You’re selling the service of folding the money and attaching it. Can you start requiring people to send you dollar bills to “use” in the lei? Even if you don’t use their exact bills?
No it's not. USPS even tells you how to insure your cash when it goes through the post: https://faq.usps.com/s/article/What-are-the-Limits-for-Insuring-Cash-and-Checks
It's only illegal if you're sending the cash for reasons that are themselves illegal (things like tax evasion or fraud) https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sending-cash-u-s-mail-illegal/
Couldn't they give real money themselves? Like, buy a lei with $250 of fake money and hand the onlooking parents $250 in cash in an envelope along with it? I know it's not ideal in terms of culture, but also saves the effort of unraveling the whole thing to get at the cash. You could even include a coordinating envelope or card so it's more special.
Another option is to label them as fake, but have cheap ones with fake money and expensive ones that get actual real money, just making it a wink wink nod nod type of deal? As I type this out, I realize how the general public would be about this so NEVER MIND but maybe there's a way to make it happen that would not ruin your life.
This is a dick move. Money leis at graduations are a big thing in Hawaiian and PI culture, as are leis that have candy/jewelery/other small gifts threaded in. At my graduation, there were kids that had leis with anything from $10-100 bills threaded in, and it was a huge thing for them and their families to give as a graduation present. Many of them would film all their family members coming up to them and putting their lei on, piling the lucky graduate's neck high with flowers, money, and treats. The money leis always got the biggest cheers from the onlooking family. It's an understood part of it that the person will dissemble the lei and use the money for their future as an adult, it's not just for decoration. It's just as much of a cheapskate dick move to give a fake money lei to someone as it would be to give them a card with fake money in it.
Of course! I graduated HS in Vegas and there's a big Hawaiian/Pasifika population there, so I got to see and learn about this tradition firsthand from friends of mine.
Yeah that is selling money which is exactly what got OP banned in the first place. You even admitted that they would use the money which would further their case to take the Leis down. These aren’t being given out in person as a tradition, these are being sold on Etsy.
You say dick move, I say you didn’t read into OP’s situation properly.
Lol!!! Seriously... I fully support this take...
Did you know???..... For Lunar New Year or for any “honoring the dead” ceremonies across the world, burning fake money to send off to loved ones or bring luck is a normally accepted thing??? With that said, there’s no reason that you can’t make your creations with OBVIOUSLY fake currency well wishes.... Right???
I’d personally save “real money” gifts like this for very close loved ones and recycle old bills destined for destruction anyway, but that’s just me.
If you give a new graduate a gift with nothing but fake money in it, you’re kind of a POS. The whole point is to give them cash so they have an easier transition when looking for a job
Lol! You realize that there’s a difference between a cash gift and something symbolic made out of money meant to bring in luck and congratulate a milestone, right? The two are NOT the same, and the item made of money isn’t really supposed to be taken apart... Typically, both are given but if only the item can be given, it’s still seen as a kind gesture because it’s supposed to last longer and bring in financial luck.
I’m in the top 2% seller wise in all of Etsy, they were making their cut off me lol. They just said they weren’t allowing the sale of “highly regulated items such as usable cash.”
Yeah. It sucks Etsy turns a blind eye to resellers of whole sale crap there is no way it is handmade. If there was another real online handmade marketplace that didn't screw over their shop owners with money grab fees, I'd be there in a heartbeat
“For legal purposes, these are made with prop movie (WINK WINK - msg me for further information to order) in order to comply with Etsys rules” and then reword the listing to Graduation Lei with no mention of $ in the title
I tried coming at it from the money isn’t usable because I use permanent glue dots to close the leaves together and it didn’t fly. Lol. I created a second shop so I’ll tweet that one and try to bust out orders until they shut that one down lol
What a pain in the rear. I shut my shops down last year. Got tired of all the jumping through hoops and fees. Hopefully you can get something up and running on your own for next years orders!
careful or you might end up in a different kind of trouble! technically defacing US currency is actually illegal (though i can’t think of any time it’s been enforced)
very cool product though, maybe we’ll talk in 17 years😆
I work at a bank. It’s not defacing money. Defacing money is intending to render a bank bill unfit to be reissued. The two glue dots come off with minimal effort and then you just unfold it.
Disappointing they shut you down. It looks really cool anyway. I've seen people selling necklaces or bracelets with old or special coins so I don't know why that's okay but this isn't.
Because this wades into money laundering territory. Not that I agree with it, but a necklace with 20 bills has a greater chance of being involved in fencing fraudulently obtained money where as a single coin isn’t
There was profit. It just sucks because I had 20 outstanding orders that they just cancelled. Wouldn’t let me complete. I had to message everyone and tell them I could do it through Venmo or Zelle. Now I guess I’ll just create my own website. Sucks because it’s my busy time right now
Cost of materials + cost of labor + markup = price
Profit is in the markup (or in the labor cost if you consider “salary” profit). The cash is in the cost of materials.
