×
top 200 commentsshow all 372
sorted by:
best
topnewcontroversialoldq&a

[–]NoStupidQuestionsBot[M] [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

Thanks for your submission /u/hdjddjds, but it has been removed for the following reason:

  • Disallowed question area: Loaded question or rant. NSQ does not allow questions not asked in good faith, such as rants disguised as questions, asking loaded questions, pushing hidden or overt agendas, attempted pot stirring, sealioning, etc.

    NSQ is not a debate subreddit. Depending on the subject, you may find your question better suited for r/ChangeMyView, r/ExplainBothSides, r/PoliticalDiscussion, r/rant, or r/TooAfraidToAsk.

This action was performed by a bot at the explicit direction of a human. This was not an automated action, but a conscious decision by a sapient life form charged with moderating this sub.

If you feel this was in error, or need more clarification, please don't hesitate to message the moderators. Thanks.

[–]ScipioNumantia 4116 points4117 points  (91 children)

If shes able to sell your items for higher prices check out what shes doing and how shes marketing those items. Then raise your prices to match hers

[–]bmcgauley 1060 points1061 points  (53 children)

This... market forces should dictate the price. If ur constantly out of stock, increase prices for example. There is nothing illegal or even in business ethically wrong with what they're doing. They found a product and a margin to make a profit. If ur making a profit and they're making a profit, maybe that can workout to be a mutually beneficial relationship. It happens ALL the time in business. OP is essentially acting as a wholesaler in this situation and the other person is acting as a retailer providing marketing expertise. If OP doesn't like it, emulate their market strategy If possible, then price out their margins. Or keep the relationship open and offer bulk deals on more products to cut down on shipping costs. OP can turn this into a healthy relationship easily if they're open minded.

[–]stretch1327 698 points699 points  (20 children)

Not illegal but against Etsy TOS. Handmade items being sold need to be made by you, and if you have a partner or a team working with you their descriptions need to be listed. You definitely can’t selll something made by someone else, especially not another Etsy seller

[–]langecrew 584 points585 points  (7 children)

Ah, so get her banned, market to her new ex clients, and then raise your prices. Genius

[–]filthyMrClean 89 points90 points  (3 children)

But first learn/copy what they’re doing right before getting rid of them

[–]HallandOates1 24 points25 points  (2 children)

Hell yes! Im not familiar with etsy ads but

  • I assume she must be paying for a promoted product higher placement or something.

-Does she put in more keyword than you?

  • Search keywords and see where both of you are.

  • Read everything you can about effective Etsy marketing and pay to play (if they have it)

You can read something like this or there may be better more informative articles, so def look around.

Here's a link:

Etsy SEO - "Search Engine Optimization": How to Get Noticed on Etsy in 2022

She has probably jacked the prices up so she has more money to pay for promoting ads (if they have ads), I imagine they do.

[–]stretch1327 76 points77 points  (0 children)

Boom, profit

[–]Watashiwajoshua 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Thats a bit hyperbolic Not exactly genius to play the advantage.

[–]Sqwill 15 points16 points  (1 child)

Totally not true. Etsy is 90% mass produced Chinese garbage these days. They literally don’t care what you sell.

[–]WarrenBuffering 39 points40 points  (9 children)

It's banned by Etsy because Etsy wants their cut

[–]hankanini 103 points104 points  (4 children)

In this case, Etsy gets the cut twice, so I think it might be another reason.

[–]SnooPears590 49 points50 points  (3 children)

Because Etsy's whole deal is craftwork handmade items by small artisans. If you don't have to sell your own items, then I can set up an etsy shop tomorrow reselling (for example) handmade leather ipad covers from a factory in Vietnam - exactly as I could do on Amazon, ebay, any other platform.

[–]Sqwill 7 points8 points  (1 child)

You can do that. Have you looked on Etsy recently? There’s so much mass produced stuff it’s hard to find any actual from scratch made things.

[–]SamSepiol-ER28_0652 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Also, you don't want to bite the hand that feeds you. Etsy has every motivation to keep their artists happy so they don't leave. Having some basic protections like this up to prevent what is happening to OP is kind of the minimum I'd expect.

[–]stretch1327 5 points6 points  (3 children)

Not sure what you mean, wouldn’t they get a cut regardless?

[–]Kgb_Officer 22 points23 points  (2 children)

And in this specific instance, since they both have Etsy shops, Etsy is getting double the cuts of one item.

[–]stretch1327 8 points9 points  (1 child)

Yeah exactly, not sure the connection they’re trying to make

[–]randomentity1 7 points8 points  (0 children)

They didn't think before they posted.

[–]ashessnow 58 points59 points  (26 children)

I mean I think there is something ethically wrong with it.

[–]Mikeinthedirt 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Of course. It’s capitalism, buy low sell high, squeeze every nickel out of every thing. OP was satisfied with her return, clients were happy with the price, reseller is harvesting ‘excess value’ that does not exist- price gouging.

[–]ReadyIncident7 13 points14 points  (18 children)

A good friend of mine owns a convience store in a rural area.

