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

Not all sex-related merchandise might 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 go away the platform totally or considerably shift their choices.

Twisted Fantasies, an organization in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is likely one of the sellers set to take “a giant hit,” Avi Goldstein, its proprietor, stated. The enterprise makes a speciality of colourful silicone intercourse toys designed and produced in the US. Amongst different choices, it has phallic objects carved within the form of cannoli, tulips and Christmas timber.

Because it was based in 2022, Twisted Fantasies has made greater than 4,800 gross sales on Etsy. (In its first yr, 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 colour, 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 yr, he began the web site Spicerack as an unbiased various to Etsy.