Etsy put my shop on vacation mode

[TinytreasuresByMe]

I need urgent help. After Christmas, I got COVID for the first time. It was very sudden and I became quite ill, requiring medical care. I had to close my store and set up an automatic message to inform about what happened. I received several messages but couldn't respond to any of them because I was very sick. As I didn't respond to some help requests, some customers opened cases against my store.

On January 8th, I reopened the store, responded to customers, and started working on my orders. I was planning to put the store back on vacation mode to finish all pending orders and the work that was on hold while I was sick.

However, on January 10th, Etsy closed my store, putting it on vacation mode because I had many orders to complete (about 40). I finished the open orders this week; none were overdue because I postponed the shipping dates for all my orders. 

I've contacted Etsy, but the response is always the same. I don't have any outstanding orders to complete; all have been delivered with tracking numbers provided. They were sent via priority mail to minimize customer wait times.

The stock has been replenished, but Etsy continues to keep the store closed, even though I haven't received any more cases in the last 15 days. I've only received 5-star reviews and messages asking to reopen the store.

What can I do? 
Please, help me! 

[Amaradorn]

Forced vacation is standard procedure by Etsy if they think your shop has risks (like a lot of outstanding orders or help requests).

Since you are now up to date then Etsy 'should' allow you to reopen your shop, but it can take a few days for them to catch up and turn off vacation mode. Try replying to the response from Etsy next week and tell them you are all caught up with your orders. 

[Amaradorn]

Great to see you are open for business again.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

Buyers can only open cases against you, if it's after the expected delivery date

They can only leave reviews, if it's after the expected delivery date, and you have a few of those

So although you thought you put your dates out, you didn't.

Also, you have to agree new dates with customers, before you put dates out, so if you did agree, then you were able to answer messages, and shouldn't have had people open cases.

something doesn't make sense, and it probably doesn't to Etsy either, and the above makes you high risk to them.

[LynnsLittleShop]

I see your shop is open now, and you have wonderfully cute things!

[DudleyandSprout]

Your shop is open, several items are in peoples' carts so you should be receiving more orders soon.  

Your creations are exquisite.  Best of luck in the future and so glad you recovered from COVID and are working again.

[BlueBirdRetro]

I am happy you are feeling better. Your little treasures are so cute.

[howtobooksandmore]

Setting up an automatic reply is a good idea.  But you also need to put it on vacation mode or have someone you trust who can access your shop, put it in vacation mode and otherwise maintain it if any problems happen, like answering emails, posting completed items, etc.  You can always change the passwords when you come back so this person can no longer access your shop.  Most ecommerce sites don't care if you died as long as your shop is maintained, orders are shipped and someone answers emails.  This is a hard attitude to accept but your are running a business, not a hobby shop.

[TinytreasuresByMe]

Thank you for the updates!

Etsy has already opened the shop. It opened about 1 hour ago. I had almost 15 days with the shop closed, but I managed to catch up on all the work.

Regarding the cases, there were only two exceptions. The customers didn't receive the items because the orders were lost in transit. Since both were sent via regular mail and Etsy doesn't provide tracking for that, the customers thought the items hadn't been shipped. As they only received an automated message saying I was away due to health reasons, they didn't want to wait any longer and resolved the issue with Etsy. I completely understand the customers' perspective. I don't blame them for it. It's entirely understandable! But I've already resolved it! Etsy issued the refund, and I sent the items to the customers anyway. I felt so bad about the situation that I couldn't have acted differently.

All orders will now be shipped via priority mail. This way, customers can track their orders, and we can all have peace of mind.

Thank you for your help and feedback.