Share The Joy! (And The Savings!)

Time To Start Your Holiday Promos, Folks!!

I do Hope that by now the Original Refugees reading this have set up a new shop somewhere.  Are you running any promotions?  Artfire lets us use coupon codes!!  WOW!!  So, here are some coupons for you, and I hope you will share your new locations and special discounts in the comments section so we can all share the joy!

Enter the coupon code CORALGATE10 and receive 20% off your order of $40 or more!  Good now through January 1st, 2011!!  Come check out my awesome NON-ETSY STUDIO and stock up on your Holiday gift-giving needs!!

Don't forget to post promos for your new non-etsy shops in the comments section.  Let's show the big E what integrity, customer service, and real success looks like by supporting each other this holiday season!!

How To Leave Your Abuser Safely...

If you are quietly preparing to leave Etsy, here is a basic action plan...

- Find a safe place to go:
Choose a new venue, or several.  There are many to choose from.  We have a list of alternative venues on this blog.  Once you have a safe place to go, it's time to get ready to make your move.

- Get your ticket:
Find your USER ID # - Etsy is trying to hide it.  See previous posts on how to find and save your user ID # so that you can smuggle your listings out of there using the Importers on other sites.  Then import your listings.  You will need to edit all titles and tweak descriptions if you want to get picked up by google.  If you have any questions about this, please ask.

- Pack your valuables:
Copy your feedback.  Copy all of your feedback and paste it into a document.  You can refer to it and display it on your new venue.  This will help you get established, and one more way to make "starting over" easier.  Take screen shots if you feel you need to.

- Take the kids:  
Be sure to go through your convos, sold items, etc. and retrieve the information you need to get in touch with your customers.  You an also find customer emails in your paypal history.  Remember- Etsy can and does read convos, so be careful what you say when you use the service.  Once you have the relevant information, you can let your customers know where to find you.

- Tie up loose ends:
Take care of any outstanding orders or shipments.  Save any information in your sold orders or invoices you want or need such as photos, descriptions, whatever.  Print a copy of your Etsy bill and keep it with you.  This is especially important if you want to try and get your money back.  Grab screen shots.

By  now you should have your affairs in order and you are ready to leave and start again.  These steps will minimize the damaging effects of moving venues.  You don't have to take the abuse anymore!  You deserve better!  If you need anything, we are here to support you.  Good luck!

The Saga Continues...

My Coralgate and banning story is now on EtsyBitch click the link to read!

Have you been muted, booted or banned recently?  EB wants to hear your story.

Sellers Silenced Sanctimoniously about Storque Scandal - it SUCKS.

The epic thread on Etsy's forums, and the one area of the site members were allowed to discuss the topic of the Storque coral article by Temple St. Clair - has been closed.

Expect mutings and bootings in the days ahead, as Etsy cleanses its image for an upcoming partnership with HGTV, and other corporate interests.  

Meanwhile, I have just finished writing up my experience with Etsy and sending it to EtsyBitch which has generously invited me to share my story.  Stay tuned for more details.

On a personal note, I took most of yesterday off to rest and unwind from a stressful month of Etsy-related upheaval.  Thanks to all for your messages of sympathy and support, I sincerely appreciate it.  I didn't realize how exhausting the whole thing was until it was really over.  I swear, I could sleep for a month.

I look forward to re-connecting with my Etsy friends in the weeks to come, (off-site), as well as working on getting my Artfire shop ready for the holidays.  Incidentally, I just found out that sellers there have organized themselves to tweet about #artfire all day Thursday to get the term to trend worldwide!  I will definitely be participating in that to some extent.

yours,
Joan

Testimony Of DancingWindDesigns

Here is yet another stirring testimonial from a fellow Etsy Refugee...


Etsy dearest,

I know, I'm asking for my shop to be shut down by being a loud, dissenting voice here, but I closed my shop here months ago over the lack of respect etsy has for it's sellers-the ones who pay the bills. 

You have shown time and time again that you have nothing but contempt for the people who have made etsy what it used to be-an e-commerce site for handmade items. Coral gate is the last straw-it's like spitting in the face of all those who have supported you the last 3 or 4 years. That's despicable behavior. If it wasn't for the wonderful people who created the handmade items you used to sell here, you would be nowhere. Instead, you have become almost a joke. Allowing people who sell mass produced stuff in sweatshops in here to sell disguised as collectives. Now, you allow a "guest commentator" or whatever you called her in that so called apology, to come in and post links to her off site sales when she doesn't even make the jewelry is selling. She designs mass produced stuff using petrolieum products. For crying out loud-remember the Gulf Oil Spill??? 

