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FidosFlowers
Community Manager
Community Manager

Updated 2/24 - Important update regarding Royal Mail exports

Due to a Royal Mail cyber incident, the ability to purchase RM export labels is temporarily unavailable and shipping internationally via this carrier should be paused.

Royal Mail experienced a cyber incident earlier this week, which has interrupted international shipments. While Royal Mail works on fixing the issue, they've requested that their customers:

- Pause sales of Royal Mail export shipping labels.

This means that until further notice, the purchase of Royal Mail shipping labels for international orders is unavailable. 

- Hold on shipping internationally using Royal Mail.

If you’ve already purchased RM export shipping labels for international orders, you should wait to dispatch until the issue is resolved.

We understand this may disrupt your business operations. We’re working closely with Royal Mail to monitor the situation for our sellers and will continue to update you as we learn more. For more information, please visit Royal Mail’s website.

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MurphyGardens
Community Manager
Community Manager

Re: Important update regarding Royal Mail exports

We wanted to follow up on the Royal Mail cyber incident that happened this week. We know this has impacted some Etsy sellers, and we support you. We're closely monitoring the situation and will update you as we get new information.

The ability to purchase RM international shipping labels remains temporarily unavailable, as requested by Royal Mail. Please know that this situation impacts only export orders from the UK. Domestic orders within the UK can continue to ship as usual. 

We understand that this disruption may be difficult for affected sellers. To support the seller community, Etsy is currently:

  • Regularly updating estimated delivery dates for international shipments originating from the UK to account for delays.
  • Adding onsite messaging to alert buyers to the situation during their shopping and post-purchase journey. 
  • Looking into ways to mitigate potential Star Seller impacts for February. We know that shipping international orders on time is more difficult for some UK sellers and we want to make sure that your Star Seller status is fairly assessed. 

While Royal Mail works to fix the situation, affected sellers can take the following actions to minimize impacts on their day-to-day operations. We recommend: 

  • Determining what alternative carrier is the next best fit for your business while resolving this issue so you can continue to ship orders on time.  
  • Messaging buyers proactively if their orders may be delayed. If there's an order you don't feel you can fulfill, you always have the option to cancel it and let the buyer know about the situation.
  • If you already purchased a shipping label through Etsy and haven’t shipped the item yet, you can request a refund for the label and seek an alternative carrier option. 

Once regular service is restored, UK sellers can resume purchasing and printing Royal Mail postage labels directly from their Shop Manager.

As always, thank you for being a part of our community. We’ll update you here in the Forums as we hear more from Royal Mail. You can also find more information on Royal Mail’s website.

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MurphyGardens
Community Manager
Community Manager

Re: Updated 1/13 - Important update regarding Royal Mail exports

We're continuing to closely monitor the Royal Mail cyber incident and will update you here in the Forums as we get new information. 

As of today, Royal Mail has resumed some international exports of parcels that have been held up in their network, but continues to ask customers not to post new parcels for export. The ability to purchase RM international shipping labels remains unavailable, as requested by Royal Mail. While Royal Mail works to fix the situation, affected sellers can take the actions outlined in the Forums post above–including determining alternative carriers to ship with–to minimize impacts on your day-to-day operations.

Domestic orders in the UK are not impacted and can continue to ship as usual. You can also find more information on Royal Mail’s website.

We're heartened to see sellers coming together to support one another through this challenging time. As always, thank you for being a part of our community.

Below are some answers to the frequently asked questions we’ve been seeing. 

Q: Will the Royal Mail incident impact my Star Seller status?

  • A: We know that shipping international orders on time has been more difficult for some UK sellers and we want to make sure that your Star Seller status is fairly assessed. Your Star Seller eligibility for February will not be impacted as a result of international orders that didn’t ship on time due to the Royal Mail incident.

Q: Will the Royal Mail incident impact payment account reserves?

  • A: Orders that have been impacted by fulfillment issues because of the Royal Mail incident will not contribute to decisions to place a Payment account reserve on shops. Please keep in mind that temporary holds may be applied to shops for different risk factors, which you can learn more about in our Help Center.

Q: What if I receive a negative review related to the Royal Mail incident?

  • A: As always, reviews that are solely about things outside of your control – such as a shipping carrier, Etsy, or a third party – may be in violation of Etsy’s policies. If you receive a review that you believe violates Etsy’s policies, please be sure to report it

Q: Should I adjust my processing times?

  • A: You don’t need to adjust your processing times to account for potential delays caused by the Royal Mail incident. When calculating processing time, only include the amount of time needed to prepare an order and get it handed off to the carrier. Etsy is regularly updating estimated delivery dates for international shipments originating from the UK to help account for these delays and set expectations with buyers.

