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