Sock Puppet Voting
10:00 PM Friday, July 24, 2009I received this email today:
Hi!
Love your blog and wish to remain anynomous, if that's okay.
You'll love this one. This shop, PenelopeG2, is in the <a href="http://www.etsy.com/voter_list.php?ref=voter&room_id=60">voter this week</a>. She's in second place, as of this writing, with 155 votes. Second place, mind you, but not one single item heart. Imagine that!!
Everytime flapperdoodle moves ahead by 10-plus votes, PenelopeG2 moves just to within a few votes of her... within a matter of minutes. This has been a consistent pattern all week, since this round of voting began. Probably so she can keep the pace and cross the finish line in the final minutes??
It gets better- Zero hearts on her popular item. Check out her feedback from buyers- minharda buys from PenelopeG2 on July 6, 2009 and leaves feedback July 7, 2009. Here's the feedback she left: "I gave this as a birthday gift to a girlfriend and she loved it....I think these pieces are unique and universal and very stylish."
Can you say express mail??!
The next day, July 8, minharda makes two more purchases and leaves feedback July 21, the same day the other buyer, Hgerryts, did. Neither buyers have bought from any other shop.
And it still gets better! In the etsy storque article about this voter, there is a comment that says "wow, love PenelopeG2's stuff - definitely on my wish list!" written by "dianadiva008" -- guess when she started her account? July 21st!! <a href="http://www.etsy.com/storque/etc/vote-who-has-the-freshest-shop-4406/">http://www.etsy.com/storque/etc/vote-who-has-the-freshest-shop-4406/</a> (scroll a way down to find the comment)
Dianadiva008n loves PenelopeG2 so much that she doesn't bother to heart her shop, or her items. In fact, she hardly has any item hearts on anything. Now, wouldn't you heart someone whose shop you love so much?
About 10 of us have been watching the voting pattern all week- it is amazing how, when flapperdoodle moves ahead by 10 or more votes, Penelope manages to close the gap.
While I think she makes her necklaces, some of her bracelets are mass produced.
Sock puppet's for sure... I hope you will look into this and post something before voting ends at 10 am Monday.
Please, please!!
I see she nominated herself too!!!! Looks real fishy especially that all those people voted for her featured bracelet but nobody hearted it. The feedback looks really suspicious too. Jewelry is a hard sell and isn't it something that she had 7 sales right after she joined.
Yeah, something's fishey for sure.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Blatently desperate... and blatently a cheat.
I say since FlapperDoodle is the only one with a chance of beating this scammer that we encourage votes for Flapperdoodle.
Don't let a cheat get featured in the Storque. Bad enough resellers get the front page.
0 hearts... get real Penelope
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
What's with her "14K GOLD CHAIN WITH HONEY GLAZED PENDANT?" You buy a bead from a real artist, then stick a cheap gold chain on it (oh, the toil!) and then it is worth $175?
What crap.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
She's way too obvious. Shame on Etsy administration for not checking her feedback before putting her in the voter.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
wow. this is really sad because i love the voter feature on Etsy.
The first place item has 12 hearts, 3rd 19 hearts, 4th 148 hearts. and hers has 0. something dodgy going on.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Wow! She needs to learn how to give herself hearts. Cracking up over dianadiva008's comment but no heart. She's a fake and a bad one at that!
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Oh Jesus Christ. Good eye, anon.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Her piece is one of the most substandard and "unhandmade" looking items in the vote...sigh.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Opps! Forgot to say that was a good catch!
Etsy take notice of the feedback please!
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Hey all- since flapperdoodle is the only one positioned to beat this cheat, let's all go vote for her!!!!!
Let's beat this chick at her own game and get out the vote!!!!!
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
She's so obivious about too..
Dude, look at the reseller dream chick: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7245262
Freakin American Eagle jeans? Books published in 2008? Look at her new listings. Ugh. I need pepto after looking at that crap
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
She’s so obivious about too..
Dude, look at the reseller dream chick: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7245262
Freakin American Eagle jeans? Books published in 2008? Look at her new listings. Ugh. I need pepto after looking at that crap
------------------------------------------------
And the sock puppet voter?!
O.K. - I think Etsy is just f*ckin' with us now.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Holy Shit. She begged in the forums for votes.
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6224790
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6224789
Love Bruce822 comment.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Yikes!
No wonder she can only sell to herself. Did you check out her prices? For gold plated?
She's a gem alright!
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Nice one, Laura! I especially like her Spielberg book with the picture clearly lifted from Amazon. Classy!
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Holy Crap! OMG! I just can't believe it! What a friggin joke.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
I wonder if there will be a forum meltdown if she DOESN'T win! Will keep my eyes pealed. ;-)
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
i never know about these votes things. do you have to search the blog or click on a link on the sidebar to check for them? one time i was in one and only found out due to google alerts
(maybe thats why the sum total of votes is rarely over 1000?)
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Insert evil chuckle here... Thanks for the forum links! Too freakin funny.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
No way something as pedestrian as that bracelet is getting all of those votes honestly. Please keep voting for FlapperDoodle >:=)
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Did my duty and voted for flapperdoodle!
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
I voted for Flapperdoodle, but I think there's a flaw with the display of the Voter. For example, in IE8 and Firefox 3, the very right hand column gets cut off. I can't see how many votes anyone in that column has. My resolution is a modest 1024x780, or is that the new 800x600 these days?
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
I voted for Flapperdoodle.
The sock voices in my head voted for her too.
Go Flappy!
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
I just voted for Flapperdoodle, but now I feel bad for the other sellers who have nice stuff and whose votes are legitimately climbing.
Someone who may have otherwise voted for those shops won't even give them a second glance now, because we're all trying to prevent the scammer from winning by inflating votes for Flapperdoodle. Not that Flapperdoodle's stuff isn't deserving, I'm just sayin'. The scammer has completely skewed this contest whether she wins or not, and it's sad.
Way to go on your always astute methods of checking things out, Etsy.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Votes are in:
http://www.etsy.com/storque/etc/the-freshest-shop-of-them-all-4438/
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM
i didnt vote for flapper b/c it wasnt as fresh to me but did vote for my fave.encouraging the public to vote for anyone besides the jewelry seller might have been the way to go with this one, either way the outcome was for the best as the votes didnt seem legit
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:46 PM