[RileyJames]

The point of the article was that Etsy has already established both sides of the marketplace. And that both sides of the marketplace are not equal, as competitors/disruptors are discovering.

To be successful, they need a large consumer base, and a small seller base, who sell high quality goods (which is subjective, but mass drop shipping is certainly not what those consumers are expecting).

Of those, the hardest to attract is a larger consumer base. Sellers will ultimately go where the buyers are.

[marcinzm]

> To be successful, they need a large consumer base, and a small seller base, who sell high quality goods (which is subjective, but mass drop shipping is certainly not what those consumers are expecting).

The only way a small seller base can support a large consumer base is if it's some form of mass manufacture. That more or less leads to drop shipping as the logical conclusion and optimization.

[yowlingcat]

1stdibs, Grailed and Depop would beg to differ.