I know a marine biologist who would absolutely love it. Of course, being in the middle of a PhD program she’s too poor to be able to afford a $2500 coral reef scarf…
Oh sure, I could buy a new mouse wheel for less. But then I’m stuck sourcing the vintage dried-up mouse shit myself, and do you have any idea how much trouble that is?
I hate to break it to you, but even a fish tank algae bloomed to high heck probably cost a few hundred dollars to set up. That one has some really nice lights on it and some actual plants (which are not cheap or easy to keep alive / uneaten by snail hordes…). It wouldn’t have killed them to clean the glass though. :/
I LOVE compare and save! It’s my favorite feature on Regretsy – you’ve made my Friday. P.S. I’m not sure how you could use that “shawl” as a runner, too. Your candelabras would fall over.
It was raining the day I decided to propose to my future bride.
So I checked my watch to make sure I wasn’t late and put on my slicker combo to stay dry before heading out to the restaurant for our date.
The restaurant was beautiful, full of natural art, and we sat under a chandelier made of wood that glowed with found joy.
We were both pretty non-traditional, fun people so instead of a ring (and considering it was October) I got down on bended knee and offered her a Halloween bracelet for her hand and she said yes! Oh Joy!
She wore a rhinestone headband instead of a veil and the wedding was pure bliss until she opened the present from my going senile aunt – a handmade crochet abomination.
My bride screamed and ran from the hall and the wedding was through. Oh pain!
Knowing I would be alone the rest of my life, I sulked home and shoved a hamster up my ass.
True story!
First thought when I saw the wallhanging/tablerunner/shawl/driveway cover: a giant (I mean HUGE) slug that had crawled slowly through a craft store Dumpster.
Of course the pocket watch made it to the front page of Etsy. Can’t have all that valuable promotional real estate cluttered with all those icky-yucky ACTUAL handmade things that didn’t come from a factory!
Also, if putting a pre-made charm on a pre-made chain constitutes ‘handmade’, I want to start listing my handmade Tatterpunk bagel – I put cream cheese on it! – my handmade upcycled vintage rustic chair – I spilled tea on it! – and my handmade Midcentury Prairie chic hobo wedding industrial Volvo – I put a bumper sticker on it! – just to see if I can. They’re all just as handmade as a factory pendant on a factory chain.
Perhaps they’re hoping Zoot Suits will come back into style some time shortly? IIRC, you were supposed to wear your pocket watch chain so it hung to your knees to get the correct look.
I actually own that pocket watch. First of all, I am a woman, so what the fuck? Secondly, the chain is no 26 inches long which is good because I didn’t need a fucking belt. Thirdly, I bought it for a pound at a local vintage shop. That’s another $3.35 saved, thanks very much.
I win at compare and save without even knowing, simply by not shopping Etsy.
I’m pretty sure I could craft that fugly driftwood thing for less than £1000, it’s quite windy at the moment, plenty of tree branches to be scavenged… I can’t quite think why I’d want to, though.
But the swamp creature shawl sooooo multi-purpose!
Not only can you scare the bejeezus out of your friends, neighbors, coworkers, HELL, even your own CAT… but you can look stylish as hell in it! And then you can put it on your table and fool your guests into thinking the cat had a really rough night.
Wow, I think the price is totally worth it for this multi-functional piece. It’s outstanding.
I own that exact rain suit: it’s hanging by my back door right now. It was $5.50 at Wilco in 2003 – came in a little plastic case with “Made in China” stamped all over it.
I don’t recommend trying to potty while wearing it, though.
Yeah, you can’t really sweat in them at all. I used to wear mine to stay dry when ice carving – we mostly worked inside freezers anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal.
The Ebay seller of the pocketwatch did a much better job actually showing the scale than the Etsy seller did. It’s hard to tell that the Etsy seller has put the watch not on a book, but on a COASTER.
