Etsy are coming in for some stick with sellers calling them rude due to a new display of images in search results. It appears that now Etsy crops images to squares in search results. Previously they were rectangular images which sellers have been accustomed to.
The issue is attracting some hilarity due to an image shared by one seller on the Etsy forums where cropping an image has removed some lettering on a bath curtain leaving the casual observer to fill in the blanks. _UCK _OCKS _OR _GINA doesn’t take too much imagination for a crude mind to come up with something highly entertaining albeit a bit risque. To save you guessing, it should read LUCK ROCKS FOR REGINA.
Moving on past the expected sniggering from Etsy sellers, the issue is a tricky one as with many product cropping images to squares can remove vital information and details as to the product and it’s condition. Sellers need to be aware when they are taking product shots and editing them that it’s important to keep the key information in the centre of the image and note that different sites they list on may have different image standards and display or crop their images in unexpected manners.
Some sites will fill any empty space with a white background, whilst Etsy crops images to squares rather than have empty space.
Multiple sellers are complaining about the previously unannounced change in the Etsy forums and a moderator has noted their thoughts.
“Thanks for sharing your feedback about this experiment. I’ve passed it along to the team so they’re aware of your thoughts about square thumbnails.”
– Etsy
