Customers contacting me after receiving "delivered" message on first class flats and letters

[MKprinter]

I have received a number of messages in the last few days from customers who have received an email from Etsy that their order was delivered, but they have not received it. These are all First Class mail letters or flats with postage purchased through Etsy. My understanding is that the Pitney Bowes stamp barcode is scanned at various points in processing by USPS. Apparently when it reaches the destination post office the status is updated to "delivered", even though I have heard back from customers that they actually receive it two or three days later. This morning I had a message like this from a customer who said she checked around her neighborhood to see if it had been misdelivered, with no luck. I looked at the tracking on her order, and it says it was "delivered" this morning at 4:26 AM! Obviously this is when it was scanned at her local post office.

Etsy should delay sending these "delivered" messages on this type of tracking for 2-3 days. OR they should change the wording to say that the mail has reached their local post office, and should be delivered in the coming days. Otherwise the message from Etsy is just causing consternation with customers who think perhaps their mail has been stolen or something.

[AmoreTreasure]

Yes, this is the time of year that post offices play all kinds of tricks to make it look like the package was delivered on time.  Not all post office are marking packages as delivered when they reach the local post office so I don't think you can expect Etsy to change their message based on your specific situation.  I would just message the buyer and explain what you think has happened.  Just my opinion.

[BagmakerSupply]

We have seen this even with First Class Packages and Priority Mail where obviously the carrier is batch scanning them at the post office (instead of when actually delivered) and then hopefully they will get delivered the same day.

[LittleCreekCardCo]

I ask the customers to give it at least one business day. Post offices have been scanning the day they get them and then deliver the next day usually. Almost every time the item shows up within 24 hrs

[SunnytyDE]

This has been going on with ‚Deutsche Post‘ in Germany. I noticed it since I started on Etsy last year. They scan as ‚delivered‘ in the last sorting facility quite often. 
I bought something on Etsy and got the ding dong, your package is here message. Then I was driving my neighbors crazy trying to locate the package. Two days later it was actually delivered. I called ‚Deutsche Post‘ and they said it was common practice. 
In the same week I got a my first customer message with the same complaint and luckily I was able to explain it. 
Now I have a premade answer ready to sent whenever a customer writes to me. 
The potential problem I see arising is that when a customer writes they usually do it with a help request, meaning the clock starts ticking with the 48 hours and say, the package arrives safely but the customer opens a case for any other reason then Etsy refunds automatically because a help request was opened more than 48 hours ago. I haven’t had that happen but it is a possibility. 

[MKprinter]

How do I elevate this issue to Etsy Staff? They make it really hard to contact them, aside from low level customer service. This is an issue that is specific to postage purchased through Etsy for first class flats and first class letters. They are using pseudo-tracking through the Pitney-Bowes stamp barcode, and they are presenting it to customers as though it is real tracking where the carrier is scanning it at the point of delivery. That kind of tracking upon delivery is impossible with the Pitney-Bowes stamp barcode. Etsy needs to correct how they are dealing with this.

[LaLumiereVerteStudio]

My post office workers don’t know what to do with the Pitney Bowes barcode. They tell me they, “don’t have a way to scan QR codes,” and have clearly not heard of the 3rd party tracking Etsy does. I explained to the worker today that usually I watch the worker scan the codes and that they do somehow get updated and that the time they told me they didn’t need to be scanned nothing updated so while I’m not sure how, it does seem to make a difference if they attempt to scan them. The worker scanned them but did so while looking at me like I was crazy and heavily implied that her scanning it was doing nothing since they, “don’t have any way to scan QR codes.” 

It seems like the only way they could be updating is by USPS scanning them, but USPS seems to strongly think they are not meant to be scanned. 🤷🏼‍ Now I’m wondering if they are right and nothing is happening when they attempt to scan, like maybe it was pure coincidence that the one I saw them toss in the bin as they said, “These don’t need to be scanned,” never updated ever? I wish Etsy would be transparent about the actual mechanics of how this third party tracking actually works.