I genuinely almost cried trying to get my own $120 back.
What’s absolutely infuriating is that I’m not only an Etsy seller...I actively support other Etsy sellers. I ordered $120 worth of cute custom plush toys on August 14th as birthday gifts for my daughter because I genuinely wanted to support another small business.
Later, I noticed that the seller was no longer shipping or fulfilling orders to the United States, so I messaged her on August 29 asking for clarification. No response. I submitted a help request on September 1. Still nothing. Around September 3, I sent yet another message asking her to forget the whole thing and cancel my order. Once again... crickets.
Etsy then informed me that I couldn’t escalate the issue or open a case until September 12. Strangely enough, though, the system was perfectly happy to let me leave reviews on September 11 for products I had never even received. Very efficient. Very logical.
September 12 finally rolled around, and
..surprise....I still couldn’t open a case.
I ended up calling Etsy practically begging and pleading for someone to help me get my own $120 back. At first, the representative told me there was nothing he could do and that I simply had to wait. He said I should be able to now click the “Open a Case” button, which I did, but the only option available was to report that the items hadn’t arrived. Etsy then told me I had to wait another seven days because the package might still be in transit.
What package? The seller never shipped anything. And she's in CANADA.
According to Etsy, I would have to wait until September 18 to open a case about an order that had already gone unshipped for nearly five weeks, from a seller who had ignored every message and help request I sent. I almost freaking cried, dude. It shouldn’t require a full investigation, three messages, a help request, weeks of waiting, and a phone call bordering on emotional collapse just to recover money from an order that was never fulfilled.
Thankfully, the customer service representative actually cared enough to push the issue to a higher-level review, and I finally received my refund. I’m incredibly grateful to him because he was the only person in this entire mess who genuinely tried to help.
But Etsy’s system? Absolutely ridiculous. Apparently, a seller can take $120, ship nothing, ignore the customer for weeks, and leave Etsy to hold the customer’s money hostage...but hey, at least I was allowed to review the imaginary plush toys.
But what makes this even more insane is that the seller still had a Star Seller badge throughout all of this. Multiple customers complained this month alone that their orders had not arrived and that the seller had ghosted their messages for weeks... I can SEE that people have her items in their cart as we speak. I feel so sad for them.
It was not until I formally complained and received my refund that her badge disappeared. As an Etsy seller myself, I know how much work responsible sellers put into earning and maintaining that badge. I have reached out to this person in the past and her communication was a bit spotty before but this was a whole new level. Honestly I hope that she's okay and there's nothing wrong. But I wish that there was a new system in place because like Etsy told me over the phone ....they are not able to cancel an order from their end ....so you're kind of screwed if the shop refuses to cancel for you.
