this post was submitted on 30 Jun 2024
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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.

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[–] Starkstruck@lemmy.world 58 points 3 months ago (2 children)

How about they get rid of the shitty dropshippers instead?

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 30 points 3 months ago (1 children)

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.

I'm never using Etsy again after that bullshit.

[–] Pips@lemmy.sdf.org 25 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

So that's fraud, report it to your state/local AG office of consumer protection. Might be able to get your money back.

[–] ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml 23 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Or just contact your credit card provider and say the item was never shipped, because it wasn't. Bonus points if you can prove that they never sent you a tracking number. If Etsy won't help you then fuck them.

[–] sunzu@kbin.run 4 points 3 months ago

Ain't that their main money driver now?

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 56 points 3 months ago (1 children)

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.

[–] cygnus@lemmy.ca 42 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Yeah, it's turning into Amazon, flooded by resellers of cheap Chinese shit. That does far more harm to the Etsy brand.

[–] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 17 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

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.

https://www.state.gov/forced-labor-in-chinas-xinjiang-region/

Yes, the US also employs slave labor for big food brands. It’s important to be aware of those as well.

https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-c6f0eb4747963283316e494eadf08c4e

[–] Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 7 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

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.

And Etsy has turned obfuscating slave labor into a side hustle. What bleak times we inhabit.

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[–] Rookwood@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago (7 children)

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.

[–] restingboredface@sh.itjust.works 11 points 3 months ago

Well the funny thing is Etsy actually made a different choice originally. They claimed b-corp status, which is supposed to mean they prioritize social good in their business strategy. It's annoying that they seem to be so much more profit focused because if they were going to go to the trouble of becoming a bcorp they really should be working harder to stick to it.

Here's a bit more about benefit corporations (b-corps)

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[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 49 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (4 children)

I'm gonna be real with you people.

I'm not putting something in my body made by some fucking rando with no evidence whatsoever of what kind of materials they made it with.

Maybe, just maybe, this is a good thing because who knows what kind of toxic plastics were being used to make DIWhy sex toys.


The banning of porn is otherwise dumb, of course.

[–] Lewo@lemmy.world 34 points 3 months ago (2 children)

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.

[–] Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

That’s why I only get my toys from Bad Dragon!

[–] pixeltree@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 3 months ago

There's plenty of other good reliable makers that aren't scummy to their employees and customers. nobd.info If you're in the US, twin tail creations, all night toys, fantasy drove and square peg toys are all absolutely fantastic. 3 out of 5 of my top favorites are from all night toys, the couple who run it are cammers who are extreme size people and couldn't get toys large enough so they decided to make their own and goddamn it really shows that it's a great thing to have people so involved in using toys being the ones to design them, they know exactly what goes into a good toy.

Exotic erotics is good too, but their website is really bad. Just hard to use. Topped toys is really good, but they're canadian so ordering from them directly you have to worry about international shipping. You can get them through some retailers like mr s leather.

[–] Llewellyn@lemm.ee 2 points 3 months ago (2 children)

What's wrong with platinum?

[–] Evilcoleslaw@lemmy.world 14 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Nothing, I think the issue is that the other 50% will be peroxide cured because it's cheaper, though more likely to have fillers and potentially cause skin irritation or allergies.

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 4 points 3 months ago

Platinum cured silicone is, afaik, the only silicone that is food safe, thus safe to put inside any of your holes. It's significantly more expensive than other silicones, mostly due to the catalyst (platinum).

[–] Riven@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 3 months ago

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.

[–] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago

But you trust corpos?

Also, all that stuff is standard movie industry prop material and is well documented. Here's one listing from Smooth-on with the Safety Data Sheet right in front. It would be harder to get the toxic stuff. If you're unsure, just ask the maker for the SDS. If they don't know what that is, then run.

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[–] NauticalNoodle@lemmy.ml 29 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Wasn't the Hitachi Magic Wand initially sold as a "muscle massager"?

[–] StrawberryPigtails@lemmy.sdf.org 25 points 3 months ago

Depending where you look it may still be. My wife uses hers frequently on the back of her head and neck to help with migraines.

Whether or not I am the cause of those migraines I shall neither confirm or deny.

[–] Lodra@programming.dev 17 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Etsy hasn’t been good for years. But I haven’t found an alternative yet. Anybody know what we should use instead?

[–] SexyVetra@sh.itjust.works 16 points 3 months ago (1 children)

While still young and not a drop-in replacement yet, https://artisans.coop/ looks promising

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

Awesome! Thank you for this!

[–] adarza@lemmy.ca 14 points 3 months ago (1 children)

started going downhill around the time they went public (2015). chasing higher stock prices instead of attracting quality sellers of actual handmade goods.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 9 points 3 months ago

What?!? Classic enshittification then.

[–] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

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.

[–] Shotgun_Alice@lemmy.world 10 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Lame, now Etsy is just going to be a wish or temu resalers hawking cheaply made goods, crack down on that instead Etsy.

[–] psvrh@lemmy.ca 7 points 3 months ago

"Going to be"?

[–] InFerNo@lemmy.ml 4 points 3 months ago

"crack down" on their business model?

[–] MeaanBeaan@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

On an unrelated note I recently just came into some massive stock of ornamental desk noodles if anyone is interested.

[–] Snapz@lemmy.world 7 points 3 months ago

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?

[–] vk6flab@lemmy.radio 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

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.

[–] gnutrino@programming.dev 5 points 3 months ago

Yeah, this stinks of another company coming under pressure from Exodus Cry/Morality in Media lobbying of payment processors.

[–] tal@lemmy.today 5 points 3 months ago (11 children)

Hmm. If the concern is the Etsy brand value, I'd just spin it off into a new company that does permit it. If you've already built a network of people selling and buying stuff and the software to do so, terminating it just sends the value of that to zero.

[–] decivex@yiffit.net 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I think it's most likely pressure from payment processors.

[–] snooggums@midwest.social 5 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Payment processors shouldn't be acting as a moral authority.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

Yet again, failure to enforce antitrust law is a big part of the problem.

[–] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 months ago

They shouldn't be, but they have a long history of doing exactly that.

[–] greenskye@lemm.ee 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The government has ceded the entirety of modern currency exchange to private companies, which is still crazy to me, but I honestly don't see people even question it that often. As if it's just a given that online purchases (the increasing majority of all economic activity) is subject purely to a ToS and not the laws and protections granted to us by the government.

[–] treadful@lemmy.zip 5 points 3 months ago

As if it’s just a given that online purchases (the increasing majority of all economic activity) is subject purely to a ToS and not the laws and protections granted to us by the government.

What? Of course they're still subject to laws. There's so many laws and precedent based around banking that it requires specialized lawyers.

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[–] ramble81@lemm.ee 4 points 3 months ago

“Insertable” or “designed to be inserted in to”…. Never underestimate the creativity of a horny person…

[–] viperex@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I have questions about the sex toy space on Etsy that I think can only be answered by a visit there

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