Problem: Working tracking information not recognized by Star Seller data

[sascarves]

Hello,

Even though I have shipped with a tracking number for all of our packages, The Star Seller system is showing 7 of our packages as missing tracking information. When we individually check the tracking info for all of these orders we can follow their tracking to related postal services websites' that we have used.

The tracking information for the orders were entered the day of the shipping and the tracking information is working. The info is for the correct items. The tracking numbers are also correct. The carrier (USPS) used for the info is supported on Etsy and on these orders the tracking is also working when you click on it. So the info are on the orders with a working link, yet still the system won't recognize these orders as having a tracking info attached to them. I have not edited the tracking after completing the orders.

I have opened a ticket with Etsy support which only had template responses that were of course no help. Anyone had this problem and found a way to correct it?

Thank you.

[BornAgainQuilts]

Yes I had this issue and was constantly calling into Etsy to update the tracking. Unfortunately this takes about two days from the time I reported it and lost my perfect star seller status because of it. Etsy escalated my issue and no resolution.after months of frustration I had a conversation with a  USPS supervisor. She informed me that my post office Fort Wayne Ind. does not accept the mail. It is until it hits it's next destination that it's done. So I message the buyer, send them the tracking number so they are assured it is on its way. Then I keep watch on it and generally by the next day it shows it's reached its first destination. At that point I send the buyer the Etsy delivery message and tracking number. I informed someone at Etsy and they wanted to pass me on to shipping. After being placed on hold for a long time I hung up. I've changed my delivery to 1-3 days just to have an extra cushion of time.  Yes this takes time but far better than having to call into Etsy everytime this frequently happens. Hope this is helpful.   Lois 

[MonsieurRenardsAttic]

I've had almost the same problem; 3 of my tracking numbers 'disappeared' from my completed orders, all of which were copied and pasted from my DHL account within minutes of each other. Lost my star seller status through this. All Etsy can offer is that perhaps the carrier tracking information is incompatible with Etsy (not true) or that there may be an occasional technical issue beyond your control, either with the carrier (no issues with DHL) or with Etsy’s ability to process the tracking (in which case this was Etsy's fault NOT mine.

I'm still trying to get Etsy to reconsider.

Although this is slightly different to your problem it's about time Etsy recognised that there are imperfections in their systems.

Their view is that 'scores are evaluated monthly, so there is always a new opportunity to improve your score!' - that's not the point. The point is that we work hard to communicate, provide good customer service in order to get 5 star reviews, and to dispatch on time with tracking, and we actually deserve our star seller status without having it taken away due to Etsy's mistakes.

Incidentally, I chatted to another Etsy seller yesterday who has had EXACTLY the same problem as me. This is not isolated.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

type them in, don't cut and paste

[shoppingforbeads]

Definitely not an isolated issue!  They have my messaging time down to 75%; it's has been as high as 95%, but they are not paying attention...I send a note to tell the person thank you and that it will ship blah blah...every time I get a sale, right away.  I have been doing this as long as I have been on Etsy which is over a decade.  My numbers for tracking should be 100% but floats between 90-95, totally absurd.   You are not alone with yours issues.  I have, while still ticked off at there lack of accuracy, learned to tell myself that my customers know my messages come to them right away, and the item ships and I sent the tracking number right away as well.  That's what counts.

[BornAgainQuilts]

Super ticked!  19 tracked sales in row using the new method. Yesterday I dropped off a package at 7:34 a.m. EST with a scan sheet.  Today I checked on its progress and got the message it wasn't in the system yet.  At 5:12 p.m. today I'm at the post office dropping off another package and ask the clerk to check to see why over 24 hours later, the package isn't in the system.  They look it up to inform me the package has moved from Fort Wayne Indiana to Indianapolis and has left that facility. So thinking that since it has arrived "elsewhere" I go home and send the buyer the official notice. Checking my Etsy before going to bed, I discover my Star Status shipping dropped to 94%... You guessed it... the package shows as untracked! The clerk told me that this is their busiest time of the year and where in the shipping process a package will be accepted... hard to tell. So I'll be on the phone with Etsy tomorrow, but chances are it takes two days to get this rectified, so I'm most likely screwed for the month of December. I did think about putting the shipping date out further, but I was unfamiliar with the screen and rather than mess it up, I went on the assumption since the post office showed it had left its destination it would have been accepted. Lesson learned.  This buyer had already been sent a private message with the tracking number, so they know it is on its way.