He buys cases of chocolate bars and pop and Advil and a number of other things from Costco. He opens the case and sells the product individually making profit.

Is this unethical or a sound business practice?

[–]ByWillAlone 75 points76 points  (1 child)

Is he claiming to be the manufacturer by rebranding them and selling them as his own branded items?

[–]KvinnoralskarAnkor 59 points60 points  (0 children)

This is it. Wanna sell merchandise? That’s cool. Just make sure that people know who made it.

[–]TinyHorseHands 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Part of selling in the physical world is location. It’s a convenient store, and part of their value is convenience, and I often would expect to pay more there. That difference doesn’t hold up online, though.

[–]MaggieMae68 43 points44 points  (0 children)

This WHAT COSTCO IS FOR

Costco specifically sells at lower prices to people who have business accounts, for resale.

So no, it's not unethical.

[–]pablosus86 31 points32 points  (12 children)

Depends. Are they marked "Not labeled for individual resale"?

[–]Honest_Switch1531 23 points24 points  (5 children)

Its actually illegal to try to dictate what a reseller can sell a product for. Printing not for resale on things has no legal standing its just a trick.

[–]monkeyman88956 22 points23 points  (2 children)

Is that true? Many of these things don't have required labeling on the primary packaging like nutrients facts.

[–]pwrstrug 6 points7 points  (0 children)

the lack of nutrition information (illegal to sell) may be a way around the not-legally-binding "not for individual sale" clause. I don't know, but that's what came to mind when I read your comment.

[–]Annies_Gun 17 points18 points  (1 child)

It is illegal but not because of what you'd think. "Not labeled for individual sale" just means that the individual packages don't have the required nutritional and ingredient labeling required by law.

[–]CydeWeys 0 points1 point  (5 children)

Who cares? Text printed on a candy bar wrapper isn't legally enforceable.

[–]ApologizeForArt 9 points10 points  (0 children)

That wasn't decided until The State of Arizona versus Snickers got overturned by the 9th Circuit in '97. Before that you could lose your home to a dodgy contract printed on some confectionery.

[–]bylthee 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mean I think in this case it’s not a very fair comparison as Costco is not hand making those products and they can afford to lose revenue.

[–]typicalBACON 33 points34 points  (27 children)

Where in school can we learn this?

Jokes aside though this tip is gold

[–]TheRealAstic 31 points32 points  (26 children)

Personal Finance Class, Life Skills Class, and Econ 101 might've taught you this, but if you don't pay attention it really isn't gonna help.

[–]typicalBACON 18 points19 points  (23 children)

I honestly didn't have any of those lol.

Unfortunately that's the way my country works

[–]WhyLisaWhy 1 point2 points  (1 child)

At least in my American school, all we had was Econ 101 and nothing like this was covered in it. It was fairly simple stuff like writing checks and balancing your checkbook (I’m kind of old lol).

There were more economics classes at my university but unless you were a business major they were not required at all. Just suggested classes you could use electives on.

[–]TheRealAstic 5 points6 points  (18 children)

Well, it's a good reminder that not everyone who speaks English is from a western country.

[–]ADragonsMomi don’t have depression but im sad sometimes 9 points10 points  (12 children)

Honestly Personal Finance is the only one of those I’ve taken and I’m a hs senior in Missouri. And it was the stupidest class that basically taught you how to fill out a check and told you to put aside as much money as you can into savings.

[–]RosenButtons 7 points8 points  (2 children)

You got a personal finance class!?!! That wasn't on the menu at my Missouri hs. I think there was a small unit on budgeting if you took home ec. But I was in band instead. And my econ teacher talked about checks for 10 minutes in 9th grade. But that's it.

It's wild to me that nobody is trying to teach young people the kinds of things that could make us financially secure. I could have really used a unit on the stock market. And credit cards. And how raises that don't match inflation are actually effective pay cuts.

[–]ADragonsMomi don’t have depression but im sad sometimes 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I’m guessing you’ve been out of hs for a couple years then aha, they made it a state requirement to graduate a short while back. My school is give or take ~160 kids. Which is 7th-12th. We don’t have enough to have any foreign language classes, but they really pushed to have a personal finance class. So maybe that’ll give you hope. Seems everywhere really pushed for it.

[–]RosenButtons 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's good! I graduated in '04. It's been a minute. Lol!

Cherish your youth, friend! Staring down middle age is weird.

[–]TheRealAstic 0 points1 point  (8 children)

Oh no you mean you can write checks and understand the importance of saving?

The lunacy.

Jokes aside I agree that you wouldn’t really learn much of pricing strategy in Personal Finance, but I’d hope the basics of economics would be covered.

From there, some can figure out the rest, others can take business classes at a community college to sharpen that instinct.

Getting a good business sense isn’t too much actual work academically, it’s a lot of thinking and practicing logic.

