🧵 From Permanent Ban to Full Recovery: How I Survived Etsy’s “Final” Decision
The story of how our handmade family business faced the unimaginable — and came back stronger.
The Day Everything Changed
One morning, I opened my inbox to a notification no small business owner ever wants to see:
“Your shop has been deactivated for not meeting Handmade or Creative standards.”
There was no clear explanation. I submitted a Final Appeal — an emotional, panicked message saying I’d fix whatever I’d done wrong. It was denied in just 30 minutes with the message:
“We’re unable to discuss your account status further.”
For our family, Etsy wasn’t just a sales channel — it was our only source of income.
Between Panic and a Plan
After the initial shock, I realized I had two choices: give up… or tell the truth.
So I gathered everything I had:
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Videos of our sewing process
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Photos of our home studio
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Documentation of our design patterns, tools, fabric
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Clear roles of each team member in our family-run studio
I organized it all into a detailed email and sent it one more time.
The Turning Point
Three days later, Eva from Etsy’s Trust & Safety Team replied.
She said she had reviewed the new materials and would discuss them with her team.
A week later, she explained the problem: Etsy had found our products on Macy’s and Amazon — they thought we were resellers.
The truth? Our products were being copied by larger retailers, and some of the listing images I had used (found online) accidentally linked our shop to them.
Owning My Mistake
I took full responsibility.
✅ I removed all borrowed images
✅ I replaced them with photos of our actual handmade items
✅ I included full videos of us making those specific products from start to finish
✅ I explained every step of our in-house production and who does what
✅ I showed proof that we were the original creators
The Email That Changed Everything
Two weeks later, I received this:
“Your account has been reinstated.”
Our listings came back. Our payment account was restored.
And more importantly, we had survived.
What I Learned (and You Can Too)
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Take a breath. Etsy gives you up to 6 months to appeal. Don't rush like I did.
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Be honest with yourself. Figure out what may have triggered the issue.
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Document everything. Even if you don’t have proof now, start today.
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Show, don’t just tell. Prove your handmade process with real evidence.
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People still exist behind the platform. Give them a reason to believe you.
The Bigger Picture
Getting banned from Etsy forced me to create the most complete documentation of our business I'd ever done.
That became the foundation for refining our listings, rebuilding our brand, and starting fresh with intention.
Sometimes, the hardest setbacks are exactly what push us to rebuild stronger.
If You’re Going Through It Too…
If you’re a handmade seller going through a suspension, I hope this gives you hope — or at least, a path.
We depend on platforms, yes.
But we also need to grow something no one can take away:
our own story, our own voice, our own foundation.
🧵 Thanks for reading.
I’m Junie, and I run Junie Life — a slow fashion studio creating handmade clothing for women over 50.
You can find us at www.junielife.com and (once again!) on Etsy.