Etsy
Etsy
(What is Etsy?)
When I think of Etsy, I think of the handmade products ranging from art, clothes and knick-knacks that people make. It's a place where thousands of sellers promote their own work, and I can appreciate each one of their own unique style and ideas that go into it. One can view thousands of peoples products from one single marketplace, and can find even the most niche things just through it.
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They typically try to show that they are full of business' selling aesthetic or unique products ranging from handmade ceramics all the way to blankets and crochet.
However, this authenticity of handmade goods is slowly dying, as is art with the rise of AI. Here is a interesting YouTube video portraying how easy it is to infest platforms like Etsy with content pulled from AI with human assistance.
However, this authenticity of handmade goods is slowly dying, as is art with the rise of AI. Here is a interesting YouTube video portraying how easy it is to infest platforms like Etsy with content pulled from AI with human assistance.
(The Problem Occurring)
As someone who actively likes supporting artists online, whether to get a poster for my wall or to get cute keychains of my favorite characters from games/shows I've been obsessed with (cough... cough... Baldur's Gate 3, Arcane, HxH, &more) I've gone to Etsy for most of my purchases. But after this year I've been constantly frustrated with the content as of late. I've been seeing a constant flood of AI art where I am searching for artists to support, have even witnessed AI patterns (that for your information will never work because AI doesn't understand how crochet/knit works) fill the marketplace which was once consumed by much more authentic pieces that make me actually want to buy them.
Not only that, but with this sort of rise of this type of seller; shops are no longer those that are handmade. I've constantly witnessing products being shipped from all the way across the world when said shop says they are all handmade at home, things are being drop shipped from cheap sites like Temu and AliExpress, and those that are actually real business' working off their art have been dogpiled under all this that can much quickly outproduce them because of all these much more cheaply and quickly made products. It is tragic how many peoples jobs have been threatened because of the rise of fast fashion and AI (not just outside of the online world!).
Example A: AlofiaIllustration, who has amazing art featuring Arcane characters. This is a seller and on Etsy.
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This has been frustrating for me, and others, as nowadays you can never trust the shop you are buying from to be an actual business... In fact, it is so hard to tell whether or not something is AI or not that I've been completely shut down from touching Etsy as of late. I want to support real work people put there time and passion into, not something stolen from another artist and put into an AI generator just for that to be slapped on a poster.
But because of the way Etsy is set, there are very little control over the products being put on its market, which breeds a community full of AI generated content that can be made in a fraction of the time actual artists need to make their own; causing harm to a lot of handmade artists that Etsy is priding itself on (as I've only gone on Etsy for the handmade goods people make). No more is the range of content with hard work into it, now is the rise of billions of generated content being spit out at a fast ball pace to the a good portion of what you'll see on Etsy is just AI images.
Even in the past two days, while searching for some posters I saw around 10-20 AI images of my favorite characters. Which is even sadder taking into account most of those images are using other artists on Etsy and just using AI to make it seem like it hadn't been.
Take this seller for example, selling cover art for Arcane but also AI generated images (the three on the bottom all look AI generated).
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As someone who is very fond of crafts, having tried my hand at making my fair share of things; I have always gone to Etsy to find patterns that intrigue me. They have been the backbone of learning how to crochet, and the amount of time that goes into making crochet works, making sure the pattern is completely accurate and all measurements can be easily transferred into different bodies is always amazing to see. However, seemingly like all other crafts, AI has also infested this area with poor quality patterns that never reflect upon the image shown.
"But shoppers at the online store, which specializes in handmade, vintage and unique goods, say the polished final products that appear in the Etsy images aren’t anything like the final products made with the patterns, and that they think the images might be made with artificial intelligence. " (https://www.nbcnews.com/)
"But shoppers at the online store, which specializes in handmade, vintage and unique goods, say the polished final products that appear in the Etsy images aren’t anything like the final products made with the patterns, and that they think the images might be made with artificial intelligence. " (https://www.nbcnews.com/)
In this article they even mention how Etsy broadly allows AI, which is true even now as if you search up AI anything on Etsy, multiple AI products will show up with the click of the button. (Even without searching, you'll still find it!) But it is still required to accurately depict products from the image to the final result, so any misleading AI images and the final crochet pattern aren't allowed, despite it still being prominent.
