Over 17,000 Etsy sellers are currently striking to protest the new guidelines the website has put out.
All these stores have a notice saying they're on vacation and it will stay that way until April 18th. Sellers want Etsy to realize they are nothing without them and that they can't keep making decisions that will ultimately harm their businesses.
Etsy guidelines and way of doing business isn't working for sellers. The sellers have asked for the company to “cancel the fee increase,” “crack down on resellers,” improve the “infamously slow support system,” “end the star seller program,” and to “let all sellers opt out of offsite ads.”
In February, Etsy CEO Josh Silverman announced that they would be upping the transaction fees from 5% to 6.5%. That's a 30% increase for a company that recently boasted their record breaking profits.
Hopefully the sellers and Etsy can come to terms that best suit the people using the site. This is how many people make their living and the new ways of doing things don't seem to be the right route for them.