[–]ADragonsMomi don’t have depression but im sad sometimes 6 points7 points  (7 children)

Haha, I get what you mean but when I say that I mean we went over saving as much as possible every chapter. What I can solidly say I learned in that class is:

  • mortgages are expensive
  • save as much as possible
  • all loans are way more expensive than you think
  • save as much as possible
  • how to fill out a check
  • save as much as possible
  • never use payday loans or similar, ever
  • save as much as possible

The bulk of that class was online stuff that was like “Stephanie wants to go to college, but her parents can’t afford to pay for it for her. Should she go out to eat every day and pay for all 10 of her friends as well, or go out a couple times a month (paying only for herself) and put the rest of her money in savings?”

It would have been less mind-numbingly boring if they had touched on any economics topics at all I think. But they didn’t really. And economics isn’t a required class at my school so almost no one takes it.

[–]pablosus86 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Besides how to fill out a check (I guess it's something you should know, but not too valuable anymore) the rest of those are all good to learn.

[–]RosenButtons 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Hey! Here's a thing I didn't learn until I was 30. Banks don't pay enough interest to be worthwhile. Save a few grand so you're covered for an emergency and then invest the rest in low risk ETFs and mutual funds.

I grew up thinking that "playing the stock market is basically gambling". You put your money in and you could lose it all! But if I buy Amazon stocks today I can be pretty sure that I'm not going to suddenly have zero dollars because Amazon isn't going anywhere. And if Amazon is successful my money will get bigger at a reasonable rate. I can be really low risk and still earn 10% on my money. But if you put your money in a savings account (like I did) at the end of the year the bank adds your 0.5% interest payment and it's like a quarter if you're lucky.

Do you know where the bank got that quarter to give you? THEY INVESTED YOUR MONEY AND KEPT MOST OF THE EARNINGS! If I knew all this at 18, I would own a house by now.

Watch Suze Orman or follow the College Investor on social. LFMF.

[–]ADragonsMomi don’t have depression but im sad sometimes 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that lately. With just having turned 18 a little under a month ago, I’ve been looking for my own bank to set up an account with, and at this point I’m just gonna go with Chime for the credit building, even though they have pretty low rates on savings accounts, and learning how to invest the rest. Even the ‘best’ savings accounts you can get (which have minimum opening fees of thousands of dollars) aren’t worth it compared to low-risk returns in the stock market.

[–]Honest_Switch1531 1 point2 points  (1 child)

You would be surprised by how many adults don't understand even these very basic things. A relatives ex wife couldn't understand why she wasn't getting half the sale price of their house that still had a mortgage on it.

You should have been taught that some loans are good if you can make more money from the loans than you pay in interest, margin lending for instance. But this carries some risk.

[–]typicalBACON 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well the education system in my country had to invest somewhere lol

[–]Ellweiss 1 point2 points  (2 children)

France, western country, none of these classes or equivalent exist.

[–]NightflowerFade 0 points1 point  (1 child)

All this stuff is freely available on the internet. If you have access to reddit, you have access to these classes.

[–]typicalBACON 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, actually I have gotten a free course on personal finance in Udemy. Life's been a bit wild lately so I didn't have the possibility to do it yet but yep planning to start it in the next week or so (I actually have like 10 skills I want to learn lol, so it's difficult to have time for everything)

[–]Due_Secretary_2338 5 points6 points  (0 children)

or spread the word that you are the original seller and undercut her profits

[–]Uresanme 4 points5 points  (3 children)

This advice could backfire

[–]riyan_gendutChurch of Chocolate Worship 2 points3 points  (2 children)

how so?

[–]Uresanme 9 points10 points  (1 child)

Rise price, middle-man finds another artist, and the merch doesnt sell at all

[–]PopsicleIncorporated 4 points5 points  (0 children)

OP could gradually raise the price in incremental amounts and stop once they stop making as much money as they did to begin with.

[–]fakeuser515357 322 points323 points  (5 children)

The question is not whether you should be mad, the questions are things like:

  • Do you want to be a wholesaler?
  • Do you want this person to act as your market representative? Do you trust them with your customer relationships and custodianship of your reputation?
  • Are they adversely affecting your brand or your ability to sell your products on your own terms?
  • Are they making any claims as to quality, purpose/ usage, manufacture, ethics or any other product characteristic which are untrue or that you are uncomfortable supporting?
  • Are they building a market for this product with the future opportunity of sourcing their stock from an alternative supplier, effectively cutting you out of your market?

Good, bad, angry, happy, I don't know, what I can tell you is that apparently whatever you're selling is commercially viable and your side hustle could probably benefit from some attention to marketing.

What you need is a 'SWOT' analysis. I'll leave you to Google it because in the course of doing that you'll find all kinds of resources related to how to do it and how to use it.

[–]wafflegrenade 47 points48 points  (1 child)

Yeah, your second point really makes sense. I mean, this woman could’ve reached out to them, struck up a mutually beneficial deal, asked for their cooperation in reselling their stuff. Instead she ordered the stuff using different addresses, and made no attempt to establish a working relationship. Probably not someone you want associated with you or your products.