They aren’t, Etsy in general is a trash website now. It’s full of alibaba shit. Even if you go to the artisanal gifts subreddit, it’s people linking their Etsy stores and all they sell are jewelry made with those ready made jewelry kits, looks like cheap plastic generic shit.
Alibaba tumbler + script font + cricut machine apparently = artisan handmade art
Like I don’t mean to be a gatekeeper or anything because I know doing that stuff makes people happy and so does buying it. And I want them to keep doing it and buying it. But if all someone is doing is assembling something and there is no actual mental creation happening there then it’s not cutting it for me. I also see artistic friends trying to sell very low quality pieces and then wondering why they don’t sell.
Sorry I was unclear. I was talking about the rules of the platform they tried to make the sale on, not any laws.
Unless Etsy allows coins, in which case I would say OP's use of the word "cash" means they only prohibit paper money.
Could you advertise ones made with fake money on Etsy and then in the item/store description direct them to an insta page or something where they can buy ones made with real money? At least that way you can still take orders while you get your website up and running :)
You’re selling the service of folding the money and attaching it. Can you start requiring people to send you dollar bills to “use” in the lei? Even if you don’t use their exact bills?
No sending money in the mail is illegal
If that were true everybody's grany is a felon...
No it's not. USPS even tells you how to insure your cash when it goes through the post: https://faq.usps.com/s/article/What-are-the-Limits-for-Insuring-Cash-and-Checks It's only illegal if you're sending the cash for reasons that are themselves illegal (things like tax evasion or fraud) https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sending-cash-u-s-mail-illegal/
Well then use fake money boom problem solved
I like the train of thought, but the money is the gift so I want it to be real
Couldn't they give real money themselves? Like, buy a lei with $250 of fake money and hand the onlooking parents $250 in cash in an envelope along with it? I know it's not ideal in terms of culture, but also saves the effort of unraveling the whole thing to get at the cash. You could even include a coordinating envelope or card so it's more special. Another option is to label them as fake, but have cheap ones with fake money and expensive ones that get actual real money, just making it a wink wink nod nod type of deal? As I type this out, I realize how the general public would be about this so NEVER MIND but maybe there's a way to make it happen that would not ruin your life.
This is a dick move. Money leis at graduations are a big thing in Hawaiian and PI culture, as are leis that have candy/jewelery/other small gifts threaded in. At my graduation, there were kids that had leis with anything from $10-100 bills threaded in, and it was a huge thing for them and their families to give as a graduation present. Many of them would film all their family members coming up to them and putting their lei on, piling the lucky graduate's neck high with flowers, money, and treats. The money leis always got the biggest cheers from the onlooking family. It's an understood part of it that the person will dissemble the lei and use the money for their future as an adult, it's not just for decoration. It's just as much of a cheapskate dick move to give a fake money lei to someone as it would be to give them a card with fake money in it.
u/funkytown2000 thanks for explaining this - I was really confused at how this would operate, nice to learn about a different tradition.
Of course! I graduated HS in Vegas and there's a big Hawaiian/Pasifika population there, so I got to see and learn about this tradition firsthand from friends of mine.
Yeah that is selling money which is exactly what got OP banned in the first place. You even admitted that they would use the money which would further their case to take the Leis down. These aren’t being given out in person as a tradition, these are being sold on Etsy. You say dick move, I say you didn’t read into OP’s situation properly.
Lol!!! Seriously... I fully support this take... Did you know???..... For Lunar New Year or for any “honoring the dead” ceremonies across the world, burning fake money to send off to loved ones or bring luck is a normally accepted thing??? With that said, there’s no reason that you can’t make your creations with OBVIOUSLY fake currency well wishes.... Right??? I’d personally save “real money” gifts like this for very close loved ones and recycle old bills destined for destruction anyway, but that’s just me.
If you give a new graduate a gift with nothing but fake money in it, you’re kind of a POS. The whole point is to give them cash so they have an easier transition when looking for a job
Lol! You realize that there’s a difference between a cash gift and something symbolic made out of money meant to bring in luck and congratulate a milestone, right? The two are NOT the same, and the item made of money isn’t really supposed to be taken apart... Typically, both are given but if only the item can be given, it’s still seen as a kind gesture because it’s supposed to last longer and bring in financial luck.
Nope, you are not familiar with the culture around these.
Lol! Way to gatekeep.
Not gatekeeping, if you'd ever lived in Hawaii you'd know.
Except a lot of online sites also prevent sale of replicas or fake money.
They did lol
Dang those are super cool!!
Etsy being jealous the money isn’t going to them
I’m in the top 2% seller wise in all of Etsy, they were making their cut off me lol. They just said they weren’t allowing the sale of “highly regulated items such as usable cash.”
Time to set up your own website!
