New Chapter

Many of you are aware of a post I made earlier regarding our status with Etsy. I wanted to take some time to talk to you about what happened with my shop, as well as give you some more details about the whole situation. 
Back in 2019, I started the process of opening a business. I wanted to be more independent and do something I really love. I am a very creative person and I love making jewelry and accessories. Etsy was always presented to me as a place where small crafters could start building a good client base. I work another full time job, so crafting jewelry and other items took up any spare time I had. Etsy was my choice for starting, because not only would my items be shown to customers when they search something specific, but they would also help with marketing and promotion of my items. I was dependent on this because again, having a full time job does not afford me a whole lot of time for marketing. I did gain quite a number of customers via this platform under my store Mikrathene, and for this, I am grateful. 
Mikrathene did well on Etsy, gainging nearly 300 sales over a few years. However, I have other crafts that do not necessarily follow the image of Mikrathene. So I opened The Glass Lantern. The idea is that The Glass Lantern would be my main storefront in the future due to the nature of the area that I currently live in and the demand for certain things. Mikrathene would slso continue as a brand under The Glass Lantern name for those wanting the alternative styles inspired by lolita fashion and Moi Meme Moitie designs.
I made two sales under the new store. I learned that it is very difficult to find a target audience that enjoys sea glass jewelry online. Selling in person is not nearly as difficult for sea glass, but online was such a different story. One of those two sales was a close friend who also left me a five star review so she could help my shop gain some new customers. New shops tend to be quite slow to build because some consumers are very cautious when there is no review. It is seen as a risk because people will often question if it is real or a scam since there is nothing to give people security. 
I had no issues for a long time, until May 8, 2023.
I checked my email to see a message from Etsy stating they had permanently suspended The Glass Lantern. Not only did they permanently suspend one store, but according to the email, they said it would apply to every store that I was affiliated with. Additionally, they also stated that I was not even allowed to buy from Etsy under any account or they would terminate it. I was understandably shocked and very upset. They stated that I had violated Etsy's Terms and Conditions but did not specify exactly what had been violated. 
I filed an appeal with Etsy for the termination and stated that I was not aware of any violation but that if they would assist me in understanding what happened, I would be more than happy to fix the problem. 
They responded within a few hours with a short email stating they would not share any of the details with me and that I would remain suspended and banned. They added at the end of the email that if I thought they made an error in their decision that I could add comments and email them back. I did that, but they ghosted me and never responded. 
I called one of my local resource offices that I had previously worked with and spoke with them about the situation. They agreed that it was not a fair situation, but that the Terms were written to the point that no matter what, Etsy could not be held liable for anything. They gave me some other resources to try. Another friend of mine as well as my mother, got mad for the situation and started searching YouTube for similar situations and sent me some videos with other emails and numbers to reach out to. 
I sent emails and called the numbers provided. Nothing would go through despite having been available for people in the past. It became evident that any way to reach an actual associate to help remedy problems, were quickly shut down by Etsy, therefore causing a complete disconnect between the company and the small businesses using the platform. Another individual gave me a link to request a phone call with their customer service. I tried this and did get someone on the phone. I was kind to the representative and she said she would send an escalation to the department that handles these and to expect an email. She was not able to do more than that or give me any details. 
I got the email. However it was a repeat of the last email stating they would not share any details with me and that I was still permanently banned from the platform. 
The only thing that I can think could have triggered this, is the fact that I took three payments in person on May 7, 2023. I have Square POS, which is how I take card payments. It was running through Mikrathene in Etsy last year with no problems. This year, because Mikrathene is being featured by Monica's Chocolates, I switched to The Glass Lantern because that is the inventory I am currently working with in person. 
While Etsy did not actively take down Mikrathene, I felt it would be unethical to remain active. I placed that shop on Vacation Mode and later shut down the shop on my own terms after moving all my items here to the new site. I will still be sending a certified letter to their physical office with the details of my situation. I am entitled to know exactly what happened and my customers are entitled to an explanation as well. 
Even if they were to restore my access, I would leave Etsy anyway. Etsy was supposed to help small businesses get started and support them in growing without having to spend so much time on marketing, which is great for people with full schedules like me. However, it is obvious to me that if they would do such a thing to a shop and not even remotely help them to fix the problem, that they have some unethical business practices. 
Everything happens for a reason, so I'm not as hurt. It's an opportunity to grow my website and not worry about paying the extra fees for listing items and making sales through ads I either didn't ask for or already paid for them to run. 
I appreciate everyone's patience as I am going through this transition. I'm sorry I couldn't say anything sooner. I didn't want to jump and make some post publicly without having pretty much tried everything to get an explanation from Etsy or to have my access restored. I also was reasonably upset and overwhelmed by the sudden issue, so it was difficult to discuss the topic. I really pride myself in running an ethical business and putting in my best effort. So when an entity comes and says I did something wrong and gives such a severe consequence without giving me some sort of chance to fix it or any details as to what was actually wrong... it's a bit overwhelming emotionally for me. 
I hope everyone enjoys the new site and I look forward to seeing your orders come through. If it weren't for all of you and the big support of my friends and family, I would probably have given up. Thank you all for helping me through this. 
Let's do our best for the future!