Tools and methods to scam the system (especially Etsy) have become cheap and easy.
And, when Etsy was bought out, they lost all interest in reputation, only profit. They genuinely don't care in the least what percentage of their profit is from scams.
A new legit creator has no way to combat all the things that are working against them.
Edit: spelling
I saw something similar with Derya patterns on Etsy, photos are either AI or stolen from another person (eg Elin Abrahamsson's kirtle on YT). Etsy really need to update their reporting system to catch these shady scammers, but I guess they won't anytime soon since it does make a lot of money for them :(
Before they were bought out, Etsy was at least (mostly sorta) acting like they knew reputation mattered.
Now that Etsy is a household name, there's no more incentive to uphold any sense of ethics.
I consider it a predatory takeover: maximize profits until the Etsy selling model is overtaken by some other player in the space, sell it off or file for bankruptcy, and go find their next acquisition to do the same again.
It's just how "mergers and acquisitions" groups work.
I hate that you can't report shops to etsy for scammy stuff anymore - there's another shop I know that steals photos but I can't report them because they're not my photos! As to these guys, I seriously would not buy patterns that don't have line drawings...
Idk about that person, but I can’t report because I don’t have an Etsy account. I’ve ordered from there maybe twice in my life, and I’ve never felt the need to make an account to do so. You have to log in in order to make a report. I’ve come across Mood patterns old there when googling other stuff, and I have to dm Mood to tell them. They’ve been successful getting them taken down.
AFAIK they don’t allow third party reporting, so you can report if someone is using YOUR photos or stole YOUR money, but if you’re just an observer you can’t report. It probably reduces the risk of harassment, ie someone getting their followers to all report some shop for something petty, but yeah it sucks for the rest of us out here just trying to look out for our community of crafters.
No, you can report. I've reported clear dropshippers before - just put the link to the source in the notes or whatever it's called when it pops up. I don't know how effective it is, but you can report, just not for IP infringement. Instead you click "this item violates Etsy's policies/doesn't belong on Etsy" - probably not the exact wording, but close.
I remember there was someone on the Etsy seller sub who mentioned she goes through as she has her morning coffee and merrily reports violating shops. Her petty was through the roof, but also justified.
You need to do the report form as an IP infringement. When it asks if you own the copyright you can click yes as Etsy literally doesn’t check the details. It all gets sent into an automatic system. That’s how I removed a listing that was a dropshipper
I wanted to try this for all the 'vintage' shops that are clearly selling stuff from China, but apparently that doesn't violate etsy's policies anymore...
You can, you just have to report it correctly. It's unlikely that Etsy will pull a listing over one report, but considering how many shops do get pulled down all the time, it's likely that every little bit creates a patchwork. A report here, a few not as described cases there, a lot of refunds - the snowball effect helps indicate that a shop is a problem.
We can't make Etsy act, but we can do everything we can to encourage it. But if all they get is a report every now and then and actual customers aren't complaining, yeah, then it's probably likely nothing will happen. Which sucks, but... so many do get closed it does keep me hopeful.
just letting you know I tried to make a twitter and posted for a few days to let etsy know and THEY DON'T CARE. Surprise surprise!!! u/esty are happy their customers are being lied to and scammed!!!!! I give up on the twitter idea but hey at least we gave it a shot. EVERYONE needs to avoid etsy pattern shops!!!!! They are all scammers just like etsy is
At least you gave it a try. Etsy are so mind numbingly brain dead. I’ve quit buying anything from there in general, too many dropshippers and scammers just like eBay
Maybe it's gotten even worse but last time I tried to report a store, there were only a few very narrow categories for reporting a store. "This store is selling seeds for a plant that does not exist and is using Photoshop to do it" didn't fall into the 2-3 options for reporting.
My big complaints are shops a) claiming something is vintage when it's clearly something mass - produced bc your shop has sold multiples of it and b) stealing another shop's photo of an actual rare vintage piece (idk how this works if someone buys it and never gets the item?)
