Mendacious Etsy vintage sellers still backdating Wovo plastic kitchenware items #etsysellsvintage

For background, please read my 2018 post about fake dating Wovo products on Etsy here  That earlier post includes lots of dating information for this brand.  I just did a Google search for wovo+bowl, and discovered the summary for some of the links includes a date -- always post 2000.

But it's still happening:  on mendacious Etsy vintage sellers obscure the reality of what they list for sale.

Here's a listing infested with misinformation for a melamine bowl by Wovo which the  seller has listed as "vintage from before 2000" even though it is easy to find online documentation that Wovo as a brand first existed in 2001, and melamine products were introduced to the market in 2003.  Priced at $40 -- perfect for you Etsygirls who love to pay the Etsy Reseller Stupid Tax.

Was sold by Wovo on Amazon beginning in 2017.  Designed and sold as a one piece Chip-and-Dip (which is clear from the photos), Sassypantsgrrl tags it as "serving bowl" and "planter".  Yeah, right?  One just like this was listed on eBay for $9.99, mint condition (no longer in eBay's database).  Wovo products, including this item, are correctly dated to the early 21st Century everywhere but Etsy.


More!  It's a Myth of the Etsyverse that vintage sellers should not include the brand names of the items in their listings in titles and/or tags because that is so business-like and off-putting to hipsters.  So I used Google images to find wovo+etsy, and this listing showed up (the word Wovo appears in the seller's Description) for a mixed lot of Wovo relish trays and 4 unrelated plates.  Sold by Passagethrutime who back-dated the item to the 1960s!  2 of these sets are available, priced at $49.  Just listed on October 1, 2019.

October 16

Just listed yesterday by HowdyPartnerVintage is this 7 piece salad bowl set by Wovo mendaciously claiming to be "vintage from before 2000".  As if.  And the seller admits in her description that, yeah, she's a bald faced liar:

"So this bowl set isn't *technically* vintage- but you'd never know it by looking at them. These were manufactured in the early 2000s by a company called WOVO as a reference to mid-century aesthetic. "


Of course a true Etsygirl prefers to purchase from a dishonest seller, so this one knows her target market.  I mean, the set is priced at $40, even though

"In good used condition with some minor cosmetic flaws around perimeter of larger bowl and some light wear and scratching to inside surfaces. "

No one but an Etsygirl would pay that much for worn items about a decade old when it's probably not impossible to find a MIB (mint in box) set at some point on eBay for much less.  UPDATE OCTOBER 21:  the price for the set has been reduced to $32.  Shouldn't be listed for sale on Etsy at any price, hon.  

October 21

Fauxtique seller RRGS featured in my original post about Wovo (linked above) has once again ID'ed their pair of acrylic snack servers as Wovo in a tag so it shows up in an Etsy search.  Pretending to be "vintage from before 2000", which it can't be since documentation shows the design dates to 2002 at the earliest, with the manufacturing some time later.  Was priced at $46 for the pair, now priced at the predictable (wait for it!) $40.  So cool the way mendacious Etsygirls huddle like sheep around their pricing!  Baaaaah!  Description still has the silly mention of "vintage condition" to indicate wear/damage -- these are used items less than 20 years old that were low priced and cheaply made.  But please do scoop these up and pay the Etsy Reseller Stupid Tax because, if you love to shop on Etsy, you kind of have to.

The 3 section bowl (bottom in photo) is for sale on eBay for just $10.99.  Seller says "great condition"


November 5


Added 2 days ago by pnpvintagegeneral is this cobalt blue acrylic Wovo twist tray deceptively titled "Vintage Danish serving tray".  Mendaciously listed as "Vintage from before 2000", which it certainly isn't.  Priced at $17, it is the same item sold as part of the set listed by Etsy shop RRGS (above)..

Will update here as more Wovo fauxtiques are listed.

Etsy Forums Follies: vintage sellers afraid of bad karma won't report fraudulent listings! #etsysellsvintage

One of the earliest Myths of the Etsyverse, dating back more than a decade, is that it is "bad karma" to report a fraudulent shop or listing to Etsy's Marketplace Integrity Team.  This complicit involvement with reselling by shop owners who themselves are honest and professional bears a large burden of the responsibility for the overwhelming presence of deceptive listings on the site today.

And the "bad karma" myth will not die!  In August 2019 an Etsy vintage seller started this thread:  I just came across a shop selling NEWER Barbies and doing quite well but   Here's the original post:



I cannot bring myself to report them. What is my responsibility as an Etsy seller? I have come across questionable shops before, but this is ridiculous! She has a 2018 doll in people's carts. I don't like to cause trouble, but I have a Vintage Shop and don't believe in cheating. Why can't I bring myself to turn these cheaters in?? I favored the shop just to see how long this goes on. I feel like I am hurting other Etsy sellers by not reporting this. Do YOU report the shops you find that are not in compliance with Etsy's guidelines? I worry about bad karma, maybe that is ridiculous, but it is why I try not to stir the pot so to speak. Thank you in advance for your advice on this matter. Am I part of the problem if I do not turn the shops I come across in? Will Etsy even do anything about it?


In reality, it doesn't matter that this dumbun won't report the shop.  Etsy wouldn't act on it, even if the AI that screens all reports submitted by the community passed it on to be viewed by a human member of the Marketplace Integrity Team.  Vintage has never had any kind of strict definition on the site, and has always been whatever Etsy management and staff would like it to be at the moment.

But this thread is loaded with entertainment, and is well worth a read.  It's a tasty bit of crazy from first post to the last.