Star Seller and Local Pick up is a JOKE

[#1]

As with the HUNDREDS of other sellers who have said something, I have been getting dinged for having local people come pick up their orders rather than have me ship them.

Even though Etsy provides a local pick up option in the order completion process, and even though local pick-up is addressed NOWHERE in the Becoming a Star Seller article the chat agent reading from their script pointed me to, we still get dinged on our Star Seller for it?!

So what Etsy is saying is that if you want to appear to be a good seller, you shouldn't build up a strong local presence and local business?  That makes no sense whatsoever!  Based on the experience I've had today, I have come up with a plan for local pick up orders:

I will message my buyer and inform them that Etsy is punishing me to have them come pick up the order locally, so instead of transacting the order on Etsy, I'll cancel the order, and inform the buyer to come pick up their items outside of the realm of Etsy.  If they need to pay by credit card, I'll simply run their card through my Square store instead.

Seems like a really convoluted way to make a local sale, and doesn't seem like it would be that hard for Etsy to fix, especially given the high volume of complaints about this issue.  Based on that and doing some critical thinking, you have to ask, WHY?  Must be a reason for simple fix not being implemented...  The only thing Etsy really gets from us as sellers is money.  Listing fees, transaction fees, processing fees, and postage fees.  The ONLY thing I can think of is that Etsy doesn't want to lose out on whatever additional money they make on shipping labels, so they are trying to incentivize us to ship everything rather than do more local pickups.  If I'm off base, anyone else have a good suggestion on why this would be happening?

[irmaKdesigns]

@TimsHandyWorks " I'm not trying to avoid fees, I'm trying to avoid being punished for having a good local customer base." Exactly! 

Untill Etsy gives me another option, I have no other choice. Loosing Star seller means possible reserve on my shop and loosing chat option.

[LastCentury]

@irmaKdesigns I rarely have star seller because I ship some domestic parcels via letterpost.

I still have chat! I have not been put on reserve. 

[BurlapRosesEtc]

AMEN!! Star Seller program is set up to punish..It tells us sellers..you have to do MORE..and you have to do it perfectly..

Example..one message response time doesn't happen fast enough..You (the seller) will be "dropped" from Star Seller

for THREE MONTHS..It's true and carved in stone.! 

[LastCentury · Accepted solution]

International sellers have an even worse etsy deal with local pickups because a tracked letter costs way more than a stamp. Americans do seem to have that tracked letter with a receipt workaround that still is no protection against some devious buyer that decides to open a "not as described" case, uploads a photo of that letter with receipt and no sign of the object that they already picked up. Instant refund from your account!

If you're not doing this already:

Try to find a way to use language in your shop that links to your website, instagram or Facebook. Nothing that goes against etsy's fee avoidance policy.

Say things like Follow Me Here ____ for new items I haven't listed on etsy yet.

Don't say Follow me here ____ for better prices.

Do say, Follow me here ____ to see my larger custom work not available on Etsy.

Every listing should have an image slide showing your shop url along with website & social media accounts. Every listing description should have links to those same website & social media accounts.

In your social media accounts, be very clear that you are able to accept purchase inquiries, or custom inquiries for local & that you can send them a paypal invoice if they need it be shipped.

[TimsHandyWorks]

Thank you for the great ideas!  I will definitely be implementing some of what you describe as a way to grow the business without breaking any of Etsy's policies.

[HollysCollageCorner]

My guess is that most sellers will just pay for the label because now that they have star seller, they don't want to lose it.  Star seller is a very bogus manipulation.  It measures nothing of value.  Star sellers have always been here and will always be here because they want to do their best - not because they get a badge.

[TimsHandyWorks]

That is very true.  I often wonder if buyers really look at the Star Seller badge when they purchase? 

I know personally I look at shop reviews, and at the item I'm purchasing more than anything else.

[GieseDeseiGns]

Since most buyers do not come through the front of your shop where the badge is, I doubt many even see it.

[AutumnHollowStudio]

@TimsHandyWorks one way to get around this is to mail your buyer a receipt and use tracking, and input that tracking number into the shipping field when you are marking the order complete. If you choose to do that, be sure to let your customer know before hand so they know to expect that in the mail.

[JDTotesnDolls]

It's not a joke.  The rules are clear.  Either abide by them or forgo the star seller.  Quite easy.

As for local pick up,  It is a dangerous route.  There have been instances where people have been injured or killed because things went belly up.  On the other lighter side, you lose all seller purchase protection.  THere is no proof because there is no tracking number that the item was delivered.

[ThePurplePuppy]

I would never , eeeeever allow someone to "pick up" at my house. I might meet them somewhere in town and let them pick up.

This is not because I am afraid of strangers--altho maybe I should be--it is because people here in the US are so litigious that if someone stumped their toe or slipped on a step I could be sued. I don't carry liability insurance that would cover such a lawsuit in the amount necessary.

When I sold as a dog show vendor the show giving clubs covered us but even that is no linger true. To "vendor" nowadays you must have at LEAST a 1 million dollar policy.

[Marmalady]

It is not about making you buy shipping labels on Etsy -- most countries do not have the option of this.