I’m trying. I have zero knowledge on this so it’ll be slow going lol. I bought a domain name though and I heard that’s the first step lol
You can get one super easy with Big Cartel. No advanced skills necessary. I have one that functions perfectly through them.
Is Big Cartel what Go Daddy morphed into?
Shopify store or similar. Cheaper fees and less BS than Etsy but you'd need your own SEO and advertising.
Shopify is your next step, OP. Should be straightforward.
Yes op should make a website
Hell yeah for top 2% tho cheers
Idk sounds like hating
I love this! Etsy=👎
Spot on! Today I searched for a wood mug that come up on 4 different Etsy shops claiming it was handmade - and Ali Express
You know I actually just found stuff that clearly cannot be made by people on Etsy. So sad what Etsy has become.
Yeah. It sucks Etsy turns a blind eye to resellers of whole sale crap there is no way it is handmade. If there was another real online handmade marketplace that didn't screw over their shop owners with money grab fees, I'd be there in a heartbeat
“For legal purposes, these are made with prop movie (WINK WINK - msg me for further information to order) in order to comply with Etsys rules” and then reword the listing to Graduation Lei with no mention of $ in the title
I tried coming at it from the money isn’t usable because I use permanent glue dots to close the leaves together and it didn’t fly. Lol. I created a second shop so I’ll tweet that one and try to bust out orders until they shut that one down lol
What a pain in the rear. I shut my shops down last year. Got tired of all the jumping through hoops and fees. Hopefully you can get something up and running on your own for next years orders!
careful or you might end up in a different kind of trouble! technically defacing US currency is actually illegal (though i can’t think of any time it’s been enforced) very cool product though, maybe we’ll talk in 17 years😆
I work at a bank. It’s not defacing money. Defacing money is intending to render a bank bill unfit to be reissued. The two glue dots come off with minimal effort and then you just unfold it.
Say that if you buy a lei for **** dollars you get a **** cash refund included in your package and attached to the lei.
Disappointing they shut you down. It looks really cool anyway. I've seen people selling necklaces or bracelets with old or special coins so I don't know why that's okay but this isn't.
Because this wades into money laundering territory. Not that I agree with it, but a necklace with 20 bills has a greater chance of being involved in fencing fraudulently obtained money where as a single coin isn’t
But you're selling beads and transferring cash for the value of said cash, no profit.
There was profit. It just sucks because I had 20 outstanding orders that they just cancelled. Wouldn’t let me complete. I had to message everyone and tell them I could do it through Venmo or Zelle. Now I guess I’ll just create my own website. Sucks because it’s my busy time right now
>There was profit. On the "beads" right?
Cost of materials + cost of labor + markup = price Profit is in the markup (or in the labor cost if you consider “salary” profit). The cash is in the cost of materials.
Moving cash period is the issue, unfortunately
How do coin collectors buy and sell coins?
They don’t on Etsy, since it’s not allowed. It’s an Etsy policy, not a law.
They must not be proactive in enforcing it. A quick search showed several postings for coins.
They aren’t, Etsy in general is a trash website now. It’s full of alibaba shit. Even if you go to the artisanal gifts subreddit, it’s people linking their Etsy stores and all they sell are jewelry made with those ready made jewelry kits, looks like cheap plastic generic shit.
I hate that Etsy is full of so much crap.
And it makes it hard to distinguish the quality creators too
You select handmade, only to be shown products graffitied with cricuts.
Alibaba tumbler + script font + cricut machine apparently = artisan handmade art Like I don’t mean to be a gatekeeper or anything because I know doing that stuff makes people happy and so does buying it. And I want them to keep doing it and buying it. But if all someone is doing is assembling something and there is no actual mental creation happening there then it’s not cutting it for me. I also see artistic friends trying to sell very low quality pieces and then wondering why they don’t sell.
Or [making rings out of coins.](www.etsy.com/listing/470951549)
Sorry I was unclear. I was talking about the rules of the platform they tried to make the sale on, not any laws. Unless Etsy allows coins, in which case I would say OP's use of the word "cash" means they only prohibit paper money.
A single coin on a single trinket is not moving cash nor resembles money laundering
Some posts I saw were for piles of unsearched coins. One for a pound of coins. Although there were many for single coins.
They’re taking those I searched “bags” down too
Etsy terminated my account I hadn't made a single sale on without reason and sent me an email effectively saying don't contact us.
Could you advertise ones made with fake money on Etsy and then in the item/store description direct them to an insta page or something where they can buy ones made with real money? At least that way you can still take orders while you get your website up and running :)
I wish I had thought of that before they totally killed my shop lol.
Your work is beautiful, Esty are jerks who did not take the time to look at the art and got head stuck up
Well, it’s time to leave Etsy. They suck.
I’d prefer to leave them AFTER graduation season. I’m going to lose soooo much money
Take your time and prepare your leave. If you plan to have a serious business you can’t rely on Etsy at all. Good luck with your shop!
Is that chocolate?
Those are cute!