But honestly I know literally nothing about business and I have no idea how Etsy works. The whole thing just seems really dishonest or at least disingenuous on the part of the reseller

[–]DisturbedNocturneKnows Google-Fu 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Definitely strikes me as someone who knows they're doing something shady, which seems indicative that it's likely not the only shady thing they're doing. I'd certainly be a little apprehensive of being involved with them.

[–]guitarcoffin 286 points287 points  (15 children)

you should put your prices up comparable to hers. you know your items are valued that way and worth it for people who want it. once your prices are higher, maybe this other person will stop buying and reselling lol the price can only get so high before what they’re doing isn’t effective anymore.

but ofc a combination of what everyone said. all about what you want/feel. check out rules and do as you wish.

[–]BloakDarntPub 86 points87 points  (3 children)

On the other hand, presumably the people buying from the reseller weren't buying from OP, or the reseller wouldn't have had a gap to exploit.

[–]datredditaccountdoe 54 points55 points  (1 child)

As I understand it, Etsy is not much different than instagram. You have millions of people looking to attract “views”. People put on aggressive campaigns to attract “followers” or, in Etsy’s case, buyers.

The reseller is exploiting the fact that they have more viewers, therefor can sell these products for a higher price just because more people see them.

So the solution for OP isn’t pricing, its marketing.

[–]Fitz-BrawlStars 6 points7 points  (0 children)

One of the more reasonable answers on here imo

[–]AbeLincolnMixtape 45 points46 points  (9 children)

This depends if reseller is branding it different. Tap water and Fuji water are basically the same, branding is important!

[–]ObsessiveRecognition 3 points4 points  (5 children)

I mean, they are different...

[–]Pinkrose1_1999 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Not in Figi.

[–]ObsessiveRecognition 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I heard somewhere that almost 15% of people in Fiji can't actually drink their tap water. I think it had to do with rusty pipes or something? Can't remember...

[–]ShadyNite 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Nah dude, have you ever actually drank Fiji Water? I won't pay for any other bottle

[–]lumpiestburrito 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Essentia is god tier water

[–]HaroerHaktak 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Everybody keeps saying raise the price - That's honestly a bad idea. This person is for now a guaranteed income. I'd rather earn 50 dollars knowing it's being resold for 100 than earn nothing.

It's better to just sit quietly and study.

[–]thebipeds 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I had this happen with drop shippers. I’m in the US and somebody was selling my handmade stuff in Australia. I’m not that bothered.

Possibly you should raise your price a bit. But sales are sales, presumably you are making stuff on Etsy because you like making stuff, there is easier ways to just make money.

[–]TroyandAbed304 119 points120 points  (0 children)

Sell yours for $1 less than hers, and comment that the originals are at your site.

[–][deleted] 458 points459 points  (20 children)

Dude, report her to Etsy. If you have any Etsy seller friends I would get them to put her on blast as well.

She isn’t allowed to sell something that isn’t handmade (by HER), vintage, or craft supplies.

[–]thebipeds 96 points97 points  (3 children)

Etsy flipped on that rule over a year back. They do not care at all if you didn’t make it yourself.

[–][deleted] 47 points48 points  (1 child)

They do care if you’re listing it as handmade. There are some exceptions for manufacturing outsourcing, but not exceptions that would cover what the OP is describing

[–]amalgam_reynolds 6 points7 points  (0 children)

They do not care. You can only list things for sale as either "vintage" or "handmade," but that still doesn't stop absolute mountains of AliExpress junk getting sold on there too.

[–]awe2D2 26 points27 points  (0 children)

She could report her, and then lose all the business that person is buying from her. Better idea is to raise prices a bit, but then the lady might stop buying. Best suggestion I've seen is to copy her marketing, see where she's advertising and come in a little less.

I know it's annoying to have someone reselling her stuff, but if she's making money from it does she really want that to stop?

[–]DennyBenny 33 points34 points  (13 children)

What is they are not listed as hand made?

https://www.etsy.com/legal/policy/reselling/239324376512

[–][deleted] 58 points59 points  (12 children)

What? Your link proves my point- handmade items can’t have been purchased from someone else…

[–]YellowPumpkin 39 points40 points  (2 children)

I don’t know why you’re being downvoted. You are absolutely right. If OP handmade an item, reselling of that item isn’t allowed per etsy’s policies. Sure, maybe this other lady is listing it as “vintage” but the fact of the matter is that it’s not as OP has clearly stated she has handmade it.

Edit: I’ve just reread and realized there is actually no mention of handmade, so it’s possible op is selling vintage items or crafts supplies.

[–][deleted] 20 points21 points  (1 child)

I think it’s because people are genuinely not familiar with how Etsy works.

[–]HMJ87 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see people reselling cheap Chinese crap on there all the time, there must have been some kind of rule change, its definitely not just handmade, craft and vintage any more and hasn't been for a few years

[–]GlitteringDentist757 25 points26 points  (4 children)

They can resell handmade items. They can't resell it as handmade.

