Etsy abandons the concept of Vintage, and a flea market assortment of new items are about a third of the most relevant "vintage" listings #etsysellsvintage

It's been a while since I posted about the growing presence of listings for items much newer than 20 years old on the pages of the most relevant Vintage on Etsy.  I do look at the first 5 or so pages daily, and out of the 48 items on each page close to 20 of them aren't remotely considered Vintage anywhere outside the Etsyverse.

The pages are dominated by newly mined and processed mineral specimens (and decorative products made from them), "ephemera packs" (paper scraps, mostly not datable), digital downloads, and rugs (which are mostly Vintage).  Vintage jewelry, clothing and accessories are not commonly found there.  Neither are Vintage décor items or homewares.

Let's have a look at some of the most mendacious listings for ultra-relevant Etsy "vintage".

Instantly recognized as deceptive since it's listed as "vintage handmade" is this "hello" vinyl wall decal  Offered in dozens of colors, with over 50 units in stock.  While most of seller JustTheFrosting items are appropriately listed as handmade, the shop owner has opted for tag-o-rama, lying about the age of the some of them during the listing process.

Another tag-o-rama deceptive seller is craftycreekcreations whose "vintage handmade" bear decals are offered in multiple styles/sizes/colors.

Pretending to be a "vintage item from the 1960s" is this listing soliciting buyers for a "custom refinished Mid Century Dresser".  In other words, an altered piece of furniture with its value as a Vintage item removed.  Shop 150Grit also sells unaltered Vintage furniture, but the Etsyverse is all about increasing the carbon footprint of Vintage whenever possible.

TSRCrafts is another tag-o-rama abuser, who claims her digital download listing for The Beginners Bullet Journal page set is "vintage handmade".  Of course there is nothing remotely "vintage" about this item.

Finally, a listing that is nothing but mendacity:  a brand new, mass manufactured, toilet paper holder which has earned an Etsy AI "Best Seller" icon.  92 "vintage" units are currently in stock.

These are widely available all over the web in various metal finishes.  Seller Personalisedwood has been vetted and approved by Etsy's Marketplace Integrity Team to sell newly manufactured items as "vintage".  The item above also sold by SpearheadCollection as "handmade", with 79 units in stock.  UrbangrandmasAttic sells them, too, as "handmade"  with 9 units in stock.  As does CastironCreations with 9 units in stock.  How many deceptive Etsy sellers can dance on the head of a pin?


And the percentage of Vintage listings -- which includes all items deceptively listed as "vintage" when they're not -- on Etsy continues to slowly fall:  today it's just 16.7%, down from nearly 25% a decade ago.