What challenges caused Etsy to exit B2B wholesaling in 2018, and how has the landscape changed since then?

B2B marketplaces are so different than B2C marketplaces. B2C marketplaces are fundamentally about the ease of transaction, primarily through commoditizing highly fragmented supply. That's why all these on-demand models have worked so well. Price and price predictability are crucial on the B2C side because customers will move elsewhere if it’s a commodity product. B2B marketplaces are just far more nuanced.

I haven't looked at Etsy very closely by any means, so I'm speculating here, but when I think about their original business and what wholesale would look like on their side, I think that's a difficult leap to make. They were early in the market, and wholesaling online has only become more popular recently. If wholesaling required a significant shift in mindset and process for the makers, I wonder if their tech fully addressed those needs and made it a seamless transition.

Today, I think there’s a lot more maker-centric infrastructure to support wholesale businesses. Makers have better access to financing, logistics, cloud-based CRMs, and even online communities for additional support. There’s also an increased interest in buying these wholesale businesses, so other liquidity options make the space more attractive.