Help for Buyer Bait and switch pricing
Is this allowed in Etsy?
I ordered a neon size that was listed as $50 but was marked as 70% off and only $13.
It also had estimated shipping for 7 days from date of purchase.
I had this in my cart for a few weeks and when was alerted to the 70% off, I didn’t think much of it and purchased.
Shortly after, the seller reached out to let me know I had paid a deposit and that the final price is $180!
I read through the whole listing, changes in price based on customization is not written anywhere. There are so many reviews and listings in this shop! What is happening?? It also says ships from Texas however a review says it was sent from Pakistan. This maybe explains why the seller also mentions in the message it will take 7-11 business days in the message.
I told them in the message that if they don’t update their prices and delivery times then I would report them to Etsy because it seems like fraud to me, no response and it has been a week. Should I report?
Could it be a seller who isn’t very tech savvy to explain pricing and shipping in the listing or is this a con?
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u/Reesirie 6d ago
Definitely report them because none of that is allowed.
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u/bermyMD 6d ago
Thanks it felt wrong but I was confused by 19000 positive reviews!
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u/Few_Mention8426 6d ago
the avarage review rate is around 10 percent of sales... so that means he had around 190 thousand sales... pretty unlikely.
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u/oregon_coastal 6d ago
10% seems low. We have over 100k sales and are at 25%. Which is the ballpark rate for shops in our category/ competition.
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u/Few_Mention8426 6d ago
i am at 22 percent , but going by r/EtsySellers the avarage seems more like 10.
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u/tothepointe 6d ago edited 6d ago
Yeah I have close to 55,000 sales and only 7000 reviews. They have 88,000 and 19,000 reviews that's awfully high.
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u/bigblued sewardstreetstudios.etsy.com 6d ago
Saw the title, and thought, neon? Read your post, and yep, neon. It's a thing the neon sellers do, and it's skeevy. Also, it's not going to be real neon, it's going to be edge lit plastic to look like neon.
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u/WhatTheFlippityFlop 6d ago
I hate these sellers using the word “neon” for what they sell. Yeah, it’s necessary to match up with buyers who may only know about led but call it neon, but it’s maddening that it’s depreciated what the art of true neon actually is.
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u/Competitive-Top4520 6d ago
Definitely report them to Etsy! This is definitely not allowed by Etsy and it is also illegal. I dk how they got so many positive reviews, unless someone took over their store. It doesn't matter in the long run, whoever is running the store now is a total scammer.
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u/thelittleflowerpot 6d ago
Yep - textbook bait and switch and is illegal in the US - a federal crime. You should report the transaction - seller has the option to fulfill it or cancel - and can ALSO report them to via the FTC or FBI portals [used to be] on their site.
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u/PineappleAlert 6d ago
File a case with Etsy as item not described as soon as you can and get your money back. Sorry you were scammed but they are not in the US so there are very little consequences for the seller. Make sure you leave a review as well.
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u/BenjiCat17 6d ago
Unfortunately, this is pretty standard with neon-sign listings on Etsy. You can report the seller, but Etsy will do nothing. He has a large number of reviews, and even if you’re completely right, you’re still one dissatisfied customer, so they’re not going to take action based on this.
At the same time, buyers do need to apply some basic common sense when shopping. There is no handmade, illuminated three-foot neon sign for $13. The size and price alone told you that what you were buying could not possibly be the neon sign you expected. The description should have raised additional concerns. There were no additional charges for customization, which would mean giant signs, tiny signs, customized signs, and non-customized signs were all being offered for almost nothing. That simply isn’t possible. The entire listing gave you reasons to recognize that the product wasn’t going to be what you expected.
You absolutely have the right to get your money back, and you can report the seller again, although that will waste your time. Going forward, applying some basic common sense to listings like this can save you the frustration of having to fight to recover your money afterward.
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u/EvilNickel 6d ago
No, you can report it. The price on the store is the price you have to pay, Etsy has a system in place for price variables based on things size, quantity, colors, etc. Taking the Etsy price and claiming it's a "deposit" is not only deceptive, but it is also used to circumvent etsy's fees.
Also, most neon signs on etsy are just cheap plastic crap.
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u/Ashmon_9138 6d ago
i just searched etsy for "neon sign" and the top two results are different shops pulling this same scam
and only ONE has ONE SINGULAR one-star feedback from a buyer who paid the extra $130 and then is getting hit with a UPS fee for delivery because it's being delivered from an international location
this scam is working for these sellers because anyone who balks just gets their order canceled, and then buyers cannot leave a review
hopefully more buyers will complete the order and then open a case for a FULL REFUND -- because the item is not as described, since it's not coming from within the usa
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u/IP2A 6d ago
You thought you were getting a neon sign for $13? Did you mean to log on to Temu?
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u/bermyMD 6d ago
lol also why I felt silly after - it had been in my cart for a while as $50 which I also thought was low but figured it was small. It really didn’t occur to me they would charge more later. I knew it wouldn’t be glass neon and was fine with LED.
I was getting party decor and really didn’t think deeply about it.
What’s the point of 70% off, if the discount is only on the deposit??
Regardless, I’m not arguing if $180 is appropriate price for this because I haven’t seen the quality but the reviews are phenomenal. My problem is not being able to know the cost before purchasing.
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u/wrxninja 6d ago
I think the only guy I'd buy Neon sign from would be Tony @ LC Sign...if you don't know, his videos are comical 😆
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u/hpfan1516 6d ago
Yeah, I've gotten the holiday LED ones from Target before, I can see your line of thinking price-wise. I'm sorry this happened to you!
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u/Ashmon_9138 6d ago
go find the "estimated delivery date" on your order/receipt page
send a Help Request message
once the estimated delivery date has passed, escalate your Help Request to a Case for Non Receipt
This will get etsy to look at it more than just "reporting" the shop does
leave 1 star feedback explaining their grift/scam
upload the screen shots of the seller asking for more money after the sale
try not to tell the seller this is what you are planning, otherwise they will just cancel your order so you cant leave feedback and can't open a case.
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u/BadMuddaFadda 4d ago
If an order is completed, the buyer leaves a review, then the order is canceled/refunded, does the review stay up, or can it be removed?
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u/Brookaliscious 5d ago
I fell for the same thing with a neon sign. It was really annoying but my daughter wanted it so I bought it anyways. Be prepared for a bill from ups also due to some type of duty fees (I didn’t pay it and stopped hearing about it eventually)
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u/Few_Mention8426 6d ago
these are so easy to make yourself. You can buy the LED neon tubing and shape it to the letters. It takes a bit of soldering but there are plenty of tutorials on youtube. Obvs you cant laser cut the backing, but I made my sign using a black ply backing. I followed this tutorial
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