Why was your Etsy account suspended? Causes and solutions

Etsy – one of the leading e-commerce platforms today – stands out thanks to its focus on handmade products, antiques and personalized items. This difference makes Etsy more approachable and "human" than its competitors who sell mass-market, impersonal goods. In an era where the market is flooded with mass-produced industrial products, Etsy is the ideal destination for those who appreciate uniqueness and creativity.

However, because Etsy values authenticity and protects the interests of both reputable buyers and sellers, it has very strict regulations. If an account violates the policy, it can be suspended immediately – causing a major impact on revenue and business operations.

In this article, Hidemium will be with you Breaking down common reasons why Etsy accounts get suspended and give effective treatment solutions, helping you quickly recover your account and continue your business sustainably.

1. Reasons Why Etsy Accounts Get Suspended and How to Avoid Them

It's not uncommon for Etsy accounts to be suspended, especially for new sellers. Many are suspended without an official reason, as Etsy uses an automated review process to screen accounts. Here are some common reasons why your account may be suspended:

Missing verification information

Etsy requires sellers to provide full identification such as name, address, email... Specifically, US sellers need to provide tax information, while international sellers need to provide bank account information. Failure to meet the deadline may result in account suspension.

No response to request for additional information

Sometimes Etsy will ask you to update your return policy or provide additional verification documentation. Delaying or ignoring these requests may result in your account being temporarily suspended.

Outstanding debts

Your account may be suspended if you fail to pay fees such as listing fees, shipping fees, Etsy Plus or Pattern fees. Therefore, you need to carefully review and pay these fees on time.

Copyright and trademark infringement

While Etsy encourages handmade products, they are very strict about the use of copyrighted content or designs. If you accidentally use a trademarked image or design, your account may be suspended.

Selling prohibited products

Etsy has a long list of prohibited items, including: illegal substances, live animals, weapons, pornography... Any policy violations can result in immediate account suspension.

Customer dissatisfaction

Etsy values customer experience. If your shop receives a lot of complaints about slow shipping, poor product quality, or poor customer service, the platform may suspend your shop.

Repeated policy violations

Circumvention or intentional disregard of Seller policies, such as keyword spamming or soliciting transactions outside of Etsy, can be severely punished. Etsy will send you a warning first, but if you continue to violate the rules, your account will be permanently locked.

Open new store after suspension

Many people think they can get around the rules by opening a new account with a different email address. But if you use the same personal and financial information, Etsy will detect and immediately block the newly created account and any other related accounts.

Managing multiple accounts without transparency

Etsy allows sellers to have multiple shops, as long as each shop has its own products, email address, and branding. However, you must clearly notify Etsy about the shops you operate and list them in your About section. All shops will be linked to your identity and bank account.

⚠️ This means that if one account is suspended, the remaining stores will be closely monitored and may even be suspended. The risk of losing the entire system due to a small error from a new store is not worth the risk.

>>> Learn more: Shopify vs. Etsy: Which Platform is Best for Sellers?

2. What happens when my Etsy account is suspended?

Based on my experience researching many e-commerce platforms, I found that Etsy is not as strict as Amazon, but has a more complicated appeals process than eBay. Although not among the strictest of platforms, account suspensions still have a serious impact on a seller's business.

While you’re suspended, you can still access your account to process pending orders, contact customers, issue refunds, or resolve any outstanding issues. However, your entire shop and products will be hidden from search results. You also won’t be able to create new or edit product listings. Your account balance will be suspended, and other Etsy features will be disabled.

In short, when your account is suspended, your Etsy business is essentially “frozen” until you resolve the issue that led to the suspension.

3. How long does account suspension last?

Unfortunately, Etsy doesn’t provide a timeline for each suspension. Some accounts are reinstated within 30 minutes of the seller contacting support, while others take weeks to process – even if the violation is similar.

Typically, suspensions fall into two categories: temporary and forever. Temporary suspensions are usually due to reasons such as late payments, incomplete identity verification, or minor but repeated violations. In this case, the account will be restricted as mentioned above and restored once the issue is resolved.

In contrast, permanent suspensions are imposed when an account commits serious violations, such as selling prohibited products or repeatedly violating the rules despite being warned. However, sellers still have the opportunity to file an appeal to request reconsideration.

