So how many of us are getting zero sales now that we have all been classified as "handmade products"?
I'll just shout this out into the dark chasm of nothingness- who even comes to the "handmade" forums anymore? So at the end of February- they reclassified all of our products as just "handmade products" We have nothing else. No subcategories - no distinction of what our products are- not jewelry-not home goods- not clothing- not art- we are just all lumped together as "handmade products". HAQM knows in truth that we were going to suffer a loss of visibility- thus sales. Yet they continued to tell us that nothing was wrong and essentially there was nothing to do but wait. SO NOW- after I spent years of PAYING for ads ON AMAZON- 60k -which grew my organic keyword ranking- and making 100k-200k a year. I am supposed to just shrug my shoulders and say oh well. The ads I am running are GOING NOWHERE because my listings don't have the required data and categorization to place my items properly! I am so fed up with unprofessional acts of this marketplace. I just wish they would hold some accountability and some REAL ACTION to rectify this absolute MESS they have created.
So how many of us are getting zero sales now that we have all been classified as "handmade products"?
I'll just shout this out into the dark chasm of nothingness- who even comes to the "handmade" forums anymore? So at the end of February- they reclassified all of our products as just "handmade products" We have nothing else. No subcategories - no distinction of what our products are- not jewelry-not home goods- not clothing- not art- we are just all lumped together as "handmade products". HAQM knows in truth that we were going to suffer a loss of visibility- thus sales. Yet they continued to tell us that nothing was wrong and essentially there was nothing to do but wait. SO NOW- after I spent years of PAYING for ads ON AMAZON- 60k -which grew my organic keyword ranking- and making 100k-200k a year. I am supposed to just shrug my shoulders and say oh well. The ads I am running are GOING NOWHERE because my listings don't have the required data and categorization to place my items properly! I am so fed up with unprofessional acts of this marketplace. I just wish they would hold some accountability and some REAL ACTION to rectify this absolute MESS they have created.
20 replies
Seller_gwzuNYC3ogYNo
My sales were UP, the first quarter of 2023. Then HAQM removed the searchability of handmade listings in July 2023. It's been downhill since then with no end in sight. Sales are down about 70% compared to prior years. I imagine that ad revenue and commissions from HAUL are off setting the 15% commissions lost in handmade. Less than 6 months to the 10 year anniversary of Handmade at HAQM. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the last.
Seller_2azHBWt7FzGTG
@Seller_CVXS7OOEFPqdBSame! I got hit HARD last year in February with the reclassification changes. All of my handmade listings backend info was deleted completely. Seller support and a handmade account manager verified and documented this in my case file. Sales tanked overnight. Also well over a 6 figure business. Not anymore. Started seeing a decline in sales in 2023 with... the announcement of this project and the no returns policy for custom items at the same time. Double whammy!
It has been an absolute snowballing nightmare since! Handmade is a huge category with absolutely no subcategories now. You will never be found this way and it is even worse that they have buried all handmade listings in regular categories. Yay you get seen in handmade and regular categories. What they didn't want to go into detail explaining is that while you get to keep your feedback on your old handmade listings, your listing is essentially a brand new listing because you lost all ranking and have to rebuild it by spending absorbent amounts of money on ads. But... ads don't work either for obvious reasons.
My daughter strictly shops on her phone using the HAQM app and she told me there are no handmade items. She said you really have to spend time searching and even then you still do not get what you see on a computer.
Seller_1U2kHexVFrmP8
8 days straight without a sale. I'm not sure this has ever happened since I started back in 2016. Thank god I'm listed on the other sites.
Seller_j1ZmqGBScMsIL
My sales dropped 65% after branding that cost me $3k, now my HAQM sales are lower than Etsy's this includes many ads that don't generate any sales. I'm focusing on my personal site and putting more money on ads there.
Seller_HbrZEJiNAiv0M
I, unfortunately couldn't afford to get trademarked in my state. It is sooo expensive. I have such a small business of handmade jewelry and prior to last July or so I was having steady sales-not huge but respectable. In less than a year I have gone to maybe one sale a month. When trying to look up my jewelry on HAQM I have to be so careful how I input a search or nothing shows up. If I can't find my own items it seems highy unlikely that a customer will stumble upon some of my pieces. I keep hoping things will get a little better but am near the end of my rope. Not sure I should tie a knot and hold on or not.
Seller_vCR9qsbhxKVX5
It's been slow...but honestly everywhere is slow for us starting last Oct. Tyically we do 50% HAQM 50% Etsy and both are down pretty aggresively. After 12 years of being self employeeed I may be in the job market soon if I can't figure out how to turn this around.
Seller_gwzuNYC3ogYNo
Here's a depressing report page that shows all your Standard Orders statements going back YEARS. Mine shows nearly 8 years. It's easy to see how my deposits dropped in August 2023 and continue to fall.
http://sellercentral.haqm.com/payments/past-settlements?ref_=xx_settle_ttab_disbmt
Seller_aDzK65cu5CLJC
I wondered why suddenly I have 0 amazon sales. Have you tried to list anything lately? They have made that practically impossible. I guess this is how HAQM shoves the mom and pops out
Seller_Y262O9Ep3I1RD
HAQMs answer will be to spend more on ads. That way they can promote china knock offs for less right under your ad. You take the hit on the click and china gets the sale. Or lower your price to ''compete'' with china. That is what is expected. HAQM now pays tax so they can’t be the cheapest, they have to be the fastest. handmade products can’t be made and shipped fast like some junk in an FBA warehouse so they are destroying ''Handmade''. We are making them look bad.