[xiwi_brendan]

I'm the guy who got removed from Etsy.

I want to start by saying I think Tindie is awesome and that I've known about it for quite some time. There's a reason that I don't sell my products there and it's because I literally do put them together by hand. I don't use a pick and place machine, reflow soldering techniques, or order in batches of 10,000. I build unique instruments for unique people.

I don't mean to draw a comparison between my skills and those of the Haute couture sewers and needlework types or even suggest that we should install some kind of massive institution for overseeing what is and what isn't "hand made," but only to say there is a line and for the most part it's pretty obvious who's on what side.

[drivingmenuts]

I don't think Etsy is necessarily wrong overall - I think they just weren't clear in what they did or did not want in their market. I also think it was badly handled on their part - it seems like they could have communicated their concerns without making it sound like a cheap interrogation.

Lastly, from an outsider POV, Etsy doesn't really seem like the ideal place to put up a synthesizer shop anyway. If I was looking for electronics of any kind, I wouldn't be looking there (although, since I'm not really in the market for a synth right now, I'm not sure where else I'd be looking, either).

[ricardobeat]

There are very unique and laborious products for sale on Tindie, I don't think there is a requirement to produce in batches or minimum sales: https://www.tindie.com/shopping/category/robots/

[xiwi_brendan]

I appreciate this, but it's very simply a matter of being associated with something "artsy" or "techy."

[GilbertErik]

Sorry to be pedantic: 'sewers' transport human waste. Tailors and seamstresses are people who make their living sewing/mending garments.