Etsie.

for almost 20 years it's been the spot for handmade and specialized goods on the internet.

Many crafters, creators, and and specialized goods on the internet.

Many crafters, creators, and collectors have flourished on ETSI, and they've found community and made money on the site.

I talked to several current and former sellers about their work.

I'm currently making a big batch of skirts with a day of the dead fabric.

Mostly mid-century modern furniture from the 50s,

and mostly Scandinavian stuff.

Clothing, I focus on clothing.

Bookfinding and printmaking, so really anything stationary related,

all sorts of paper,

handbound books and then hand printed cards.

These sellers turn to ETSC because they see its value

for their business.

The site currently hosts about 9 million active sellers.

But many of them also say that ETSI has changed.

The company now gets a bigger cut of merchant sales and some sellers say

real handmade goods are getting lost in a flood of mass-produced items.

Etcie is now also a publicly traded company with a growth-focused leader.

And some sellers say the company isn't necessarily living up to its motto of keeping commerce human.

What winds up happening with these tech platforms is that they want to prioritize growth over the long-term success.

There are wonderful handmade items, hand-designed items. And then there's the other stuff as a

...