Too often, people are taking advantage of vulnerable people who don't fully understand what they're getting into as they walk into magical, occult, or spiritual spaces. My intention is to reveal those practices, inform about how to spot untrustworthy shops and sellers, and create a better environment for us all.

However, I also want to give legitimate sellers the opportunity to improve their advertising. If we raise our collective quality, it'll become even easier to spot bullshit. I want to give a platform to legitimate creators and professionals, lifting them up and creating a space where we can share ideas and feedback freely in the name of collective improvement.

If you're going to engage with this project in any way, I ask the following:

• Do not harass or spam any shop, seller, or advertiser you see talked about here or on Tumblr. When applicable, I am reporting them as is appropriate. You are welcome to do the same if you see fit, but do not contact these people to harass them.
• Be respectful, particularly to people who have fallen for scams or who have purchased from dubious-at-best sellers. You cannot know what they're going through or what led them to trust a seller. Not everyone knows what you know. Be kind.
• Do not demand I cover a specific shop or seller. You are welcome to submit suggestions via DM, ask, or email, but I won't respond to or encourage nastiness.
• Do not send anyone hate or threats of any kind. If you send it to me, I won't respond to it, and you'll just look like an asshole in the group chat. If you send it to someone else, it's deplorable, and you will not be welcome in these parts. Again, be respectful.

This project's goal is to take a closer look at advertising in witchcraft, divination, and adjacent spiritual spaces, with a focus on education and scam prevention. As part of that, you're going to see screenshots and descriptions of listings of varying quality and legitimacy.

I'm going to be as respectful as I can be, as I strive to be kind to everyone, but you can anticipate some saltiness. I don't take kindly to grifting, and I hate people who take advantage of vulnerable communities.

Nothing you see in this series is going to be fabricated for the sake of content. Everything is coming from actual Etsy shops, Ko-Fi pages, Tumblr posts, and other sources. I will be honest and plain in my language.

Almost all posts will be anonymous, with shop names cropped out of screenshots and links not provided. Exceptions will be made only when a seller requests to be named while submitting their own listing(s) or when I am warning the community about a widespread scam going around.

I'm doing a fair amount of research before publishing anything, sometimes even going so far as to contact the sellers to ask questions before posting my thoughts. I won't publish unfinished thoughts, and I refuse to jump to conclusions.

Ad submissions I deem as legitimate will not be subjected to intense interrogation or review. The last thing I want is to hurt someone's feelings. Unless the seller themselves sends me their links with permission to review them, the most I'll be doing is explaining how I can tell it's legitimate. No extensive critique.

I also won't be touching ads/posts that I suspect are made by minors at all, unless the seller themselves submits them for review.

I may contact shops or sellers for permission to talk about listings. I'll only be doing this for shops I can tell are legitimate and which I want to use as examples of good advertising.

Genuine sellers have nothing to fear. At most, you'll get some honest opinions and suggestions for making your ads better by improving language, refining your style, and generally coming off as a unique, worthy shop to buy from.

Shitheel scammers, beware. I won't be so kind to you.

That's right, we're rating ad listings on a scale. Each category is rated on a scale of One (very bad) to Five (very good). Then, we take the average score for an Overall Rating.

Here's what I'm looking at:

• Clarity. Is it clear what the buyer is receiving? Is the language plain and understandable to even a layperson?
• Transparency. Is the seller honest about their refund/returns policy? Is it obvious where materials are being sourced? Is the seller being honest and clear about their credentials and/or qualifications?
• Presence. Is the seller present anywhere other than their shop? Do they share anything about their process, method, or practice anywhere? Are they actually part of a community, or are they just selling something?
• Genuineness. Are listing photos genuine? Are any images AI, or is any copy written by an AI? Is this a real person selling something, or is this a bot account?
• Verifiability. Is it obvious how a buyer will know their service is completed? Is it possible for the buyer to know? Are there any reviews verifying the quality/existence of the products or services? Are there negative reviews available?
• Morality. Are they offering services related to health, mental health, legal services, or other dubious subjects? Are they knowingly targeting a vulnerable audience using buzzwords and inflammatory language? Is the listing sharing misinformation or encouraging belief in conspiracy theories? Does the listing contain debunkable information? Does the listing participate in bigotry, cultural appropriation, bioessentialism, or anything of that nature?

If you spot an ad in the wild that you'd like to see me talk about, send me a link to it via DM or ask on Tumblr, or by email. If you get a scam DM or ask that you'd like me to see, send me a screenshot. You'll remain completely anonymous to minimize the chances of impact on your end. The seller/shop will also remain anonymous unless they're a danger to the community.

Things you can send me:

• Etsy links (whole shops or single listings)
• Tumblr links (not whole accounts, preferably)
• Ko-fi links
• Screenshots of DMs or other messages (from Tumblr or elsewhere)
• Facebook links or screenshots (I don't have a FB account, so some posts will not be accessible)
• Instagram links or screenshots (same thing as FB)
• Screenshots of or links to ads you see elsewhere on the internet
• Links to YouTube videos
• Your own listings, if you want me to take a look at those as an example of a good shop! (You can request to remain anonymous!)

I ask that you don't send me links or screenshots to advertisements or listings that aren't related to witchcraft, divination, or adjacent spiritual communities. They're worth talking about for sure, but my focus is on my own community (for now)!

Otherwise, please feel free to reblog or reply to any posts you see in this series. I want to open up as much discussion as possible.

You are always welcome to send me an ask (anonymously or otherwise) with questions, commentary, or anything else you'd like to share. This is a zero-judgment zone for people asking questions. There is no such thing as a "stupid question." Rude behavior such as judging people for asking "obvious questions" or acting as though someone should already know something won't be tolerated.

My Tumblr tag for this project is "#advertisement adversaries". I ask that you don't reblog posts into the tag, since I don't want folks to get hate or undue attention for being in it.