After buying what they thought were handmade gifts, one shopper was frustrated and disappointed to realize they had been scammed.
They posted about their experience on the subreddit r/mildlyinfuriating, where they wrote, "I purchased gifts from Etsy for my girlfriend thinking they were handmade or unique. They're from Aliexpress."
In a screenshot of one Etsy listing, the seller wrote that the ring was "handmade with attention to detail," crafted with fine metals like silver and gold.
"To add more insult to injury, the $50 ring is made of copper and zinc alloy. Not silver and gold," OP said. "That was an outright lie."
Many commenters empathized, venting that while Etsy originated as a place for small-scale artisans, it's now become riddled with drop-shippers and scammers.
"It's hard to find good shops these days," OP lamented.
Drop-shipping is a retail structure where a seller doesn't actually stock any inventory. Instead, once an order is placed, they buy it directly from a third party, who mails it to the customer. This structure, far from the direct-to-consumer model originally touted by Etsy, is how some customers have found themselves receiving Temu or Amazon packages from a so-called "artisan."
And while Etsy has essentially banned this tactic, one commenter pointed out grimly, "it's just not enforced because that would cost them money."
Not only does this lack of enforcement harm customers, it hurts genuine sellers too. "I feel really bad for the people who used to make a living from the site having to compete with this s***," one person commented. "Word to the wise, if you're shopping on Etsy always reverse image search before purchase."
🗣️ What's your primary motivation in shopping at thrift stores?
🔘 Cheaper clothes 🤑
🔘 Trendier items 😎
🔘 Reduced environmental impact 🌎
🔘 I don't thrift 🚫
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
And another person pointed out that the scam goes in the other direction. "The amount of actual artists who have their designs stolen daily by Aliexpress and Wish product farms is crazy," they vented. "Even Shein has been caught stealing designs heaps of times. I'm sure there's still legit stores and creators on Etsy, they're just being drowned out by the dropship bots flogging mass produced slop unfortunately."
Thankfully, additional research can generally weed out the artisans from the scammers. And for anyone looking for thoughtful, affordable gifts, some great places to start might be hiding right under your nose — from the local farmers' market to your own cabinets. (For a full list, check out TCD's Holiday Gift Guide.)
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