Etsy Error With Shipping Tracking and Dates

[RelicRevivalStudio]

When I looked at my Star Seller numbers for August, my shipping percentage had gone done and one order on the report showed as not having shipped or arrived. It DID ship on time. Full tracking was visible, and it arrived on time. I buy my labels from Etsy so all of this is easy to check. Tried to get help from Chat. He said he could see it all there too and I should come here for technical help. 

[BeaconwoodDettman]

@RelicRevivalStudio Unfortunately, the Chat Support agent was incorrect to refer you to the Forum - we are all just sellers here, we can't help with this issue. 

I would recommend contacting Chat again and asking them to refer to someone who can look into the issue further. 

The same issue happened to me earlier this year. In my CSV report, there were orders that showed no tracking, even though the orders had always had tracking. I contacted support, they referred to another team, and a couple days later the issue was fixed. 

You can also try a callback if it's easier to speak to someone:

Submit a request – Etsy Help

[BagmakerSupply]

@RelicRevivalStudio:  As @BeaconwoodDettman mentioned, you should pursue this particularly if clicking on the tracking number link on the actual order takes you to the courier's tracking page and shows the scan history.

While Etsy can, and has, made changes to the underlying data so that the stats auto update, it is clear that Etsy support has neither the authority or ability to manually change the Star Seller stats. So I suspect that as soon as they hear 'Star Seller' the majority stop listening and refer you to the forum as they are instructed to do.

It has been suggested to not mention Star Seller when contacting support for issues like this so your inquiry is not summarily brushed aside.

[ArtGlassMaksav]

So Etsy's team is acting unprofessionally, but the sellers suffer from it. It seems that there are simply too many salespeople and the Etsy`s team is completely indifferent to our fate.

[NanaLetha]

@RelicRevivalStudio  Your mistake was mentioning star seller to Etsy chat.

[RusticRosebudDesigns]

I am currently going throgh hoops with the same issue. I've been through multiple support employees and am on my second round with the escalated tech support. The first time they insisted my tracking number has no status then sent a screen shot of a tracking number that wasn't mine and had nothing to do with my order, then closed the ticket. So...here we go again.

[SUBSTITUTEstudio]

We changed a shipping date at the request of a buyer (dispatched a couple of days after our usual processing time) and immediately revised the date in the sales section. Confirmed by an automatic notification email to the buyer.

The parcel was shipped at the requested and revised date, and the tracking number uploaded the same day (Monday July 29).

The same evening we received a message that a Payment account reserve was put on our shop.

We checked all the Etsy information pages on this, but can not find any reason applicable.

Though we do suspect that it might have to do with the revised shipping date and the tracking information not being properly processed by Etsy.

The parcel was delivered 2 days later. However, on Etsy the tracking information is still mentioning "Pre-Transit".

We have tried to get in touch with Etsy Support on this but the chat option has been unavailable since Monday 29 and our email has not been replied for 3 days now.

[BagmakerSupply]

@SUBSTITUTEstudio: "However, on Etsy the tracking information is still mentioning "Pre-Transit"." An order still in "pre transit" usually means that the tracking information AS ENTERED cannot be validated. Sometimes this is something as simple as a leading or trailing space in the tracking number.

What happens if you click on the tracking number link on the actual order? If it opens the courier's tracking page and shows the scan history then you have proof that the tracking information was entered correctly. In that case you should pursue it - while Etsy will not manually adjust Star Seller stats they can, in some cases, fix the underlying data and then the Star Seller stats will auto update (but not retroactively).

If that does not work and if the shipping company is supported by Etsy make sure that the shipped date, tracking number and shipping company show correctly on the actual order. Etsy relies on a third party vendor for tracking (and tracking number validation) and uses the data on the order. An unsupported shipping company or invalid / unverified tracking number equals shipped without tracking.

[SUBSTITUTEstudio]

@BagmakerSupply 

Thank you for your reply.

The tracking number was uploaded correctly, without typos.

It indeed connects with the tracking site of the postal service where the actual tracking data can be found.
There are no tracking updates on Etsy though. Until this very moment it says 'Pre-transit' on Etsy

Our postal service uses different type of tracking number codes for different types of parcels (based on size, wiht or without insurance and so on).
The tracking number type in this issue we have used very often, and it's never been processed correctly by Etsy.
But all orders with this tracking number got stuck on 'In transit' or 'Pre-transit.
Other tracking numbers are processed correctly by Etsy and show updates on Etsy.

We've made it a habit anyway to send customers a message with the dispatch notification:

Tracking via this direct link:

[direct tracking link to postal service site]

Thanks for your purchase !

In case of some foreign destinations we even add the link with the tracking number on the local postal service tracking site (like for example the USPS or Royal Mail site).

So our customer in this case could track the delivery (and as it was local, it was delivered within 2 days).

However, a new issue surfaced when a few hours after marking the parcel as dispatched, we suddenly received a message: 'a Payment account reserve was put on your shop'.

We think this might result from revising the dispatch date - but aren't sure.
Normally we ship in 3-5 business days. But the customer requested to ship it after 10 days as he wasn't at home for a while.
We dispatched the parcel at the requested and (immediately) revised day (July 29).

We tried to contact Etsy support about the Payment reserve but to no avail.
The chat has been unavailable for 5 days now.
No response to email.
We can't phone Etsy from our place.

With regards,

Substitute Studio

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@SUBSTITUTEstudio 

if you send international. the shipping service has to be accurate for that tracking number, and selectable on etsy.

For example

if you ship overseas postnl, you have to select

Postnl international 3S

if you select

Postnl international 

or

Postnl 

clicking through will track, but it does not work through aftership, so etsy doesn't recognise it.

.........................

also, you need to change the dispatch day at least the day before it is due, and before you post it off and mark as dispatched

[SUBSTITUTEstudio]

@CraftyCornishMaids

Thank you for your message.

The postal service was selected correctly: PostNL Domestic in this issue.

The dispatch information on Etsy also displays:

Dispatched with PostNL Domestic

3SKABA[...various digits...]

In previous sales that were facing tracking information not being processed and getting stuck on 'In transit' or 'Pre-transit' the respective PostNL sections were selected correctly as well.

>>>also, you need to change the dispatch day at least the day before it is due, and before you post it off and mark as dispatched<<<

The shipping day of the item in this case was revised on the day of the sale (July 19) to July 29, at the request of the buyer who contacted us about this immediately after his purchase.
The parcel was marked as dispatched with the tracking information added on July 29.

With regards,

Substitute Studio