I’ve just called Ebay superior than Etsy. I’m not in love with Etsy, but I hate Ebay with all my frothy, delicious hate. I…I need to lie down.
In defense of the Verdant Falls crafter, as a crocheter myself I can appreciate the hard work and creativity invloved in this piece. Freeform artists are brave souls who offer their work for stiff criticism. That said…I wouldn’t pay $2500 for it, no way. That is just crazy money.
And the Halloween bracelet…who buys that cheap stuff to resale it on line? Makes for a great fundraising activity though…just sayin’.
I may be the only one, but I really like it! It reminds me of a tidepool, and I love tidepools. The colors and shapes are dead on. The price is a little bit steep, but she’s pricing it as a piece of fine art, not just a handmade craft. If I was silly rich, I’d consider buying it as a wall hanging.
Hard work and creativity are only the bare bones basics of creating any kind of visual art. Aesthetic value . . . THAT’S the most important one, and the one this lacks.
Hard work, I would argue, is the least important. I don’t care how hard someone worked on something unappealing. Hell, I work hard on my bowel movements, but I’m not selling them for thousands of dollars on Etsy.
Hey don’t sell yourself short, I’m sure there’s plenty of buyers on Etsy willing to pay for your hard work! You could literally be flushing thousands of dollars down the toilet.
I think something like that would be fun to make while watching TV or whatever, and I don’t entirely hate the etsy artist’s piece. I might hang it up on something if it was given to me for free.
Making one to sell, however, seems like a giant mistake. I’m sure that same person could have made some freaking awesome hats that actually might sell. It would take more talent/vision/something to make a big fluffy weird thing that other people would buy.
I handspin and crochet and was impressed because I never stay sober long enough to finish any project I start that involves both crafts. But I still see why it’s on regretsy. I can’t really appreciate all the work without having a “What fresh hell is this?” moment.
After the clusterfluff a few weeks ago about the compare and save post I’m interested to know how many people reported any of the above Etsy items?
Honestly, the only things that could even be brought into question are the pocketwatch and the goofy raincoat combo. Due to the original photography I’m not reporting either one. Sometimes dumb people deserve to be ripped off.
One of the problems is that C+S is taken almost exclusively from reader submissions. I figure people who actually make this stuff for a living will recognize when someone’s a re-seller better than I can. So when someone would submit an item to me, and a comparable link, I’d take it on faith that it was an actual re-sell. I now know that this is not always the case, and I do my best to check (as much as I’m able, since these wholesale sites don’t always give you a lot of info to work with).
Anyway, I should have been more vigilant from the beginning. I didn’t realize so many legit artists had their work stolen and mass-produced. I see so many shameless re-sellers on Etsy like tempusfugit or toofashion (both still going strong, by the way!) and it’s easy to forget there are actual artists out there.
Dumb people might deserve consequences, but I don’t like the way it taints the market for the honest people trying to do business on Etsy. From a buyer perspective (even the dumb ones), if one seller is a fake and a liar, who’s to say the rest aren’t the same? And really, is it really a buyer’s fault for believing the information a seller gives them about an item being sold on a site that is (supposedly) ONLY for handmade/vintage items and supplies, or for believing Etsy’s own propaganda when they have so far been given no reason to doubt?
As an Etsy seller, I don’t like it either, but there’s not a lot you can do about any of the people listed today. If you glue shit to other shit, technically it’s cool to post it on Etsy, and I have no problem with that.
But for the watch and the rain suit, it’s hard to prove it’s not vintage/handmade. Unless a customer buys that watch, and sees “Made in China” on the back when they get it, then reports it, there’s nothing that can be done about it. By then it’s too late.
I don’t blame the buyer for the most part, who has time to combe the internet for cheaper mass-produced versions of a pocketwatch? However, it’s a personal choice to pay $28 for a crappy, base metal pocketwatch.
