Re:Etsy has ousted its CEO and is laying off 8 percent of it...
by pembrook on Wednesday May 03, 2017 @12:50AM
(#14253124)
I agree, re-selling mass produced Chinese crap goes directly against the entire concept of Etsy and everything they supposedly stand for.
However they've sold a classic Silicon Valley "high growth" story to investors that they're now beholden to as a publicly traded company. That growth story can't be delivered on grandma's handicrafts.
Hence the site being slowly transformed into yet another generic online marketplace for drop-shipped junk.
It's ultimately a giant recipe for failure. The company DNA and core brand are at odds with the investor expectations around tech companies.
Re:Etsy has ousted its CEO and is laying off 8 percent of it...
by lmm on Wednesday May 03, 2017 @04:44AM
(#14254010)
> they've sold a classic Silicon Valley "high growth" story to investors that they're now beholden to as a publicly traded company.
Less so than most - they're a B corp (is that the term?) with higher priorities than shareholder value.
Besides, when the point of the site was unique handcrafted items, selling manufactured stuff undercuts the one thing that makes you different from your competitors.
I can't understand the argument you're trying to make. It's like saying that fine art doesn't scale because painters are so slow, so art galleries should postcards instead. Perhaps that would indeed be more profitable, but then you're not an art gallery any more, are you?