Finally, there are situations where the account is ceased immediately – for example, if Etsy detects that you have created a new account that is linked to an old account that has been suspended, or if an appeal is not approved. In this case, the account cannot be restored and the user may be permanently banned from the Etsy platform.

4. How to recover your Etsy account?

Compared to many other e-commerce platforms, the account recovery process on Etsy is relatively simple, but there are still certain limitations.

When your account is suspended, you'll typically receive an email from Etsy explaining why and providing instructions on how to fix it. By simply updating personal information like your ID, tax information, or bank account, shop owners can quickly restore sales within 24 hours of completing the necessary steps.

In this case, you usually don't need to file an appeal. However, contacting customer support directly can help speed up the process.

If your account is permanently suspended, the process is more complicated. First, check your suspension notification email and any warnings in your shop management page to determine the reason and severity. If Etsy allows for appeals, you should take advantage of this opportunity. Otherwise, if there is no appeal option, your account will be permanently terminated and no further action is required.

5. How do I file an appeal?

Before filing an appeal, Etsy requires sellers to take appropriate corrective action, so you should carefully evaluate the situation based on the reason given in the email from Etsy. Review your business to determine the cause of the suspension – it could be copyright infringement, a refund request that wasn’t processed in a timely manner, or unclear shop policies.

How to write an effective appeal letter

The appeals process on Etsy includes the following steps:

• Confirm the error and explain the cause: Start by showing that you understand the reason for the suspension and take responsibility. State the root cause such as use of third-party content, lack of quality control, etc.

• Present corrective actions: Provide specific information about what you did to address the incident, such as removing the offending product, refunding the customer, or adjusting your sales policies.

• Committed to future improvement: Provide specific plans to prevent the incident from happening again. You might mention using a copyright checker, partnering with a more reputable shipping carrier, or adding an FAQ section to your store to clarify your policies.

The appeal should be presented professionally, concisely, to the point and emphasize a commitment to sustainable performance improvement.

Once your application is submitted, it can take up to two weeks for the review process to complete. If approved, your account will be reactivated. If denied, the decision is final and cannot be appealed.

>>> Learn more: How to create a Gmail account without a phone number, simple and safe

6. How to effectively avoid getting your Etsy account suspended

To maintain a stable business and build a long-term reputation on Etsy, you need to use the platform properly. This includes posting original designs and images, paying your invoices on time, responding promptly to customers, and completing your seller profile thoroughly.

However, even if you strictly follow all the rules, your account can still be suspended without any clear warning. On forums like Reddit, many users have shared stories of their accounts being locked without knowing the specific reason.

In the experience of many sellers, the most viable way to operate multiple stores is to create each account with completely separate information: from the owner name to the bank account to the IP address. Once each store is identified as a separate entity, the suspension of one account will not affect the others — provided, of course, that there are no duplicates that Etsy can detect.

In fact, Etsy has the ability to link accounts if they share an Internet connection or device. Their system can identify accounts by IP address or by browser fingerprinting — an advanced form of device identification. In testing, only one method worked best for creating “completely separate” accounts: using proxy combined with Antidetect browser 

6.1 Use Proxy to avoid account linking

Every device that accesses the Internet is assigned a unique IP address by its service provider. Etsy uses IP to determine geographic location and associate user accounts with specific IP ranges. Therefore, simply logging in while traveling or changing locations may be flagged as unusual activity and result in account suspension.

To fix this problem, you should use proxy— especially civil proxy, because this type of proxy uses IPs from real users, distributed in many regions around the world, helping you act “like a real user” and avoid detection.

But just using a proxy isn't enough. Etsy also tracks browser fingerprints as screen resolution, operating system, browser version, installed fonts, etc. This is why you need to combine proxy with antidetect browser like Hidemium, to create a completely different operating environment for each account, ensuring high anonymity and more safety when operating multiple Etsy stores at the same time.

6.2 Use separate devices for each account

One of the reasons Etsy accounts get suspended is because the system detects multiple accounts logged in from the same device, even if the IP address is different. This happens because Etsy has the ability to recognize “device fingerprints” – which include hardware parameters such as RAM, graphics card, screen resolution, system fonts, browser, etc. All of these combine to create a nearly unique identifier for each machine.