Just because someone is either naive or doesn’t have time or know where to research every item they’re interested in does not make them “dumb” or deserving of being ripped off. Etsy promotes itself as a website for handmade and vintage goods, and its customers deserve to get exactly what they’re promised by Etsy. Obviously they can’t catch every disallowed listing, so reporting them is – at least in theory – helping the community at large.
Unfortunately, when they’re reported and Etsy does nothing . . . THAT constitutes false advertising in my book. But at least MY conscience is clear when I report something.
I definitely agree with rushgirl here & TooManyCookbooks above. Before I found Regretsy, I (quite literally) bought into Etsy’s “It’s all handmade!” hype, so I didn’t mind paying a bit more for what I bought. Once I found out I’d bought from a few resellers, I stopped buying anything on Etsy because I felt ripped off. I still wanted to buy handmade support real artists, but my time is valuable too. I just couldn’t afford to spend so much of it on researching each item to that degree. If I wanted to do that, I’d buy straight from artisans’ websites. Etsy appealed to me because it made buying handmade convenient and easy; they’re shooting themselves in the foot by allowing resellers to erode shoppers’ trust.
Now I’ve got the list of Regretsian sellers, so I can buy confidently again. But I probably won’t be venturing far from those specific shops, which blows for a lot of talented artists who aren’t Fat Jealous Losers.
If I were inspired to crochet a yarn version of the high water mark from the Fukushima tsunami I would cal it that and donate some of the $2500 to the Red Cross or something.
I wonder if robinhoodcouture is going to take legal action against against all of the counterfeiters. Nearly everything in that shop appears to have been copied and massed produced by at least a couple of large manufacturing companies. And these knock-off are being sold for a fraction of the price.
I really like the “Verdant Falls” piece. Maybe not $2500 worth, but I do like it quite a bit. Of course, I also dye and spin my own yarn, so take my opinion for what it’s worth.
haha! I lost my train of thought in the comment above (I was giggling so)–that makes Regretsy pretty generous (for the ribbon). Good gawd… can you tell I am not a linear thinker? BTW, When I got to my fibers class–yeah, I actually teach this stuff at the college level–my students gave me a round of applause for this. ’nuff said
I LOVE Compare & Save, and I love regretsy, so I hate to do this.
Those are two different pocketwatches – Etsy’s is nearly twice the diameter at 1.75″ to eBay’s 1″. Does it make it worth $23 more? Maybe not. But still.
I like other watches better by far, but $28 for a watch that does look a bit the steampunk part isn’t too bad, especially with the hefty prices people ask for “steampunk” anything, even when they’re decidedly, regretsy-ripe Not Steampunk.
November 4, 2011 at 9:36 am
The algae shawl is stunning. In much the same way a train wreck is stunning.
November 4, 2011 at 9:36 am
But at least they’ve found a way to upcycle their cat’s furballs, so there’s that I guess.
November 4, 2011 at 11:14 am
And dryer lint
November 4, 2011 at 1:04 pm
I like the versatility of the piece…shawl, table runner, wall hanging. I think it’d also make a very lovely mermaid merkin.
November 4, 2011 at 1:32 pm
It sure would make for some fancy shmancy toilet paper though.
November 4, 2011 at 9:47 am
I know a marine biologist who would absolutely love it. Of course, being in the middle of a PhD program she’s too poor to be able to afford a $2500 coral reef scarf…
November 4, 2011 at 11:22 am
As a statement, I could knit a better (and more accurate) coral reef scarf. That’s a seriously algae-overgrown reef right there.
November 4, 2011 at 4:28 pm
<– Married to a marine biologist and I thoroughly appreciate this comment.
November 4, 2011 at 10:38 am
you, know I think the problem with this may actually be a case of bad photo. I think if it was lit correctly, it might actually be very pretty.
I could be wrong…
November 4, 2011 at 10:56 am
It’s not $2500 pretty… unless she knitted it with $100 bills. But in that case it’s just stupid.