On another note, does anyone else find it interesting that Etsy wants sellers to discount their precious handmade items by 60%? After all the hard work and love going into their item, they should now devalue their skill and time with such a deep discount?  Anyone else tired that the current advertising campaign targets handmade items and vintage items are not being promoted... That someone might want to gift someone with an item they had in their childhood or had lost or broke and have it replaced thanks to an Etsy seller? I notice the ads are being run during NFL games. I imagine their ad time must be expensive. Are football fans a good demographic/target audience for hand crafted items? Who would have thought?...

[ArtDollsbyJD]

@BornAgainQuilts There is no new method.

USPS does not need the scan sheet for one item.  It is only for multiple packages.  First the clerk is to scan and hand the sheet back to you.  They don't keep the sheet. 

If your post office is not scanning when the package leaves their site then that is an issue.  Not all post offices do scan correctly.  It can get scanned at the sort center but there can be delays in that information showing up on Etsy. 

If you have the ability to scan in your packages when you drop them off. I suggest doing that.  I do that so my item gets first scan and is then in the system for Etsy software to pick up.

The last two days of the month are not counted for star seller for the following month.  Anything mailed on 11/29, 11/30 will not show in the star seller stats until 48 hours later when it rolls over to January.  It shows for January now.  Not for December.

Etsy works off of UTC time so that is why the last two days don't show for the next round but shows for the round after.  

Etsy will not correct this as there is nothing to correct. Etsy tells us this in the information on the star seller.   The information in the article and under Star seller are worth reading. 

[BornAgainQuilts]

From bad to worse:  I took the above-mentioned info to my post office to meet with the new post mistress regarding my situation.  She had to use her special tracking access to confirm that package was now out for delivery.

I then showed her the info on the package I sent on Nov 29, and she told me yesterday 11/30 that it had moved from Fort Wayne to Indianapolis and on to its next destination. She said it was safe for me to leave the Etsy notification which I did at 11:10 p.m. EST.  I wanted to do it hoping that since one untracked took me from 96% to 94%, a successfully tracked package would put me back up to at least 95%.  While I was on Etsy, I decided to check my stats to find the stats page had already rolled over to the month of December.

So this morning I check the status to find out my shipping stat remained at 94% AND the SCV or whatever did not even reflect that I had submitted the tracking.  Speaking to Blake in Shipping, he could view on his end that the info was submitted on 11/30.  So does Etsy use Greenwich Village to determine what date it is?  I know my Etsy Sales docs dates and time of sale are in EST time and day.  Now I've lost my star status for December the most IMPORTANT month to have earned it. Now I'm waiting for an auto-generated message informing me what I need to do to get back on track while Etsy seems to have done NOTHING to correct this situation. IF Etsy has no control over it, then they shouldn't be punishing sellers who bend over backwards to ensure their customers are receiving first class service. With the increased number of packages being sent over the holidays, I imagine this situation will only get worse.  

[catfluff]

@shoppingforbeads  you are aware the message response rate has nothing to do with you sending a message to a buyer, Its all about you responding to messages you receive , and only the first one  in that thread.   Even if its from a Seller you bought from you need to reply. I think its possible you have misunderstood how it works.

[BornAgainQuilts]

I'm NOT referring to the message response rate. I'm referring to the message I send the seller informing them their package has been shipped and adding the tracking number below. It is impacting my tracked package stat.

Etsy shows the packages have not been tracked. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@BornAgainQuilts 

when I mark complete, I send a message to the buyer, and add the tracking number to the tracking field,

It's not affecting my star seller stats

are you marking as complete and adding the tracking number before the last ship-by date?

[ArtDollsbyJD]

@BornAgainQuilts   IF you are using Etsy labels that is automatically entered and teh email automatically sent.  If you are doing a scan sheet you are doing Etsy labels. 

Your packages on 11/29/11/30 will not show up as it is the end of the month as Etsy tells us.  It won't count for December but will for January.

What day are you picking for delivery to the post office?  The day of delivery has to be selected within that 3 day time frame.  You cannot get labels earlier than 3 days as the day of shipping is the day that has to be on the package.  If labels are created earlier that messes with the bar code.

The other is for the US the item has to be accepted by USPS and in transit within the processing time frame.

BUt as noted earlier the last two days of the month do not count towards the star seller for the following month.  The stats show up but after the end of the month.  They will count towards January.    

