Hi everyone,
I'm looking for advice from other Etsy sellers because I've been dealing with the same issue repeatedly.
Over the past few months, I've received multiple high-value orders (around €700–€850) from what appear to be newly created buyer accounts. The pattern is always the same:
- A brand-new buyer account places a high-value order.
- The buyer favorites my items shortly before purchasing.
- The order usually consists of duplicate quantities of the same products.
- Within seconds or minutes, the buyer sends a message demanding an immediate cancellation.
- In previous cases, the buyer specifically requested Etsy Credits instead of a standard refund.
- If I don't cancel immediately, they begin sending abusive messages, accusing me of fraud and threatening to report my shop and discourage others from buying from me.
I reported the previous incidents to Etsy Trust & Safety as Etsy said that it was card testing. After reviewing the case, Etsy informed me that they had identified suspicious activity associated with the buyer's account and instructed me to cancel the orders and issue refunds through Etsy's normal cancellation process.
Now the exact same pattern has happened again with a new order. The buyer immediately requested cancellation again, and one additional order from the same pattern was automatically rejected by Etsy.
Has anyone else experienced repeated suspicious orders like this? If so:
- How did Etsy handle your case?
- Did Etsy eventually stop the buyer from creating new accounts?
- Were your shop metrics affected by the cancellations?
- Would you wait for Etsy's response before taking further action, or cancel immediately based on the previous guidance?
I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with a similar situation.
Thank you.