Etsy to test rearranging order display products to give sellers 'more sales'

Online marketplace Etsy has announced it will be testing rearranging the display order of items in its seller’s Etsy shops, making it similar to eBay’s Best Match. As part of the move, the test will order items based on the information of the seller’s products.

"The idea is that Etsy can do some work on your behalf to connect buyers landing on your shop home page with items they’re most likely to purchase, hopefully resulting in more sales for you," Cheyne Little, Product Education manager at Etsy, said. With this, the company is aiming to emphasise on the performance of a seller’s bestselling lines in their Etsy shop.

The move comes as New York District Judge Ann Donnelly disregarded claims made against the online marketplace over its involvement in carrying counterfeit products. The case stems from claims made by a group of investors who said that Etsy misled them ahead of its initial public offering over the issue of counterfeit and the impact it could have on its value.

“The plaintiff’s allegations might show that Etsy’s compliance practices were imperfect — perhaps even awful — and that its managers knew of ongoing infringement problems. The plaintiffs do not, however, establish that the challenged values statements were objectively false or disbelieved when Etsy made them,” Donnelly said (via WWD).

The investors said the company did not properly calculate the value and gross merchandise sales for products that were not counterfeit. Donnelly ruled the accusation as “far-fetched.” The investors had relied on a number of “confidential witnesses” who had worked for the company between 2013 and 2015, and asserted that the company knew its practices to combat counterfeit sales were “flawed.” They further said neither Etsy’s business practices nor related complaints were disclosed to potential investors.

Etsy has updated its intellectual property policies and notification tools since the lawsuit was filed. The company’s recent Transparency Report showed it invalidated 200,000 listings and shuttered 5,000 shops for issues related to infringement last year.

The company also recently launched a competition for Etsy sellers to help “scale your business.” With a prize money worth of US$10,000, a user as to answer “what makes your Etsy shop one of a kind.”

“Is it something unique you sell? A memorable story about how you got your start? Or a special approach you have to business?” the company writes on its website. Once the user submits the answer, they will be given a specific URL to be shared on social media and receive votes from friends.

Correction March 23, 2017: The original draft of the article stated that Etsy misled investors by increasing its value. The statement was just a claim made in court and was ultimately rejected. It has been clarified in this article.