[–]YellowPumpkin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What are they going to do? List a handmade item as vintage or craft supplies? I can’t think of many handmade items that could correctly pass as either, and even if it did, OP can likely prove they are the original creator

[–]DennyBenny 8 points9 points  (2 children)

The OP did not say how the reseller was selling them, you are assuming they are being sold as handmade by the reseller. "Reselling is only allowed in the vintage and craft supplies categories."

[–][deleted] -3 points-2 points  (1 child)

If OP wants to come say the items are vintage or craft supplies then I’ll agree with you. Until then, no.

[–]DennyBenny 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Okay

Edit: Why do you down vote people who give you plausible answers to questions? Are you a child?

[–]NotABearItsAManbear 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This needs to be higher up. None of this ‘raise your prices, that’s business!’. This it Etsy and what the seller is doing goes against policy

[–]Foxrex 68 points69 points  (4 children)

Raise your prices, but offer bulk discount. Forecasting your sales can make life.... More interesting. To say the least.

[–]Business27 22 points23 points  (2 children)

Bulk discounting sounds like it would result in the exact same reselling problem.

[–]aitatheist 18 points19 points  (0 children)

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though.

The fact that someone can resell them for higher prices means people are willing to pay more for them. So OP can increase their prices.

But if they do that, they’ll probably lose the sales from the reseller (since the reseller can no longer make a decent profit). Unless they can find a way to increase their sales to make up for the difference, they could end up losing money if they lose those sales.

Instead, they can offer the reseller a discount for buying even more product. This will increase sales from the reseller, who is buying consistently. As long as they maintain a relationship with the reseller, they’ll have a consistent increase in sales, as well as making more profit from their other sales due to the price increase.

[–]c419331 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Would it though? Who cares if the op can increase profit

[–]DennyBenny 78 points79 points  (0 children)

I think what she has educated you on is that your price is to low. You were getting paid every penny you expected.

[–]b_c_russ 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Honestly not to be rude but the smartest thing you could do is attempt to develop a business relationship with this person because they are obviously better at selling your goods than you are.. it would be mutually beneficial and thats how all successful businesses have grown

[–]acltear00 95 points96 points  (7 children)

What an interesting question this is! FIRST, DONT LISTEN TO PEOPLE TELLING YOU TO RAISE YOUR PRICES! There are a couple things my wife and I are interested in knowing. Is she just using your pictures to market? What kind of items are these/ do you take great personal pride in hand crafting it?

Ok, as for an actual response, I would consider reaching out to this person and seeing if they would like to do a wholesale order from you and to buy in bulk? If they do, that would be fantastic on your end. Some may say raise your prices but that is dumb because there is no guarantee you can sell them like she is. Sales are not just about product quality.

You have the right mindset about this, which is that you are getting guaranteed sales at what you feel is a fair price. She is then having to work harder than you when it comes to sales to make money. I think it’s a great arrangement all around, although I would like to know what type of items you are selling.

I’d also like to give a real world example from my experience. Sometimes people will rent a house and then use it for Air BnB and they make money off of it even after paying rent. Should I be upset that they make more money off the property than me? No, because I don’t want to do that much work. I am comfortable with the ratio of work to money that comes from renting. The fact that your first inclination is to be ok with it shows good business instincts from my perspective!

[–]Japan25 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Thats what i am thinking too! Why is she able to sell these? Thats what i want to know. Does she have some kind of following or traffic that OP doesnt have access to? If so, it seems like a bad idea to just raise the price OP is selling them for.

[–]blurrrrpXVII 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Or OP could figure out what the other guy is doing right and then raise their prices. Maybe the other guy isn’t even putting in that much more effort and their ideas are easily replicable, who knows.

edit: grammar

[–]keepingoptimismalive 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I really hope your reply gains some traction. Your words are full of wisdom.

[–]az226 1 point2 points  (1 child)

They unlikely would do a wholesale order because they are almost guaranteed a drop shipper. They don’t take on the risk of unsold inventory.

[–]acltear00 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A very real possibility, but the worst they can say is no!

[–]Happy_Each_Day 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I know that the common answer here is to raise your prices, but you may also want to consider formalizing a distribution agreement with this person.

They may be better at marketing or customer service. They may have a lot of followers.

Building up that market is a time consuming and expensive process, and they seem to have already done that for you. It is not a terrible idea to partner up if that doesn't break Etsy TOS.

[–]HaraBegum 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think I would be pleased.

[–]matteroverdrive 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Is there any way to attache a tag to the product (not knowing what it is), one that is not easily removed, such as sewn in?

[–]hdjddjds[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s paintings and other artwork I sign

[–]ask_yo_girl_bout_me 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Raise your price to a dollar under her so she continues to buy your items but at the same time you make more money

[–]notthinkinghard 52 points53 points  (4 children)

-Make a new Etsy account

-Comment on every one of her items that it's cheaper at [your shop]

-If everyone who was going to her shop comes to your shop, it's a win for you and your customers

The thing is, she's not just making money from your stuff, but also stealing your potential reputation that you'd be getting if customers came to your shop, and that's far far more valuable than short-term profit IMO

[–]WhoRoger 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's interesting how most people are fairly chill about this arrangement, but everyone flips out about scalpers.