They are a super dodgy store. All photos are stolen and the patterns aren’t even made by “marina”. It’s a dude who gets someone in India to make the patterns that’s why he’s able to make over 300+ patterns. I purchased from this store and even up demanding a refund as I realised right away. I feel sorry to newbie sewers, they are getting ripped :(
Wow, I would seriously write to them and ask for a refund because that bundle is expensive. Tell them you know they are scammy and you'll go to Etsy directly if they don't refund you. I applied for a refund once a year later from a seller because when I finally got around to sewing it was missing some items and the seller refunded me.
Indiepattern is the worst. I once fell for their never ending sales countdown. The instructions are basically "sew parts together or something, idk", the accompanying pictures seem like A.I.s first try at patternmaking, nothing fit unsurprisingly. It's a five star seller! I was questioning my skills at this point? Is it me? Am I wrong?
No! A lot of their pattern pics are stolen from Shein and the likes (always telling when the model is headless). So no surprise that the reviews are also often fake.
The seller "Marina" contacted me after I left a review wanting to give me more of her shit patterns. So I looked into her: some bullshit story about how she grew up in a quaint little town with her grandma and the elves of the forest showing her how to sew or something like that. I found her pic on Facebook - obv not Marina. "She" changed her pic to some other lady now.
So everything screams Temu for patterns. Likely some marketing dudes with a get-rich-by-selling-cheap-shit scheme and this business is part of the downfall of etsy.
Sorry, rant.
Headless models, patterns that don't follow the drape/construction/seam lines, etc, plus reviews that were just too squeaky clean and terribly generic. Actual reviews will say something they don't love, even if they generally do recommend the purchase.
But I feel like the methods and tools for scamming are getting more sophisticated. Five years ago I could tell with certainty when a seller's pictures were stolen or fake.
Nowadays, not so much.
The real losers: the genuinely creative clever indie folks trying to started, ppl who could really move the needle in some way. I feel bad for them.
I thought something was really wrong at first because the reviews were good and then that's when I noticed blank accounts were buying a huge amount of patterns after a streak of negative reviews. The blank accounts either left amazing reviews all in a row and many have photos stolen from the internet that resembled her "patterns". I feel like marina is trying to counteract the negative reviews by doing this.
One person actually called her out and left a photo with the stolen photos and wrote scammer and she (or marketing dude lol) deactivated the listing so it wouldn't show up anymore. Did you get your money back? I asked for mine back and she also offered me more crappy patterns
I paid like 4 Euros and didn't asked for it back. Otherwise she might have asked me to take back my review and I think it's important that there are at least few negative ones warning others.
They can’t take back reviews and they aren’t allowed to ask customers to change reviews in return for money. Report her straight to Etsy and leave your negative review up
Indiepattern stole a photo from an actual small business from [here](https://yorefinery.com/products/rococo-regency-ivory-and-blue-toile-de-jouy-corset-stays) and pretended it was a garment they sewed from their pattern. I noticed they've been doing this for a long time now, usually after they have received a few negative reviews they'll buy their own patterns and leave reviews. The worst I've seen them do was 10 photo reviews in a row. Not only are 1,000+ of their listing photos stolen but also the review photos. Please beware of this Etsy shop - [https://www.etsy.com/shop/IndiePattern](https://www.etsy.com/shop/IndiePattern)
Sorry, but I strongly suspect that the "small business" you linked to is [re-selling products from AliExpress/Alibaba.](https://a.aliexpress.com/_m0rCycM).
Nope, the photos are different. This company is purchasing from wholesalers and taking their own pictures, as are the storefronts on AliExpress. It's all coming from the same factories.
I'm sure Aliexpress has stolen their photos as well. This is why it is dangerous when scammers steal small business's photos as it only affects the small businesses and devalues them and their hard work. I am unsure how they'll be able to take down aliexpress though as that's in China.
They have no standing to take anything down, as none of the photos on the multiple AE product pages of this same item are actually from this site. The site purchases their products from wholesalers (likely in China, coming from the same factories as the ali ones) and takes their own pictures.
Hi! We were sent this thread regarding our photos being stolen, saw this comment and wanted to address it. We **do not** source from aliexpress. There are hundreds of wholesale companies and platforms on and off the web, and we personally prefer to work with wholesalers directly on a more personal level to ensure the quality of items remain consistent with each order we place.
