Etsy chat is no help at all!

[SusansJewelryDesigns]

So I just noticed that I was dinged for a "local delivery" when viewing my SSP status.  I marked the order "local delivery" in the shipping pulldown, but evidently that didn't matter.  Just got off chat with an Etsy employee who told me that 99% shipping on time was still good and that I would be "okay".  Also said that SSP didn't really make a difference in my search status and told me to come to the forums for help (yeah, right). 

I'm so disappointed in Etsy right now.  They have no problem taking the sales commission fee for my order, but I'm out of luck when it comes to finding a way to mark an order as local pickup without consequences.  This shouldn't be that hard!  How can they judge us for this when there isn't a way to mark these orders correctly?  How have any of you solved this issue?  I'd love to know what to do in future so this unfair scoring doesn't happen again...

[BagmakerSupply]

@SusansJewelryDesigns  : Probably everyone in this forum can sympathize with you but this has been brought up in innumerable threads, if you have not yet done so, you might want to read https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000338067-How-to-Offer-Local-Pickup-or-Delivery?segment=s...

Will local pickup orders be part of my evaluation for a Star Seller badge?

All physical listing orders must include a valid tracking number or a shipping label purchased on Etsy to be considered for a Star Seller badge. At this time, we’re unable to make exceptions for local pickup orders.

This also applies to delivery orders.

[SusansJewelryDesigns]

yes, I've seen the # of threads and was shocked to see that Etsy hasn't made that modification to their site.  I was trying to see if anyone had something that worked to get around this situation.

[dorothydomingo]

The only work around is to take the sale off Etsy. Invoice thru PayPal and deliver in person.

Etsy apparently doesn't value these local sales enough to give us some wiggle room, so I guess the solution is not to give them the transaction and processing fees from the sales.

It can't really be considered fee avoidance if Etsy doesn't consider a local sale delivered if it doesn't have a tracking number, right?

[howtobooksandmore]

If there was a way around this situation, everybody would be using it and the star seller badge for delivery would mean nothing, like it does now.

[SusansJewelryDesigns]

I'm definitely beginning to think SSP is a joke!  It's just disheartening that they can judge our shop for something that we have no control over and they have no solution for.

[howtobooksandmore]

And like most jokes, it isn't funny at all.

[TonsOfPaper · Accepted solution]

Hello there!

As of the moment, tracking metrics don’t account for local pickup, shipping without tracking if not in a market with an exception(below £10/€10/CA$15/AU$15), or in-person delivery. All physical orders must include a valid tracking number or a shipping label purchased on Etsy to be counted positively towards the on-time shipping & tracking. 

Please know that Etsy understands that Star Seller may not be viable for every shop. Star Seller is not a disciplinary program and sellers will not be penalized for low scores. Additionally, having the badge doesn't give sellers an edge over other sellers in search ranking.

Thank you so much!

[nineteen27]

there is no work-around.

amazing customer service of delivering products to your customers will get you punished by Etsy.

[SusansJewelryDesigns]

Absolutely...I'm beginning to understand that now

[SusansJewelryDesigns]

@TonsOfPaper Honestly, I'm a little disappointed in Etsy and this situation.  If Etsy isn't going to provide a solution for in-person delivery on purchased items, then that is something that shops should not be penalized for.  If that is something we can never strive for or reach, then it is similar to a carrot dangling out in front of us, with no hope of achieving it.

[AAANativeArts]

Some people who do Local Delivery send the customer a thank you card with some low cost method Etsy Labels has with tracking. Otherwise, you are out of luck if there is no tracking.

[KYBECK]

How did you get them to reply to you? I’ve been emailing Etsy for an issue regarding Paid for  a week now, numerous emails, and haven’t gotten a response. 

[SusansJewelryDesigns]

I didn't email - I used the chat feature.  I've had emails in the past that were never answered, so that is something I don't do or waste my time with anymore.  I just think that is another ironic situation with Etsy - they don't respond to emails within a few days, while we are supposed to answer emails within 24 hours.

[BagmakerSupply]

@KYBECK: "... numerous emails,"  Every eMail from Etsy support will have a link something like "I Still Need Help". Click on that link in each reply from Etsy (or actually reply stating that you still need help) to keep the report alive. You may have to do this innumerable times, before anything is done but do not give up. DO NOT open a new issue or contact Etsy multiple times about the same issue (doing so closes the one you already opened and puts the new one on the bottom of the pile). 

[KYBECK]

Thank you for this! I have been doing both, opening issues and also keep replying to the issue multiple times saying I still need help.