Etsy rug scams?

[Anonymous]

I bought two rugs from a shop on Etsy - 100s of reviews, rated highly, pictures of products. But their shop just disappeared!!! Did I get scammed? Anyone been there done that?

It’s IndianRugsOnline for anyone that watches rugs on Etsy. Not that you can find them anymore….

[Anonymous]

Did they have a history of reviews? Etsy is usually good with refunds though.

[Anonymous]

I take it you paid? If so, to through Etsy. As I understand it (not positive) but they don't release the money to the vendor until the product is delivered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did they have a history of reviews? Etsy is usually good with refunds though.

Read the OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I take it you paid? If so, to through Etsy. As I understand it (not positive) but they don't release the money to the vendor until the product is delivered.

I paid through Etsy. Hopefully I get a refund or receive the rugs. First time I’ve experienced this on Etsy.

[Anonymous]

Contact Etsy if you don't receive the rugs.

[Anonymous]

Etsy has been closing down scam shops that are using stolen photos or lying to customers about things like location or shipping.

If the shop was from India, was it paypal only?

If it was paypal only, you will need to contact Paypal to get back your money.

If you were able to pay by credit card, contact etsy to file a dispute and get your money back.

Etsy will hold seller money for I think 6 months for stores that get shut down for bad business practices, so they can refund customers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Etsy has been closing down scam shops that are using stolen photos or lying to customers about things like location or shipping.

If the shop was from India, was it paypal only?

If it was paypal only, you will need to contact Paypal to get back your money.

If you were able to pay by credit card, contact etsy to file a dispute and get your money back.

Etsy will hold seller money for I think 6 months for stores that get shut down for bad business practices, so they can refund customers.

OP here, this makes sense. There are a lot of copied pictures for rug sellers on Etsy. I figured reviews with recently posted pictures of what was received would limit the risk. No, it was not PayPal only - didn’t even mention PayPal. I’ll find out this week if it ships.

Have you seen stores “disappear” so they can take a break? I thought there was a setting that kept the store visible but would not accept orders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Etsy has been closing down scam shops that are using stolen photos or lying to customers about things like location or shipping.

If the shop was from India, was it paypal only?

If it was paypal only, you will need to contact Paypal to get back your money.

If you were able to pay by credit card, contact etsy to file a dispute and get your money back.

Etsy will hold seller money for I think 6 months for stores that get shut down for bad business practices, so they can refund customers.

OP here, this makes sense. There are a lot of copied pictures for rug sellers on Etsy. I figured reviews with recently posted pictures of what was received would limit the risk. No, it was not PayPal only - didn’t even mention PayPal. I’ll find out this week if it ships.

Have you seen stores “disappear” so they can take a break? I thought there was a setting that kept the store visible but would not accept orders.

If the announcement says something about a store taking a break, that is Etsy's canned response for shutting down a shop that has gotten behind on orders and is not making their agreed upon deadlines. You should still be able to see the store reviews, just not anything else.

If you get something that says "Oops" or "Oh snap" or something similar, and the shop, reviews, everything are gone, that is a shop that Etsy has permanently closed, for things like the stolen images, drop shipping from China, reselling Hobby Lobby as vintage or handmade, financial improprieties, lying about location, plus things like stealing copyrights/trademark violations (Disney stuff, rhinestoned Nikes, knock off Taylor Swift, fake Marvel stuff, unlicensed sorority shirts, etc)

There are tons of wonderful artisans on Etsy. Unfortunately, Etsy also got flooded with millions of inexperienced people, get rich quick like they told me on tiktok folks, fraudsters and resellers over pandemic that they are trying to weed out now. It is all done by bots on the first round, so legit sellers are getting removed sometimes. However, if the ship is just hone without the "We are taking a short break to get caught up on orders" banner, they are likely shut down entirely.

Do not wait to file a case. Past 90 days you lose your buyer protection and then have to dead with a credit card chargeback. That 2nd window closes at 6 months.