• Evkob@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    1 year ago

    You definitely still can find real people making cool handmade stuff, but yeah there is a fair amount of just bot-posts reselling cheap wares.

    You need to be somewhat tech-savvy (at least in terms of distinguishing automated accounts from humans, which might be more of a social skill) and knowledgeable about whichever craft you seek to purchase, though. And Etsy as a platform has gotten pretty bad for small-scale creators, demanding more of them (such as encouraging them to offer “free” shipping at their own cost) and offering less support.

      • Whimseymimple@beehaw.org
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        1 year ago

        The Artisan’s Coop is building itself right now. Only time will tell how successful it will be, but they’re taking their time to try to build a useful and real cooperative.

      • Evkob@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        Sometimes it’s possible to contact people via their social media accounts and figure out a way to make the transaction happen without a middleman, but I imagine that’s not all vendors. I’m not aware of any alternative platforms to Etsy at the moment, sadly.