Etsy retracts advice telling sellers to message past buyers about its Cyber Specials sale, admitting it broke its own spam rules

by | Nov 10, 2026 | Latest E-commerce News & Updates

Etsy told sellers to ignore a November 6 message that urged them to reach out to previous customers in Etsy Messages about its upcoming Cyber Specials sale, admitting three days later that the advice broke its own policies, according to Value Added Resource. Etsy’s seller policy bans unsolicited ads and promotions in Messages, with no exception for shoppers who have bought from a shop before. The company apologized and pointed sellers to social media and their shop announcements instead, but it didn’t say whether sellers who already followed the original advice are protected from spam enforcement. Etsy’s systems can mute a flagged account’s messaging for 48 hours, which cuts sellers off from customers with questions about existing orders.

Paul Drecksler is the founder and editor of Shopifreaks, covering the most important stories in e-commerce.

Companies: Etsy

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