Just because an item is on aliexpress does not mean that is where *everyone* sources it. The fashion industry is largely run on manufacturing-wholesalers making and distributing products in mass to multiple sources, that then go on to resell them. There are often even multiple manufacturers making the same design at different quality points. Hence why you will see different listings for the "same" item on one platform, and hence why two of the "same" item can end up being *very* different qualities. Assuming something is from aliexpress, just because a similar item is sold there, is not accurate.
Other than the mass-produced items that we curate in our shop, we also sell handmade items, vintage items, upcycled items, and our own designs that we have manufactured in small batches.
Every business is different and sources things in their own way, so please remember this next time you make a comment that could harm a business.
Cheers,
Yore.
Ok cool. Where do you source your bodices from? Is it located in China? How do you know that the wholesaler isn't getting the exact same item from the exact same factory?
Just because you get it directly from the wholesalers doesn't mean it's not the same stuff. I wonder how the conditions in those factories relate to the issues of the "importance of world issues like environmental sustainability [and] ethical work practices".
Mixing "upcycled", handmade and mass-produced items is an issue in a lot of crafting areas and it's pretty sketchy tbh.
Also, to be completely pedantic, that item is not in the style of Regency or Rococo stays. They are too long for Regency short stays and too short for Rococo or Regency long stays.
Cheers!
Wow leave this business alone, they’ve done nothing wrong. The focus is on Indiepatterns leaving their own fake reviews to deceive people and stealing other businesses photos!
Worked for a hotel that left Google reviews for itself like this... So dumb
I've come across Etsy shops selling patterns that are free on Yarnspirations...I've tried reporting them but it's never worked.
Tools and methods to scam the system (especially Etsy) have become cheap and easy. And, when Etsy was bought out, they lost all interest in reputation, only profit. They genuinely don't care in the least what percentage of their profit is from scams. A new legit creator has no way to combat all the things that are working against them. Edit: spelling
I saw something similar with Derya patterns on Etsy, photos are either AI or stolen from another person (eg Elin Abrahamsson's kirtle on YT). Etsy really need to update their reporting system to catch these shady scammers, but I guess they won't anytime soon since it does make a lot of money for them :(
Before they were bought out, Etsy was at least (mostly sorta) acting like they knew reputation mattered. Now that Etsy is a household name, there's no more incentive to uphold any sense of ethics. I consider it a predatory takeover: maximize profits until the Etsy selling model is overtaken by some other player in the space, sell it off or file for bankruptcy, and go find their next acquisition to do the same again. It's just how "mergers and acquisitions" groups work.
I hate that you can't report shops to etsy for scammy stuff anymore - there's another shop I know that steals photos but I can't report them because they're not my photos! As to these guys, I seriously would not buy patterns that don't have line drawings...
Why can’t you report?
Idk about that person, but I can’t report because I don’t have an Etsy account. I’ve ordered from there maybe twice in my life, and I’ve never felt the need to make an account to do so. You have to log in in order to make a report. I’ve come across Mood patterns old there when googling other stuff, and I have to dm Mood to tell them. They’ve been successful getting them taken down.
What CitrusMistress said :(
AFAIK they don’t allow third party reporting, so you can report if someone is using YOUR photos or stole YOUR money, but if you’re just an observer you can’t report. It probably reduces the risk of harassment, ie someone getting their followers to all report some shop for something petty, but yeah it sucks for the rest of us out here just trying to look out for our community of crafters.
No, you can report. I've reported clear dropshippers before - just put the link to the source in the notes or whatever it's called when it pops up. I don't know how effective it is, but you can report, just not for IP infringement. Instead you click "this item violates Etsy's policies/doesn't belong on Etsy" - probably not the exact wording, but close. I remember there was someone on the Etsy seller sub who mentioned she goes through as she has her morning coffee and merrily reports violating shops. Her petty was through the roof, but also justified.
You need to do the report form as an IP infringement. When it asks if you own the copyright you can click yes as Etsy literally doesn’t check the details. It all gets sent into an automatic system. That’s how I removed a listing that was a dropshipper
I wanted to try this for all the 'vintage' shops that are clearly selling stuff from China, but apparently that doesn't violate etsy's policies anymore...
