So after 13 years of running a stellar operation, being a Star Seller for what that is worth - which is apparently nothing, absolutely loving my dealings with Etsy, I finally got stabbed in the back. I was always like "Gee whiz Beav, I have never had a problem with them, I wonder what people are always complaining about". I found out. Reading the BBB complaints board has also been a real eye opener.
I never thought I would think lower of them than I do ebay - but here we are. At least in this case, ebay would have required some sort of evidence and an item returned which I could have deducted 50% from because it wasn't the same stuff I actually sent.
Etsy just ruled against me with no evidence of wrongdoing and then robbed me with no merchandise return required.
I resisted though.
Let me expand upon this. Here is my full go round.
At the end of August, I had a fairly large transaction with a buyer in Winnipeg buying 6 different MLP lots from my shop there. 4 were never removed from the original packaging. 2 were in fairly large boxes and were rather heavy.
I found the appropriately sized box and jenga-ed everything inside. I had charged $42 shipping, but the box weighed nearly 5 pounds so I was charged $53. Okay. She bought so much, I'll just take that small hit. In retrospect, that was my first mistake. I sent the box out the next day.
On September 11, I get this weird message from the buyer: "This not box in order!" whatever the fuck that meant...
Okay...I answer "What box not in order?" and the bitch opens a case and sends like 12 pictures of the same 7 or 8 loose small ponies and says that is what she got. I sent out 5 pounds worth of large boxed shit.
I am incredulous. I lost my cool, yes I did.
I reply: "Respectfully, buyer is lying"
Canned Etsy response and smart ass smug comment from Jennifer Z.
2 days later, Etsy asks her for more "evidence". She lines up the 7 or 8 ponies previously pictured and photographs them again, meanwhile arguing with me in a smug self-satisfied fashion because she clearly knows she is going to get away with this. One reply was "haha".
There is no picture of the outside of the shipping box, the label, anything that even remotely would prove that this was what I sent - it is simply pictures of a bunch of loose random ponies - anyone could just photograph a pile of shit out of their house and say "The seller sent me this" and get their fuckin' money back apparently. SMH.
I point out that I have a clean 13 year long record, and that this is the first case ever opened against me. Ignored.
I point out that I sent out a 5 pound box of shit and that what she shows in the picture would weigh approximately 1 pound and a half. (I weighed similar sized ponies I had on hand for reference). She never said there was anything but those ponies in the box - so where was the other 3 pounds of shit? This was also ignored.
In the meantime, because I didn't snap to fast enough to refund her scam, this vindictive c___ leaves me six 1 star slanderous ratings saying they were "smelly"- tanking my seller rating too.
Etsy never replied to me, only her, and so I could smell what the Rock was cooking, so I immediately took my bank attached debit card off the account and replaced it with a nearly maxed out credit card in case they tried to charge me if shit went south - it did and they did.
Etsy cleans out my payment account of $40+ from 2 sales I had just had and then tries to charge the card on file $151.00, triggering a $9.00 fee from the card company when they declined.
I immediately and angrily file an appeal - ignored. No answer at all.
I got a postal overage refund from the USPS a week later and Etsy didn't apply it to my "balance" - they just took it.
I filed fraud complaints against the buyer in both the US and Canada. I know they will do nothing, but at least then maybe her name will be on a radar as being a thief.
I filed complaints against Etsy on the Better Business Bureau, to the NY AG and the Massachusetts AG, then I filed another complaint with Consumer Affairs. These complaints took a lot of my time, but I wanted to make sure that I was crystal clear that I was scammed and taken advantage of by a badly executed refund policy and also other sellers beware because no English language comprehending human would ever read appeals.
To prevent them attempting to take money from my bank account that was attached to my shop account, I opened a new bank account and redirect my income from Ebay there.
I go to pay my mortgage from the new account a few weeks later and it bounces because "account not recognized" - this caused me to panic, scramble, and accidentally pay my mortgage payment twice and was caused directly by all the Etsy crap.
This bullshit has now cost me $140 worth of merchandise and $70 in my own cash, not to mention an unjust suspension from Etsy.
You see, Etsy suspended my account for "non-payment" because I won't fork over the $140 that they paid the scammer - that will cost me $5,000 a year eventually, but fuck them - I refuse to pay for a scammer to get free shit.
I appealed my suspension and just got "Pay the negative balance" I reply that they can bill ol' Jennifer because she has my shit, my money, and their money.
I complain again and get told by yet another CS to appeal the SNAD case. I do this. Rejected, then told to file another appeal for the suspension, I do this and again "pay your balance". Nah bruh. I didn't agree to pay a scammer, you did.
Each of the replies in all the cases had a different CS agent. All badly worded canned answers. You cannot call and get an English speaking or comprehending human, you cannot Facebook message them - they will direct you to the main site that just goes round and round with appeal, appeal, appeal.
They refused to resolve my case with the BBB - I've been watching their page there. Their rating has dropped from B+ to a C- in the past month. BBB cites that their rating is such because they have unresolved cases.
That bitch angling for free shit has literally wrecked my life for the past month and will continue to fuck me over with the lost income. I hope $140 of free pony shit was worth it to you, Jennifer - Edit - Ally. You're a fucking bitch.