 

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MurphyGardens
Community Manager
Community Manager

Re: Updated 1/20 - Important update regarding Royal Mail exports

Hi Everyone, 

Royal Mail continues to ask customers to not post new parcels for export, and the ability to purchase RM international shipping labels remains unavailable. Domestic orders in the UK are not impacted and can continue to ship as usual. If you need more information please head over to Royal Mail’s website.

We know that shipping export orders has been difficult recently because of this service disruption and we understand the need for alternative shipping options. That’s why we’re partnering with an additional international carrier, Evri.

Evri is offering Etsy’s UK sellers 10% off all international parcels on the Evri Shipping Tool when you use code ETSY10* at checkout. You can use their send-a-parcel option if you have only a few parcels or you can link your Etsy account with Evri for shipping in bulk. You can learn more about how to ship with Evri here.

*Etsy sellers only. Offer ends March 1. Terms may apply.

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MurphyGardens
Community Manager
Community Manager

Re: Updated 1/24 - Important update regarding Royal Mail exports

We wanted to share a few important reminders when it comes to adding tracking information to your packages and completing your orders. 

When you purchase shipping labels from somewhere other than your Shop Manager, you’ll need to: 

Add tracking: Remember to add a tracking number (if available) before you mark the order complete. 

  • If you’ve already completed an order, you can go back to add tracking information–learn how in the Help Center

Mark as complete: Manually mark the order as complete on the Orders & Delivery page after it’s been delivered to the shipping carrier. 

  • When you complete an order, we automatically send your customer an email letting them know their item is on the way.

Shoppers want to know where their package is and when it will arrive. Providing these details upfront means you can spend less time responding to messages from shoppers looking for their order.

Questions about how to add tracking or complete an order? Head over to the Help Center to learn more. 

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MurphyGardens
Community Manager
Community Manager

Re: Updated 1/25 - Important update regarding Royal Mail exports

Hi Everyone, 

As of today, Royal Mail has resumed their International Tracked & Signed as well as International Signed services to all destinations—please note, this is only for customers buying postage online. The ability to purchase shipping labels for these mail classes through your Shop Manager is now available.

For all other international mail classes, Royal Mail continues to ask customers not to post new parcels for export. Domestic orders in the UK are not impacted and can continue to ship as usual.

We’ll continue to keep you updated here as we learn more about Royal Mail resuming international services. If you need more information please head over to Royal Mail’s website.

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MurphyGardens
Community Manager
Community Manager

Re: Updated 1/26 - Important update regarding Royal Mail exports

Hi Everyone, 

We wanted to let you know that as of today, Royal Mail has resumed their International Standard services for customers buying postage online. This means that all international mail classes sold through your Shop Manager are back up and running.

Please know that Post Offices are not yet fully operational. You’ll still need to find an online solution for shipping. 

  • At this time, Royal Mail is still unable to process new Royal Mail parcels purchased through Post Office branches. 
  • There isn’t a timeline for Post Offices to resume operations. In the meantime, Royal Mail strongly recommends using online solutions to purchase labels, including Royal Mail labels purchased through Etsy. 

Suggested online solutions:

  • Royal Mail (via Shop Manager): You have access to Royal Mail online rates through your Shop Manager, which cost less than what you’d pay at the Post Office. Plus, using shipping labels purchased on Etsy helps make your orders eligible for Etsy’s Purchase Protection program. Learn more about how to purchase Royal Mail shipping labels through your Shop Manager here
  • Evri: If you’d prefer to use a different carrier, we partnered with an additional international carrier, Evri. Evri is offering Etsy’s UK sellers 10% off all international parcels on the Evri Shipping Tool when you use code ETSY10* at checkout. You can use their send-a-parcel option if you have only a few parcels or you can link your Etsy account with Evri for shipping in bulk. You can learn more about how to ship with Evri here.
    • As a reminder, when you purchase shipping labels from somewhere other than your Shop Manager, you’ll need to manually mark the order as complete on the Orders & Delivery page after it’s been delivered to the shipping carrier. Remember to add a tracking number (if available) before you mark the order complete. 

If these online solutions don’t work for your Shop, you can change your shipping profile settings to temporarily stop accepting international orders. To do this, go to Shop Manager > Settings > Shipping Settings > Shipping Profiles on your desktop computer. From there, you can select to edit a shipping profile and update the field “Where I’ll ship” to include/exclude the countries you’ll ship to. Learn more about how to set shipping information here.

We’ll continue to keep you updated here as we learn more about Royal Mail resuming Post Office services. If you need more information please head over to Royal Mail’s website.

*Evri offer expires 1st March 2023

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MurphyGardens
Community Manager
Community Manager

Re: Updated 2/2 - Important update regarding Royal Mail exports

Hi Everyone,

In accordance with Royal Mail's latest international bulletin, they have reinstated export services to all destinations for purchase online, through shipping solutions, and over the counter at Post Office branches. 

For more information, please head over to Royal Mail’s website.

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