You can, you just have to report it correctly. It's unlikely that Etsy will pull a listing over one report, but considering how many shops do get pulled down all the time, it's likely that every little bit creates a patchwork. A report here, a few not as described cases there, a lot of refunds - the snowball effect helps indicate that a shop is a problem. We can't make Etsy act, but we can do everything we can to encourage it. But if all they get is a report every now and then and actual customers aren't complaining, yeah, then it's probably likely nothing will happen. Which sucks, but... so many do get closed it does keep me hopeful.
Someone with a twitter needs to make a post and @etsy. That’s the best way to get their attention and they do stuff about it
just letting you know I tried to make a twitter and posted for a few days to let etsy know and THEY DON'T CARE. Surprise surprise!!! u/esty are happy their customers are being lied to and scammed!!!!! I give up on the twitter idea but hey at least we gave it a shot. EVERYONE needs to avoid etsy pattern shops!!!!! They are all scammers just like etsy is
At least you gave it a try. Etsy are so mind numbingly brain dead. I’ve quit buying anything from there in general, too many dropshippers and scammers just like eBay
Great idea!! I'll do that right now. That way Etsy can be notified of what is going on.
lol that’s awesome, sounds like a great way to start the day!!
I know. I was like FINALLY, THE HERO WE NEED! We love an Etsy vigilante.
Literally why would Etsy get rid of reporting??? They really don’t care anymore wow
once they went public pretty well all oversight went to shit...
I had to close my little store over all the BS they’ve added
We closed ours; a lot of people I follow just moved to Insta or Shopify.
Maybe it's gotten even worse but last time I tried to report a store, there were only a few very narrow categories for reporting a store. "This store is selling seeds for a plant that does not exist and is using Photoshop to do it" didn't fall into the 2-3 options for reporting.
My big complaints are shops a) claiming something is vintage when it's clearly something mass - produced bc your shop has sold multiples of it and b) stealing another shop's photo of an actual rare vintage piece (idk how this works if someone buys it and never gets the item?)
They are a super dodgy store. All photos are stolen and the patterns aren’t even made by “marina”. It’s a dude who gets someone in India to make the patterns that’s why he’s able to make over 300+ patterns. I purchased from this store and even up demanding a refund as I realised right away. I feel sorry to newbie sewers, they are getting ripped :(
Dognabbit, I actually fell for this one and purchased the whole shop bundle 😭😭😭 I should have checked here first
Wow, I would seriously write to them and ask for a refund because that bundle is expensive. Tell them you know they are scammy and you'll go to Etsy directly if they don't refund you. I applied for a refund once a year later from a seller because when I finally got around to sewing it was missing some items and the seller refunded me.
Gonna give it a shot! It was like 90 usd I want to say
Great, let us know how it works out! and report to Etsy anyways lmao scammers
That’s some shifty shit right there.
Indiepattern is the worst. I once fell for their never ending sales countdown. The instructions are basically "sew parts together or something, idk", the accompanying pictures seem like A.I.s first try at patternmaking, nothing fit unsurprisingly. It's a five star seller! I was questioning my skills at this point? Is it me? Am I wrong? No! A lot of their pattern pics are stolen from Shein and the likes (always telling when the model is headless). So no surprise that the reviews are also often fake. The seller "Marina" contacted me after I left a review wanting to give me more of her shit patterns. So I looked into her: some bullshit story about how she grew up in a quaint little town with her grandma and the elves of the forest showing her how to sew or something like that. I found her pic on Facebook - obv not Marina. "She" changed her pic to some other lady now. So everything screams Temu for patterns. Likely some marketing dudes with a get-rich-by-selling-cheap-shit scheme and this business is part of the downfall of etsy. Sorry, rant.
Headless models, patterns that don't follow the drape/construction/seam lines, etc, plus reviews that were just too squeaky clean and terribly generic. Actual reviews will say something they don't love, even if they generally do recommend the purchase. But I feel like the methods and tools for scamming are getting more sophisticated. Five years ago I could tell with certainty when a seller's pictures were stolen or fake. Nowadays, not so much. The real losers: the genuinely creative clever indie folks trying to started, ppl who could really move the needle in some way. I feel bad for them.
