Illustration: Kristen Radtke / The Verge
Since its launch in 2005, Etsy has become well-known as the place to go for handcrafted, one-of-a-kind items from a wide variety of creators. Unfortunately, over the last few years, that rosy reputation has changed a bit. A couple of years ago, buyers began noticing an influx of mass-market goods that were noticeably not handmade. I talked to more than one person who felt that Etsy had become less about selling handmade crafts and more about drop shipping — enterprises that advertise and sell a product and then pass the order on to a third party, which ships it.
There was discontent online from sellers as well, due to both the increased number of manufactured goods and increased expenses such as mandatory market plans. Then, in April…