Here’s an interesting case of blatant shilling:
User beadstyle http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7031328 had some major issues with customers not receiving their items in a timely manner and feedback reflected it. What’s a person to do?
It looks like beadstyle used her other shop, CatalystPhotography http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6972199, to artificially pump up her feedback score.
Consider the location of both shops, Richmond, VA and the birthday of both owners, August 17th. Check out the pictures from these two shops-
beadstyle
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31083195 pay careful attention to the labels used in this listing
vs.
CatalystPhotography
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29599868 labels?
CatalystPhotography has left 13 positive feedbacks on beadstyles’ shop, all posted on 9/25 for items all purchased on 9/25- but has received no feedback at all in return.
Also suspect, is the presence of another shop, Rivercityburner http://www.etsy.com/profile.php?user_id=8138498 who left six positive feedbacks for beadstyle on 9/25 for items purchased on 9/25- yet again, has no feedback at all in return.
This entire thing seems super fishy to me and it doesn’t help that dear “probably” shilling beadstyle was also featured on the front page today.
Does anyone else find this a bit odd?
Tags: beadstyle, CatalystPhotography, feedback shilling, RiverCityBurner
wow! this is blatant – she seems to have ‘bought’ enough items to ensure the negs are not on the first page of feedback. This is so pathetic – as is her retaliatory feedback.
I find this a LOT odd. The fact that all of these “purchases” happened on the same day is also odd… as is the fact that feedback was left on the same day as the purchase.
Shilling, shilling, shilling, shilling.
With so many shops out there, why would etsy feature one that appears to be shilling? Why can’t they find shops that are totally above-board? It didn’t take long to uncover this mess; surely etsy admin could vet the treasuries used on the front page?
She’s not very bright is she? Also I noticed the competition
( Warm Country Meadows) brought up her shilling in the forums, afraid to flag it.
I like the fact that of Catalyst’s feedback, the 6 other orders she bought that weren’t from beadstyle were actually From Herself! Click the items – they are her own listings. She left herself nice feedback on those too, thanking herself for purchasing her own items that she has relisted.
Not to mention that Rivercityburner just joined on 9/25. Pretty amazing that she joined, found beadstyle, ordered 6 items, and instantly left feedback. Not like it’s common buyer behavior.
I didn’t notice the product labels. This is the dumbest ever.
“With so many shops out there, why would etsy feature one that appears to be shilling?”
Laziness? I mean, it’s not like there’s a shortage of shops following the rules, for heaven’s sake.
Why should shops that have less than perfect feedback be featured at all? (Figuring out the shilling here is beyond the ability of Etsy’s staff, so I am trying to simplify.) Featured shops should be the best the site has to offer, not the ones with ‘trendy’ items but uneven customer service.
And they were featured on the front page yesterday. *face palm*
I saw Warm Country Meadow’s comment in the forums. Didn’t call out directly, but made mention of the suspicious situation.
Please tell me someone’s already sent this well-assembled evidence along to abuse@etsy.com I hope the buyers have too.
Beadstyle’s shop policies are pretty crass, too:
“Hagglers: If you haggle down to a different price than listed, sales are final and no returns accepted.”
And the retaliatory feedback by her shop add insult to injury. Yikes.
Yeah, since when do buyers leave feedback the same day (unless you’re handing it to yourself)?…..Never! I know I don’t leave any until I have the item I purchased in hand……duh! And why does it seem the dishonest people always get the advantage (check out her sales numbers and her FP exposure). I just don’t get it……….. : (
and she just got another new nasty negative from a dissatisfied customer, seems maybe she can’t handle all the FP exposure?
The feedback has been updated. As Mae said she has another negative and now another neutral. I bet she’ll be shilling again tonight to try to cover these up.
http://www.etsy.com/feedback_public.php?user_id=7031328
Regarding featured called-out sellers: Chicken & Egg argument. Called out because of prominent Etsy exposure and a little snooping? Or featured to spite a call-out blog?
I love how the fake positive feedbacks from two separate accounts are also written in exactly the same way.. with all those exclamation marks and stuff.
It’s so blatant.
what a doofus.
and they are sandwiched between some really awful, super loooong essays of negetive feedback .. haha
The double exclamation marks are really the key to showing that the three sellers are the same.
