What I mean specifically is, when I opened up an account on the site in 2009 it was very easy for me to find a shop I liked and have a custom order fulfilled by that seller. I remember the whole philosophy behind Etsy was that lay people could directly communicate with sellers & craftsmen to create an item from scratch. Essentially, it was a place where seller & buyer could collaborate and create one of a kind special things. I remember thinking at one time, Etsy is the place to go if I have something in my mind that I would like bought to life. Sellers were more than eager to work with the customer in this regard.
Come present day, I have a stone I would like to set, but I've contacted 5 sellers (some of who had the "request a custom order" button) and 3 have just flatly refused, 2 haven't even replied yet (I have a feeling they probably won't reply since it's been a while). I even asked a seller if she could slightly modify an existing ring she had but she refused saying she doesn't take any custom requests at all. Furthermore, Etsy got rid of the "Alchemy" option and now a buyer is forced to request a custom order by posting through a "Team" bulletin board which I think is extremely ineffective. I'm not saying these sellers don't have the prerogative to refuse custom orders - they totally do - it just it seems like refusal used to be the exception rather than the rule.
Have any of you ladies also had this changing experience with Etsy? If any of you ladies know of any other sites that used to be like the old Etsy, I'm all ears!
Come present day, I have a stone I would like to set, but I've contacted 5 sellers (some of who had the "request a custom order" button) and 3 have just flatly refused, 2 haven't even replied yet (I have a feeling they probably won't reply since it's been a while). I even asked a seller if she could slightly modify an existing ring she had but she refused saying she doesn't take any custom requests at all. Furthermore, Etsy got rid of the "Alchemy" option and now a buyer is forced to request a custom order by posting through a "Team" bulletin board which I think is extremely ineffective. I'm not saying these sellers don't have the prerogative to refuse custom orders - they totally do - it just it seems like refusal used to be the exception rather than the rule.
Have any of you ladies also had this changing experience with Etsy? If any of you ladies know of any other sites that used to be like the old Etsy, I'm all ears!