[BagmakerSupply]

@BornAgainQuilts: First off, there is no evidence that being (or not being) a Star Seller has any effect on a shop's sales. Etsy is test and data driven and if they could prove that being a Star Seller increased your sales they would be shouting it from the proverbial rooftops. All Etsy Star Seller stats are calculated using UTC and translated into your local time zone, so what is November 30 to you may be December 1 to Etsy. If you look at the CSV files you will see that they are in UTC.

[BornAgainQuilts]

Etsy shipping guy confirmed they saw it on their end as Nov 30 too. I guess I'll just have to do the notice earlier.  If a buyer was looking at the same item being offered by two sellers, they might choose the one who is a star seller over someone who is not. I assumed the star seller program was to boost buyer's confidence in seller's track records.

[ArtDollsbyJD]

@BornAgainQuilts   buyers have no idea about this program.  Etsy has not yet introduced it into search.

Many sellers cannot get star seller yet they sell well and have great track records.  They just can't meet some of the requirements.

It's not the badge that is important.  It is the customer service expected that Etsy is looking for.  They realize not everyone can have or will always have.

Will it truly affect?  Free shipping didn't.  If a buyer wants an item and feels you are a good shop to purchase from and you don't have the badge, they will purchase.

Living by the badge is a good invitation to driving oneself mad.  Do your absolute best customer service and let the badge take care of itself. 

I know I will lose it because I have have to take time off for personal reasons.  I am fine with that.  I'm not going to add that burden to everything that needs my attention.  The badge is what it is.  Just a heck of a lot better than that ODR Etsy had at the pandemic outset.       

[JSchulerArt]

I have the same issue. Etsy is saying I didn't provide tracking information for a sale, but when I look back, all the tracking numbers are there. I hand-typed them into the box provided for the numbers, every one of them. It's just a goofy system.

[BornAgainQuilts]

I had 19 sales in a row without this issue by waiting a day or so before adding the tracking to the Etsy ship notice. It gave the package time to move to another location where the tracking info was then entered since they no longer have the equipment in my city. I just checked the tracking number to wait for it to have moved somewhere else. Worked fine until now... Post office mentioned heavier shipping loads may have delayed it getting scanned.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@BornAgainQuilts 

if you wait past the ship-by date when entering tracking number, you will be dinged for speedy shipping, as it's past it's ship date

[ArtDollsbyJD]

@JSchulerArt   Are your items in transit.  It is not just the tracking number.  For the US the items have to be accepted by USPS and be in transit within the processing time frame.

It's much better to use Etsy labels or Pirateship or another service that integrates with Etsy to save money for one plus there can be no goofs in the tracking number.  

[BornAgainQuilts]

Now I know to enter tracking no later than 7 p.m. EST

[ArtDollsbyJD]

You might be better off using Etsy labels or Pirateship if you are using USPS click n ship or taking to the post office.

The tracking number is automatically entered.  And we get savings in shipping fees.

Etsy labels/ Pirateship are easy to use. 

[BornAgainQuilts]

Yesterday 11/30 I delivered two packages to the post office due to be delivered tomorrow 12/2. I sent the official Etsy notification today. One of the two still isn't showing on the spreadsheet and now my average has dropped from 94% this morning to 92% now.  Yesterday I was at 96% prior to dropping these two packages off at the post office and having a clerk scan my sheet and give me a receipt.  I got a message from someone at Etsy that waiting until the tracking showed the package had made it to the next destination to be accepted was a good idea.  I wouldn't be "driving myself mad" so much if Etsy wasn't always cluck, cluck... let's get you back on track... Here's what YOU need to do.... Obviously, Etsy wants me to remain a star seller and will keep yipping at me. I know these are auto sent, but they need to stop it. Very annoying especially when it is not my fault that this has been an ongoing issue for about a year now. I just earned another $40 credit from the USPS. I do a lot of customization, something I couldn't when investigating Etsy shipping. I'm not switching.

[BornAgainQuilts]

I personally deliver my packages to the post office. Depending on the time of day of the sale, it is either same day or next day. We have a kiosk that I can scan the bar codes off the labels/scan sheet 24 hours a day. 

[BagmakerSupply]

@BornAgainQuilts: This issue has been addressed in several threads on this forum. The orders are assigned to the month that they were scheduled to ship by.

Have the packages been scanned? Often the CSV file is often behind reality. If the shipper 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. Some recent shipments are not correctly / timely updated. Usually a day or two after the package has been scanned the CSV file correctly shows tracking and shipment status and Star Seller stats auto update.