Etsy shops continue to create deceptive listings, pretending their items are Vintage -- you can do this, too! #etsysellsvintage

By all means, feel free to list your newish flea market finds on Etsy as 20+ year old vintage.  All you have to do is lie about the age when you go through the process of listing the item.  On Etsy, mendacity is expected by the owners of the site -- and even welcomed.  Etsy's target market of young women ages 14-24 aren't old enough to feel nostalgic for items 20 years old, and older.

Let's have a look at some boldly mendacious Etsy shops who offer great examples of deceptive listing practices!


Meet Etsy shop TheMiracleMile who created this clearly deceptive listing for this Miss Rice Krspie bowl and plate set  Listed as "Vintage from before 2000", the seller discloses in the item's Description that "these items are from 2005".  And, sure enough, the date is factory stamped on the bottom of the each piece.  If you are willing to lie, these can be Etsyverse instant vintage by declaration.

UPDATE APRIL 2:  Listed on February 2, 2020 is this Royal Fantasy Princess Tea Set pretending to be "Vintage from before 2000".  Which means Etsy shop TheMiracleMile continues their deceptive listing practices (no surprise).  The set, manufactured for Brass Key Keepsakes, part of The Brass Key, Inc., dates from 2007.  Neither the brand of the item, nor the date, is mentioned in the listing.  And the seller is careful not to include any images of the tea set pieces or the box that might give her scam away.  The trademark info for Brass Key Keepsakes is here  Not vintage!









Last featured in this blog in July 2018 for pretending items for sale in her shop are "vintage", fauxtiques reseller AttiCuties is still at it!  Proving once again that reselling is allowed on Etsy.  Check out this Christmas stockings themed toss pillow the seller mendaciously listed as "vintage".  The description features intentionally deceptive statements, like "long ago gift to yours truly", "newly cleaned" and "in top condition".  Priced at $42.50.

This pillow is definitely contemporary, and you can buy it retail as I type from Bed Bath and Beyond at the regular price of $59.99, or wait for coupons or sales.  The Country Porch identifies the wholesale source as C&F Enterprises.  In stock, priced at $49.99.  Without knowing the name (which is "Dancing Christmas Stockings") I was able to find out that it wasn't vintage in less than 30 seconds using Google search.  Duh?

More, from the same reseller:  a a set of 6 Arcoroc Matys orange glass dessert plates is pretending to be "Vintage from the 1980s" -- even though this pattern was produced from 2002 to 2006, so isn't actually vintage yet let alone 40 years old!  This pattern is easily dated on the Replacements site page, which the seller admits she visited in her item Description:

Measuring approx. 7-3/4" round, it is described as transparent by the manufacturer who no longer produces this stunning design. As the close-up shows, it is French made. If you look at www.replacements.com you'll see that they are selling these plates for $19.95 each. My price is much less than that.

The above paragraph is simply chock full of deception.  AttiCuties is asking $145.50 for 6 plates, which she says are listed for $19.95 on Replacements.  The Replacements price is actually $19.99, multiplied by 6 = 119.94.  That's a savings of $25.56 if you could buy the plates from Replacements (there is only 1 in stock).  AttiCuties is asking $24.25 per plate, easily the highest price you will find online.

So, even though the age and price for these plates is clearly displayed on the page at Replacements, AttiCuties got the price per plate WRONG, the dating WRONG, and the comparison of her price to the Replacements price WRONG.  Right now the going price for these on eBay is $10 - 20 dollars, so buying from this deceptive reseller is no bargain!

Etsy shop Gloriouspark resells bottles full of adult beverages too new to be vintage "for collectible purposes". It seems anything goes when #etsysellsvintage

Saw this set of 4 bottles of bourbon in a paid listing (Ad) on the first page (most relevant) of Vintage listings on Etsy tonight.  Listed by Gloriouspark whose shop was activated in 2017, but has never sold anything.  The listing is from 2 days ago, January 11, 2020.

Other than being at the top of Etsy's list of prohibited items because they are full of bourbon (it's alcohol, duh), the 4 bottles aren't all 20+ years old.  The listing's title clearly states the 4 bottles are (each) 10, 15, 20, and 23 years old.

Once again, the misinformation provided to the seller community by Etsy CEO Josh Silverman is proven to be a pack of lies.  There is no AI code programmed to flag listings for prohibited items, like this one, and alert the Marketplace Integrity Team.

Etsy sellers pretend their items are Vintage: featured listings for January 2020 #etsysellsvintage

The pants of many Etsy shop owners are on fire this year as they continue to bald face lie about the age of what they sell.  Wanna feel totally safe when you list items that weren't designed or crafted by you, aren't supplies for crafting, and aren't at least 20 years old?  Then choose "vintage" to identify your listing, and lie about how old your item is -- which Etsy's listing process makes you do.  So, yeah, it's LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE and Etsy's authentic Vintage sellers are silent about the outrage, as usual.

This blog isn't going to be silent.  Check out the fake "vintage" and have a laugh at the mendacity of Etsy's shop owners!

JANUARY 02, 2020

Showing up on page 2 of most relevant Vintage items today is a listing for miniature hay bales sold in lots of 1, 3, 6. 12. 24 or 100 units by Etsy reseller DorisDotz aka Meyer Imports.  The tiny bales are pretending to be "vintage".  384 units in stock.

Same item, sold by the same company, on Amazon -- with no mention of the V-word.  Do a Google search for the product, and there are dozens of merchant sites selling them.  They are "vintage" only on Etsy.


JANUARY 17, 2020

Shown on page 1 of the most relevant Vintage listings today is this craftique handmade ceramic teapot double-dip listed as both "Vintage" and "Handmade".  It's not 20 years old.  The item's Description provided by seller CeramaStudio offers lots of good information about the teapot's handmade features, but nothing is said about it being 20+ years old.  Etsy is still allowing crafters to create double-dip listings in order to have their handmade items seen in all search results.  Of course, Etsy's Vintage seller community is silent about this ongoing practice that disadvantages them.

Etsy shop PinkPickerParty mendaciously claims her sustainably produced wooden utensils hand-stamped with Disney themed image and graphic is "Vintage from the 1960s".  The shop has lots of other listings for stamped wooded flatware, but those are listed as "handmade".  Claiming that the faux Disney ones are about 60 years old is simply fraud.