shop for all customers UK or international, no juggling stock levels between 2 places, so I’ll stick with Folksy as it is rather lovely and I like the fact that it’s UK based so all the laws/regs/financial aspects are British much easier on my brain! I do promote it as much as I can on Facebook, instagram and twitter without looking like a hard seller and it’s paying off 
Just about to read this but as Ive been selling on Etsy for over year now, I think I am pretty clued up with all the rule changes
Really changed a lot though since I joined and ‘not-so’ purely handmade it seems anymore which is a real shame.
Yes. I have noticed the changes. My news feed on it is so different now. I occasionally stop following some people if their favourites keep showing mass produced items. It is not always their fault if they have favourited something like this and I am sure I have done it too…We are definitely competing in a different market now. Etsy used to enthuse and inspire me but I feel as though the true artisans are much harder to find now 
Folksy is still about handmade thankfully.
Very interesting article, thanks.
Interesting read but I wasn’t aware that etsy had changed the rules or are the rules the same but people are ignoring them. This is from their site
Everything on Etsy must be Handmade, Vintage, or a Craft Supply
Handmade items are designed and created by the shops that sell them. Because transparency matters on Etsy, we ask sellers to list shop members and share information about manufacturers involved in creating their items. Reselling an item you were not involved in creating is not allowed in our handmade category.
Vintage items are 20 years or older and must not violate our rules for prohibited items.
Craft Supplies are materials and tools intended for use in the creation of a new handmade item.
Prohibited items, services, and items that violate our intellectual property policies are not allowed on Etsy.
Here’s hoping folksy doesn’t go the same way.
Possibly ignoring them I suspect. Something seems to have changed, from the account of the various people. I think the tabs vintage and craft supplies blur the boundaries further too. But I don’t think folksy will go the same way…
Heres an interesting one…I recently embellished a plain black pashmina style scarf using needle felting techniques. As I often do when I make something new I searched etsy and folksy for “decorated Pashmina” to get an idea for what was about and an indication of price. The only item I found was one on etsy where the said decorated pashmina consisted of a pashmina scarf tied up with a piece of jute twine…pushing the boundaries of handmade a little I think!