Online rights are Etsy bit worrying
CONVENIENCE and the pandemic has led to online shopping overtaking the high street in recent times.
Large shopping “platforms” such as Amazon, ebay and Etsy give online infrastructure and marketing for traders, big and small, to market and sell goods.
I’m not concerned with how these platforms operate or the items they sell. I am interested in how good they are in relation to consumers’ rights.
In the next few weeks I will look at consumers’ shopping experiences on the main platforms. This week, I’m investigating Us-based e-commerce company Etsy, which calls itself a global marketplace for unique and creative goods.
I have often shopped on Etsy and I’m a fan. It is a great concept offering unusual and interesting goods and it’s great to support small independent traders.
But, from a consumer rights perspective, I think the platform has serious failings which need to be addressed. Here is what you need to know:
LIMITED CONSUMER RIGHTS
Often goods on Etsy are bought from a private individual not a company. This is fine if you appreciate your consumer rights are reduced.
The Consumer
Rights Act 2015 says buying from a private individual means you only have the right for the goods to be “as described”. The goods do not have to be “of satisfactory quality” or “fit for purpose”. The Etsy site does not explain this.
LACK OF TRANSPARENCY
If you cannot resolve a dispute with a seller on Etsy and dislike the proposed resolution – if any – offered via its mediation service, your next step will be to take the matter to a small claims court.
But to issue a claim you will need the seller’s full name and address. This is another major flaw with the site because consumers say obtaining such details is like “getting blood out of a stone”.
I think this breaches consumer contracts regulations, which says such information should be given at point of purchase.
It may be argued that providing a channel of communication via Etsy is good enough – not an argument I would subscribe to.
MISLEADING STATEMENTS
A number of sellers on Etsy state on their adverts that: “Returns and exchanges not accepted”.
I think the reasonable consumer, who is neither legally qualified nor savvy about their rights, would take to that to mean they could never return goods. This is seriously misleading. Buyers have the legal right under consumer contracts regulations, to notify the trader of their wish to return goods within 14 days of delivery, save for bespoke and perishable goods.
INADEQUATE MEDIATION SERVICE
If you end up in dispute with a seller, Etsy provides a mediation procedure. Its website says: “After you open a case, an Etsy support agent will review the case and come to a decision.”
I was interested to find out about what qualifications and experience the agents had and whether they were UK or Us-based.
My question in this regard was ignored but, from complaints I have heard and read about the Etsy mediation service, my guess is that the agents are based in the US and not skilled in UK consumer laws, although of course I may be wrong.
ETSY’S RESPONSE
I asked Etsy about all of these matters but, rather than responding to each of my questions so that I could enlighten consumers, it chose to provide the following statement:
“When a seller opens a shop and lists items on Etsy, they agree to our Terms of Use which require them to comply with local and international legal requirements.
“Because Etsy is a peer-to-peer marketplace, buyers work directly with sellers to resolve any order issues. If an issue related to a transaction is not easily resolved, our case system enables buyers to notify Etsy so that an agent can step in to determine the best path forward.”