November 4, 2011 at 12:03 pm
They have a link for the making of this piece on their flickr with several different types of light. It didn’t seem to help.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildethyme/sets/72157606617308402/
November 4, 2011 at 2:35 pm
I actually do think it’s pretty in a wonky way… but definitely not $2500 pretty!
November 4, 2011 at 8:34 pm
I love that green thing, mainly because it’s HANDMADE and versatile. I’ve beaded a freeform bracelet or two that would go perfectly with it.
My entire style could be accurately described as “wonky,” but not with that many figures in the price. That’s more…”insane.”
November 4, 2011 at 9:39 am
Oh sure, I could buy a new mouse wheel for less. But then I’m stuck sourcing the vintage dried-up mouse shit myself, and do you have any idea how much trouble that is?
November 4, 2011 at 9:44 am
Hmmm… I know a hoarder who could help…poor guy.
November 4, 2011 at 9:56 am
And it won’t squeak.
You’re really paying for the squeak here.
November 4, 2011 at 12:55 pm
And the rust. The rust is what makes it authentic. I’m just bummed that no barn wood was involved.
November 4, 2011 at 8:35 pm
That “rust” is more likely corrosion caused by mouse or rat pee.
November 5, 2011 at 2:01 pm
As Regretsy’s resident hamster, I can probably help with that.
November 4, 2011 at 9:41 am
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
November 4, 2011 at 9:57 am
And you can play tetris in it!
(fish, that is)
November 4, 2011 at 9:44 am
Just what I need! A Verdant Falls freeform knitted, crocheted wall-hanging, table runner, shawl! Oh, Lord, dreams do come true!
November 4, 2011 at 5:39 pm
Whoever sneezed that out should really go see a doctor (or at least take their record length nose goblin down to the fine people at Guiness).
November 4, 2011 at 9:52 am
At least they actually put together the halloween bracelet, that’s something, right??? It’s something, I’m not sure what, but something.
November 4, 2011 at 11:53 am
I notice they say the diameter of the bracelet is 9″. I do not think the word “diameter” means what they think it means.
Either that, or it really would fit “all wrist sizes”. Alllll of them.
November 4, 2011 at 9:55 am
I might pay $55 extra if that rain coat guy delivered that to me personally…sans shirt.
November 4, 2011 at 9:57 am
Aw man..there was a “leakage” joke and a “potty usage” joke in there that I missed…damn!
November 4, 2011 at 9:59 am
The Gorton’s Fisherman looks pissed.
November 4, 2011 at 10:11 am
Couldn’t get that button open fast enough.
November 4, 2011 at 11:17 am
I thought is was a cold water/shrinkage issue myself. No guy wants his picture taken then.
November 4, 2011 at 11:32 am
And that’s a pisser!
November 4, 2011 at 10:15 am
ummmm…re: potty usage flap…granted I’ve never worn a rain suit before, but are you supposed to be al fresco under there?
November 4, 2011 at 10:34 am
I am right there with you. We’ll have to start a line.
November 4, 2011 at 9:59 am
I LOVE compare and save! It’s my favorite feature on Regretsy – you’ve made my Friday. P.S. I’m not sure how you could use that “shawl” as a runner, too. Your candelabras would fall over.
November 4, 2011 at 10:46 am
Candelabras? Oh you fancy, huh?
November 4, 2011 at 12:30 pm
all I know is, that thing is a cat-magnet.
November 4, 2011 at 10:08 am
I see less “Verdant Falls” and more “C’thulu In Spring”
November 4, 2011 at 12:03 pm
If it was called Cthulu in Spring, I’d want it hardcore
November 4, 2011 at 12:21 pm
Marketing success!
November 4, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Even an elder god needs something to keep itself warm at night out there in deep space.
November 4, 2011 at 10:12 am
It was raining the day I decided to propose to my future bride.