Also, if you read the feedback, some of them say that the item was a gift and the recipient loved it. Another one says that the item looks awesome on the office desk. As if the fact that the feedback was left on the same day wasn’t enough.
flags at etsy has been notified about this ridiculous situation. Sending it off to abuse wouldn’t hurt.
I reported it as well. My guess is it will be completely ignored. I hope I am wrong though. If it were up to me, all her accounts would be closed yesterday.
I am getting so %#@*& sick of this crap.
Here we have another confused vintage seller:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26631117
“90′s revival?” WTH?
A revival of braincells, one would hope. Note the tag schizophrenia: corset, costume, girl, tunic, prairie…well, what the hell is it? “She’s my sister, she’s my daughter!”
I can’t take it anymore. I pulled dozens of items from my etsy shop this week and it’s a damn fine feeling.
Current number of 90′s items in the vintage category as of this writing? 625.
I purchased something from her that took WEEKS and LOTS of emails (none responded to by her!) to finally receive, which I received only after reporting her to etsy. Very annoying. I left neutral feedback because although it was long and frustrating to get my package, I DID like it.
(Seeing this callout reminded me I had to leave feedback still, so I just did.
)
Good for you Keri. She seems like a horrible seller all around. No communication, slow/no shipping of product, retaliatory negs, and tells people too bad when things arrive broken. Plus shilling! Fuck that. I hope they kick her off etsy.
Hey, would someone please call my shop out for something? Then maybe I can be on the front page too!
Sheesh.
Freckleyredhead, I was thinking the same thing! I think that’s the way the admins find “new” shops – something comes across their “flagging desk” and instead of looking at the infraction they look at the pretty picture and feature it.
Seriously, I’m tempted to start reporting my own items or something. WTF.
“rivercityburner” a.k.a. “the seller,beadstyle” left this feedback on 9/25 (same day the sale took place):
“Perfect little mantle pice decoration!! Delivered safe and sound.”
Technically, she’s not lying.. she did deliver it to HERSELF, so of course it arrived same day!!
If this doesn’t make it clear as day, I don’t know what does.
If admin doesn’t do something about this, I am really getting down to my last straw !!
the thing I find most appalling is the stupidity, her plan of duplicity isn’t very well thought out is it? Lord have mercy!
if that is how admin finds fp fodder so be it…one day they may find themselves the proud employees of an online garage sale.
angry sellers may move to sites with more integrity, and frustrated customers may find their goods elsewhere.
but hey…at least they will have a pretty fp. right?
Fake purse seller.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7632139
Another seller of crap:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5122365
are her self-feedbacks gone? I don’t see them… is that all Etsy did about it?!
The shilling feedbacks are gone… but I can’t/don’t want to believe that this is all etsy did!!!!!
Sigh.
While the shilling feedbacks may be gone from Beadstyle’s feedback, they are still on the other shops’ feedback.}:/
Nothing really surprises me anymore.
PussDaddy
Why does etsy do that? There are two other shops that shilled (it was discussed in the forum) and etsy removed the feedbacks but the shops are still operating. That should be a brickwall offense. Period.
If they brickwall the shops, they can’t feature them. This is how etsy finds their new favourite shops!
I am not responsible for items lost or injured in the mail. If you are concerned about shipping and would like a delivery confirmation, or insurance added to your purchase, >>>>
someone needs to remind sellers that YES they are responsible if items never arrive or arrive damaged.
Shilling, shilling and more shilling!!!!
This idiot didn’t even bother to try hiding it. I guess people think this is okay to do!
http://www.etsy.com/feedback_public.php?user_id=7947610&feedback_type=all&page=2
The fact that Etsy took action in such a lame-ass way is the last straw for me.
I was content to accept that fact that Etsy refused to act to maintain the integrity of their site.
But now that it is clear that they will eliminate the shilling feedback without eliminating the perpetrator or the other shiller-shops, it is ultimately clear that they are protecting their chums at the expense of their customers.
Bye Bye Etsy. That disingenuous move just killed you.
Dearest Etsy Admins who are snooping:
Yes, you removed the 19 shilling feedbacks of 9/25.
But did you notice she did it again on 10/4? As soon as you removed the old shilling feedback, she did it again with Catalyst.
