All of my first class flats are stuck in "pre transit" status

[ArtistDakota]

This is an ongoing issue with etsy, as seen by the literally thousands of threads about this. I still have yet to see them address it or fix it.

Issue: I ship smaller items (under 1 lb) with first class mail, usps, in a "flat." which is defined as a bendable cardboard mailer, which mine is.

NONE of the orders ever update to anything but "pre transit" even after delivered. I get so many messages of people accusing me of never sending their orders because to them, it says "label created, usps is awaiting the item" even after I ship it, and after it is delivered.

I just spent 30 minutes on etsy customer service chat, sending screen shots and explaining all of this, just to get some generic answer of "we are working on it."

I have orders going back years that still say "pre-transit."

I feel like etsy could care less about helping us fix this at this point.

[ArtDollsbyJD]

It's not Etsy.  It's Pitney Bowes.  They must have arranged for flats to get delivery confirmation.  It is not tracking.  Problem is USPS does not scan letter or flats regularly so they are probably missing that scan. 

Did you check the Pitney Bowes site?

So talk to Pitney Bowes not Etsy about this and the interface with Etsy. 

Etsy only offered this when they moved to Pitney Bowes as we never had letter/flats before 2019.  It's just not soemthing Etsy thought about except as an afterthought.

Since you are using Etsy labels and Etsy knows of the issue and have for months, they have accepted the use of letter flats as enough for star seller without having to have tracking.

[ArtistDakota]

What do you mean check the pitney bowes site, will the tracking work on there? I understand what you're saying, but Etsy needs to have it say something different than "pre-transit" once the label is made. Even "Shipped" would help people not be mad.

[ArtistDakota]

I just saw that you can track on the pitney bowes site, I did not know that. But yes, the tracking #'s still don't show anything, even on there.

[SugarTaffySoap]

@ArtistDakota I always use "package/thick envelope" for mailers and boxes. 

[ArtistDakota]

That option is too expensive for these items in particular, they are only $5.

[dayspringcollectible]

True tracking is not available on First Class items.  You have three choices:

• Continue to send them First Class anyway, and deal with the customer issues.
• Sell them in groups that are large enough to justify the First Class Package rate if you don't think singles are worth it.
• Acknowledge that not everything is sellable online in a way that satisfies you and your customers, and remove those items from inventory.

Those really are your options.

[ArtistDakota]

Dayspringcollectible: I don't think you understand what I am saying. I understand what I can do, I already solved the issue on my end by sending the customers a quick message after they order. My issue is the way Etsy is wording the process. It should not say Pre Transit, they should just mark it as "shipped." Is that more clear? Lots of other people are frustrated with this as well, it's not just me.

[dayspringcollectible]

@ArtistDakota 

Yes, I understand.  Etsy cannot mark it Shipped because they have no confirmation it has been.  They can get information off of USPS tracking numbers, but the numbers on flats are not valid numbers.  So there is no way for them to know if your item has shipped or not.  They can't put up information they don't have.

[hopeandjoystudios]

I'd stop using flats and make them a package by adding stiff cardboard and get real tracking. Your prices make the extra couple bucks to FCpackage seem feasible. If you were shipping $5 decals or stickers I'd get using fc flats.

If it was one of your higher dollar items as a customer I would expect Priority shipping and gladly pay for it.

[ArtistDakota]

I am sending my $5 items via the flats. Packages are not sent without tracking, only the low dollar sales. Thanks though.

[BagmakerSupply]

@ArtistDakotaHaving free shipping in your shop does make the decision more difficult but shipping everything with tracking does provide a certain level of sanity and calm to the process (and that is without even considering the star seller program).

[ArtistDakota]

Yes but this doesnt solve the issue that I brought up. Plus I would make zero dollars if I shipped these particular items with tracking. Etsy just needs to fix the issue.

[dayspringcollectible]

The tracking on flats is not a real USPS tracking number, so there is nothing Etsy or USPS can do about it.  It is a Pitney Bowes number.  If you want to fix this issue, stop using flats.  The little bit you save in postage isn't worth the customer hassles that result.

[ArtistDakota]

Thanks. That's not helpful for what I need but I appreciate the input.