So despite the rampant prominence of these patterns, apparently Etsy will take care of them and provide refunds in the events of this content not being accurate.
I will say that a lot of proofing is necessary for when you are selling patterns. I remember someone (I think on YouTube shorts?) talking about how as a seller on Etsy you are required to reflect your product properly, making sure to hire other people to check your pattern and that all of the stitches are correct, it makes sense, and the final product is the same as the product you have made already. When you are selling AI generated patterns like this, you completely bypass this whole process resulting in a misleading product.
If people using AI actually try to ensure there pattern is correct, or that they are only using AI to make the final product look a little better (and that the final product is the pattern,) I see no issue with it. It's just the problem with today is that we don't really have any insurances from companies like Etsy to see whether this is the case or not - and if you scroll to the beginning and watched that YouTube video, you can also realize that people are just going to continue to sell really carelessly made products for quick bucks.
Example C: The rise of fast fashion / resellers on Etsy. (Which, to be fair, has been an issue for several years since Amazon / Shien / Temu / AliExpress and Depop have been a thing)
I have had my fair share of trying to find certain products and simply wanting to support someone on Etsy who is their own small business. Yet a lot of the time I come across resellers that mark up prices from Amazon or other much cheaper marketplaces and claim them as their own- which has been happening for years and I still have been coming across it happening.
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Reselling is not allowed on Etsy except for the following items that are handpicked or sourced by sellers:
- Craft and party supplies: Empower makers to create unique items and memorable events.
- Vintage items: Breathe new life into unique, handpicked items that are over 20 years old.
- Gift baskets: Celebrate special moments with themed collections, personally selected and packaged by sellers. Fully resold gift baskets are not allowed. (Etsy.com)
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Reselling is huge on Etsy and seems to have gone unchecked for years until now, thankfully. It still occurs frequently, items being listed as handmade and vintage but then in the next moment "Made in China" is plastered all over or if you simply google search the image, you can find multiple items like it or find it on sites like Amazon.
Clothes, utility items, yarn, lights, you can name it and you'll find it on Etsy; however most of the time those are going to be drop shipped from another site or from across the world.
There isn't much to say about drop shipping besides how bad it is for other sellers, and also as a buyer I have always hated seeing Etsy's shops and finding out they are clearly not producing them by hand. It get exhausting at some point when you have to do a whole detective report over shops when you simply want a cute blanket for a relative while supporting a small business. (Which is why I tend to just try and make these things myself because I absolutely hate shopping on Etsy)
There is a little bit of nuance because drop shipping and resellers have been here since forever. Etsy has made guidelines against it, and you can easily report the shop and get them off of Etsy. It is still exhausting to see regardless, because thousands of shops are resellers that can easily make new accounts or sell new items and there are only so many real small business'.
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(Thoughts & Opinions)
Unfortunately, AI will just keep being a problem as it is both faster and cheaper than a real person's work. AI can simply steal art from already made images and use those to eventually make something good enough for people to buy. Nothing goes into the production, nor is there any skill involved outside of the AI; it's soulless art stolen from the hard work of real people. And...Sellers are being outcompeted by these AI generated versions.
It's draining, and feels like you are screaming in a void.
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Like these two posts, many of them feel like they can't compete in Etsy's marketplace that feeds into AI. They just want to show the world their passionate work and come out seeing lifeless AI that people end up falling for time and time again.
(Etsy's Marketing)
Outside of all that is in Etsy's shop, Etsy has a fairly active Instagram, although the last post was 2weeks ago. They typically post about how on Etsy you can be able to receive a variety of products from all over the world, in beautiful packaging (Which from my experience is like a 1/10 chance to receive), with great discounts, and a variety of products to splurge on. They happen to promote for aesthetics and products of its sellers rather than its branding as is; showing off handmade pottery and wood carving and more.
