I honestly couldn’t care less whether EDDs stay or go — I just wish Etsy would make a decision and stick to it. What really doesn’t sit right with me is the inconsistency: why do they appear on some orders and not others? And why do the usual workarounds only function for certain orders? What on earth is Etsy doing?
That said, if they do decide to keep the EDDs, they absolutely need to stop penalising sellers who dispatch well within their stated processing times, simply because the order didn’t arrive within Etsy’s estimated delivery window.
I only became aware of the EDD issue because customers were complaining that their orders hadn’t arrived “on time.” The problem is, these estimates are mostly inaccurate and no longer seem to include processing time, which means I have no way of managing them — and they end up setting completely unrealistic expectations. Ironically, I now need to see those EDDs, because it’s the only way I can anticipate what a customer is expecting and try to manage that proactively.
I do like your idea about reinforcing delivery timeframes in the Note to Buyer section — I’ll be adjusting mine to include some extra info. That said, in my experience, most buyers don’t read listings, FAQs, shop policies, or anything beyond the product image and price. Still, I’ll stay optimistic!
Unfortunately, none of that makes much difference when it comes to how Etsy handles cases — if something arrives after the EDD, a refund they shall be given. Whether they read our info or not, their buyer rights on Etsy will always trump our own set of policies.
