Incorrect courier listed & affecting my SS rating

[PeggyCollinsPhotoArt]

I think I finally figured out why my star seller shipping rating has slipped the past few months. It's showing that I haven't provided tracking numbers a few times each month. I always provide tracking numbers. I copy and paste them. My prints are drop shipped via UPS and I always mark orders accordingly. 

Just this month however I noticed that several orders are marked as being shipped via FedEx instead of UPS, but with the correct tracking number. They are also marked "pre-transit". All orders have been delivered via UPS promptly and I can provide screenshots to prove that.

Today when marking a print as being shipped I marked the courier as UPS like I always do. Then I did something I've never done before...I previewed my message to the customer. When I went back to the order it had changed to FedEx instead of UPS. 

I think there's some kind of glitch that is changing the courier on me. I'm positive that I'm always marking the courier as UPS. The courier defaults to UPS and I never change it.

I would like my shipping rating adjusted to show that my rate is 100%. Today it's at 95. Yesterday it was at 94. I'm concerned that if this happens again, there goes my star seller rating. 

I started taking screenshots of the courier and tracking number just to prove that something glitchy is going on. But that won't help my star seller rating for this month. 

[VintageRescueSquad]

You say "I would like my shipping rating adjusted to show that my rate is 100%." Etsy has said they will not manually change star seller stats.

I had a similar thing happen to me last year in that I was off by one number in my tracking number I entered. The number itself changed it to Fedex instead of USPS. 

[PeggyCollinsPhotoArt]

Thanks for your reply. I wasn't aware that Etsy won't change star seller stats. That doesn't make any sense to me but ok.

I always copy and paste the tracking number. I'm positive that I'm inputting UPS as the courier so somehow it's switching to FedEx on its own. 

[AnniebelloPaper]

@PeggyCollinsPhotoArt I always put the tracking number into the carrier's website first to make sure they have scanned it in. Then I copy/paste that into Etsy. That way I KNOW I've got it right. My post office is really good and scans them as you hand them over. 

@VintageRescueSquad I've had the FedEx swap as well. Etsy only recognises AusPost parcel tracking numbers so when I used a signed-letter-tracking number, it swapped it to FedEx. Unfortunately I didn't see it until it was marked (on AusPost's site) as delivered. Etsy support did change it to delivered when I chatted. Not a SSP issue as I'll never get that stupid star anyway.

[BagmakerSupply]

@PeggyCollinsPhotoArt: Sadly this is an issue that has been reported several times in the past. Since you do have three days to edit tracking, it might be a good habit to get into to daily check the previous day's shipments and fix any glitches.

While Etsy will not manually adjust Star Seller stats, if the underlying data changes the stats auto update (but not retroactively).

[PeggyCollinsPhotoArt]

Thanks for the advice. That's kind of a PITA to have to re-check that some weird glitch hasn't happened. I didn't know I have three days to edit tracking though. Good to know.

Thanks for the additional info about the stats, etc.

[RandysExoticWoods]

When you copy/paste the tracking numbers, it is VERY important that you do not include a blank space before or after the actual number. 

[PeggyCollinsPhotoArt]

Thanks, but I'm always super careful about that. I'm 99% sure this isn't my fault, it's something that Etsy is doing, flipping to another courier.

[PeggyCollinsPhotoArt]

It just happened again. I marked an order as shipped and marked UPS as the courier. Then I checked to make everything was ok. The courier had been changed to FedEx. It's marked as pre-transit. So I changed it to UPS and it stuck.

But what's going on? This is unacceptable. I shouldn't have to check every single tracking number just to make sure that the courier isn't being changed.

When the courier is changed, my shipping rating slips. I will probably lose my star seller rating next month because of this glitch. Yet my star seller rating can't be adjusted to reflect that I ALWAYS put in a tracking number? 

This just isn't right.

[KitschyCoolVintageCA]

This used to happen to me occasionally, but now it occurs almost every time  I ship. I manually input the number and tracking company, triple check that I have everything correct and press send.  I then have to go into my completed orders and check what the tracking says.  Inevitably it will have defaulted to FedEx and I then have to edit to reflect the correct carrier.  It's getting pretty tedious and time consuming. This really is a weird glitch.  It's almost like Etsy is finding ways to prevent us from being Star Sellers. 

[PeggyCollinsPhotoArt]

@Kitschtee I know, right? Now I'm 100% sure that I'm not doing things wrong after being overboard with the cautiousness. It's definitely happening more and more. Looking back I realize it happened once in awhile but I never looked into it before to try to figure out what was happening...it was only when I saw my shipping rating go down to 94 that I became concerned.

[PinkBirdCottage]

I use Pirateship for shipping and if you integrate with Etsy the tracking numbers automatically get entered from UPS without issue. Same or better prices, great Support, pay with a credit card for cc points earned. 

[JMOldeVintage]

Sadly using Pirate Ship is not necessarily the answer.
The shop owners are not entering the tracking number or shipping company incorrectly.

There is a glitch somewhere that causes the chosen shipper to change. So if DHL is changed to FedEx, UPS to FedEx or a Postal Service # changed to FedEx - the correctly entered tracking numbers make absolutely no sense to Aftership. This is the company Etsy uses to handle the tracking, the updates, etc. 

It has been happening for a while now to shops in the EU and Australia. It appears that the glitch is spreading its wings & has migrated to US shops too? 

[PeggyCollinsPhotoArt]

@PinkBirdCottage unfortunately I don't have a choice because my prints etc. are drop shipping from a print lab.

[OutOfMyBarn]

I am based in Germany and this has happened to me several times. I have had changes made by ‘someone’ from DHL to Fedex, which is not even an option here. Showing ‘Pre-transit’ when already delivered is also a common occurrence, even though the DHL web site shows the correct status.

As the SS can be affected, I do usually check back the next day but it’s just one more thing to think about and is quite stressful!

In this age of modern technology, it should be easy to fix or perhaps not ...

[PeggyCollinsPhotoArt]

@OutOfMyBarn it is stressful, isn't it? Now I'm kind of obsessively checking and re-checking. We shouldn't have to do that! It affects our SS ranking, so Etsy should have done something about this long ago, especially since we can't even change our SS ranking that's adversely affected.

[PeggyCollinsPhotoArt]

@JMOldeVintage hmmm, maybe that's a clue because I live in Canada but drop ship my orders from US print partners. Could this only be happening to sellers outside the US?

[JMOldeVintage]

@PeggyCollinsPhotoArt  - At times I wonder. Etsy offers FedEx labels. Whether or not FedEx labels are available to all shops who can purchase Etsy labels (UK, Canada, Australia) I don't know.
But the threads I've seen often mention UPS or DHL as the real shipper or that the shop owner purchased their postage label off Etsy since their Postal Service offers all services/mail classes while Etsy may only offer select types of labels that are not necessarily price competitive. 

[PeggyCollinsPhotoArt]

@JMOldeVintage aha, very interesting points. Sounds like a possibility! Thanks for your input.