People buying by mistake

[thimblemins]

Hi, I have been having a big problem lately with people buying my items thinking they are full size, I do everything I can think of in my listings to make it obvious that they are miniature, but it doesn't always work, I have had to refund about 6 people in the last month, luckily all of these realised before I shipped, but I have just shipped two more and they also will have to be refunded 😟 does this happen to many others ?

[CalicoJewels]

Yes, it sure has, because some people just. don't read.

After a sale to a 'new' buyer, I always check their favorites list to see if they have any miniatures in it. If not, When I send my thank you convo I stress the fact that their purchase is a dollhouse miniature sized whatever-it-is. I also wait an extra day before mailing it to give them time to have read the convo. I still get a few cancellations but I haven't had it happen after already shipping the item. One lady even said to mail it anyway and she'd put it on her mantle or maybe start collecting.

[AuntElliesMiniatures]

Me, too. I send the same convo message as Linda does, and I add that Aunt Ellie's Miniatures does not send refunds to people who thought they were buying a full-sized whatever. I have that message in my shop announcement, which doesn't help because they are obviously not reading that, either.

[ArtislunaMiniaturas]

today I had an order and inmediately its cancelation by mistake. it is the fist time in five years. I hope it dont repeat again

[medievalmorsels]

I once had someone in Germany who enquired after my pig's trotters - I think he thought there were the real thing but he didn't get as far as placing an order after I responded to what - on the face of it - seemed an odd enquiry. It must help that my food is labelled Tudor or Medieval, plus you wouldn't expect Etsy to be selling food so much?!

[MissyMiniacdotCom]

I've had it happen many times and so now, I try to include a picture with my spectacles for scale. I'm pretty quick off the mark with dispatch and there have been occasions when the buyer has realised soon after dispatch when it is too late.

Other times I would have paid to be a fly on the wall when buyers have unwrapped a package to find their not-so-life-sized purchase. Some of these people have been really rude as if it were my mistake and so I apply my no returns/cancellations policy. Others who have been more polite are given the option to return the item at their own cost and I have yet to have anything returned.

In this day and age we've had enough exposure to online buying that most of us should read descriptions and look at all the pictures. If most people actually did that, we wouldn't have this issue.

[WhimsyWooMiniatures]

Just checked out your shop Mel and I can see why customers are mistaking your minis for full size.

All your items are just so realistic and such excellent photos. I love the way you have included your spectacles to remind people they are not full size.

[AuntElliesMiniatures]

Apparently some of these buyers are looking at listings on cell phones rather than computers, so they don't see the full listings and only look at one or two photos.

You'd think, though, that the name of the shop they are agreeing to pay would give them a clue -- MissyMiniatures, WhimsyWooMiniatures, AuntElliesMiniatures, ArtisLunaMinaturas, etc.

[MatchboxCreations]

People purchasing items on mobile devices could definitely be the cause of this problem. When using the Etsy app or the mobile web, you can only see the first two words or so before clicking on an item. (For instance, if the title is “Victorian-style Dining Table for Dollhouses” they will see something that looks like “Victorian-style Di...”)

If you go to Shop Manager » Stats » Customers and then scroll down, you can see a pie chart that shows the different devices people are using to find your shop.

If you have a high percentage of mobile-device users, you may want to try making the word “miniature” the first word of your title. (For example, try “Miniature Victorian-style Dining Table” instead of “Victorian-style Dining Table for Dollhouses” so that mobile users see “Miniature Victoria...” and know that it’s not life-sized right away.)

Honestly, though, I use my phone to both manage my shop and buy things on Etsy, and if you actually read the item title and description, 99% of the time, you can easily tell something so obvious as the relative size of the item.

If this is a very consistent problem, you can also try putting “PLEASE READ ENTIRE DESCRIPTION” at the beginning of your item details section.

[miniaturesforever]

I saw your shop and your lovely items! But it seems you are not using all the 10 photos available in each listing, it is important to put at least one photo with something that´s give an idea of the scale! this is very important to avoid that problem. My advise, take at least one photo with a real life object (a pen, a pencil, a match), or with a rule close to the piece. I believe this will solve your problem.