Hi guys,
Not sure how off topic this but I'm hoping to find some advice (and rant/warn, of course).
So, I started selling on Etsy in October 2021 - it was an uphill climb trying to figure out branding, marketing, and traffic patterns and it took me, really until March, to see a climb in sales. I was hit with a reserve on payments almost immediately, which complicated getting my money for orders immediately (thank god this is just a side hobby) but I worked through it and perfected my shipping times, feedback ratings, and message responses. I became a Star Seller in February (missed it in January because a person I ORDERED off of replied back to me and I didn't respond in 24 hours 🙄) and in March I became a top seller with almost 300 sales.
So, April 1st rolls around and I am filling at least one order a day, continuing my Star Seller streak, and anticipating the higher percentage rates Etsy is going to charge. I go to log into my account and it says my account is locked. I tried multiple times to figure out on my own what the problem is and I STILL have no idea why they did this. I tried emailing Etsy, 20 times over the last two days and still no one has replied to any of my messages. They no longer have a customer service number as well. I've read up on forums that this happens to people and they usually get access to their account after a few weeks - the problem is my shop has not been shut down and I'm still getting orders! I have access to the customers addresses through email so I'm making every effort to getting these packages out but I can't update shipping or inform the customers that their orders are in the way. I've read some real horror stories about people having to CANCEL orders they already shipped out because the customer filed a false claim!
I'm at a standstill and honestly this whole experience has jaded me to ever wanting to try this again. What kind of company sends emails saying they invested millions of dollars in advertising but can't have a solid team to support sellers? Let me also emphasize that (as far as I know) I have done nothing wrong. I have not had any customer compliments, trademark issues, or Etsy policy violations. They are supposed to send an email if you've violated a certain policy and I do not have that.
Does anyone have any advice? I put sooooooo much time, money, and energy into making this work - to see it possibly end like this is really saddening.