Last week, Etsy filed for a $100 million initial public offering, leaving buyers and sellers alike wondering what it all means.

If you’re not familiar with Etsy, it’s a marketplace founded in Brooklyn in 2005 for people around the world to shop for unique items online. Over the past decade, Etsy has strayed from its humble beginnings of selling only handmade items…sellers on Etsy now offer everything from homemade jewelry, unique paper items, vintage treasures (like me!), craft supplies, and more.

I have no problem with any of those, as I am a seller of vintage, not handmade, items. I even think some large businesses can thank Etsy for growing their small mom-and-pop online shops into worldwide companies. There are over 1.4 million sellers and over 19 million buyers on Etsy today. I would love to sell my items through my own blog and not have to use a “middle man,” but the truth is that my little corner of the internet can’t even remotely compete with that much exposure.

But Etsy could be changing drastically soon, and not for the better. As a seller, I see some big problems on the horizon. With the new IPO, it’s almost a certainty that seller fees will increase.

Anyone remember Hunter’s Alley? I sold on there for a while, and they charged sellers a whopping 25%, compared to Etsy’s 3.5%. In addition, Hunter’s Alley only allowed shipping via FedEx, and when FedEx blatantly crushed my one-of-a-kind items, Hunter’s Alley sided with FedEx and did not support their seller. After that happened twice, I was done with Hunter’s Alley. A month later, Hunter’s Alley folded, less than 6 months after opening.

I do think Etsy missed the mark in 2013 when it began to allow outsourcing of manufacturing and labor. In my humble opinion, if you’re big enough to need to outsource your manufacturing, then you’re big enough to sell on your own business website. But hey, what do I know?

I always try to support small businesses, but I’m not really anti-big-business. That’s like hating your favorite local band for becoming successful and selling albums.  I mean, even Starbucks started out as a small, local coffee shop. Where success lies, change is inevitable.

But I’m disappointed to learn that most of Etsy’s revenue comes from paid services, like payment processing, ads, shipping labels, and direct checkouts, rather than revenue from sales and listing fees. By allowing mass retailers to open up shop and advertise, Etsy is tainting its own reputation. I guess too much of a good thing is a bad thing in this case.

I will continue to sell on Etsy for the time being, but I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on this IPO to see what changes are made going forward. If you’re looking for alternatives to Etsy, there are options. I haven’t tried them yet, but am definitely considering making a switch. Here are just a few…

I realize this can be a polarizing topic, and if you don’t agree with me, that’s ok! I’d love to hear your thoughts on Etsy’s IPO. Share them in the comments below!

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