Etsy? Yeah I have purchased things off of that site before. More like eBay and less like Amazon; with Etsy it's all privately run storefront and most of the stuff are sold by private sellers, so your experience could vary greatly; how are the seller ratings? That would probably be your best clue.
FWIW I have done...3 transactions through Etsy and all of them proceeded smoothly and without issue. If you pay with PayPal then you have that additional layer of buyer protection, which is nice.
Posts: 1160 | Location: SW Washington, Support Sporting Systems! | Registered: March 27, 2010
I use it both as a buyer and seller, closest thing to a problem I’ve had is not realizing the seller was overseas and it was something I needed quickly. I almost always use the filter to only show shops in the USA but I have noticed a few shops popping up that are just selling mass produced Chinese stuff.
Every seller I’ve come across are quick to respond to questions and ship very fast.
My wife has bought several things and only had one problem (wrong pattern on a monogrammed blanket) but seller fixed it with no issue. But like Mech said not all sellers are as easy to deal with.
Posts: 846 | Location: DFW | Registered: January 04, 2017
Used them once but don't really care for them. I'll stick to Amazon.
Had Ebay and PayPal accounts several years ago closed both. E-Bay prices are now mostly set price and no bid deals and their price isn't any better than what you can find on Amazon.
SigP229R Harry Callahan "A man has got to know his limitations". Teddy Roosevelt "Talk soft carry a big stick" I Cor10: 13 "1611KJV"
Etsy is a platform for people to sell stuff by listing individual items (more like eBay, as has been mentioned, rather than a store where each listing represents an item lots of people can buy over and over again).
There's other stuff on Etsy (some antiques and vintage clothes and such), but its main focus is sellers that make stuff themselves and then sell it on Etsy. As such, the quality of the items listed and the quality of the interaction with the seller and so on is totally dependent on the individual seller.
You can almost think of it like one of those antiques mall places - the mall offers a place to set up and credit card processing and security, and there are a hundred different dealers, each with their own little stall.
I've bought a few things and my wife has bought more, we've both been happy. My experience has been that people that make stuff themselves mostly take pride in their work and want the people who buy their stuff to be satisfied.
Posts: 6319 | Location: CA | Registered: January 24, 2011
Purchased something once as a gift, transaction went smoothly. Honestly not sure how "buyer-friendly" they are, vis-a-vis eBay but for the one purchase I could take the risk!
You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02
Posts: 12783 | Location: Madison, MS | Registered: December 10, 2007
Originally posted by SR025: My wife has bought several things and only had one problem (wrong pattern on a monogrammed blanket) but seller fixed it with no issue. But like Mech said not all sellers are as easy to deal with.
Same, except it was leggings instead of a blanket. Seller immediately sent the correct pattern, before even getting shipping label on the return.
Posts: 7123 | Location: Lost, but making time. | Registered: February 23, 2011
My first purchase on there, I bought something that said had "5 in-stock" but I think it's because the sellers have to post it as in-stock to sell it. I didn't realize when it said "hand-made item" that the guy had to make it. It ended up getting to me in time for the gift, but it was a stressful surprise that I should've seen beforehand.
I've used Etsy a lot since and never had an issue.
____________________________ While you may be able to get away with bottom shelf whiskey, stay the hell away from bottom shelf tequila. - FishOn
Posts: 7547 | Location: Alpine, Ut | Registered: February 17, 2010