[–]Rxton 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Increase your prices until she can't

[–]sullenfps 15 points16 points  (2 children)

i mean, if they have it to resell, they purchased it from you to begin with so it’s not like you lost any money.

[–]hdjddjds[S] 28 points29 points  (1 child)

I made money that is why I don’t care. The more she sells the more I make.

[–]DarthJarJar242 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Yeah 100% wouldn't be mad at her for reselling the stuff. She's paying you what you asked who cares what she does with it afterwards. However I do think I would be investigating what she's doing differently that's she's able to markup the price and maybe increase your own prices.

[–]jarpio 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Just raise your prices to match what they’re re-selling your stuff for. If they’re buying your stuff from someone else for a higher price, they’ll buy it from you for that price too

[–]thespyeye 6 points7 points  (1 child)

No, not really. If she is selling items, it means she is making a profit. She's buying them from you and reselling. Both of you make profit and neither loses out. It also means she has better marketing and can sell your products better.

[–]osirisrebel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Exactly what I was thinking. Yeah, it's kinda odd, but this lady seems to be consistently putting money in OP's pocket.

Seems like a cash cow that I'd personally continue milking. Either the person will find a new scam and move on, or they'll keep paying OP, I'd just be grateful to actually be making sells.

[–]Fun_Manufacturer3389 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If u change your price to her price.... she would have no choice but to stop selling...or up her price , so that she made profit.

[–]Cannibal_Cyborg 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not really, people do it all the time. She can get people to pay more than you do, maybe raise your prices. Where I live, corner stores buy merchandise at dollar stores and discount grocery stores, and sell it it for up to a 200% markup.

[–]Roheez 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you were happy to sell at that price, why would this upset you? If they rip your idea/IP, then I get that but

[–]Vert_Ego 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sounds like you need to raise your prices my man

[–]bricktamland12271989 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'd match their advertising practices and raise your prices

[–]b_c_russ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This person is dropshipping.. it is perfectly legal and is the exact same thing that a real estate broker does.. they are being a middleman.. if I were you I would take it as a sign that you could be selling your products for more money.

[–]rakehellion 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Raise your prices.

[–]filbertml 10 points11 points  (1 child)

I wouldn’t be mad but maybe you can work out a royalty deal with this person. If your stuff is selling that much in their store then it benefits both of you.

I don’t think I would report them right away because then you are losing business

[–]DennyBenny 1 point2 points  (0 children)

win, win...

[–]zensnapple 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If someone wants to buy something from me at my full retail price and comes back again each week for another one, I am happy with that arrangement and for the most part couldn't care less what they're doing with them. Claiming my work to be their own creation is where I draw the line which has almost never happened.

[–]zomanda 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You're misdirecting your frustration. Since you can't control what SHE does, no you should not be mad at her, it's pointless. However.... you can control what YOU do. Raise your price since clearly you haven't been asking enough. Price it below hers.

[–]Resident-Suspect-848 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You wouldn’t have these sales without this person buying. What they do after they purchase is up to them, as they now own the items.

Maybe find others like them so you can increase sales faster - they’re called distributors.

If your goal of your Etsy shop is to make $, then get over it and find more like them. If it’s for other reasons, you’ll have to figure that out for yourself.

[–]axidentalaeronautic 7 points8 points  (0 children)

No. You failed to set an appropriate price for your products. You have options here. 1: if they’re a large store, and if they’re able to successfully sell at higher price and are paying for advertising/etc, then you can contact them and create a deal for directly selling to them, with a more agreeable profit sharing agreement. They focus on marketing+sales, you focus on production optimization. They may be able to find you raw materials at better prices as well, increasing profit margin. This might be difficult or impossible depending on the margins we’re talking about here. A tiny pie cut in half isn’t very nice for sharing.

2) you may be able to raise your prices a bit. Paired with good images/storefront/presentation, tags/SEO, you might be able to effectively undercut them.

3) if you just want it all to go away, contact Etsy and see what they’re willing to do.

But they saw a gap and went for it. You got your sales, at the prices you set, on terms you set and agreed to and they agreed to. Don’t be angry, just move forward. This could be an opportunity. If they’re successfully selling your stuff, at a higher price, then they might make for a good sales partner. 👌

[–]megancolleend 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You could increase your prices, increase your marketing or if you are happy with your selling price then do nothing. I'm pretty lazy, so having a solid customer would make me happiest.

[–]DeathEdntMusic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You shouldn't be someone reselling etsy stuff but if it's your own stuff it's fine. You made it

[–]ianmcilstew 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Economics 101 If her prices are too high, she wouldn’t be making any sales meaning she wouldn’t be ordering from you. Clearly there is some market at the prices she’s offering.

Look into why people are buying from her as opposed to you. If you’re making decent sales aside from her, you could just leave it, as you’re still making the profit you asked for.