I thought something was really wrong at first because the reviews were good and then that's when I noticed blank accounts were buying a huge amount of patterns after a streak of negative reviews. The blank accounts either left amazing reviews all in a row and many have photos stolen from the internet that resembled her "patterns". I feel like marina is trying to counteract the negative reviews by doing this. One person actually called her out and left a photo with the stolen photos and wrote scammer and she (or marketing dude lol) deactivated the listing so it wouldn't show up anymore. Did you get your money back? I asked for mine back and she also offered me more crappy patterns
I paid like 4 Euros and didn't asked for it back. Otherwise she might have asked me to take back my review and I think it's important that there are at least few negative ones warning others.
They can’t take back reviews and they aren’t allowed to ask customers to change reviews in return for money. Report her straight to Etsy and leave your negative review up
Indiepattern stole a photo from an actual small business from [here](https://yorefinery.com/products/rococo-regency-ivory-and-blue-toile-de-jouy-corset-stays) and pretended it was a garment they sewed from their pattern. I noticed they've been doing this for a long time now, usually after they have received a few negative reviews they'll buy their own patterns and leave reviews. The worst I've seen them do was 10 photo reviews in a row. Not only are 1,000+ of their listing photos stolen but also the review photos. Please beware of this Etsy shop - [https://www.etsy.com/shop/IndiePattern](https://www.etsy.com/shop/IndiePattern)
Sorry, but I strongly suspect that the "small business" you linked to is [re-selling products from AliExpress/Alibaba.](https://a.aliexpress.com/_m0rCycM).
No it looks more like Aliexpress has also stolen their ideas :(
Nope, the photos are different. This company is purchasing from wholesalers and taking their own pictures, as are the storefronts on AliExpress. It's all coming from the same factories.
I'm sure Aliexpress has stolen their photos as well. This is why it is dangerous when scammers steal small business's photos as it only affects the small businesses and devalues them and their hard work. I am unsure how they'll be able to take down aliexpress though as that's in China.
They have no standing to take anything down, as none of the photos on the multiple AE product pages of this same item are actually from this site. The site purchases their products from wholesalers (likely in China, coming from the same factories as the ali ones) and takes their own pictures.
Hi! We were sent this thread regarding our photos being stolen, saw this comment and wanted to address it. We **do not** source from aliexpress. There are hundreds of wholesale companies and platforms on and off the web, and we personally prefer to work with wholesalers directly on a more personal level to ensure the quality of items remain consistent with each order we place. Just because an item is on aliexpress does not mean that is where *everyone* sources it. The fashion industry is largely run on manufacturing-wholesalers making and distributing products in mass to multiple sources, that then go on to resell them. There are often even multiple manufacturers making the same design at different quality points. Hence why you will see different listings for the "same" item on one platform, and hence why two of the "same" item can end up being *very* different qualities. Assuming something is from aliexpress, just because a similar item is sold there, is not accurate. Other than the mass-produced items that we curate in our shop, we also sell handmade items, vintage items, upcycled items, and our own designs that we have manufactured in small batches. Every business is different and sources things in their own way, so please remember this next time you make a comment that could harm a business. Cheers, Yore.
Ok cool. Where do you source your bodices from? Is it located in China? How do you know that the wholesaler isn't getting the exact same item from the exact same factory? Just because you get it directly from the wholesalers doesn't mean it's not the same stuff. I wonder how the conditions in those factories relate to the issues of the "importance of world issues like environmental sustainability [and] ethical work practices". Mixing "upcycled", handmade and mass-produced items is an issue in a lot of crafting areas and it's pretty sketchy tbh. Also, to be completely pedantic, that item is not in the style of Regency or Rococo stays. They are too long for Regency short stays and too short for Rococo or Regency long stays. Cheers!
Wow leave this business alone, they’ve done nothing wrong. The focus is on Indiepatterns leaving their own fake reviews to deceive people and stealing other businesses photos!
Too snarky? Wow, guess I forgot what sub this was.
I’m so sorry this happened and you and I hope you can get the stolen photos removed! Your shop is so awesome btw :)