Thoughts on Etsy going public?

[daffodil101]

I must be kinda ignorant but... what does 'going public' actually mean?  Are they selling shares in the company, or selling the company to new owners who will change the direction of the website?? 

[Leave a Whisper]

We sometimes find nice things on etsy, especially arts n crafts supplies and some cool handmade things. I'm learning its a good source to commission customizers

Post Merge: March 08, 2015, 08:27:54 AM

I must be kinda ignorant but... what does 'going public' actually mean?  Are they selling shares in the company, or selling the company to new owners who will change the direction of the website??

I don't know what that means either

[Tilas]

I don't know... I feel like I may be skirting the margins myself, as I sell (or attempt to ) prints, digital items (ie can be mass produced)and licensed characters (all handmade though!)

still... I'm pretty sure that makes me one of the bad guys. 

Stay off the Etsy forums, because you will be labeled a bad guy if you make anything with licensed characters. The forums there are horribly brutal and the people there can be really cruel if they find out you make fan stuff. A very elitist bunch there that feel anyone who makes fan stuff is a thief and scum. :\ I don't agree as I sell fan stuff too, but I learned that the hard way when I posted on Etsy's forums.

That said, I've seen a huge difference in the replies about Etsy's new decision. All of those said elitists are screeching like barn owls against the decision, while some other sellers are okay with it. I can see both sides of it. Etsy was originally a craft site, and this decision will make it go more retail, but in Etsy's defense, they've been running in the red for years, and if they don't do *something* they might as well shut the site down. I don't think it's a move for them because of being money hungry, but desperation to stay afloat. All we can do is wait and see what happens.

[HollowZero]

You're not legally allowed to sell things with licensed characters on them, so there's a reason they're being "elitist", namely they're telling you to follow copyright laws. Without said laws, we would not have any of the licensed characters we all know and love.

Honestly it's not bad if someone sells a few things for a low price once in a while, but persons who make thousands on it (yes, they exist) really should be put in their place, which they usually are with a nice C&D.

[Tilas]

Yes, I do understand it, I do get the rules n all, but I mean, look at the amount of it. I mean most conventions run on people selling fan art, and there's people like Whitedove who honestly DO make a living off of it.  Heck, even people who draw commissions and have a canon character in it are technically breaking laws. And yet there are also countless bootleg companies who sell mass amounts of items, and are never stopped and should be. It's one of those things that where do you draw the line?

[palaisdejouets]

It took a few reads for me to get past the jargon in the email!

I have noticed there are a lot of big sellers in China perhaps they will get more strict now they are going to be publicly owned?

My Esty shop is doing quite well, I have been putting quite a bit of work into it to try and make it a sucess.

I think time will tell.

Love pkw xxx

If anything, the reselling will get WORSE now. When a company is publicly owned, it has to make a profit and answer to shareholders -- and Etsy has never shown any sign of NOT wanting the revenue that resellers generate. So it will definitely not get better now.

I once sold crafts on Etsy, and honestly, its golden years ended somewhere around 2009.

[Iris Patch]

I've been selling on Etsy for years now, I've made a not-insignificant amount of money on there and business has been steadily on the rise, which has been great for getting new customers and a bigger following. I'm hopeful this will mean Etsy will see even higher traffic.