Do Vintage items still have to be listed under vintage first?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Zen Hen on November 1, 2010 at 7:50am

yes, you still have to use "vintage" as the first tag...

Permalink Reply by Endless Collectabilities on November 1, 2010 at 8:34am

I just posted a discussion about some search changes that they made ... wonder if this is related. I haven't had time to read everything but will try to do so tonight.

Kim

Permalink Reply by Glenna & Joy on November 1, 2010 at 9:03am

Those sellers are at a disadvantage to those of us who search in Vintage b/c w/out the vintage tag as the first tag their items will not show up in the vintage category. Technically you could report their listings for being in the handmade category & not being handmade. Hope that helps.

Permalink Reply by Coconut Road Vintage on November 1, 2010 at 9:47am

Don't count on etsy to police the tags or categories. There are lots of vintage style items that are in the vintage category, too, and nothing has been done. There's also the items that are vintage but painted or changed that should be in the handmade category but, are in vintage. It's a mess and getting messier by the minute. I would keep your vintage category because that's where the most people start with when looking for a vintage item.

Permalink Reply by Three Chicks Vintage on November 1, 2010 at 12:00pm

One way to deal with this is to use the 'Report This Item To Etsy' tool, found on the right side of the page (about the bottom of your screen). One of the options is 'incorrect tag or category'. There is space to add details or explanation, but it's not necessary.
You can't reasonably expect Etsy to monitor every single listing - they'd have to pay someone to do that. But reporting an item helps straighten these issues up. I've noticed a number of these listings are relatively new sellers, so they're likely clueless and would benefit from receiving a nudge from Etsy.
Items made from vintage materials and altered vintage items do not belong in the 'vintage' category, however, they can use 'vintage' as a tag.

DebB

Permalink Reply by Another Time Antiques on November 1, 2010 at 1:38pm

This is our forever gripe with Etsy. All I can suggest other than tagging/reporting is to faithfully and regularly write to Etsy Support via email directly and mention this issue in every form you can think of!

Now, as I say that, it's been a couple of months since I've written them and I guess I'll get at it!

With all the page changes they've made, Etsy still has not addressed the unfair category structure of the site. Keep reminding them: We need a full breakdown of options:
1) Artist Made*
2) Vintage
3) Supplies

*Notice I'm not saying Handmade...... it is an apple to oranges comparison. Why ? Because much good old vintage is handmade. So to put handmade in a stream of tags creates exactly the problem we are complaining about when artists put vintage in their tags!

Permalink Reply by WhimsicalVintage on November 1, 2010 at 6:44pm

I noticed this last week but have also noticed some blatant vintage mistagging - Tagging a necklace as a brooch, necklace, bracelet, earrings etc...and no it's not a set or demi. We must still tag with vintage first and I think that I'll be doing a little letter writing on this as it does give many an unfair advantage. I would also think that those who are handmade must be furious and I'm sure they are taking some kind of action. I wouldn't be surprised to see it resolved shortly.
Great topic - it was on my mind and I just haven't had a chance to act on it...thank you for bringing it back to my attention:)

Pam

Permalink Reply by Gilty Girl Vintage on November 2, 2010 at 1:51am

Maybe Etsy doesn't police the listings but there are plenty of vintage vendors and teams scouring the listings to make sure that their tag isn't listed where it doesn't belong. For instance, I used to belong to a team. I used that teams tags in my listings. When I withdrew from the team roster I thought that I had removed all the listings and cleaned up the tags as well. Turns out today when I logged in I received notice from the team leader that some of the listings I renewed still had the tag there. So, I spent some time tonight cleaning it up.

Just some food for thought......Vintage Village has a good reputation among Etsy Admin. Would it not be in our best interest as a group to not bend the rules there? To lead by example and flag items that we see.
In Charmings case, I agree with you there is no way that you could possibly flag 665 listings, BUT, could you get to the search page again and copy the link to your search and send IT in a letter to 'Etsy?

Another way to approach this issue would be to start a discussion about tagging in the forums.

Good luck to everyone!

Permalink Reply by Three Chicks Vintage on November 2, 2010 at 6:38am

Scouring through 665 listings is quite a task. I've gone through and reported on the first three pages thus far. I think in a lot of listings, at least with the vintage glassware, ignorance is the case. New sellers, not reading nor understanding the procedure. If Etsy required a category entry for all three categories BEFORE tagging, a lot of this would be eliminated because sellers would be forced to make an immediate choice and there would be no default. I've offered this idea up to Etsy before, but apparently rearranging, changing the colors and generally goofing up the layout of our pages is more important. (That's the end of my Etsy bashing, I don't do that often!)

Permalink Reply by PaperHistory on November 7, 2010 at 12:44am

I know that when I first started out, I hadn't posted more than a few things before I got a convo from an Etsy admin letting me know that I needed to have "vintage" as my first tag. (Mini-gripe: it would be SO much easier if they had kept - or would bring back - the old method where the 1st step was to pick an overarching category for your item - one of the 3 areas. Why they got rid of that and went with just the tags method I will never understand.) If I read that, in among all the other details I was trying to absorb when I first set up, it hadn't stuck, so that little reminder put me back on the right track. I would guess there are just too many new sellers to do that any more - or maybe I was just special? :}


Three Chicks Vintage said:

One way to deal with this is to use the 'Report This Item To Etsy' tool, found on the right side of the page (about the bottom of your screen). One of the options is 'incorrect tag or category'. There is space to add details or explanation, but it's not necessary.
You can't reasonably expect Etsy to monitor every single listing - they'd have to pay someone to do that. But reporting an item helps straighten these issues up. I've noticed a number of these listings are relatively new sellers, so they're likely clueless and would benefit from receiving a nudge from Etsy.
Items made from vintage materials and altered vintage items do not belong in the 'vintage' category, however, they can use 'vintage' as a tag.

DebB

Permalink Reply by PaperHistory on November 7, 2010 at 12:50am

That also drives me crazy. Tagging something as "Pyrex" and "Fire King" when it's Glasbake, etc. Yes, they're similar types of glass, but if I'm looking for a Pyrex dish I don't want Glasbake. I think people believe they're doing "suggestive selling" - searching for a brooch, but oh! look at this pretty necklace instead. Nope, most of the time people know what they want and are searching for that specific type of item. Treating them like they're slow is a bad idea.



WhimsicalVintage said:

I noticed this last week but have also noticed some blatant vintage mistagging - Tagging a necklace as a brooch, necklace, bracelet, earrings etc...and no it's not a set or demi. We must still tag with vintage first and I think that I'll be doing a little letter writing on this as it does give many an unfair advantage. I would also think that those who are handmade must be furious and I'm sure they are taking some kind of action. I wouldn't be surprised to see it resolved shortly.
Great topic - it was on my mind and I just haven't had a chance to act on it...thank you for bringing it back to my attention:)

Pam