So I checked my watch to make sure I wasn’t late and put on my slicker combo to stay dry before heading out to the restaurant for our date.
The restaurant was beautiful, full of natural art, and we sat under a chandelier made of wood that glowed with found joy.
We were both pretty non-traditional, fun people so instead of a ring (and considering it was October) I got down on bended knee and offered her a Halloween bracelet for her hand and she said yes! Oh Joy!
She wore a rhinestone headband instead of a veil and the wedding was pure bliss until she opened the present from my going senile aunt – a handmade crochet abomination.
My bride screamed and ran from the hall and the wedding was through. Oh pain!
Knowing I would be alone the rest of my life, I sulked home and shoved a hamster up my ass.
True story!
November 4, 2011 at 10:17 am
Touching story. Truly.
November 4, 2011 at 10:48 am
Show us, on the doll, where the bad crafts touched you
November 4, 2011 at 10:43 am
Thank you! Just… thank you!
November 4, 2011 at 11:15 am
You are ready for Etsy’s front page. I hope that the chicken pecks you.
November 4, 2011 at 11:28 am
The wheel wasn’t the only thing squeaking that day, I bet!
November 4, 2011 at 10:19 am
First thought when I saw the wallhanging/tablerunner/shawl/driveway cover: a giant (I mean HUGE) slug that had crawled slowly through a craft store Dumpster.
November 4, 2011 at 12:32 pm
*driveway cover – ha ha ahaha! Yes!
November 4, 2011 at 10:25 am
Of course the pocket watch made it to the front page of Etsy. Can’t have all that valuable promotional real estate cluttered with all those icky-yucky ACTUAL handmade things that didn’t come from a factory!
Also, if putting a pre-made charm on a pre-made chain constitutes ‘handmade’, I want to start listing my handmade Tatterpunk bagel – I put cream cheese on it! – my handmade upcycled vintage rustic chair – I spilled tea on it! – and my handmade Midcentury Prairie chic hobo wedding industrial Volvo – I put a bumper sticker on it! – just to see if I can. They’re all just as handmade as a factory pendant on a factory chain.
November 4, 2011 at 10:43 am
Steampunk. Don’t forget your Volvo is steampunk.
November 4, 2011 at 11:12 am
I’m thinking they don’t understand how one wears a POCKETwatch. Not on a 26″ chain. Unless by “low on your body” they mean “near your knees”.
November 4, 2011 at 11:44 am
I had a friend in grade school whose grammy called her vagoo a “pocketbook” so maybe…
November 4, 2011 at 9:26 pm
Perhaps they’re hoping Zoot Suits will come back into style some time shortly? IIRC, you were supposed to wear your pocket watch chain so it hung to your knees to get the correct look.
November 4, 2011 at 11:36 am
Nah, not steampunk; she’s rust-free!
November 4, 2011 at 11:49 am
I actually own that pocket watch. First of all, I am a woman, so what the fuck? Secondly, the chain is no 26 inches long which is good because I didn’t need a fucking belt. Thirdly, I bought it for a pound at a local vintage shop. That’s another $3.35 saved, thanks very much.
I win at compare and save without even knowing, simply by not shopping Etsy.
November 4, 2011 at 10:40 am
What is men’s unisex exactly?
November 4, 2011 at 2:22 pm
Richard Simmons? Neither team wants him.
November 4, 2011 at 10:40 am
I’m pretty sure I could craft that fugly driftwood thing for less than £1000, it’s quite windy at the moment, plenty of tree branches to be scavenged… I can’t quite think why I’d want to, though.
November 4, 2011 at 11:42 am
I was sure the driftwood chandelier was going to be the last joke one. Cannot believe someone would mass-produce that. And mass-purchase that.
November 4, 2011 at 12:54 pm
All you really need is a wind storm and some christmas lights.
November 4, 2011 at 10:45 am
Oooooh, lookit the PATINA on the mouse wheel. >>>NICE<<<
November 4, 2011 at 10:47 am
If you like that, I have some a vintage litter box with stunning patina.