You are the most hypocritical bunch of people I have run across in ages. You have been hiding behind the curtain like the Wizard of Oz, but now, that curtain is being pulled back, and you are being exposed for the frauds you are. IMHO, you are slowly killing what you built by your constant thoughtlessness in your lack of response to sellers, your bland, robotic responses to sellers and all the other ways that you denigrate them. But that's right, you have the money and don't care. What do you expect from a guy who conned his way into NYU or wherever it was. I have to go dig out last Dec.'s Readers Digest. It's not a site I care to be associated with. I bet you will find in the coming weeks that I'm not the only one who feels that way. Don't worry, we will keep the starry eyed newbies up to date on how you are. 
P.S. Since I posted this, you have been busy creating other changes that will basically stab sellers in the back yet again. Changing search so everybody is going to have to keep renewing to be seen. Listen-what's that sound? It's the sound of thousands of renewing dimes pouring into the etsy coffers. You found a way to get around people who weren't renewing and who were cutting into your lunch money by doing that, didn't you? Making people's favorites link buyers right out of their shops. Smooth move-NOT. How blind do you think people are? One day, this place is going to collapse and the sellers are going to find out that etsy has no clothes. 

Why am I doing this since I really don't sell here anymore? Because I believe in doing what's right and etsy, you guys ain't right. I can't stand to see people taken advantage of and misled the way you do-especially people who are your customers. Yes, we paid you to sell here. That means we were buying a service from you and you have really crappy customer service. YOu have let a ton of people down. I know you don't care because you guys are the coolest thing on the web-or so you think. You have no clue of the power the voices of the people in this thread have, but you are about to find out in the coming months.


by DancingWindDesigns

Oh My Goat!!

I can't believe it!!  My items actually show up in google searches... and people click on them!  Amazing!  7 months on Etsy and I almost never came up in google searches!!  I am super happy!!

As Requested

Kathy, AKA betweenpietyanddesire, asked for some Etsy Refugee Badges, and I tried to rush some designs out.  Here they are, for fun and for identification purposes...

Inspiring news to share...

My fellow Refugees,

I just wanted to let you know that even though my shop on Artfire isn't fully set up yet, I have already received an order from it!!!  Yes, that's right!  My first order from AF, and I've only been on it for 3 days!!

The longer I am gone, the more I realize I can make it without Etsy!  Having your products fed to Google is AMAZING.  I have a huge range of new business open to me now.

I just feel that this proves that we can take our success with us wherever we go, and the important thing is preserving the handmade philosophy, and community that has given us so much.  I realized I was taking a risk when I closed my shop, but now I find that it may wind up being the best business decision I've made in a long time.

I just wanted to share the positive news with you guys, and say again, you CAN make it without Etsy!!

XOXOX,
Joan

Leaving behind your feedback?

I just discovered a tip in this awesome thread on Artfire for a way to show off your good feedback from Etsy!  The thread can be found here - there is a widget you can put on your studio page that can scroll any text you want.  Copy and paste your feedback from Etsy and post it in there!  Just another way to make leaving Etsy easier!

Quotes To Inspire Us

CHANGE:




Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress.
Bruce Barton 


All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.
Anatole France 


Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.
Arnold Bennett 


Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine. 
Robert C. Gallagher 


If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living.
Gail Sheehy 


It's the most unhappy people who most fear change.
Mignon McLaughlin 


Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.
Frank Herbert 

Seeking Asylum

Good Evening, Refugees!

Today I briefly activated my listings on Etsy so that I could import my stock to Artfire and to Zibbet .  Both imports were quick and painless, taking me less than five minutes, though I should warn you that Artfire's importer is only available to "pro" level accounts.  The going rate is only $9.95 per month right now, and if you lock in, your rate will never increase.  I have signed up for a pro account and I am impressed with all of the wondrous functioning tools at my disposal.

I also would like to report that I got an email from Etsy's @support address today to notify me that my shop announcement has been removed by Admin, and not to post it again.  My shop announcement said more or less that in solidarity with my fellow jewelry makers I was moving my business as a result of the coral article.  Etsy's support team has yet to respond to my second email asking that the coral article be corrected or taken down, but they acted swiftly to reprimand me for my shop announcement, so I know that someone is still awake over there.

There was also a bit of "push back" on the AF forums regarding the sudden onslaught of Etsy refugees coming there to talk about their negative experiences, mostly triggered by some sock-puppet drama, and though the posts were too generally worded to make a distinction between those of us seeking asylum and deranged people coming over to create drama that started over at E, many, many AF users were quick to let me know that we ARE most welcome there, and offer their support in finding our way around the site.

Now that I have experienced how easy and painless it is to move my shop, I am stunned that I was so afraid to do it.  The questionable practice of relisting is a non-issue in these new venues, and I'm already seeing familiar faces on these sites.  I realize that many people feel that they can not leave behind their Etsy shops for various reasons, but I have taken the plunge, and I feel much, much more comfortable, and highly motivated to get back to work building my business in a place where I am not treated with utter disdain.

The fact is, Etsy is not going to get its much-needed wake-up call if we continue stick around and enable their maltreatment of users.  For those of you who have chosen to keep a presence on Etsy, I respect your decision, and understand the difficulties involved. Just don't expect to see any change in behavior on their part, because you will only be hurt and disappointed.  There ARE alternatives out there... and good ones, at that.

So how are all of my 'fugees doing?  Keep us updated on where you are moving, and how it is going!