Yes I agree it would need to be Folksy, what I meant is I do agree that some kind of vetting would be a good idea and that anything is better than nothing when it comes to deterrring rogue shops setting up.
That being said luckily they don’t last very long when they try to, they are usually spotted quickly by other sellers, reported and taken down which does seem to work quite well.
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There are a few shops here that can afford a lot of expensive equipment, ie; lost wax set up and are able to mass produce very quickly BUT the process is hand made, these shops are not the target.
Vetting has to include photos of workshop, equipment and stages in making items as well as finished items that would be offered for sale. It is pretty hard to claim handmade if they cannot provide evidence of the tools needed to make an item.
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I believe that sellers are already asked to provide evidence that they make their items themselves if a query is raised and theres no direct proof (eg an aliexpress page) that theyre fakers not makers.
I always try to support a report with links, but sometimes i just have to say “this doesn’t seem right but i cant prove it”. Sometimes the shop disappears, sometimes they stay. I have to assume that folksy checks them out and are satisfied, no matter how obvious the infraction looks to me.
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I reported a shop on Monday that claimed to be selling handmade jewellery, even had a picture of workbench with tools in their ‘about’ section, but their items didn’t look handmade, so did a google search and they were available on Aliexpress at about a third of the price they were selling them for here. I included a link to the Aliexpress ones when I reported and the shop has gone now.
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What’s to stop them faking a photo of their workshop or tools? The bottom line is the quality and design of the work, and it’s not hard to spot mass produced items. It’s even easier to find the offending stuff on Google.
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A case in point a new shop opened yesterday and the image has been used from a model on Amazon. That to me throws doubt on the validity of the product being handmade. On fact appears to be things bought from Ali and put in a letter sized box.
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I may have reported that shop - assembled items like nappy cakes or bought stuff chucked in boxes, as here, arent allowed.
Theyll be gone today, i expect.
Ive always wondered if fees are refunded in cases where sellers are shut down. Idle curiosity only. I imagine it costs folksy money to refund, as it does us.
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Less an admin fee for the false pretence they have committed by opening a shop that does not meet the rules.
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