It is about having proof the item was shipped & delivered.
The only way for Etsy to see this is if there is tracking.

[DivineCrossings]

The irony is that Etsy has been touting “buy local”…

[MarioTreasureChest]

Star seller is a joke period

[NancyQstudio]

Etsy has chosen to stick with their Star program.  Because it is very basic it can't work for all sellers or situations. I've lost the Star due to accommodating local in-person delivery requests.  I refuse to purchase additional shipping which is not needed.  It's not environmentally friendly (which Etsy claims to be) nor does it help an already over loaded postal system.  Instead, I inform these buyers that Etsy is not set up for in-person deliveries.  This is true and not a bad reflection on Etsy.  Upon giving them their package I let them know all future in-person delivery orders can be done directly through me.  I'm set up to take various payments through my website so this has been easy and beneficial for all parties:  It saves my buyers money as I give them a discount. And they seem to enjoy the personal attention which has lead to repeat business and referrals.  It helps me retain a Star Selling Status.  And, since Etsy does not accommodate these types of sales anymore it eliminates the problem for them too.  It's also helping me to grow my business outside of Etsy.  So this problem has slowly been turning into a positive situation over time. 

[LeatherForPet]

i have made my biggest profit from sales when i was not a star seller . this month i have had 2000 EUR  in sales and im not a star seller 

[ThePerennialSun]

How can Etsy pretend to want to help the environment by letting buyers choose shops more local to them to reduce their carbon footprint but then hurt sellers when we have a local pick up? 

[dorothydomingo]

You would think that if Etsy truly cared about environmental issues, they would have already sorted out a solution to the local pickup tracking problem.

Every holiday season I sell to my husband's colleagues and I hate now that I have to tell them "don't buy off my Etsy shop".

This would be a money maker for Etsy if they can solve the tracking for local pick-ups. Til then they are losing processing fees for those of us still making local sales and trying to keep our star seller badges.

[HomerandTrudy]

Wow. Very interesting read about people’s solutions.

Coming to this thread late because I’m losing my star seller status this month because I catered to my LOCAL CUSTOMERS.
I’m really peeved. Etsy is definitely cutting off its nose to spite its face, as they will lose business from local buyers that also follow shops on social. 
If Facebook can figure local delivery out, Etsy should be able to also. 
Their talk about being eco-friendly and encouraging people to shop local feels like performative posturing.

Do better, Etsy. 

[BootifulLabels]

Local pickup/in person delivery leaves no evidence on Etsy's site that the order was actually delivered.  It has always been clear that the SS badge required valid proof of delivery on every sale.  There has never been a criteria in the badge for eco-friendliness or shopping local. 

The thing is online shopping is rarely a local shopping activity and cannot be verified without requiring the buyer to verify receipt.  I don't see that happening, it is hard enough getting them to leave a review (unless something goes wrong with the transaction in which case we'd probably rather they didn't, lol).  There are whole countries where tracking is not available or cost prohibitive for sellers, it never was and never is a level playing field. 

The badge isn't meant to be within everyone's reach.  Like most things on Etsy it is heavily US centric.  IMO, too much emphasis is placed on that little purple badge that really means nothing.  If you want to offer local delivery/pickup, and you are outside the US, get used to the fact that it will be at the cost of the badge.  I have had the badge just twice in the 2 or so years it has been running.  Both times by sheer luck.  I will probably keep it this time for a second month, but I doubt it will stretch to a 3rd.  TBH, my sales stats drop when I have the badge.  I know two  times in a couple of dozen is not definitive statistic wise, but I generally do better without the badge, and really couldn't care less if I get it or not.  My customer's needs trump a badge every time.

[LeatherForPet]

i am on a payment reserve for this exact reason. sad thing is etsy support told me to choose tracking not required and that i would be fine  and so i did. 2 days later they put me on reserve with a perfect history  ..

[HomerandTrudy]

Wow. I’m really sorry. That sucks. I really hope they find a solution in the future. 

[HomerandTrudy]

@BootifulLabels I totally understand all that. I am located in the US and understand that not all features can be offered everywhere. I’m not arguing for fairness, I’m arguing for consistent alignment of company values in all practices and that this kind of feature is already offered other places, like Facebook marketplace (which is, in essence, online shopping with local delivery).

I know no system will be perfect, but I think we should be offered options as buyers/sellers. If Facebook marketplace can figure out a way to handle no tracking and mail delivery, then Etsy should also be able to do so. 

I’m also aware that the badge never had an eco-friendly component, but Etsy as a whole touts itself as eco-friendly when this is a perfect example of not promoting eco-friendly practices. When you order something, they also have a little blurb below items that are shipping from closer distances that says something like “shipping from closer distances is more eco friendly”…but wouldn’t local delivery be the best I terms of eco-friendliness/carbon footprint/encouraging repeat customers because they don’t have to pay shipping if they’re local?

I’d love to keep using Etsy for local customers because it’s one less bookkeeping step with taxes, etc, but if they're going to continue with these shenanigans, I’ll find another way to capture local customers. 
It’s curious to me that you and a few other people have mentioned you do better without the badge. I’ll be curious to see what happens with me over the next few months.