Most marketing efforts as is on Instagram are just promotion. They try to promote the story of sellers on their site who have a story and have their own unique products in order to get the attention of people who are interested that into their site. There is a lot of focus on people who are interested in aesthetics and making their rooms pretty or following trends that come up frequently.
They do contests, collabs, interviews and more which is trying to get others to promote their site instead of directly marketing. They rely on the sellers on their site (mostly) and in return offer a marketplace that does the marketing for them on the site with their algorithm.
It seems largely that this has succeeded for them- I am someone who only goes on Etsy because of their sellers, so in a way those sellers promoted Etsy because I like their art and it is a easy marketplace to sell it on. BUT, with the way Etsy's algorithm has been lately I have been repelled from trying to shop and find new artists on their site because of the issues I have already listed (drop shipping / resellers, AI & its chaos.). I simply don't have the energy to try and search through content that shouldn't be on something supposedly for handmade products.
Of course Etsy HAS responded to these issues and made guidelines, like with resellers, and they HAVE made a stance with AI; (https://www.etsy.com/seller-handbook/article/1275449912004) however many feel it is inadequate and/or a bad stance (They are allowing AI in a place meant for artists to promote their work... As long as it is listed AI; and for some of the post I showed previously, they weren't listed that despite the requirement). And like this poster, who feels the same way as I do, AI should have requirements, and drop shipping shouldn't be allowed on Etsy. However Etsy has very little moderation and despite these two things they are both prominent (in the way AI usually isn't listed AI, and drop shipping is still on Etsy)..png)
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(FINAL THOUGHTS)
I have been doing a lot more research about Etsy than I have before simply because of my frustrations as of late. And while most of this is probably just a tiny issue I have, it is still something irritating to see on a site promoting small business'.
I have been able to learn more of Etsy's guidelines because of this, which is really interesting because I would imagine something like Etsy would prefer to keep their company focused on small business/handmade goods and yet they are over here accepting drop shipping and resellers which are the exact things harming those business'.
If I were ever in the position as a company promoting small business', I would feel like it is my obligation to ensure they are represented properly and that those shopping for products made by them wont have a hard experience trying to find something fitting for them. I don't want to see a single drop shipped item. I don't want to see misleading products. I want full transparency, and I would like to strictly enforce that because money is on the line, as is my consumer base.
People have been falling for these these which is unfortunate. But it is the business' responsibility to ensure that they wont, and cant, by preventing it all in the first place.
Etsy has been setting stances and guidelines but it just seems like their reach isn't grand enough to enforce it diligently which is unfortunate for a company as successful and rich as Etsy.
RESOURCES/LINKS
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https://www.instagram.com/etsy/
https://www.etsy.com/seller-handbook/article/1275449912004
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/etsy-crochet-buyers-suspect-ai-made-images-used-sell-patterns-rcna145878
https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/23948763872151-Does-Etsy-Allow-Drop-Shipping-or-Reselling?segment=selling
IMAGES/COMMENTS
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https://www.etsy.com/shop/AlofiaIllustration?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=1566897116&from_page=listing
https://www.reddit.com/r/Etsy/comments/119anek/is_ai_art_allowed_on_etsy_especially_if_its_not/
https://community.etsy.com/t5/Technical-Issues/Frustration-with-resellers/td-p/144345618
https://www.reddit.com/r/Etsy/comments/v4o7b6/resellers_hurt_buyers_and_sellers/
https://www.reddit.com/r/ethicalfashion/comments/r5hsbc/etsy_flooded_with_fast_fashion_resellers/
https://www.threads.net/@yarnbymacy/post/DEgEgzFR37S?hl=en
https://www.reddit.com/r/Etsy/comments/169vd0m/is_etsy_ever_going_to_address_ai_art_being_sold/
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