Etsy Deactivated My Listing: What to Do Next

If your Etsy listing has been deactivated, you may be disappointed and unclear of what to do next.

In this post, we’ll go through what might have caused your listing to be removed and suggest some measures you can take to have your listing reinstated.

Why did Etsy deactivate my listing?

Here are the main reasons why Etsy will deactivate your listings:

• Violating Etsy’s policies or terms of use
• Your listing was not allowed to be sold on Etsy (e.g. illegal or prohibited items)
• Seen as spam or otherwise in violation of Etsy’s rules against spamming or spam-like behavior
• Deemed to be inappropriate or offensive
• Account has been suspended or banned

Let’s take a deeper dive into these reasons to help you figure out how to get your listing back up!

Violation of Etsy’s policies

Etsy has a set of policies that all sellers must follow in order to have a successful and safe marketplace. If your listing violates one of these policies, your listing may be deactivated

Some common policy violations include:

Violating another persons copyright material

This one is pretty basic, if you are selling a product that uses a design that you did not make or do not hold a license to, it will be taken down.

I understand that thousands of other Etsy sellers seem to be getting away with it, but that does not make it right and they all face punishment in the end.

At this point, cut your losses and focus on making unique products that don’t violate Etsy copyright terms. If you simply make a new listing for the same product, you will lose the ability to sell on Etsy completely.

It’s better to build a long-lasting brand on Etsy selling products that follow their guidelines rather than pumping out infringing products in the hopes of a quick buck.

If you’re like me and don’t know how to design, websites like CreativeFabrica and Vexels are excellent resources. You can download hundreds of designs and legally use them for Etsy products.

Using inappropriate language or imagery in your listing

Now, selling products with profanity is not totally against Etsy’s rules. You can sell products with foul language or lewd images, so long as the title of your listing has the word “mature” in it, and you don’t spell the foul word out in the title.

If your product features the F word, you would need to spell it “F*ck” in the title. This is because all listings are supposes to be appropriate for the general audience.

Further, your listings first image is also supposed to be appropriate for users of all ages on the front end.

Again, if your product has the F word in it, you will need to cover part of that up in the main image.

You can learn more about this rule via the Etsy handbook.

Handmade Policy Violation

When creating a listing Etsy gives you three main options about who made the product, if you select the “I did” or “A member of my shop” option when in fact it was made somewhere else by someone else, this is grounds for having your listing deactivated.

Selling things on Etsy that aren’t handmade by you is absolutely allowed, you just need to be sure you select the “Another company or person” option.

It’s important to know that Etsy takes handmade policy violations very seriously and may take action against sellers who repeatedly violate the policy.

You can find more about this policy in the Etsy legal section of their website.

Prohibited Items Policy Violation

If your listing has been deactivated due to a prohibited items policy violation, it’s important to review Etsy’s list of prohibited items and ensure that you are not selling any of these items on the platform. This list includes items such as weapons, illegal drugs, and stolen property etc.

If you are uncertain if an item may be sold on Etsy, you can contact Etsy’s customer service team for clarification.

It’s critical to respect Etsy’s prohibited items policy in order to keep the marketplace secure and trustworthy, and to prevent having your listings removed.

How to reactivate a listing deactivated by etsy

Reactivating a listing that was deactivated by Etsy is no easy task, but it is doable.

If your Etsy listing has been deactivated, you can take measures to have it reinstated. Here are some measures you can take:

Determine the cause for the deactivation

The first step is to determine why your listing was deleted. Etsy will usually notify you through email or on your account as to why your listing was removed.

It is critical to understand the cause for the deactivation so that you can take the appropriate actions to resolve the issue.

Study Etsy’s policies

If your listing was deactivated due to a policy infringement, it’s critical that you review Etsy’s policies and confirm that you are in compliance.

This includes examining the handcrafted policy, the prohibited products policy, and any other related regulations.

Make required changes

If your listing was deleted due to a policy violation, you must make the necessary changes to bring it into line with Etsy’s regulations.

This might involve altering your listing description, photographs, or pricing, as well as deleting some items from your listing.

Contact Etsy’s customer support team

If you’re unclear how to resolve the issue with your listing, or if you believe it was deactivated in error, you may contact Etsy’s customer support team for assistance.

They may be able to give you further information or support in having your listing restored.