November 4, 2011 at 10:48 am
derp…-some
November 4, 2011 at 10:53 am
No worries, Diacritical.
We have a stanky litter box, too.
Sometimes I black out.
November 4, 2011 at 10:59 am
Who else would buy a book of LeeLoo Dallas humorous observations?
I would.
November 4, 2011 at 10:46 am
But the swamp creature shawl sooooo multi-purpose!
Not only can you scare the bejeezus out of your friends, neighbors, coworkers, HELL, even your own CAT… but you can look stylish as hell in it! And then you can put it on your table and fool your guests into thinking the cat had a really rough night.
Wow, I think the price is totally worth it for this multi-functional piece. It’s outstanding.
Kill me.
November 4, 2011 at 10:55 am
I own that exact rain suit: it’s hanging by my back door right now. It was $5.50 at Wilco in 2003 – came in a little plastic case with “Made in China” stamped all over it.
I don’t recommend trying to potty while wearing it, though.
November 4, 2011 at 8:42 pm
My husband has one, too. $5.00 at Harbor Freight last year. He rarely wears the pants, though: says they give him swamp-ass.
November 5, 2011 at 11:05 am
Yeah, you can’t really sweat in them at all. I used to wear mine to stay dry when ice carving – we mostly worked inside freezers anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal.
November 4, 2011 at 11:02 am
I had an uncle that was once wrapped in Algae. But that was months after the Mob poured him a set of Cement Overshoes.
November 4, 2011 at 11:02 am
I really dig that chandelier, but at first I was wondering about the type of person who would undercut her own self on another website.
Then I saw the listings are signed “By Ali & Jen” so there might be some multiple personality disorder going on.
November 4, 2011 at 11:30 am
I think they’re counting on the average hipster browsing Etsy to be willing to pony up more cash for something so whimsical.
I’m also assuming they think bidding will drive up the purchase price on Ebay.
November 4, 2011 at 12:52 pm
I thought about that too, but it’s a Buy It Now.
November 4, 2011 at 12:01 pm
I was expecting a compare-and-save of a $20 trip to the hardware store and a free wood-gathering trip to the great outdoors. You save $1520!
November 4, 2011 at 11:03 am
The Ebay seller of the pocketwatch did a much better job actually showing the scale than the Etsy seller did. It’s hard to tell that the Etsy seller has put the watch not on a book, but on a COASTER.
I’ve just called Ebay superior than Etsy. I’m not in love with Etsy, but I hate Ebay with all my frothy, delicious hate. I…I need to lie down.
November 4, 2011 at 11:27 am
In defense of the Verdant Falls crafter, as a crocheter myself I can appreciate the hard work and creativity invloved in this piece. Freeform artists are brave souls who offer their work for stiff criticism. That said…I wouldn’t pay $2500 for it, no way. That is just crazy money.
And the Halloween bracelet…who buys that cheap stuff to resale it on line? Makes for a great fundraising activity though…just sayin’.
November 4, 2011 at 11:35 am
I’m sure it was a lot of work, but the end result is a nightmare. Needs an editing eye.
November 4, 2011 at 1:25 pm
I may be the only one, but I really like it! It reminds me of a tidepool, and I love tidepools. The colors and shapes are dead on. The price is a little bit steep, but she’s pricing it as a piece of fine art, not just a handmade craft. If I was silly rich, I’d consider buying it as a wall hanging.
November 4, 2011 at 2:11 pm
Oh dear, I disagree. I think it’s fabulous. Just horribly expensive. But fabulous.
November 4, 2011 at 11:48 am
Hard work and creativity are only the bare bones basics of creating any kind of visual art. Aesthetic value . . . THAT’S the most important one, and the one this lacks.
Hard work, I would argue, is the least important. I don’t care how hard someone worked on something unappealing. Hell, I work hard on my bowel movements, but I’m not selling them for thousands of dollars on Etsy.
