My city had a lot of Etsy marketplace events and I'll pretty much only buy online from people who I've seen in person at one of those events. Even then, some tables are a little... suspect. I also follow a bunch I like on Instagram and see regular updates of what they're doing which gives a lot more trust. Kinda sad it takes all that these days. Side note about the market places: After the last one I went to, one of the creators posted about how they sold around $900 but the table cost $500. Looking back at how some tables were being passed over by everyone, or selling low-value items, it's brutal. I really wonder how many broke even. It must be a sea of crushed dreams out there.