Artisan sex toy businesses may not survive Etsy's new seller policies

Simply Elegant Glass has been selling handmade sex toys on Etsy for nearly ten years. During that time, the store has made more than 7,000 sales and collected more than 1,500 mostly five-star reviews. The Etsy shop — which offers glass dildos, anal plugs and other inserts — drives most of the small business's sales. But as of Monday July 29, the bulk of the store's catalog will no longer be allowed on the market under Etsy's new restrictions on sex toys.

The Adult Nudity and Sexual Content Policy, which was quietly published at the end of June in the platform's “House Rules,” states that “Etsy prohibits the sale of adult toys that: are inserted into the body; inserted into the genitalia; designed for private parts to be inserted into them.” Among other things, it specifically prohibits sellers from selling “dildos, vibrators, anal plugs, sex dolls and flesh lights.” Policy review, first seen by Mashable, it came alongside a public forum post by Etsy's head of Trust & Safety, Alice Wu Paulus, who wrote that it was designed to reflect “evolving industry standards and best practices to continue to keep our users safe.”

A note about the upcoming change said Etsy, in the coming weeks, “will be contacting sellers directly who may need to update their listing photos to be compliant.” Enforcement will begin on July 29, it said, and non-compliance lists will be removed. But as of three weeks after the new policy was published online, sellers who spoke to Engadget said they had not been contacted directly by Etsy. They all found out about the ban through social media or other means.

Etsy did not respond to specific questions about the reasons for its decision when contacted by Engadget, but a spokesperson said the change will only affect a very small percentage of the platform's seller community. The only explanation given in the policy change itself notes that the site wants to ensure that “the content is appropriate for a wide audience.”

It was hailed as the final nail in the coffin for many adult-oriented businesses on Etsy. Many marketers described the previous years to Engadget as a battle for presence and success on the platform. And since no other marketplace for handmade products currently operates on Etsy's scale, it feels like the only place to find such items has “really been removed from the Internet,” says Andy, a glassblower at Simply Elegant Glass who chose to share only their stories. name.

“If I want to find handmade products – unless I know about them beforehand through Etsy – it's very difficult to find them,” says Andy. They said they found advertising on Google “expensive,” and products from small businesses are often buried in search results. If someone was searching for a product type, “I don't think you'll be able to find it [Simply Elegant Glass] on Google,” said Andy.

Simply Elegant Glass launched its own website a few years ago and recently moved to Shopify in an effort to break its reliance on Etsy, but said in a recent post on X that still, “most of our traffic comes from Etsy searches.”

As they see it, Andy said the platform has tended to “allow unknown sellers, people who don't make toys, dropshippers” and shops that would seem to “fly off the face of the earth.” [Etsy’s] goals.” Dropshipping is a common practice where businesses sell products that they don't actually make or stock themselves – instead, they source these items from a third-party supplier once they receive orders, and the suppliers will ship them. to customers. Etsy has said that dropshipping is not allowed on the platform under most circumstances, but dropshippers have found a way.

In addition to sex toys, Etsy's new policy prohibits the sale of all pornography, including vintage. Playboy and any images or realistic depictions of sexual acts and genitalia. Non-original works of art with sexual acts or genitalia may be allowed, but only under certain conditions: if sexual acts are shown, no genitalia may be visible; if private parts are shown, there can be no “sexual context.” Anything that includes a combination of family and sexual terms, eg, “slogans like 'Daddy's Whore' or 'I'm Choking Mom,'” are also out. Etsy, however, will continue to allow certain sex accessories, such as BDSM gear and sex furniture.

Sellers who spoke to Engadget questioned why Etsy can't solve security problems in other ways than bans, such as creating a designated adults-only section to keep these devices from appearing in inappropriate places.

The market is one that sellers and buyers alike rely on to find sought-after sex products. Etsy is “the only place that I know of to support small businesses/makers in the world of alternative products,” Alissa Milano, an Etsy sponsor who bought sex and kink products on the platform, told Engadget in a DM.

