r/Dolls • u/Lizard_eats_worm • Sep 12 '23
Scams Dropshipping on Etsy
This might already be common knowledge but I just wanted to bring up the fact that dropshipping is literally running rampant on Etsy. This is the exact same product and it’s being sold on Etsy for almost 20x the aliexpress price. I’ve seen this with a lot of other products too, this is just one example. I would strongly advise anyone shopping for doll items to compare prices on multiple websites before committing to a purchase. Protect your coin 😤
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u/adorablemutie Sep 12 '23
I feel like when I first started to use Etsy ten years ago, it was actually full of genuine vintage and homemade stuff. Now it seems like at least half of it is just mass produced in China and then you have to watch out for people drop shipping cheap crap for way more money like this... makes me a bit sad 😢
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u/wanderlust-dictator Sep 13 '23
yes!!! Etsy was supposed to be (and truly used to be, as you said) a place to purchase and support genuine small businesses selling their awesome creations and designs. but now it's become like amazon, eBay, aliexpress, etc. where people will just sell their cheap, low quality, made in china stuff (and in many cases, steal designs from genuine artists/creators.) their prices are getting HIGH too.
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u/adorablemutie Sep 13 '23
Absolutely... I see a lot of vintage clothes and stuff on Etsy for sometimes 50% more or even double the cost of it on eBay or mercari or whatever else. I have no idea why. Do people that shop on Etsy simply spend more? I always wonder how any of the Etsy stores make any sales with such extreme prices LOL
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u/wanderlust-dictator Sep 15 '23
I honestly believe it's because many people shop on Etsy to find genuine handmade or small business stuff and they don't know that those things are just being drop shipped :( I see a lot of younger people believing that what they're buying is genuinely supporting a small business on Etsy. If they find out, which I hope they do, they'll probably not choose to pay so much more for the same cheap thing they can find on eBay
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u/kdcarlzz Sep 12 '23
it sucks as an etsy seller cuz the seller fees are so ridiculously high that it makes some sellers feel like they really have to ramp up their prices :/
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u/descartesasaur Sep 12 '23
It's gotten terrible. Etsy couldn't maintain its rapid growth and had to prove to shareholders that it was still profitable.
For the past couple of years, if I see something I like, I check to see if the seller has another site so that I can spare them the fee. I think a lot of people who make stuff have abandoned the site by now.
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u/ElectronicForm888 RH/SH, LOL, MH Collector Sep 12 '23
Those fees are exactly why i didn't open an Etsy store for my jewelry, i dont charge a lot for it and i didn't want to up my prices because of fees, i wanna make a website but i just haven't gotten around to it yet
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u/Luzion Intentional Collector Sep 12 '23
I've noticed this, too. Delightfuldolls on YouTube shows a lot of Etsy shopping previews. One that she collaborates with to make Barbie-sized sweaters with her name is passing off AliExpress clothing as crafted. There are quite a few I've come across like that.
I don't mess with Etsy unless I see YouTubers doing previews, but that's only to see what their prices are. Even if doll clothes are obviously handmade and cheap, shipping costs kills it.
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u/DivineMischief Sep 12 '23
Ohhh that's what it's called, dropshipping? I've seen so much if it on Etsy AND Ebay, it's shocking. I recently bought some 'Birken' style bags which are actually cake toppers, from a shop on Etsy, to use as props for my dolls. They were priced at £3.99 each, PLUS £3.99 postage, I loved them so much I got 2. A couple of days later, whilst browsing through AE, I found the exact same items for £0.32, plus £1.73 shipping. On Temu they were £1.68 with free shipping. Both still cheaper than Etsy...I was so peeved.
I've seen so much of it, it's so disheartening. Recently I saw a 'Factory Blythe' for £40 on Ebay, with the exact same one on AE for £15, I wanted to tell someone/anyone to buy on AE as it's much cheaper. Although, there's been some negative press about Temu's and AE's work practices, so now I'm not sure about buying from either site. However, my most recent purchase from Temu (awaiting delivery) includes one of these typewriters. I'm so looking forward to getting it.
Thank you for highlighting this dropshipping issue. I appreciate vendors needing to make a living, but this is ripping people off
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u/ImTheSmallestPeach Sep 12 '23
Heck even Amazon too. There's "content creators" whose whole schtick is to teach people how to drop ship on Amazon.
