Online retailer Etsy will prohibit sales of most sex toys, content that depicts sex acts and genitalia, and more starting July 29.
The indie seller published its Adult Nudity and Sexual Content policy yesterday, which states that sales of adult toys that are insertable, "applied to the genitalia," or "designed for genitals to be inserted into them" will be prohibited. That pretty much runs the gamut — dildos, vibrators, rings, plugs, and the like will be banned.
As for non-realistic content — like drawings — total nudity and sex acts "without visible genitalia or anuses" are allowed, but non-realistic images of explicit acts aren't.
Okay okay... So if we don't SEE the anuses, but I ABSOLUTELY know that there ARE anuses under the clothes, and I'm talking I can picture these things vividly, man... So then we're cool right, Etsy?
That's fair, etsy also sells a lot of adult toys that aren't meant to go inside. They have plenty of bdsm gear made by small creators, I've bought a couple from specific people who I follow and they've been great.
Meanwhile, most sex shops: selling jelly which just straight up melts with time, TPE/TPR which are porous and might melt when boiled and therefore pretty much impossible to keep clean, PVC which they promise doesn't contain phthalates this time, and silicone that has about a 50% chance of actually being platinum cured. DIYers can't be much worse, as far as I know, they either outright state what methods and materials they use or will provide them upon request.
My favorite was the one that generated a ship code but never actually shipped the item, and kept telling Etsy "Oops - one more week for us to get this figured out" every time I complained with Etsy until the refund period ended, and Etsy stood behind them.
That is the problem Etsy thinks it should be tackling rather than the fact that its small business sellers are being driven off the platform. Shows where their priorities are.
It would do even more harm if people were more aware of how China is able to make things so inexpensively. Amazon and Walmart have standardized obfuscating slave labor.
In Xinjiang, the government is the trafficker. Authorities use threats of physical violence, forcible drug intake, physical and sexual abuse, and torture to force detainees to work in adjacent or off-site factories or worksites producing garments, footwear, carpets, yarn, food products, holiday decorations, building materials, extractives, materials for solar power equipment and other renewable energy components, consumer electronics, bedding, hair products, cleaning supplies, personal protective equipment, face masks, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and other goods—and these goods are finding their way into businesses and homes around the world.
Chinese reselling is the most profitable business model. Etsy is a public company and must choose the most profitable business model. The idea that a publicly traded company will have it's primary business model being selling handcrafted goods is asinine.
Not attacking anyone that didn't see this coming, I'm just commenting on how stupid it is that every company feels the need to go public in our culture of greed regardless of their mission and place in the market.
started going downhill around the time they went public (2015). chasing higher stock prices instead of attracting quality sellers of actual handmade goods.
I hate to say it, but Amazon Handmade is the only one stop shop I've found that can compete so far. I'm hoping that changes soon.
Depending on what you want there are specific marketplaces dealing in it. Aftcra tried to do American handcrafted stuff but they closed down recently. Most of the places are just T-shirt or other textile printing on demand or they give you the tools to make your own storefront without the cohesive "search everything we've got" format of Etsy.
That's what I've found, which means I could be way the fuck off base because I'm just a drunk and I'm not passionate about handmade goods unless I happen to run across them locally.
Based on the various draconian terms and conditions I've seen on my search for a solution I'd be surprised if this was driven by Etsy. In my opinion this is much more likely to be caused by its payment processor.
i'm trying to imagine a fediverse shopping setup where vendors and shoppers are globally trusted in an unhackable way. i'm guessing blockchain is involved?