UPDATE: Etsy's Vintage sellers proudly call attention to a recent feature in HOUSE BEAUTIFUL about Etsy listings for items listed as Vintage that (wait for it!) aren't Vintage! #etsysellsvintage

The outpourings of Etsygirl dumbunnyspeak are multiplying in the Forums like, well, bunnies.

A few days ago, I called attention to some Etsy Forums threads complaining about a test removing the Vintage link from the site's pages here  The thread is still going strong, and yesterday a seller added a link on page 15 to a feature in HOUSE BEAUTIFUL magazine about Vintage on Etsy.  Of the 7 items shown and linked in the feature, 3 are not Vintage -- even though they are misleadingly listed as Vintage.  Three of the actual Vintage items ship from The Netherlands, Indonesia and Turkey; this is not a problem, but what about the millions of authentic Vintage items listed by sellers in the USA, Canada, and the UK?  The fourth Vintage item (ships from USA) is still being manufactured, and is available brand new (with the option of the same contemporary chair legs) for less money!

Here are the 3 fauxtiques:

Significantly altered "Midcentury Modern Dresser"  is listed as a "vintage handmade item from the 1950s", which translates as the shop owner designed and/or crafted this piece in the 1950s -- which is a blatant lie.  The listing includes only one photo (below)

While the wood it was made from is not mentioned, and neither is the maker, the seller explains that outer surfaces have been refinished with matte black, and the original knobs replaced with agate slices!  The seller has given this item a "recycled" attribute -- seriously, WTF?  Increasing the carbon footprint of an item by altering it is Etsyverse "recycling" now?  Not vintage.

This recently mined and processed 96g Raw Blue Kyanite and quartz specimen has already been sold.  Listed as a "vintage handmade item", which translates as the shop owner designed and/or crafted this item at least 20 years ago. which is a blatant lie.  Most of the mineral specimens for sale as "vintage" on Etsy -- along with spheres, pyramids, and obelisks made from minerals -- were recently mined and processed by mining/manufacturing corporations in Asia.  This is a new reseller product, as the seller's Shop Announcement makes clear:

"We use our personal connections in the crystal mining industry to deliver High vibration exceptional quality gems fresh from mother earth."

Also note that these crystal specimens are promised to deliver "high vibration" -- a bogus claim.

Not vintage.


The third item is a listing for paint to order piece of furniture, age unknown but listed as a "vintage item".  The photos in the listing do not show the item for sale, which doesn't exist until seller and buyer choose a piece of furniture and the refinishing it will receive -- this is what Etsy considers "vintage"!

The photo above is the one chosen to appear in HOUSE BEAUTIFUL.  Clearly shows the item isn't vintage.

Another thread for Etsy dumbun sellers to coo about "vintage" in HOUSE BEAUTIFUL here

Etsy Forums Hilarity: all aboard the DumBuns Express! Seriously, are Etsy's vintage sellers all senile or something?

OMG, the stupid is out in force today!

If you haven't read them, check out my previous posts here and here and earlier today  And then read this Bugs thread:  Vintage Category  Here's the original post:

There is currently no drop down list when the vintage category at the top of the page is 'hovered' over. Other titles seem to be functioning correctly.
Also other shops are reporting that this category has been removed altogether.
Could you please explain what is going on with the vintage category.
Thank you.

The drop down detailed menu has been missing at the Vintage link for a year now!  The links at the top of every Etsy page are not "categories" -- they are what the old Browse pages (that looked like pin boards) were, but arranged like SEARCH results.  The items on those pages are curated, which means selected by Etsy staff.  Oh, and Etsy has not had a "vintage category" since like 2012.  Where have you dumbuns been hiding?


And another Clueless Express pulls into the Etsy Forums station:  Etsy, Please Put Vintage Back as a Drop Down  The drop down menu at the Vintage link was removed in September 2017, a year ago.  Duh?

Etsy tests removing the link to Vintage from its pages, and changing the link to Gifts -- reported by sellers in the Forums! #etsysellsvintage

Back in July 2018 some shop owners in the Etsy Vintage Seller Community seemed surprised by Etsy's staff holding to an assessment of shopper behavior on the site first shared in 2012:

In our research we found that most buyers are not first searching or browsing for items by when they were made or who made them. Buyers tend think about the item they want to buy, like a jacket or blanket, before deciding if they want it to be vintage or not.

For most of a decade, Etsy has believed that shoppers on the site aren't looking for Vintage items specifically, so why not lose the Vintage link that now appears at the top/right of all pages?  During special sale promotions, like the recent Labor Day Sale weekend, the Vintage link was removed -- changed to "Sale".  Even though there were two huge links to the sale at the top of the home page, and one of the two (a black bar across the top) appeared on all pages. Vintage took the weekend off, and I noticed no complaints or comments from the seller community.

It looks like Vintage might be taking a permanent vacation according to this Forums thread:  Vintage category replaced by gifts??? Seriously?

Not all users are seeing this; it's another unannounced test.  If this becomes permanent, new visitors to the site will be unaware that Vintage items are for sale on Etsy, unless they use SEARCH and scroll down to see option on the left margin to view only Vintage results -- an option that is being placed lower and lower on SEARCH results pages as Etsy redesigns its pages.

Since anything sold on Etsy might be gifted, how will items qualify for the new Gift linked category?  I'm not in the test (yet), but will update this with more info on Gift items when/if I get to see the test.

UPDATE:  another Forums thread -- No more vintage heading??? Tag vintage as gift?  Don't think so.  The test Gift link has nothing to do with Vintage items.  Vintage items be gone!

More!  Another thread:  Etsy, vintage replaced with gifts - Please don't do it!  Unfortunately for the Etsy Seller Community, most of them don't realize that Etsy removed Vintage as a category when the original category links list was removed from the left side of the Home Page, circa 2012.  Etsy has no Vintage Category.

Etsy long term reseller DREAMWEAVER4U2 adds new fake vintage to her shop #etsysellsvintage

Last featured here on June 05, 2018 Etsy long term reseller DREAMWEAVER4U2 is at it again:  listing contemporary mass made jewelry, accessories, and clothing as either "handmade" by her or as "vintage".  Weeks ago her shop underwent a serious house-cleaning, with all of the sweatshop goodies deactivated.  Now, they are sneaking back.  Let's have a look!

This goth-style hand bracelet with adjustable ring is pretending to be "vintage".  The Description says it is "Never worn storage store stock".  Two units in stock, priced at $22.

Since this is a contemporary product, anyone can buy this "never worn" -- and for a lot less money.  Get it here for less than $8.  It's on sale here for just 99 cents!  A reseller on Luulla has it for $15.  Not vintage.

The other sweatshop goodie reactivated is this pentagram cage bra pretending to be "handmade" and last called out in my companion blog in May 2018


Will add more fake "vintage" from DREAMWEAVER4U2 as it (re)appears.