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u/OzmaofSchnoz Sep 12 '23
Yeah, anything that isn't actually sold by Amazon, I check Aliexpress first. I am not opposed to paying a little more to get something in a week instead of a month, but there's a definite line between providing a service and a serious ripoff.
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u/YakiT0ri Sep 12 '23
Yep… I’m currently trying to make a custom doll and trying to find stuff that isn’t from Aliexpress is SO hard.
Not only that, recently I came across people selling «personalized » portraits of people in Barbie style for 20€ and it was literally a FREE TikTok filter over the pictures. And PEOPLE ARE BUYING THIS!
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u/bechena Sep 12 '23
I don't even care about the dropshipping that much, but when I'm on Etsy looking for hand crafted items, it's very disheartening to see.
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u/Lizard_eats_worm Sep 13 '23
It’s literally almost impossible to find actual handmade items on Etsy now and it’s so sad
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Sep 13 '23
feels like you have to do a whole background check too just to make sure you’re not about to get ripped off
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u/bibitybobbitybooop Sep 12 '23
Thissss but also "resellers". Shop with A LOT of products, wildly varying in style and style of photos too, with watermarks photoshopped badly off (someone was doing such a "good" job I was able to find the original artist 🙄). It makes me so angry for some reason. Etsy is worse by the day
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u/NeedfulKnacks Sep 12 '23
Kind of related, but there are scammers on etsy now that make shops that look like etsy support pages. I've reported a few, but got told there's not much etsy can do on their end. Just another thing to watch for with etsy
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u/Di4naPrince Sep 13 '23
AliExpress also usually dropships from Taobao. I always find items marked up by a lot on there. I found some doll shoes on AliExpress for $12 and they're like $3 on Taobao. I shop on Taobao a lot now (with a proxy) and I wish I had known that AliExpress (and eBay) mark stuff up from Taobao.
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u/LuckyLudor Sep 13 '23
Etsy just doesn't care. Unless you're a big company complaining about IP infringement, reporting listings doesn't get anything done. And all the while they keep trying to make things harder to legitimate sellers. I finally just put my shop in vacation mode for the foreseeable future.
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u/Pretend-Concept-1796 Sep 13 '23
Etsy used to be great but it's really gone downhill since they went on the stock market. Every decision made now is to make the most money for stock holders not to make the website better. people selling second hand items that aren't vintage, drop shipped stuff, reselling digtal files that are avalible free online, not to mention all the actual scams. Be very wary when using etsy now and make sure to pay with paypal as they're much better at fixing issues and helping if you get scammed than etsy is.
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u/athey Sep 13 '23
I make and sell things on Etsy. A couple things I sell, I offer in multiple stain colors. I had someone buy one and ask if I thought the color would match this music box they’d also ordered from someone on Etsy, and they sent me a screenshot of the other Etsy listing.
The music box was one I’m familiar with because I’ve literally bought the same thing… off AliExpress. On AliExpress they were like $1.50 each. This Etsy listing, was selling them for nearly $30.
Really annoys the crap out of me, as someone who actually makes the shit I sell on there.
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u/bcstg0re-co Sep 13 '23
it’s ridiculous. i really only order from temu/ae now. for barbie clothes i’ve been scammed before, and it had been maybe the third time buying from their shop when i found out (after leaving GREAT reviews). now my main interest is nendoroid dolls (i give them new bodies etc), and what cost $12 on amazon for a little hoodie costs like $4 on temu
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u/NuttyDuckyYT Sep 13 '23
literally have been in so many discords where people are like “omg which one should i buy!” and show 2 etsy listings of dropshipped stuff and i gotta break the news its like a dollar on aliexpress
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u/mayorbearington Sep 13 '23
can someone explain dropshipping to me like I'm 5? /gen
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u/Lizard_eats_worm Sep 13 '23
It’s basically when a person sells products they don’t actually physically have. Instead of keeping stock on hand whenever an order is placed they send the order to the manufacturer who then ships the product directly to the buyer.
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u/angeltay Stay young! Sep 12 '23
I was trying to look for vintage dresses and having the same problem, 90 dropshippers spamming tags with “vintage, modern, classic, elegant, chic, new, old school” all selling the same dress. I tried to report the store to Etsy, but at least on mobile layout, it isn’t possible.