DC Incomplete Shipping Information

[PWOriginals]

Apparently I'm not the only one who has experienced incomplete shipping information for DC orders. I had one where the last name was not provided - another seller said she had one where only the first name and city fields had been completed. I posted this in Bugs this a.m. but no admin chimed in.

We have to backtrack with the buyer to get information needed to ship. My question - does Etsy not require fields to be complete? What kind of Seller protection do we have when we can't use the address as given on the order?

[Former_Member]

I like this idea, too. Unnecessary convos are such a time suck and that is the last thing I need.

[DiBeauDesigns]

I haven't experienced this, but it seems that a red asterisk should be on required fields and the ability to complete order stopped until they are. That's standard with every other site.

[Former_Member]

I'm finding this too. I had a customer over the weekend who had a funky address. The zip and state were not matching up. After a couple of convos it was determined that she uses a google product that auto populates and it just put in the wrong state. Having to contact the customer can be a pain, especially if you are trying to make it to the post office quickly before the holiday weekend!

[Former_Member]

Hi Pam,

Sorry for the delay in getting to you, and sorry to hear about the trouble with a problematic address.

Here's the scoop: Per USPS guidelines, a full name is not required. That's why mail can be sent to "Resident," "Occupant," "Evelyn," etc. As such, it's up to the buyer to input whatever information they see fit.

Our system requires the street address, city, state, and zipcode to be filled in. Our system, however, does not verify a buyer's shipping address. I was able to locate the thread you mentioned in the Bugs Forum -- please rest assured that it is impossible for an order to be made with just a name and a city.

I understand that this can complicate things! Conversations and emails with your buyers are always recommended. You might also consider using shipping labels that will verify the addresses for you. It's not an exact science (isn't USPS mysterious?), but it tends to work for many of our sellers.

Hope this helps!

Ev

[PWOriginals]

Ev - Thanks for your reply, but it doesn't address the fact that a first and last name should certainly be required for shipping, as it is by Paypal (you can't print a label without it) and by me, as a seller. So, my question remains - why are these fields not required by Etsy? Etsy would actually let an order go through without any name in the address?

"Resident" and "Occupant" are fine for junk mail, not for packages containing product.

You say that Etsy doesn't verify shipping addresses and you recommend: "You might also consider using shipping labels that will verify the addresses for you." So, don't use Etsy shipping?

Sellers need to be aware of these issues so we can determine whether we want to take on any additional risks.

[Former_Member]

I have a customer, she paid through DC.
In the first line she provided her first name.
In the second line (where you usually put your number and street) she provided her LAST NAME.
So, I only have her name, city and state, no street.
I sent her a convo and an email to the provided email address.
Have not heard back yet since yesterday.
So, can somebody of the admins tell me what to do?

[ComfortAndGrins]

Evelyn I too want to know -- Are you saying we should use another place to make our labels rather than Etsy?

[Former_Member]

Hi Pam,

Thanks for the reply. I understand your concern, however, it's up to a buyer to input what he or she sees fit. I should clarify -- since USPS does not require a full name (first and last name), nor do we. Some buyers prefer not to have their full name available to a seller -- we defer to USPS guidelines for these matters.

Beyond that, I've read my post a second time and realized I misspoke. Etsy Checkout does not verify addresses (we reasonably assume that a buyer will input whatever address they see fit). Etsy shipping labels, however, use USPS to print labels and verify addresses. Like I said before, address verification (through any mailing service) is not an exact science. USPS, for example, does not recognize our Etsy office address. But it's here -- I promise!

[FleurDeLeeDesign]

Please let the shipping cost be taken directly out of the shop payment account instead of being added to the Etsy bill.

[KitchenCrafts]

Paypal does allow incomplete names too. Although you can not print a label without something in the last name field. I simply put a period or other small symbol there to get the program to spit out a label. I am assuming the same thing can be done with Etsy shipping if need be.