Suspension riskSP-3 · Seller Policy

Faking clicks, carts, sales, or reviews to boost your shop is prohibited

What this rule means

Favorites, reviews, and sales on Etsy are meant to come from real buyers. Etsy's Seller Policy bars action such as manipulating clicks, carts, or sales for the purpose of shilling or manipulating search. It also bars shilling or otherwise falsely inflating a shop's review score. Using a second account to buy your own item and review it is the kind of action this rule targets.

What Etsy says

Not create duplicate shops or take any other action (such as manipulating clicks, carts or sales) for the purpose of shilling, manipulating search or circumventing Etsy's policies. Reviews and your response to reviews may not: Include shilling or otherwise falsely inflate a shop's review score

Read Etsy's full Seller Policy

Why Etsy has this rule

Buyers lean on favorites, review stars, and sales counts to decide whom to trust. If a shop can fake those signals, honest sellers lose ground and buyers lose a reliable guide.

Etsy's Seller Policy bars action such as manipulating clicks, carts, or sales for the purpose of shilling or manipulating search. It also bars shilling or otherwise falsely inflating a shop's review score. The rule keeps the signals real.

Common mistakes

Asking a friend to favorite your listings from an account that looks like a stranger's, timed to your launch.
Placing an order from your own shop with a second account to leave a five-star review.
Upvoting your own positive reviews from an account you control.
Paying a service that promises favorites, views, or reviews.
Trading favorites or reviews with other sellers in a group so each of you looks popular.
Using a second account to test checkout and leaving a review from it.
Carrying on after Etsy flags the activity and hoping it goes unnoticed.

Examples

AllowedYou ask real customers to leave an honest review after their order arrives.
AllowedYou share your shop on social media and let visitors favorite items if they choose.
AllowedYou thank every customer the same way, whatever rating they give.
AllowedA friend who truly bought from you writes what they honestly think.
Not allowedYou buy your own item from a second account so you can review it.
Not allowedYou pay a service to push up your favorites and view counts.
Not allowedYou use accounts you control to upvote positive reviews on your shop.

How to stay compliant

Stop any practice of using secondary accounts, friends' accounts, or family accounts to favorite your own listings or leave reviews.
Do not purchase your own listings, even to test the checkout process.
If you used a third-party service to boost favorites or reviews, stop immediately and do not purchase such services again.
If Etsy has already flagged your account, contact Etsy Support and acknowledge the issue directly — attempting to hide the activity after detection makes outcomes worse.

Effort: low · 15-30 minutes

If your suspension email cites this rule

Read the email for the behavior Etsy describes, then take an honest look at your shop's history. Did you, a relative, an employee, or a service place orders, favorite listings, or write reviews to help your numbers? Check any second accounts tied to you. Be clear with yourself about what happened before you write anything.

If it happened, stop it and say so plainly in your appeal. Explain what you did, when you stopped, and what you changed. Etsy's own policy names these actions, so excuses will not help. If it did not happen, collect proof that your reviews came from real orders, such as order records and message threads. Do not offer a result you cannot control. Etsy makes the final decision.

Suspended over this rule?

Generate a complete, ready-to-submit Etsy appeal for this exact violation.

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Common questions

What does shilling mean on Etsy?

Etsy's Seller Policy bars shilling and manipulating clicks, carts, sales, or review scores to help a shop. Typical examples are using a second account to buy and review your own item, or to favorite your own listings.

Can my friends and family favorite my listings?

Real customers acting on their own are fine. The problem is accounts that pose as independent buyers to help your shop, or action you arranged to look genuine. When in doubt, do not arrange it.

Can I buy my own listing to test checkout?

Do not place orders from your own shop with another account to leave a review or raise your numbers. Etsy bars manipulating carts and sales, and this does that.

Is it allowed to pay for favorites or reviews?

No. Paying a service to boost favorites or reviews creates false signals for buyers. Stop using it and do not buy such services again.

How do I show my reviews are real?

Keep the order records and buyer messages behind each review. Real orders from real customers are the best proof you can give Etsy.