November 4, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Hey don’t sell yourself short, I’m sure there’s plenty of buyers on Etsy willing to pay for your hard work! You could literally be flushing thousands of dollars down the toilet.
November 4, 2011 at 12:23 pm
Maybe if you added more vintage fiber to your diet…
November 4, 2011 at 5:55 pm
Hmmm, that gives me an idea – WHAT IF I ATE THE SCARF?
That would have to increase the value. Of the shit, I mean. Well, of the scarf too, by extension . . .
November 4, 2011 at 12:28 pm
I think something like that would be fun to make while watching TV or whatever, and I don’t entirely hate the etsy artist’s piece. I might hang it up on something if it was given to me for free.
Making one to sell, however, seems like a giant mistake. I’m sure that same person could have made some freaking awesome hats that actually might sell. It would take more talent/vision/something to make a big fluffy weird thing that other people would buy.
November 4, 2011 at 1:13 pm
I handspin and crochet and was impressed because I never stay sober long enough to finish any project I start that involves both crafts. But I still see why it’s on regretsy. I can’t really appreciate all the work without having a “What fresh hell is this?” moment.
November 4, 2011 at 8:46 pm
The “What fresh hell is this?” aura is exactly why I love it.
November 4, 2011 at 11:34 am
After the clusterfluff a few weeks ago about the compare and save post I’m interested to know how many people reported any of the above Etsy items?
Honestly, the only things that could even be brought into question are the pocketwatch and the goofy raincoat combo. Due to the original photography I’m not reporting either one. Sometimes dumb people deserve to be ripped off.
November 4, 2011 at 11:38 am
I’m trying to be more diligent about it. We’re not out to punish the innocent.
November 4, 2011 at 11:46 am
You’re definitely not coming across as trying to do bad things to good people.
I definitely learned something from that last time, just wondering if anyone else did as well.
November 4, 2011 at 12:13 pm
One of the problems is that C+S is taken almost exclusively from reader submissions. I figure people who actually make this stuff for a living will recognize when someone’s a re-seller better than I can. So when someone would submit an item to me, and a comparable link, I’d take it on faith that it was an actual re-sell. I now know that this is not always the case, and I do my best to check (as much as I’m able, since these wholesale sites don’t always give you a lot of info to work with).
Anyway, I should have been more vigilant from the beginning. I didn’t realize so many legit artists had their work stolen and mass-produced. I see so many shameless re-sellers on Etsy like tempusfugit or toofashion (both still going strong, by the way!) and it’s easy to forget there are actual artists out there.
November 4, 2011 at 11:42 am
Dumb people might deserve consequences, but I don’t like the way it taints the market for the honest people trying to do business on Etsy. From a buyer perspective (even the dumb ones), if one seller is a fake and a liar, who’s to say the rest aren’t the same? And really, is it really a buyer’s fault for believing the information a seller gives them about an item being sold on a site that is (supposedly) ONLY for handmade/vintage items and supplies, or for believing Etsy’s own propaganda when they have so far been given no reason to doubt?
November 4, 2011 at 11:55 am
As an Etsy seller, I don’t like it either, but there’s not a lot you can do about any of the people listed today. If you glue shit to other shit, technically it’s cool to post it on Etsy, and I have no problem with that.
But for the watch and the rain suit, it’s hard to prove it’s not vintage/handmade. Unless a customer buys that watch, and sees “Made in China” on the back when they get it, then reports it, there’s nothing that can be done about it. By then it’s too late.
I don’t blame the buyer for the most part, who has time to combe the internet for cheaper mass-produced versions of a pocketwatch? However, it’s a personal choice to pay $28 for a crappy, base metal pocketwatch.