In addition to availability, the user interface makes it easy for stores to create inventory and offer customization options, and it gives potential buyers a way to contact the seller if they have questions before placing an order. “I talk to a lot of customers,” says Daniel Tyler, who runs UK-based adult site Secret Kink, and sells on Etsy under the name SecretLatex. He says that in general, “they want small changes here and there.” If you buy from Amazon, you won't get that.” And because it costs so little to list products on Etsy — $.20 per listing — it's “probably the most accessible place to sell something,” says Chelsea Downs, founder of the New York Toy Collective. Emerging indie marketplaces like Spicerack that are trying to provide a better option for sellers in the adult space are promising developments, but they don't yet have the reach or name recognition of Etsy.

Even before the ban, sellers of adult products say they have faced account suspensions and listing removals that appear to be without reason, despite their best efforts to comply with Etsy's existing mature content rules. Or, their stores will drop in the search engines and can't climb to the top. “It's getting worse and worse,” said Downs, who notes that his store's sales on the stage are not what they used to be.

Tyler says his Etsy shop was closed about six or seven years ago for unknown reasons. “I couldn't open the shop, no one was answering,” he said. He rebranded and returned to the platform a few years later, and so far he's “safe,” but says, “I get various warnings about policy violations every week.” The current Etsy shop sells latex and rubber kinkwear as well as dildos, silicone penis sleeves and gender-revealing products such as packs – prosthetics designed to mimic the penis and testicles that can be worn under clothing. Another listing of him will not be allowed under the new rules.

Etsy sales accounted for 50 percent of Secret Kink's profits last year, and 30 percent the year before that, Tyler said. “I always told my partner that I was worried that at any moment… they would just close my shop,” he said. Amidst the economic problems small businesses are already facing, Tyler says the forum's latest move is “just a kick in the teeth.”

Both Tyler and Downs also expressed concern about how the changes could affect consumer access to gender-affirming products. Downs' store, which has sold more than 12,000 in its seven years on Etsy, also sells a mix of entertainment and sexuality products. According to an Etsy spokesperson, items such as parkas that are classified as artificial and not toys (ie not intended for sexual activity) are still allowed, along with certain sex products.

Etsy's overhaul comes on the heels of age-verification laws that have begun to gain traction in the US, with the stated goal of protecting children from adult content online. In recent weeks, Pornhub has released several states that have enacted or are attempting to move forward with such legislation, rather than complying with verification measures that could pose a privacy risk to the site's users. And sex was already a tough sell for online businesses before this move. Payment processors, such as PayPal and Stripe, have historically cracked down on the sale of sex-related products and sexual content (remember when OnlyFans tried to ban porn to appease the banks?).

Regardless of Etsy's opinion, affected sellers say they are concerned about the industry-wide impact. Matt Rowe, co-owner of luxury sex toy store Odyssey Toys, said in an email that it would be a “devastating blow” to many artisans. “There are incredibly talented people who are innovating and doing amazing work with their designs, and for many of them their business could be pulled out from under them almost overnight.”

Rowe said he considers Odyssey “one of the lucky ones” because Etsy currently only captures 20-25 percent of the business' sales — but the potential impact on a group of owners and employees, as well as their families, “is still really troubling. .” Odyssey moved into a larger office earlier this year, and brought on new employees, Rowe said.

With no word from Etsy after its decision, many sellers said their futures right now feel uncertain. “We are left wondering if our account will be closed? Limited? Or will they just remove our products? Who knows!” said Rowe.

Selling sex toys may put a target on their backs, but concerned sellers warn that there are broader issues plaguing Etsy that will continue to affect even small businesses that don't carry mature products. Their gripes include “sinking” in search rankings by not offering free shipping, and navigating a playing field that has changed dramatically with the proliferation of dropshippers, mass-produced products and AI innovation. “This idea of ​​a handmade market is gone,” said Downs.

In July, Etsy updated its seller handbook with new categories to reflect what it says is the platform, loosening its grip on the “handmade,” “vintage” or “handicrafts” categories that listings once had to fit into. Now, stores can choose to label their products as “made by retailer,” “designed by retailer,” “found by retailer” or “handpicked by retailer.”