Did you think you taught her a lesson? You are fucking idiots!
One might think that the Etsy Admin equation should be:
Feedback shilling + reselling = Brickwall
You’d be wrong.
I just don’t get it. The logic of Etsy and their employees runs contrary to every single business class I’ve ever taken, as well as the thousands of dollars worth of textbooks I’ve had to purchase over the years for said classes, and of every single business I’ve ever worked with.
I honestly believe they see the continued profits as some sort of success on their part and not due entirely to the fact that the sheer mass of sellers will guarantee them income. You know, until the sellers pick up and find another island (which is how Etsy became a mecca initially, non?).
Stump up, Etsy employees. I want to see credentials. The number of cowls you own is not business currency. And for the sake of reference? It’s not fashion currency either.
Imagine my surprise when I browse to the main page of Etsy only to see CatalystPhotography on the FP right now (with a terrarium).
*shakes head*
So clearly the Etsy admins snoop here and retaliate by promoting those who frequently and flagrantly break the rules.
If only they could put the same amount of effort into doing their jobs as they do by acting like the ill-educated children they are. This means you, fucktard hipster wannabes.
(“as they do acting”) (no “by”)
My annoyance got the better of me.
I was just going to say i saw catalyst photography on the FP too Angel! It is a disgrace that she has done it again – after Etsy having got rid of the previous ones. Why hasn’t etsy at least forced her to mention her other shops in her profile or announcement – this is what Etsy expects of sellers but they don’t seem to be enforcing it in this case. ridiculous.
Well, Etsy finally took out the shiller shops. However, the original shop stands… and with the latest shilling no less.
Well, I stumbled upon her newest shop, Catalystic.etsy.com, during a random search of recently listed items – I recognized the packaging – how sad is that!
Apparently if you have enough negative feedback and admins remove the shilling, just open up a new shop and voila! no negative feedback.
**sigh**
can you believe that BS?? well, if she doesn’t improve on her customer service it will only be a matter of time until the negs start rolling in.
HA!! Admins deleted Catalystic (new “beadstyle” duplicate).
Looks like beadstyle’s forced to figure out how to generate real positive feedback to overcome that’s 93% rating. What a refreshing feeling of justice served.
So i see Beadstyle is now empty and the new shop is catalysticexpression.etsy.com
Has she done it AGAIN??
There are bad apples out there. I get that. But I’m disgusted with Etsy for dragging this out with BeadStyle.
Bad feedback? Open a couple accounts and shill it away.
Etsy removes feedback? Open another account and move shop there.
Etsy removes that new account? Maybe opening yet another duplicate shop will work…
But why hasn’t Etsy just nipped the problem in the bud? The problem is a seller without a moral compass deceiving customers. This is evidenced by the shilling, the undisclosed multiple accounts, and attempting to open a new shop to avoid their feedback history. Etsy’s sat on all this and STILL lets it go on?!
I’ve emailed admin about the abuse, including the newest shop. Maybe now they will realize that this seller is not only a moron, but will not give up and has to be banned from selling for good!
I was just using pounce and look what I found: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=8227709
Definitely same person – links to the artfire shop that beadstyle links to! She’s persistent!
Persistent and stupid, at least use different photos or something.
I’m actually ticked off about this one. Etsy keeps playing bop-the-gopher with every new shop she opens. WHY?! When a seller deceives Etsy buyers like that, why draw out the process? Come’on Etsy, ban her email(s) and IP address and wash your hands of it.
Can you believe this shop is back with vengence. She has had 4 or 5 shops in the past 3 weeks. They are either being closed down by Etsy or she is closing them down by herself after she gets a few sales to get the money and not send the item. She is presently today Jan. the 16th, by: fantasticcreations. Hurry, it might change. Yesterday, she was greencraftersfores, before that missmissygreen,mymossycreations,fairytalegardens,vixencreations. I keep reporting her. Just type in terrariums to find her. She has herself listed as being all over the United States in different cities. This person has to be stopped once and for all.
Well, she has suddenly morphed into a collective. Perhaps she really is mentally ill?
I’ve flagged her for 4 days now, it seems to be taking etsy awhile to get around to deleting her. In the meantime she is hogging the search by re listing and stealing customers from legit sellers!
please flag her!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/mossopological