WARNING: ETSY AI WILL UPDATE YOUR DELIVERY DATES IF YOU SHIP FASTER THAN YOUR PROCESSING TIMES

[JJCustomFloralDesign]

****WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING!!!!!****

I just had time to read the entire link about this topic that FeltWithAHeart shared on my original post - I will provide that threads link below.... OMG! Read THIS SECTION - ASAP! So in summary, if your processing time is 5 days for a group of listings and you end up shipping them earlier on a regular bases (THEY ARE USING A MATHEMATICAL ALGORITHM) then Etsy's AI will UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY the estimated delivery date ranges for the customer from what you had the listing set as in the "processing profile" you created (in this case 5 days) to a FASTER DELIVERY DATE RANGE because you have been shipping the listings set within that "processing profile" FASTER than what you had set for your processing time!!!!! HOLY MOTHER - WHAT!!!!!!! I wonder IF ETSY will NOTIFY you of this CHANGE or NOT... it will DESTROY STAR SELLER RATINGS if people do NOT NOTICE!!!

STATES IN ARTICLE:

What if I ship faster than my processing times?

Having fast processing times can lead to shorter estimated delivery dates, which can help encourage customers to buy items from your shop. If you have a history of completing your orders faster than your listed processing times, buyers may see estimated delivery date ranges with your actual processing times reflected.

Your actual processing time is based on your processing times over the past 120 days for orders that shipped, with a minimum of at least 5 orders shipped. 

To make sure that the processing times are accurate, the ship date you set when completing your order should match the date you plan to hand off the order to the shipping carrier.

ARTICLE LINK: 

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015588087-How-to-Set-Processing-Times-Processing-Profiles...

MY ORIGINAL THREAD

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Technical-Issues/REMOVING-PROCESSING-TIMES-FROM-SHIPPING-PROFILES-NIGH...

[CryzalisMasksUK]

Everything is automated now, unless a customer contacts you to specify a required date (make alternative arrangements with a shipping company or inform the customer this is not possible), then I would not worry about what Etsy shipping says.

These dates also change throughout the tracking after the parcel has left, based on scanning dates. For example the "customer expects by" date changes accordingly if delays should occur during shipping or customs.  

[JJCustomFloralDesign]

This is huge to worry about because people rarely even look at delivery dates as it is... trust me on that one - customers are always buying my items last minute, which is why I automatically send out a message ASAP once someone has ordered asking them when they need the order by...

Etsy changing these processing times is HUGE... The buyer will think they will get it sooner than you had your profile set as AND those dates also affect when a customer can open a case against you! So if you do not ship within Etsy's AI changing your processing time faster... and you ship it based on what YOU HAD SET INSTEAD... customer will be MISLEAD - causing cases and BAD REVIEWS!!!

[CryzalisMasksUK]

It has been going on for a while now, unfortunately we have no control over the claims Etsy's provides to the customers or little control when it comes to the postal service delivery times.

I do know that some sellers have put a standard message out to customers who purchase to inform them that the "estimated delivery" times are automated and can not be taken as a guaranteed date. That they have no control in regards to these dates being sent out to them. Personally I add the part that even the postal services are over confident when it comes to their ability to stick within their estimated delivery times.

Many of us voiced our shock and anger last year and nothing changes, so all we can do is try and limit the possible damage caused by this ourselves. 

[JJCustomFloralDesign]

I have been selling on Etsy for a decade now and undergone all these stupid changes they have made over the years. It looks like you are a fairly new shop & likely have not run into to many people complaining to you that "Well I saw at checkout I would get it by Saturday" and the customer literally just bought the item on Thursday - so it would have been illogical for Etsy to have even advertised that date.

Estimated delivery dates have been a nightmare since 2023 when they changed something up in their system. 

If I have a processing profile set to 5 days - ETSY should NOT be able to TAKE IT UPON THEMSELVES to UPDATE it to 2 DAYS from 5 days just because I HAPPEN to be shipping some of those items faster than others. I have orders that take weeks to make and some a few days... if I need a break from a bouquet order I am working on... yea, I will take up an order early that is fast to make. So I am now going to have to MONITOR the processing times on those types of items because of an AI system's fee fees?

UNACCEPTABLE!

[CryzalisMasksUK]

Not actually a new shop, but had to restart my shop late last year due to relocation of country. (not allowed to keep your Etsy shop when you relocate)

But that is by the by, this issue has been going on for years, and many have voiced their views on this but nothing changes.

All I am saying is, that personally I have no time to stress on things that will never get fixed or changed, so try and find a way to fix or limit issues caused by a 3rd party myself.

[JJCustomFloralDesign]

WHAT! You cannot keep your shop if you move countries... that is NUTS!!!! I am SO sorry, that is TERRIBLE!

Well, it is nice you do not concern yourself with these types of changes but them removing processing times from our shipping profiles... is a NIGHTMARE & THIS is going to add to it because it sounds like the AI will be doing far more than "estimating" like it has been over the last few years. This is a big deal for a shop like mine because my corsages / boutonnieres / bouquets / hair accessories - ALL have different processing times within their categories... so this WILL be an issue for myself.

[CryzalisMasksUK]

No you can not keep your shop, lose everything, history, reviews etc..

The AI predictions are causing issues (some extremely damaging) in all aspects of life as it is flawed and there is no accountability.

