Hi all,
Last year, the holidays brought new and unexpected challenges for everyone. And for small business owners like you, we know that concerns regarding shipping delays and timely customer deliveries were especially tough.
So this year, we want to use what we’ve learned to help you get ahead of the curve. We’re working on a number of ways to manage customers’ delivery expectations and support you during potential holiday shipping delays.
We’ll share messaging about potential carrier delays across our site
We’ll also share this information in their post-purchase confirmation emails. These messages will help ensure buyers are aware of delays and understand that they’re due to issues with the carrier, not the seller. Adjusting buyer expectations can help support customer satisfaction and reduce messages from buyers about unforeseen shipping carrier issues.
We’ll continue to update estimated delivery dates
Etsy is able to adjust transit times for sellers when we detect carrier delays. We can do this for a couple of reasons:
- We have close partnerships with carriers, and during the holidays we’re frequently in conversation with them about how their networks are performing.
- We’ve also developed an algorithm that analyzes data we have on millions of packages. This helps us detect where carrier delays are forming and make adjustments to transit time estimates to keep them more accurate.
But, remember, in order for Etsy to manage transit times in this way, sellers will need to select one of the carriers available in the drop-down lists of their shipping profiles. For instance in the US, if you’re shipping with USPS, be sure to select USPS in the dropdown list. Without knowing which carrier you’re using, we won’t know what transit time adjustments to make.
What does this mean for you? There’s no need for you to adjust your processing times to account for carrier delays. As long as you’re sending your packages on time, we’ll be able to provide more accurate estimated delivery dates to buyers. Click here to learn more about updates to estimated delivery dates.
We’ll give your buyers a heads up via email
Like last year, we’ll email buyers when we’re seeing potential for shipping delays. The emails will let buyers know three things: 1) their order has been shipped by the seller they’ve purchased from, 2) it’s on the way but may arrive a little later than expected due to holiday carrier delays, and 3) how much we appreciate them supporting sellers like you this holiday season. If we send this kind of email, you may hear from your buyers in response to it.
Regarding Reviews
As always, reviews that are solely about things outside of the seller’s control, such as the actions of a shipping carrier, Etsy, or a third party, may be in violation of our policies. If you receive a review that you believe violates Etsy’s policies, please be sure to report it.
Click here to learn more about Etsy’s Review System for sellers.
We’ll continue monitoring the situation and keep all of you updated throughout the holiday season. For tips on shipping and customer service during this time, check out our Seller Handbook article here.
Need help with something else?
There is a lot of information readily available in our Help Center, the Seller Handbook, and Community spaces. We want to make it easy for you to get the help you need when you need it, so we’ve compiled a list of resources and tips on how and when to use them to help you save time when you need it most. Check it out here.
Thanks, everyone!
