Star Seller shipping and tracking local pick up

[GiffordGallery]

We recently sold artwork to a customer who lives near us.  Because the customer lives near, she requested local pick up rather than mailing. We agreed to deliver the artwork and closed out the transaction.    The rub comes because since we hand delivered the artwork per customer request, Etsy has penalized us in the Start Seller badge program by not counting this transaction as meeting their requirement that we provide a tracking number. This was a face - to- face delivery and as such, there is no tracking number.  We have gone from a perfect score in that category to 90%, and more than likely will not be able to get back to a qualifying number much less the 100% we had before this transaction. This absurd requirement to show a tracking number in a face -to- face delivery will drop us from our Star Seller status. 

[NanaLetha]

From the help center:  "At this time, orders that don't have tracking because they are delivered or picked up in person will be considered shipped without tracking, and will not meet the Star Seller criteria for shipping. "

[GiffordGallery]

Unreal.  Because I met a customer's request, in a timely fashion, I am penalized because I used Etsy's local pick up option which does not have a tracking option (does not need one) I am penalized.  Why? At least take local pick up out of the calculation so it does not count against the shipping criteria. 

[GiffordGallery]

Since a tracking number in a local pick up is useless, I request that the order #2.41E +09 be removed from the my shop's shipping and tracking calculation for Star Seller.

[WitticismsRus]

@GiffordGallery 

None of us here can help with your request. You aren't chatting with Etsy support here, it's just us sellers.  If you need to reach Etsy support you will need to contact Etsy support directly BUT it's very unlikely that they will change anything on your star seller calculations. The whole thing is automated and most bits can't be changed unless there is an obvious error or glitch happening. Pretty sure your issue is not considered a glitch by Etsy and the system is working as they intended. 

[CalendulaHandmade]

I agree. It is absurd! I had the same thing happen to me before Christmas. 100% across the board and a local hand delivery dropped me down to 97% on shipping and I was stuck there for quite awhile but now am back up to 100%. In all honesty, I didn’t really worry too much about it because I still don’t see any difference with the Star Seller Badge. Maybe there’s someone out there who disagrees??

[bradgoodell]

When it comes to local business, (friends, family, local businesses) I send buyers to my website or invoice them.  

If the buyer found me on Etsy and I don't know them, I ship.  

#1 saves me fees #2 saves my privacy.  

[SacTownCrafts]

The same happened to me - absolutely ridiculous!!!

[JDTotesnDolls]

Not ridiculous.  As Bradgoodell says above and to add it also proves the item was received.

A buyer can later contest they never got the item because there is no receipt.  No tracking.

It is a risk to hand deliver.  It's allowed but it's still a huge risk. 

[Octopunx]

As @JDTotesnDolls says, this is because Etsy is trying to avoid chargebacks and/or other liabilities. Simply put, they have a way they want things done and choosing Customer Satisfaction over Etsy's preferences has a consequence. I don't worry about SSP because it doesn't currently make any difference to the discoverability of my listings. Unless it starts hurting my search placement I will choose making my customers happy over making Etsy happy every time. 

[JDTotesnDolls]

It's a huge risk to hand deliver.  For one the buyer can claim they never received the item.  Even if you had them sign a receipt, they can still say they never received and with no proof, Etsy can side with the buyer.  

The star seller program tells us what happens with this.  The information is worth becoming familiar with.

I won't hand deliver except to people I know and since they ask me before they buy, I usually remove the item from Etsy simply because it means I don't have to deal with the issues.  I don't mind having one less sale listed on Etsy.   

[NineMileQuilts]

@JDTotesnDolls My customer picked up the item at my house. I knew I would lose the star, but he needed it ASAP. I ended up getting 5 stars from him, so we were both happy. I get what everyone has said about this topic, but this worked for us this time.

[LeesbrgReclaimedWood]

I've had the star seller rating off and on over the last year or so.  I've lost it a few times for not replying to spam messages or when a customer sends me three separate short messages and I only reply to one - or when I hand deliver locally.

After looking at my sales patterns, my sales have actually been LOWER when I've had the SS badge.  I'm not sure if we are further down the search results or what the Etsy algorithm is doing, but I'm not seeing a benefit of having star seller status.  I've read others that have experienced similar results.

With regard to hand delivering vs. a common carrier and Etsy's trust/liability  etc... I've had numerous packages by ALL the common carriers that were tracked and marked as delivered over the years that were never actually delivered to my customer.  Etsy doesn't help and doesn't care as long as the tracking is marked as delivered. I still must file a claim with the carrier and deal with them.  Often this means shipping the product again as the claims process takes months with varying outcomes.  When we deliver, we know it was delivered and delivered properly. 

I understand what Etsy is trying to achieve here, but the company is so huge and apparently uninterested in actually dealing with their shops and those that sell on their platform. Etsy is a small percentage of our overall business and we have found it counterproductive to our business to constantly attempt to jump through arbitrary hoops in hopes of achieving a trinket that has (so far) resulted in no real sales improvement for our shop on this platform.

[UniqueAsYouAndMe]

I am having this exact problem.  I wish this would get fixed.  In my opinion, this program is less about customer experience than it is about raising revenue for Etsy.  How does the number of sales and the dollars sold equate to customer experience?  Etsy, please fix this.

[MelroseMemories]

I had the same thing happen to me and after 6 straight mos. as a  Star seller it cost me a 7th month.  I communicated with Etsy support and they said they understood and would look into a fix.   I have a very low confidence level that that will happen.

btw I had a request today for local delivery instead of paying the $9.25 Priority charge (based on weight.) Haven't gotten a response and it may have jeapodized the sale... 

[HtoHdesign · Accepted solution]

Hey There!

Currently, tracking metrics don’t account for local pickup, shipping without tracking if not in a market with an exception, 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 your on-time shipping & tracking.

We understand there are things that can impact the score that might be out of members' control, and/or mistakes can happen. We have taken this into account making the percentage reach 95% instead of 100%.

Thanks!

[TallTimberAntiques]

I'm having the exact same issue this month, so I know how you feel. The Buyer did give me a very nice 5 star review, so I have decided that is more important than the badge for one month.

[BagmakerSupply]

For better or worse, Etsy was very clear about this issue from the beginning:

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.