Customers not seeing my shipping info before ordering

[WishboneLetterpress]

I have written a paragraph about ship times, and important info before ordering. And now it is not appearing on the front page of my store, it's popping up i believe if you click on "About". Which clearly no one is doing. I'm getting a lot of orders from across the country, or international orders, and people are unhappy when things aren't arriving in 2-5 business days- no matter where they're located. These orders are shipping next day, they choose standard mail- which is a stamp on an envelope- they're single greeting cards. So it's not the kind of item people want to pay priority shipping for.

I would appreciate some help from etsy with educating buyers about what is realistic shipping times. That makers do not control USPS. And put some kind of fill in at the top that buyers will see before ordering where shop owners can see ship times and other warnings. I'm worried I'm going to get a few bad reviews soon due to people not reading all of the info about my store, and due to info being moved from the top of the store.. it appears.

[GlassyFields]

Buyers often don't read details.

Try selling with a shipping option that has more reliable speed. I suspect it will cost more ... but disappointed buyers are a big cost too.

[WishboneLetterpress]

Yeah, for single greeting cards, no one would purchase. I do offer expedited shipping, but it's never chosen.

[PrimFun]

Your shipping time is in each listing.  The estimated delivery time is based on your processing time frame and shipper.

People are not going to read announcements.  I rarely read announcements and definitely  anything over 4 sentences I don't read.   Yeo I'm that kind of buyer. 

The information should be in FAQ and in listings and anyplace else really.  If this is something that makes it difficult for buyers then consider simplyfying your process for processing and shipping.  Most buyers want to order and be done.  They don't want to read information that is long and/or complicated.

Fill your shop policies.  Your policies are not valid for the UK or EU.  You need to accept returns.  

Etsy is not going to help you here.  It is you that have to make the decision about how to present your shipping to your buyers. 

[NanaLetha]

You are selling the EU and UK so you must accept returns.

[Wakaleka]

I would put the info in a photo slot - people look at the photos.

[Duckwells]

Etsy will not help you educate buyers on shipping times, if anything they lead them to expect postal miracles.  When you offer cheap shipping options, buyers will choose them and hold you responsible for the limitations.  I'm seeing that it costs $1 to ship a greeting card to me, which most likely means you aren't sending the cards with tracking.  You are on the hook for late or missing cards and your reviews will suffer.  My suggestion would be to accurately price your cards and shipping to monitor their marketability.  Are single cards worth sending around the world?  Another suggestion would be to bundle a few cards and sell as a set which would most likely result in similar shipping charges; which may be more palatable.  You will need to figure out what works best for your shop within the Etsy and postal systems.

[WishboneLetterpress]

I just want a programmed box where sellers can enter shipping time frames, not just processing times. I thought there used to be one, but I'm not seeing it now.

[TBQSC]

@WishboneLetterpress --

Purchase a First Class Mail shipping label via Etsy Labels ... it will INCLUDE a tracking number that counts towards Star Seller metrics AND gives you Seller Protection.  Shipping with just a stamp, you are bound to get multiple cases for non-receipt & bad reviews.  Get too many of those and Etsy will start imposing restrictions on your shop or may even shut your shop down!  Protect yourself & your buyers ... the most you will probably spend is less than a dollar on each envelope.  More info here @  https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360039466434-How-to-Ship-First-Class-Flats-and-Letters-with-...

[WishboneLetterpress]

I do often for domestic orders, but when it's international the price goes way above what I'm charging. I refund international shipping to the 1.65 stamp (otherwise the prices are crazy for one card), but have to quote it higher, because if they order multiples the shipping isn't covered due to their rule about the additional item price not being able to be higher than the initial shipping price. Thinking of getting off Etsy as it's not my main source of income and I'm tired of having to do workarounds for everything.

[PoppyDove · Accepted solution]

@WishboneLetterpress You could try using the personalization box on listings to give the buyers the shipping info and timeline, and have them agree to it before purchasing.

To try it out: go to Listings > Editing Options > Edit Personalization.

Type in the information that you want buyers to see, and end with something like "If this is okay with you, please type YES below". 

I use this 'hack' when I am on vacation and my shipping times are extended longer than normal. In addition to extending processing time in my shipping profile, I add a personalization box with text that reads something like "Hi! Thank you for visiting my shop. I'm currently away on a short vacation, and processing times are extended a little bit longer than normal. New orders will ship [future date whatever]. If this is okay with you, please type OK below. Thank you again for visiting my shop!"

You could try a version of this with the info about shipping timelines that you want buyers to be okay with before they proceed, and see how it works! You can always turn it off if you change your mind.

[TBQSC]

@WishboneLetterpress "I'm getting a lot of orders from across the country, or international orders, and people are unhappy when things aren't arriving in 2-5 business days- no matter where they're located."

This is actually an unrealistic time frame, especially for International orders that spend excess time in customs (sometimes more than a week!).  Even here in the US, it takes much longer than a couple days for something to travel from coast to coast (Priority Mail does not even do that anymore!).  With the sheer amount of excess mail nowadays, what it used to take to reach the buyer (2 days) is just no longer possible, not even from town to town within a State!  I would suggest extending your shipping times out to at least a week.  And then "IF" your orders arrive faster than that, then your buyers will be happy.  But I would be extremely unhappy if I was told I would get my order within 2 days and I did not get it, especially if I were an International customer!  Luckily I know the reality of shipping times and so I would temper my expectations, but not every customer will do that.  You need to be real in your processing & shipping times.  Perhaps instead of using a plain stamp --where you have ZERO tracking & ZERO seller protection, thus losing any cases brought forth for non-delivery-- you should instead use Etsy Label First Class Mail stamp which INCLUDES tracking and gives you Seller Protection.  If you get too many unhappy buyers who open cases against you for non-delivery, Etsy may take appropriate actions against your shop.  Wishing you all the best!