I’ve just seen something sold on the Front Page that looked way too cheap to be genuinely handmade, and when I checked the shop it’s quite obvious it’s not. The exact same items are for sale on ebay, with the same photo, at the same price, and are probably imported from China.
I feel vaguely sorry for the buyer, who probably thinks they are getting a handmade item, but not too sorry as they didn’t pay anything like a handmade price for it, so I guess they are getting what they deserve.
I feel angry and disappointed that re-sellers are opening shops and getting sales on here, when so many genuine makers are not, and that Folksy is being devalued by them. I’m also disappointed that Folksy is attracting the type of buyer that would buy something so cheap without questioning why.
We all keep our eyes open as we don’t want Folky having the same problem as that American site.
It does bring the site down if resellers get a foothold it’s the reputation of Folksy and therefore our own shops that we need to uphold.
Folksy admin staff are great we just have to let them know if there are shops going against the Terms and Conditions for selling on the Folksy Platform.
Folksy can’t monitor every shop / listing - it would take way too long. However, if you see something that doesn’t look right you can report the item - and there is now space to add text as to why you are reporting it.
There is lots of this in the jewellery category , unfortunately reporting it seems to have no effect .
Vintage restored furniture seems to be acceptable now too , in the past things had to be significantly altered to be allowed .
It depends on what grounds you are reporting them. If you report them as resellers and give links to prove that then folksy can look into it.
If you report them due to Copyright or Trademark infringement than Folksy can’t do any thing. You have to report it to the Trademark/copyright owner as only the owner can report them to Folksy.
There is some actual handmade stuff on here that sells for ridiculously cheap too so it’s a bit of a double edged sword!
Maybe I’m just naive, but it always surprises me how dishonest people can be when it comes to passing off mass produced stuff as handmade. It’s not like there aren’t a million other marketplaces where they could hock their factory bought wares if that’s what they want to do.
A couple of months ago I reported a shop that had been quite heavily advertised by Folksy. The stuff was nice looking, with attractive photos … but I thought it was highly suspicious that images of their product packaging in the listing photos had labels written in Chinese (duh!). It didn’t take much searching to find the same stuff being sold in a million other places. The shop did eventually disappear so Folksy must have shut them down.
I have reported items/shops in the past and they are still on here selling, so I don’t generally bother anymore. - there are so many now, I’d be reporting all day long!
There’s a shop trading from outside the UK that I’ve reported 3 times, with reasons - it’s still there and still selling.
report them again and keep reporting them.
I saw a man selling on here and he was living in the US…and that is breaking Folksy rules…He was removed…
It is sad that we feel we have to report people but if we want to keep Folksy as a British Hand made craft site, then sadly that is what we have to do.
I like that idea of craft fair organisers being vigilante but I know what you mean. Unfortunately many organisers are just after the money! Here in Fife we have a group who organises craft fairs & sellers have to have their handmade items vetted before being allowed to join.
But Folksy could be in trouble with Trading Standards for Advertising items that infringe copyright. That is also illegal.
Edit: As is Buying items which break copyright rules!
I reported a shop ages ago that I saw selling cheap imported jewellery from China, I even gave links to where you could buy it on Ebay for 99p per item - the shop on here was selling them on for £8 ish. Folksy said they would look into it but when I checked back a few weeks later the shop was still there. So I haven’t bothered again as it seems they’ve obviously got their reasons they want to let the shop stay. (like it’s bringing in revenue from the sales!)
@LizzieMade - Actually Lizzie, Trading Standards cannot cite Folksy for advertising items that infringe on marks. If a shop are selling items that are knock offs and described as genuine, that is a different matter. Folksy is a safe harbour and only the mark holder can effect a take down. It is frustrating for the legitimate sellers on here but the only recourse is to contact the Company that owns the mark and advise them of the infringement. They can then deal with it as they see fit.
Kind regards,
Leslie
but I know what you mean. Unfortunately many organisers are just after the money! Here in Fife we have a group who organises craft fairs & sellers have to have their handmade items vetted before being allowed to join.