The high cost of ignoring your community
Lessons from Poshmark’s fee changes and how to turn community trust into your greatest asset
This October, Poshmark reversed its new fee structure after facing intense backlash from its seller community. Let’s be clear: this wasn’t just “community pushback”—it was a self-inflicted wound. Too often as builders, we make decisions that look great on paper but overlook a critical truth: our communities aren’t just numbers. They’re partners in our success.
Storytime
For the entirety of my 7-year stint at Etsy, I worked on the seller side of the business. The Etsy selling community was extremely tight in the early days and any product changes had to be thoughtful and aligned with their needs, or we’d face their pushback.
This put healthy pressure on the community and product teams because they had to work hard to 1) understand the real needs of users (gasp!), 2) reconcile them against what was good for the business, and 3) bring sellers along in that process.
Through a lot of trial and error, and some hate mail (mailed to me at Etsy HQ 🙃), we figured out how to involve them in the development process as a true stakeholder. Involving them early made even controversial changes easier to navigate, thanks to their trust and buy-in.
Managing users vs. managing communities
Managing a community is far more complex than managing a user base. Poshmark doesn’t just have users; it has a tightly connected community. People form relationships on and off the platform, often tied to their identity as Poshmark sellers. This dynamic makes preparing for change much harder because decisions impact not just individual users but an entire ecosystem of relationships. Not every product has this level of connection, but for those that do, the approach to change must be fundamentally different.
Why we end up here (spoiler: it’s usually our fault)
Community pushback rarely comes out of nowhere. Whether it’s Poshmark’s fee changes, Reddit’s API pricing, or Etsy’s seller strike, the common thread is clear: leadership often makes decisions without fully understanding their community’s needs — or they’re forced to make tough calls that go against those needs.
Common mistakes we make:
Prioritizing business health over community health
Failing to talk to users
Underestimating how changes affect livelihoods
Sometimes, you’ll still need to make decisions that don’t fully align with your community’s best interests. But even in those cases, it’s critical to bring them along in the process. Being transparent, listening to feedback, and showing empathy can help turn a difficult decision into one your community may not love but can respect.
How to build with your community (not despite them!)
Some of the best product building happens when we treat our communities as partners in the building process. How do you do this?
Bring them along
Share challenges openly
Involve power users in early discussions
Create meaningful feedback loops
Show how community input shapes decisions
Test together
Run beta programs with volunteer participants
Take feedback on your work in progress
Share what you're learning
Let the community help shape solutions
Build trust before you need it
Establish regular community touchpoints
Create transparent decision-making processes
Acknowledge when you're wrong
Share both successes and failures
What do you do if you’ve made a mistake?
If you find yourself in Poshmark's position, here's how to recover with humility:
Own it! Poshmark’s CEO responded well. He acknowledged the mistake, didn’t deflect, outlined how he’d make it right, and had a timeline for changes.
Listen before acting! Don’t rush to fix without understanding first, gather diverse community perspectives, and show you’re hearing hard feedback.
Rebuild by doing the work! Make meaningful changes based on what you hear, keep the communication channels open, and follow through on your promises. Accept that rebuilding trust will take some time!
Moving forward together
So before your next big change, ask yourself:
Have we involved our community in understanding the problem?
Are we solving for their success as much as ours?
Have we earned the trust needed for this change?
Are we prepared to adjust based on feedback?
Remember: Your community's success is your success. When you treat them as genuine partners in your product's evolution, you not only avoid the revolts—you build something far better than you could have alone.
Share how you bring your community along for the ride in the comments below 👇