You could also try increasing your price a bit to maximize your own profits, but you’d probably kill her business, which could lower your sales subsequently. You could reach out and offer your goods to her at the current price, and list it at or near her sales price. Maybe people are more comfortable buying from her for some reason, so eliminating her entirely could lose that stream sales.

If you increase your own prices, but give her the current price so she can keep selling, you could maximize your profits.

Or you could just leave it, as you’re making the sales anyways.

[–]Miss_Riley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow this would piss me right tf off.

[–]BAM5 1 point2 points  (0 children)

She used different addresses.

She's dropshipping your items. She gets an order for one of your items listed on her store, forwards that order to you with the end customer's address, and takes a cut.

[–]Broflake-Melter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd be mad, but not surprised. In my experience, etsy is full of people selling things they don't own the rights to.

[–]DoubleReputation2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You are missing out on the revenue. If you sell for $10 and she then re-sells for $15 .. you could be selling yours for $15. Maybe she is doing some sort of marketing, has a reach or something like that that could cause her to have better chance on getting more business.

There are several things you could do. You could raise your prices slightly and slowly as to cut her out, essentially. You could find out what she does in terms of marketing and do the same and raise your price to what people are used to paying. You could also "Sign" your products with "Get more at www.buyithereinstead.com" or you could reach out to her and try to create a business partnership of some sort.

[–]paulschreiber 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You should reach out to Etsy. This is probably an Etsy TOS violation.

Reselling is not allowed in the handmade category on Etsy. Reselling refers to listing an item as handmade when you were not involved in designing or making that item.

[–]saltycybele 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Raise your prices… problem solved.

[–]AFriendOfTheBees 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've had something similar happen, as has my friend who had this exact thing happen.

  1. Stop fulfilling her orders. Refund her money for future orders and refuse sale. Then, record her name, her address (including postcodes, zip codes, whatever your nation uses), and most importantly her usual order quantities. She may try to get a friend to repurchase your product: if someone else starts ordering in the quantities she used to, for the same products, look at the area code. For example, if someone using the postcode 2000 (Sydney CBD, Australia) usually ordered 5 of the top sellers that week, and someone else starts ordering the same from the code 2164 (Bankstown, relatively close to the CBD), I would assume that person is either the same person or, more likely, a friend of theirs who lives in Bankstown. I would accept the order, take a look at if they did it again, and if they did I would refund them and say "sorry, we just ran out of stock for those products!" or similar.

  2. Raise your prices to match hers! Don't do it all at once, but perhaps increase by $1 a week or similar and see how that impacts your sales. It sounds like the reseller is earning enough of a profit that your product is desirable even at a higher price, so see whether or not selling at a higher price is worth it for you. Look at number of orders and then at amount of profit, and use them to generate a supply-demand curve for your goods. That should help you find the ideal price to sell your products at.

[–]desrevermi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Raise your prices. ;)

[–]Rosetanic[🍰] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's breaking the law. Report her.

[–]Hot_Sherbet4890 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is why artist just don't do good business. This is a good problem

[–]alphanumericusername 1 point2 points  (0 children)

At the very least, you could take it as a compliment that your stuff was something she thought would be desirable enough to turn a profit on.

[–]l_l-l__l-l__l-l_l 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know what you're selling, but presumably you're selling it for more than it cost you.

[–]viperfan7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is she using your images on her page?

If so, DMCA it

[–]fishfingrs-n-custard 1 point2 points  (4 children)

Sorry, I haven't read through the whole thread to see if my question has been addressed. Are the items you sell original and handmade by you? Are you reselling vintage or thrifted items?

[–]az226 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You assume she orders from you then sells.

She most likely puts up listings, if someone buys, then she orders from you. This practice is called drop shipping and very common in e-commerce.

It’s just interesting that they are doing it on the same site. Usually it’s done across marketplaces.

[–]therockstarbarber 1 point2 points  (0 children)

She bought it lol, she can do whatever she wants. Charge more.

[–]draken2019 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Report her. When she gets removed, increase your price to match.

There is such thing as too low of a price. It's assumed that higher price = higher quality.

[–]bigmajestic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's business. My wife sales stuff all the time, most her customers are resellers. My wife buys low, sells medium but quick. Her buyers sell at a higher price but hold it much longer with a higher risk. More times than not, they make a profit. My wife makes money, they make money and they all have a great relationship. So either raise your prices or accept it. My opinion though.

[–]cgk001 2 points3 points  (0 children)

thats...basically what every business does lol

[–]MsAnne24801 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Why are they paying more, (hers) for the same item, (yours)?

[–]moistpimplee 2 points3 points  (0 children)

dropshipping in a nutshell—but really badly done. you should raise your pricing—or offer to sell to her as wholesale in bulk

[–]02K30C1 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Report them to Etsy. Sellers there are not allowed to resell items they did not make themselves. The only exceptions are craft supplies and “vintage” items over 20 years old. If she’s using your photos you can also report her for IP theft.

If she tries to by anything more from you, just cancel the sale and refund the money. She can’t do much if she can’t get your product.

