The brand new coverage, released by Etsy on Thursday and reported by Mashable on Friday, is the corporate’s try to “proceed to maintain our customers secure,” Alice Wu, the pinnacle of Etsy’s belief and security staff, wrote in a public letter. The corporate declined to remark additional.

Not all sex-related merchandise will probably be banned. Equipment like handcuffs and harnesses will nonetheless be allowed, together with work or sculptures that present “seen breasts and buttocks.” However the “extra rigorous tips,” as Ms. Wu’s letter referred to them, imply that some Etsy sellers must depart the platform completely or considerably shift their choices.

Twisted Fantasies, an organization in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is without doubt one of the sellers set to take “an enormous hit,” Avi Goldstein, its proprietor, stated. The enterprise focuses on colourful silicone intercourse toys designed and produced in the USA. Amongst different choices, it has phallic objects carved within the form of cannoli, tulips and Christmas bushes.

Because it was based in 2022, Twisted Fantasies has made greater than 4,800 gross sales on Etsy. (In its first 12 months, about 65 p.c of the corporate’s complete gross sales got here from Etsy.) However in 2023, Mr. Goldstein stated, Etsy started reviewing and delisting a few of his merchandise, citing violations with out a lot specificity or consistency. For instance, he stated, some merchandise have been seemingly flagged for referring to animals, even when the reference was simply to the product’s coloration, like “canary yellow.”

Even earlier than the ban, it was getting tougher to run his enterprise, Mr. Goldstein stated. So, he thought, “Why don’t we simply make our personal market?” This 12 months, he began the web site Spicerack as an impartial different to Etsy.