November 5, 2011 at 1:31 am
I’m pretty sure the bracelet is still against Etsy rules because they didn’t alter the design from the kit. :/
November 4, 2011 at 11:53 am
Just because someone is either naive or doesn’t have time or know where to research every item they’re interested in does not make them “dumb” or deserving of being ripped off. Etsy promotes itself as a website for handmade and vintage goods, and its customers deserve to get exactly what they’re promised by Etsy. Obviously they can’t catch every disallowed listing, so reporting them is – at least in theory – helping the community at large.
Unfortunately, when they’re reported and Etsy does nothing . . . THAT constitutes false advertising in my book. But at least MY conscience is clear when I report something.
November 4, 2011 at 4:39 pm
Try reporting these jokers again. Not that it will do any good. They have over 1,000 sales, and it’s all wholesale crap with a huge mark-up.
November 6, 2011 at 5:36 pm
i always report these bastards and it never does any good. i just checked and they’re still on etsy.
November 4, 2011 at 11:40 pm
I definitely agree with rushgirl here & TooManyCookbooks above. Before I found Regretsy, I (quite literally) bought into Etsy’s “It’s all handmade!” hype, so I didn’t mind paying a bit more for what I bought. Once I found out I’d bought from a few resellers, I stopped buying anything on Etsy because I felt ripped off. I still wanted to buy handmade support real artists, but my time is valuable too. I just couldn’t afford to spend so much of it on researching each item to that degree. If I wanted to do that, I’d buy straight from artisans’ websites. Etsy appealed to me because it made buying handmade convenient and easy; they’re shooting themselves in the foot by allowing resellers to erode shoppers’ trust.
Now I’ve got the list of Regretsian sellers, so I can buy confidently again. But I probably won’t be venturing far from those specific shops, which blows for a lot of talented artists who aren’t Fat Jealous Losers.
November 4, 2011 at 11:42 pm
Sheesh, “buy handmade and* support…”
November 4, 2011 at 11:52 am
If I were inspired to crochet a yarn version of the high water mark from the Fukushima tsunami I would cal it that and donate some of the $2500 to the Red Cross or something.
November 4, 2011 at 1:07 pm
I wonder if robinhoodcouture is going to take legal action against against all of the counterfeiters. Nearly everything in that shop appears to have been copied and massed produced by at least a couple of large manufacturing companies. And these knock-off are being sold for a fraction of the price.
November 4, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Freeform Fall = Morning after the Muppets binge drink. On a very special episode of Sesame Street.
November 4, 2011 at 2:19 pm
I’d be fired if I let any of our fish tanks get like that. Would make a nice scarf, though.
November 4, 2011 at 2:56 pm
I really like the “Verdant Falls” piece. Maybe not $2500 worth, but I do like it quite a bit. Of course, I also dye and spin my own yarn, so take my opinion for what it’s worth.
November 4, 2011 at 7:58 pm
FMW (Fuck My Wallet)
November 5, 2011 at 1:14 pm
>rusty hamster wheel
>Great display piece!
Why?
November 10, 2011 at 8:41 am
OMG… you made my morning, my birthday! Ever heard the expression, I love Regretsy–even when the joke’s on me
November 10, 2011 at 2:10 pm
haha! I lost my train of thought in the comment above (I was giggling so)–that makes Regretsy pretty generous (for the ribbon). Good gawd… can you tell I am not a linear thinker? BTW, When I got to my fibers class–yeah, I actually teach this stuff at the college level–my students gave me a round of applause for this. ’nuff said
November 30, 2011 at 2:03 pm
I LOVE Compare & Save, and I love regretsy, so I hate to do this.
Those are two different pocketwatches – Etsy’s is nearly twice the diameter at 1.75″ to eBay’s 1″. Does it make it worth $23 more? Maybe not. But still.
I like other watches better by far, but $28 for a watch that does look a bit the steampunk part isn’t too bad, especially with the hefty prices people ask for “steampunk” anything, even when they’re decidedly, regretsy-ripe Not Steampunk.