Selling on Etsy – A warning about adult content creators’ safety

Selling on Etsy is not safe for adult content creators. And I had to learn this the hard way. As we know creators spicy tea did used to have a Etsy storefront. That has been taken down. In fact that was taken down and a new store was built in less than 3 hours. That is how insanely unsafe having a Etsy store is for us.

Why I think selling on Etsy is so unsafe

I am a fully incorporated business. So when I signed up and I set up my payment methods, I had to do so as a business. When signing up as a business they asked me to provide my UBI number. Which is a identification number given upon every businesses incorporation. I already knew, hated, but accepted, that Etsy publicly was going to display my business name, and I already made peace with the fact that they were going to display my general location. But what I didn’t realize, is they also shared my UBI number publicly.

The reason that UBI number being publicly shared is so dangerous, so scary, and so not worth the risk, is because that is a very easy way to find me. Not me the creator, but me IRL. A UBI number, especially when paired with having the information of the state, can easily be plugged into a state government site and the following information showed up:

• Full legal name
• Full physical address
• My business filing history, the full, unredacted documents

It took me a single Google search, and less than 5 minutes to find all of that information. Let me tell y’all how much I panicked when I caught that, but thank God it was me who caught it and not someone out to cause harm.

Sole proprietors and gig workers are in just as much danger when selling on Etsy

You are Not at risk of having your government filings made public, but you are still at risk of doxing and everything that can come after that. Let’s look at what is made publicly available when someone who is not an incorporated business opens a Etsy store.

• Shop name and location
• Name of sole proprietor (must be your legal name)

We absolutely don’t want that info getting out there. Your name and location wrapped into a nice little tortilla for anyone to use it? That is danger knocking at the door y’all.

Why they do this

the long and short of it, they’re legally required to. They must stay in compliance with legal requirements. Let’s look at a couple that influence their decision to make this information public.

• INFORM Consumers Act: In the United States, the INFORM Consumers Act mandates online marketplaces like Etsy to collect, verify, and, in some cases, disclose specific seller information.
• Digital Services Act (DSA): For sellers operating within the European Union, the DSA requires platforms to provide certain information about professional sellers to ensure consumer protection and transparency.

I will be honest y’all, This was definitely a bit of a oversight of mine. You guys know I always preach to read those terms of service. I mean hell, it’s even one of my golden rules. I definitely did not read deep enough for this one. This blindsided me.

Where is the Creators Spicy Tea Storefront Now? Right Here!

It took me a chaotic, wild, panic fueled 3 hours of learning on the go, but we have that store up and running on this website right now. Everything that was on the Etsy has been transferred over, and I am absolutely hoping to be adding more to it as soon as possible!