There has been a large clamp down with Etsy as they are trying to get rid of many stores that are not complying with their product guidelines or are just badly run stores.
Unfortunately, there are many good people and good stores that are getting caught in the cross fire. You could have woken up this morning to your account being suspend.
A topic of panic if you are currently experiencing this with your Etsy store. But if you want to find out how to get your account unsuspended or you want to protect your-self from being suspended then stick around. If Etsy suspends your store there are some tips to help you get your account back.
Why would they suspend my account?
This can sometimes be highly confusing especially if you haven’t done anything wrong. The sad thing is that Etsy don’t really explain specifically why they have banned your account.
They just send you a generic message saying that your account has been suspend due to policy violations.
If you haven’t done anything wrong then I have a theory that competitors in your niche are setting you up. They file multiple complaints saying your store is selling the same products as them and then Etsy suspend your account to undergo an “investigation”.
My Etsy store is suspended
I know this is often the worst advice but you are just going to have to be patient and strategic. This horrible because you are probably losing sales and it SUCKS.
If you are reading this then you have probably already got the generic email from the integrity department saying your account has been suspended and they give some links to policies.
You need to be patient before you reply and think of why you might have been suspended. Even if you can’t think of any reasons why you will need to structure your email in a professional manner.
In your email you should include all documents of your business. For example:
- Drawings of any designs you have made for products.
- Photo or video evidence of you making the products or packaging them.
You should also play the “I’m a good person trying to make a living card”.
Once you have sent your email it should take them between 5-7 days to get back to you. You should constantly log onto your store because sometimes they will unsuspend it before informing you.
If they are taking long to reply you should go to “Etsy help center” . This helped me reach more of the employees and the process was sped up.
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Additional tips whilst your store is suspended
When my store was suspended, I was so panicked that I forgot about everything else besides trying to get the store unsuspended.
Nervous customers
Two days later I had numerous messages from customers that had already ordered from me. They were looking to track their packages but the store was no longer available when they searched for it.
This caused panic and all these customers wanted refunds and filed for a refund with Etsy. This only made the situation worse as Esty noticed all the refund requests and made them even more suspicious.
As soon as you send your email to Etsy asking them to unsuspend your store, you need to draft a message to your customers explaining that “you are having some technical issues but your package is still on its way”.
Send the message to all your customers before they ask questions.
My store is new and just got suspended
If you have just opened your store and 3 or 4 days later your account is suspended, I wouldn’t worry too much.
I have noticed this happening to a lot of new stores. Etsy Suspend the store for a few days and then will just unsuspend it.
I figure they are doing this to investigate the store for suspicious activity from the get go.
If this is the case for you, I wouldn’t panic and just keep working on your business whilst it is suspended.
Signs that your Etsy store might get suspended
If you are reading this blog out of panic for the worst-case scenario and your store is not suspended then there are some cues or signs that you might be heading in that direction.
Etsy don’t really make it clear or send you and email saying you need to be careful. That’s why you need to pay attention to the cues.
Here are 3 things to look out for :
- Look at your product listings and look to see if they have deactivated any of your listings. You will find this by the Inactive section showed in the picture. If you want to learn how to write proper listings then read my blog here for tips.
- Constantly check your email to see if Etsy haven’t sent you any emails about policy violations.
- If you have any charge backs or refunds that a customer has requested with Etsy it is sometimes a red flag for Etsy.
- If you have a below average rating on your store or bad reviews.
How to protect yourself in these situations
I get asked a lot about what happens to your funds if your store gets suspended so I thought I would share this here with you.
If you store is suspended and there is no coming back from it then don’t panic. You will receive your money from Etsy but the problem is that it takes a very long time. It can take up to 6 months to receive your money back in full.
So, what can you do about this?
Always keep the balance in your Etsy account as low as possible. Request that your money gets paid to you weekly. And every time they ask if you ready to request the payment say yes and take it out.
Finishing words
There is nothing more that you can do to unsuspend your store. If you have followed my advice and just be patient and strategic then there should be no reasons why they will keep your store suspended.
Remember to inform your customers and construct a well written email with all the evidence you can. You only have one shot with this email so take your time.
Feel free to comment for any information you would like to know if your account is suspended.