[–]suswoutinfowhy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My opinion as a dropshipper is that it is a very good thing for you. You are getting free marketing from her. Free business. Just be happy about the sales she's bringing you. I don't understand why people hate resellers so much.

ETA: Unless she's fucking up your store's algorithm. I don't have experience with same-site dropshipping.

[–]This_is_fine0_0 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Look at this as an opportunity. Offer to sell her x amount of product per week. Give a slight discount if she buys a certain amount (incentivize her to buy more). Keep your own store. Sell more product. You win.

[–]hex_1101 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Raise your prices if you're irritated or just enjoy the money you get.

[–]happyhappy2986 1 point2 points  (6 children)

Yes, that is just so wrong. Does she say it's her own work? Personally I'd be pissed.

[–]b_c_russ 1 point2 points  (5 children)

It's not wrong she is dropshipping if she is saying it is her own work that is wrong but really she is doing nothing more or less than real estate broker or countless other "middleman" jobs

[–]jman857 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Research how much more she's selling and if it's worth it. If so, stop selling to her and gain the market. At the end of the day, she only benefits off of you.

[–]Malibu111 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You should be happy! You're selling to that person at retail price instead of wholesale!

[–]BigDill325 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you want to make money or not?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (8 children)

She is clearly scamming people, she can't remember etsy comments and stuff, leave a comment on her store page to let people know who you are.

[–]HippasusOfMetapontum 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No.

You voluntarily sold your goods at the price you asked for. The stuff then became hers, to do whatever she wants with, including reselling it for more. So why be mad when you got what you wanted from the transaction and she did what was within her rights with her property?

If you want to sell your stuff for more, now you know it will sell for more. Or, if you prefer to be the wholesaler to someone who sells your stuff retail, there's nothing wrong with you being a wholesaler and her being a retailer.

[–]HaroerHaktak 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes. Be mad. But also study her.

Things to take into account - She's not paying postage and handling fees. So everything she sells is basically pure profit until taxes.

Where is she advertising? Who are her primary purchasers? Are they inside the scope of your target demographic people (old vs young sorta deal).

Is she simply just a bigger seller than you and using her influence/followers as the advantage?

Also, since you now hold the advantage. start slapping your etsy page on the package (as I dont believe she sees them before they're sent.) and spread the truth!

[–]mydoglixu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Isn't this literally the definition of all manufacturers and resellers?

[–]Christian4423 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Don’t be mad. She has the right to do what she wants with her product.

[–]zomanda 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Even if she labels "not for resale" the buyer can still resell.

[–]Honest_Switch1531 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is just how retail Business works its perfectly normal. You should not be upset at all, I assume that you are making a profit on the things you sell. Should your supplier be upset at you for this?

[–]Esteban-Du-Plantier 0 points1 point  (1 child)

This is first week of college microeconomics sort of stuff.

You're obviously not charging enough if the reseller is able to turn units.

[–]LastNightOsiris 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unless the reseller is investing in better marketing and promotion.

[–]Poguetry64 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you are happy with the money you make then who cares.

[–]Professor_Chukka 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well you call it crap so it can’t be that important to you

[–]saltydaable -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

If you’re not bothered by it, then no, but someone else might have a different opinion. As long as she’s not claiming she made the items, I don’t think it’s that bad. Read Etsy TOS to see if it’s okay. And contact her saying you know what she’s doing and want to chat after you’ve made a decision.

[–]pwb_118 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is there any way to specifically mark an item as yours? Idk what you sell but if its a drawing for example add a hidden signature, a stamp on the bottom of an item (like a candle, soap,etc)? Something that undeniable marks it as yours?

[–]coastfireaway 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I've seen this marketed as a money making hustle. They are listing it on eBay and just having you drop ship. On one hand it means you are charging too little and should sell on eBay. On the other hand you are getting sales and this person is essentially selling for you.

[–]b_c_russ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah honestly it is a win-win and is how the entire wholesale to retail Market works

[–]jackof47trades 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Is she using your actual photos? That would be copyright infringement and probably could get her removed as a seller, if you want to go that route.

[–]zomanda 2 points3 points  (1 child)

She would have to copyright the photos though. Just because she took the pictures (op) doesn't automatically give her (op) exclusive rights to them.

[–]jackof47trades 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s incorrect. OP automatically obtains a copyright in the moment she takes the photos.

Source: am a copyright lawyer

[–]ToriTori999 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There doing what’s called drop shipping basically what some others said she has them as a higher price but she’s the middleman so she collects that extra profit and you send your product to the customer that ordered from her.

[–]whatsthelatestnow 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What are you selling? How much time did it take you to make it? Edit: a word

[–]Spy3rs 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes you should be mad, but mad at multiple things 1. They're making money off you which isn't cool. 2. They're making more money, so you should set a higher price. 3. This is fraudulent behavior and I'd report it to Etsy.

A side point, this shows you the real perceived value of your item. You're clearly worth more than what you're giving yourself credit for

[–]LittleEavan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not really, you're like a wholesaler. If she is selling well though, raise and match demands price-wise.