Etsy sellers offering fake ‘handmade’ products at ripoff prices, says Which?

theguardian.com:

Etsy bills itself as a marketplace for “unique and creative” goods but scrutiny of its product listings has revealed sellers peddling fake “handmade” products that could be bought for a fraction of the price from big retailers including Amazon, Asda and the discount chain B&M.

The investigation by the consumer group Which? found rogue sellers charging up to seven times more than on other websites for the items, falsely claiming they were made by hand.

One Etsy seller had 19 “handmade” items on sale but six were from Asda, one was from the furnishing retailer Dunelm and one from B&M. In another case even the seller, with 105 items listed on Etsy, was not real – with the profile picture associated with the account being a stock image of a woman wearing a suit.

In its house rules, Etsy states everything listed for sale must be handmade, vintage or a craft supply. To be described as a handmade item, sellers must have been involved in the making or design. If others are involved in the process, they need to say so on the listing page.

Which? analysed the first page of items in a selection of categories on Etsy last month, including furniture, toys and clothes. Researchers then filtered results to show “handmade” items only and used Google image search to see if they were for sale elsewhere.

It found that 23 of the 192 “handmade” products were available on other online platforms or retailers and all but two had a higher price on Etsy. In toys, Which? checked a handful of “busy” books aimed at young children. The same book was listed on Alibaba for £4 and just shy of £28 on Etsy – seven times the price.

One “star” seller’s “handmade” rustic bedside nightstand table was £128 on Etsy but could be found for £44 on Amazon. An industrial