[ArtistDakota]

Well, if enough of us mention it, maybe it'll get fixed. Please go somewhere else if you are going to be rude.

[MailBling]

@dayspringcollectibleThe point is this service is offered as workable by Etsy. Therefore, I would like Etsy to guarantee it works as intended. I would get penalized by Etsy if I offered something that didn't arrive as promised. No one should have to go outside of Etsy to get something to work as stated and promised by Etsy. I had to switch and saw my business fall by about 40%. When you are offered something, anything, you expect it to work. If Etsy knows it doesn't work it needs to stop offering that service.

[dayspringcollectible]

@MailBling 

"Workable" is a loaded word.  Keep in mind that Etsy is an expert in doublespeak.  You have to read between the lines with nearly everything they say.

No where do they say this is a workable USPS tracking number.  In fact, they specifically say you can't get this at the post office, which is a sure sign it is not a USPS workable number.

This number "works" for their intent, which is to sell labels.  They also adopted it so FC letters could meet tracking requirements of the Star Seller Program, thus selling even more labels.  To that extent, it "works" from their perspective, even though it doesn't work the way buyers and sellers would logically expect.

I agree with your frustration, but when selling on Etsy we have chosen to accept the long known ethics (or lack of) of the company.  Sometimes when enough of us complain, they change.  Usually they ignore us.  We can only keep trying, but we do so against the long-term track record of the company.

[BagmakerSupply]

@ArtistDakota What happens if you enter the tracking number on https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction ? Have you ever had the USPS counter person scan one of these packages as accepted to see if the tracking number is recognized? That will help narrow down the problem and  solution.

[ArtistDakota]

It says "status not available" even after the package has been delivered. Pitney Bowes website says the same.

[Adorabilities]

You can purchase tracking at lettertrackpro, which does actually get scanned and updated, with notifications to both you and your buyer (if you include their email address when creating the label.) This will not update on Etsy either, because Etsy can't connect to that tracking system. It also doesn't count towards Star Seller. But, you can actually see that the item has been shipped, when it's in transit, and when it's out for delivery.

As far as Pitney Bowes mail not updating, that has been a longtime problem. Etsy support says that they will still count the item as shipped on their end, no matter the status shown here.

[ArtistDakota]

Thank you for the info! I think my best bet is to just keep doing what I am doing, sending a quick message to each buyer explaining the issue. People seem to really appreciate the communication.

[TonsOfPaper · Accepted solution]

Hello there,

We usually see this problem when sellers try shipping items that don't qualify as "Flats" or "Letters." It could be that your items vary in thickness or are too rigid for USPS machines to sort. Their sorting machines are also used to scan tracking events, meaning if an item can't go through the machines it won't get tracked. We recommend checking the USPS's guidance on Flats and Letters here: USPS Postal Explorer.

But do note that we're still working with our partners to improve this feature. Letter and flat tracking is sometimes limited based on what technology USPS has available. Not all shipping events can be transmitted, so some shipments may not have complete tracking with this method. Ultimately the vast majority of these shipments should be delivered without issue.

I'll be also noting your feedback and will be sharing it with the team to consider for a future update. Please know that we take comments from the community to heart, and we make many changes to the site based on what we hear.

Thank you very much!

[BagmakerSupply]

@ArtistDakota Then the "tracking number" is not a valid USPS tracking number. I agree with you that 'It should not say Pre Transit' but look at it from Etsy's standpoint. Right or wrong the simple, and sad, truth is that they have no proof that you shipped only that you purchased a label. Just like there is no proof that an order was picked up by or hand delivered to a customer. But they could say something like "Seller Reports Order Has Shipped"

We don't use Etsy labels and we do not mark orders as complete until after they have delivered to USPS, but when we mark an order as complete it always shows as PreTransit until Etsy's tracking vendor updates Etsy - even when the tracking number already shows as accepted on the USPS website. I suspect that the decision to not mark an order as shipped until tracking confirmed it was the result of abuse by sellers and this probably is also why an order with a valid tracking number will eventually lose its shipped on time status if the package is never scanned.

[ArtistDakota]

I understand and thank you for the well thought out response. I guess my whole point of making this post is to try to get etsy to do something to change it. There are so many sellers frustrated with this system. I GET why it is that way, what I'm saying is it needs to change.