A common solution is to use a separate physical device for each account, combined with a proxy or VPN. This works well when you’re running just 1–2 accounts. However, as you scale, investing in a device for each account—even a cheap $50 phone—can quickly add up to hundreds of dollars. Not to mention, managing, updating, and operating multiple devices at once is impractical and time-consuming.

6.3 Using an Anti-Detection Browser: The Ultimate Solution

running multiple Etsy accounts at once safe, convenient and largely possible when used antidetect browser.

These browsers create a “virtual fingerprint” for each user profile—making each Etsy account appear to be running from a completely different device. When combined with proxies, they help completely cut off the links between accounts, making them independent and unsuspected by Etsy’s system.

You can easily set up a separate browser profile for each account and manage them all on a single computer. This helps optimize work performance, save costs, and ensure the highest level of security.

There are many anti-detection browser tools on the market today. However, after testing and evaluating more than a dozen different solutions, Hidemium is the most efficient and user-friendly option – especially suitable for Etsy businesses who need to operate multiple accounts safely and sustainably.

>>> Learn more: How to Generate and Drive Traffic to Your Etsy Shop

7. Manage Multiple Etsy Accounts Efficiently with Hidemium

To manage multiple Etsy accounts securely and conveniently, choosing an easy-to-use anti-detection browser is key.Hidemiumis one of the tools that meets this criteria well thanks to its quick setup process, intuitive interface, and user-friendliness – even for beginners.

One big plus of Hidemium is that Offers a 3-day free trial with 1000 profiles but no payment or registration required. This makes it easy for you to experience all the features before deciding to use it long term.

Hidemium's profile management interface is minimalistic yet flexible. You can easily track individual profiles or get an overview of them all with just a few clicks. This is especially useful when you need to manage multiple accounts at once.

7.1 How to create a profile on Hidemium

Hidemium works on the basis of the mechanism-independent browser profile, where each profile will have its own unique browser fingerprint, device information, and IP address (when you configure a proxy). Creating a profile is simple: just press “Add profile” to start

You can name and organize your profiles into folders for easy management. To ensure your Etsy accounts don't get linked, assign a separate proxy to each profile. Hidemium supports proxies from many different countries, giving you the flexibility to choose the right IP for each market. In case Etsy doesn't support the country you want, you can still add third party proxying easily.

Don't forget to use the feature proxy check to ensure that the IP works stably and is not blocked. For advanced users, Hidemium also allows for deep customization of browser fingerprint parameters and data import such as bookmarks, cookies, etc. However, the default settings are enough to operate an Etsy account smoothly and securely.

7.2 Linking your profile to each Etsy account

Whenever you click “Start” next to a profile, Hidemium launches a standalone browser that matches that profile. This version of the browser comes with its own fingerprint, bookmarks, extensions, and cookies, and functions just like a normal browser.

When you log into your Etsy account in that browser, your login information is tied to that profile. Hidemium saves cookies, session history, and other browser data, keeping your accounts separate, similar to how you would on multiple devices.

Setting up multiple Etsy accounts is simple once you repeat this process for each profile. With a powerful enough desktop computer, I can easily run multiple accounts at once without any performance issues.

7.3 Stop and restart profiles easily

When you are done with your work for the day, you can stop the profile by clicking the button next to it or simply closing the browser window. The next time you restart, all tabs and information from the previous session will be fully restored.

You can also link accounts from other platforms like eBay, Amazon, or any site that requires multiple separate accounts. Name, tag, note, or categorize them into folders to make it easy to manage and differentiate each profile.

>>> Learn more: Best Antidetect Browser: Top Pick for Managing Multiple Accounts

8. Conclusion

Losing your Etsy account is a serious risk, because unlike Amazon or eBay — where you can easily switch platforms — Etsy offers an exclusive opportunity to connect with a community of buyers who love handmade products and support small, creative individuals.

Don’t let the future of your creative business depend on shady reviews or unsubstantiated allegations. Instead, proactively protect yourself by building each Etsy shop separately, separately, and securely.

Hidemium is the most intuitive and efficient multi-configuration Etsy account management solution available. Experience Hidemium to take control of the game – don’t let your selling career be dictated by unfair algorithms or policies.

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