It also creates additional work for those who work on customs as you mentioned. I spent some time getting angry and banging my head against a wall until I realised it was preventing me from getting on with what was important, as no amount of emails to Etsy would change it.

You would think common sense and logic would kick in somewhere, telling customers one thing and this being incorrect, only upsets and angers customers, hence creating more work and more complaints about Etsy.. but maybe they do not all think like us.

This is why I had to find away around it, as I do not have the time or the patience to wait for a fix or change that will not come.

[JJCustomFloralDesign]

...and my way around it has been sending that follow up message immediately after every sale - as I mentioned before. However, not everyone responds... that is until they do not get the item when ETSY indicated they would get it.... grrrrr....

Let's just say there is such a thing as bridezillas AND motherzillas for teenage prom kids... I go SO FAR out of my way for my customers because if I did not - I would not have the rating I do. My particular "industry" is very competitive and sometimes exhausting because people are always last minute and already come to me with attitudes due to their situation they got themselves in.... lol but not really "lol".

[Alfven]

They've actually been using our shipping history to predict estimated delivery dates for a while now. Here's a quote from an Etsy article 2024: 

"To help show buyers more accurate estimates of when they should expect their items, we’re making improvements to the way we calculate estimated delivery dates.

In addition to information you already provide, such as processing times and shipping services, we’ve started using your shipping history, along with carrier information like latest transit times, to calculate estimated delivery dates. "

Article Link:

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Announcements/Etsy-Updates-3-things-to-know-for-April-2024/m-p/1452984...

[JJCustomFloralDesign]

You left out the last line from the 2024 article:

"The stated processing times and ship-by dates for your items won’t change and we’ll take them into account when making this new calculation."

I am not sure you are aware of what I am talking about because you likely did not notice Etsy's MASSIVE change they NEGLECTED to notify us of... checkout my other thread & THIS article. This is indicating it is not just creating a "calculation on an estimated shipping time" based on variables... it sounds like it will be effecting the new "PROCESSING PROFILES" these people created for us OUTSIDE of out shipping profiles:

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015588087-How-to-Set-Processing-Times-Processing-Profiles...

"We’ve created processing profiles based on your current listing details. Review them and edit as needed before May 27, when we’ll begin to use processing profiles to show buyers more accurate estimated delivery dates. "

[Alfven]

@JJCustomFloralDesign  I am aware of what you're talking about, I commented in your other thread yesterday.

Yes, the article is a year old, so some bits have changed; I was merely pointing out it's not an entirely new concept. As CryzalisMasksUK points out, it's been a topic of discussion for a while, not sure any sellers are in favour of it. 

I truly share your frustration with this update. While I did get a notification on the App about the update, there wasn't anything on my dashboard on my laptop about the update, which is ridiculous

[JJCustomFloralDesign]

I didn't get any notification on my app... what the heck!!!

I've come to the conclusion AI is starting to destroy the world... removing the human element of logic & reality is obviously a problem.

Sorry, did not recognize your name. My concern abt this is this change isn't going to do what they have already been doing on the listings with shipping but literally automatically changing the "processing profile"... to help create those dates. So it's not just AI throwing out estimated dates by variables but rather literally changing your actual processing profile so it automatically creates those dates that way. 

Does that make sense??

[JJCustomFloralDesign]

The article is just entirely too vague, and the change with processing profiles versus having the processing in the shipping profiles was completely unnecessary & causing a serious issue for a shop like myself... if I just sold one type of product across the board... and not multiple types of products with different shipping times for the types of categories... i honestly probably would not give a dang about any of this.

[WantableDesigns]

eBay have been doing this for ages now and it's awful. Basically you're punished if you send things too quickly. It's quite common on eBay for them to show a delivery estimate that's sooner than your send by date;

EG - ETA - May 24th-May 29th
Dispatch by May 25th

All it does is cause issues because customers are given false hope that their order might arrive even before the seller has to send it.

[JJCustomFloralDesign]

Exactly... and reviews can take down any online business - or any business these days - in a heartbeat. 

[TwiLdCapitHog]

Well if eBay is doing it of course Etsy will copy it.

What Etsy conveniently forgets is it is (was) primarily a site of "cottage industry workers", who need time-padding to allow for family issues, illness, the postie not turning up, and so many other issues. 

Big Marketplaces have a big business mindset, which in Etsys case, doesn't always fit with their Artisan small cottage industry customers.

[Alfven]

@JJCustomFloralDesign All good! I am an android user if that makes a difference!

Yes that makes sense, it'd also explain why they separated 'ready to ship' vs 'made to order'. They definitely want to encourage sellers to ship faster, and I imagine faster EDD will be part of listing ranking soon if it isn't already. 

I like having my processing times set as they are, it allows for topping up on supplies as necessary, and fitting my life around orders, and I don't want AI messing with it. Luckily I don't sell date-sensitive items, I'm sorry this must be stressful for you!

[JJCustomFloralDesign]

I use an android as well... in fact one of my favorite gifs is the Android character wiping it's butt with the apple logo

OMG... if they do that - I honestly think they might kind of already with their ranking but this change will allow the AI system to be able to immediately recognize those shops vs how it's being done now (slower). I am a betting woman... and I would bet that you are correct. 🤮

Yes, this is horrifying. The change with the shipping profiles and the new processing profiles. It did not exist on 5/20... because I was listing items. Only reason I noticed yesterday is because I was listing new products.