Etsy strikes again

I'm looking anywhere and everywhere in an effort to leave Etsy. I have so much time and money invested with my three shops, I hate to leave, but Etsy has gotten so bad and they continue to do so without regards to shop owners.

They've changed the way the searches are done and ever since, my businesses have all but fallen off the face of the Earth. My vintage shop was doing so well and I was enjoying it so much, then came the changes and I'm lucky if I get a few sales a week instead of a few sales a day. Etsy has admitted to directing traffic away from our shops. What is the purpose of this? They just want shoppers to get to Etsy. Period. No longer want customers to come to our shops, but to Etsy front page and from there, who knows where they go.

Anyway, they strike again. It's amazing to me. They have become money hungry grubs, just like eBay did and I left there, too. I signed up for Zibbet and like it a lot but still no sales there either. But one thing I liked was the ability to list things and import/export them between Zibbet and Etsy. Today, I received my newsletter from Zibbet and Etsy strikes again. Etsy has threatened Zibbet with a cease and desist letter, I'll let you read it yourself.

"I am Sarah Feingold, Counsel of Etsy Inc. You are no doubt familiar with Etsy's website and the level of success it has achieved as a venue to buy and sell all things handmade, vintage and supplies. By using Etsy's site in any manner, you agree to be bound by Etsy's Terms of Use. One clause states you agree that you will not use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means to access Etsy for any purpose whatsoever, except to the extent expressly permitted by and in compliance with Etsy's API Terms of Use or otherwise without Etsy's prior express written permission. Etsy recently discovered that you are using Etsy's site to make unauthorized uses of Etsy's content though an importer tool through use of the domain Zibbet.com (the "Domain") on the World Wide Web. This is in direct violation of Etsy's Terms of Use. Etsy prefers an amicable resolution. Etsy members own their data, so they may download a spreadsheet of their active listings by visiting Your Etsy > Shop Settings > Options > Download Data. The spreadsheet is in CSV format and contains the following info:* Title* Description* Price* Currency code* Quantity* Tags* Materials* Full-size image URLs. Etsy members may download the spreadsheet from Etsy and upload it to your site. You may not use a script or other automated means to download the spreadsheet on a member's behalf. You may also access the Etsy image servers ONCE in order to download and store the images. You may NOT use the Etsy image URLs to permanently display the images on your site. We understand that it may take time to update the Domain's importer tool to utilize the spreadsheet. Therefore, we will give you until *December 6, 2010* to update this feature and cease and desist from the Terms of Use violations. If you have any questions, I can be reached at legal@etsy.com. Also, please contact me once you have complied with this correspondence.The demands made herein shall not waive or prejudice any rights or remedies that Etsy may have in respect of the matters set forth herein, all of which rights and remedies are expressly reserved. This communication should not be construed as a waiver of any rights by Etsy, including, without limitation, Etsy's right to seek monetary damages, equitable relief, and attorneys fees, all of which are expressly reserved.


Sincerely,


Sarah Feingold,


Esq.Counsel, Etsy, Inc."



And this is part of the letter from Zibbet explaining a few things: "We have been forced to make some changes to our Etsy Importer - and unfortunately, not for the better. We were recently served with a 'cease and desist' letter from Etsy (copied below) who believed us to be scraping sellers data from their site. The fact is we weren't scraping the data, but using a work-around for their developers API - which Etsy has recently blocked (a number of other sites Etsy Importers have stopped working for this reason too). "

Bravo Etsy. You've done it again. You seem determined to drive sellers away from you and it's working. Talk about blatant misuse of power. How about taking care of people who have no regards whatsoever to the rules and list items that should be marked mature but are totally out in the open for all to see when the rules state the first photo needs to be censored? What about this seller?
http://www.etsy.com/people/Deborahj/feedback?ref=pr_feedback Been repeatedly reported but oh well, let her continue to waste people's time. Flagging? It's a joke, not one thing is ever done about these people.

I remember writing them and reporting a person that had purchased items from me and then was reselling them. NOT a problem, I don't mind that at all, however, this person copied my entire listing, photos, description and all to resell the items. What was their answer? Contact the person or hire a lawyer. OMG, are you joking? Way to not get involved.

I'm seeing red, yep, seeing red.