"there's one" but in fact there is nothing, Made to order items

[MinzooNeedleFelting]

I've had two orders cancelled due customers just watch "there is 1 item" while in fact there is nothing because mostly my items are made to order. Etsy make customers belive there is something ready to ship, when is not. This damage my shop and customer's patience actually.

Could please Etsy implement a special statement when items are MADE TO ORDER, so clients gets no confused anymore?

I think this is a big failure.

[TBQSC]

When you list your "made to order" items, you need to select "not yet made / made to order" from the drop down selection of "when did you make it".  There are 3 listing criteria that need to be filled out ... "who made it" / "what is it" / "when did you make it"  <<< THIS is what determines if a product is "ready to ship" or if it will take more time to ship "made to order".  I hope that helps!

[XanneFran]

This doesn't fix the issue the OP is referring to.  I also make all of my items to-order and Etsy still forces sellers to choose a quantity when they list the item, so the buyers see an "in stock" number regardless of whether you select "made to order" when making the listing.  It's infuriating and definitely makes customers angry too (especially the ones who don't read the descriptions).  

[JudyStalus]

This makes no difference...you still have to chose how many available and the minimum is one.  So on the listing, despite its being made to order, it shows 1 available or 2 available etc.  I've had the same problem as the OP with a buyer insisting I have one on hand to ship because of Etsy's stupid lay out.  This has nothing to do with shipping or ready to ship which is in a different spot on the listing.

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[JDTotesnDolls]

@XanneFran   You have the made to order statement in your lisitings.  It's in bold print.

The op above does not have it. The words 'made to order' are not showing.   Made to order is in some of her listings descriptions but it is not in bold print or near the top of the page for a buyer to see.

[MinzooNeedleFelting]

Yes I know this obviously.

But by default, it always showns "one left" and buyers not always read the entire description, neither time needed to be made etc. So what is clear to me, is not for some buyers. They only sees the "one left" in the listing, and goes ahead.

[SewInspiredByJapan]

On my made-to-order items, I put in the text description THIS ITEM IS MADE TO ORDER up front, because, well, customers can be right twats.

[JDTotesnDolls]

The listing should also show made to order if that was chosen in the line.  It's up to the top of the page for buyers to see.

[Chrysalism]

Your ready to ship items have an estimated arrival date of December 1st to January 4th (5-10 weeks) to the US, and your made to order items are December 16 to February 21st (7-17 weeks). I'm not sure what shipping options are available for you in Spain, but with your high price point I would definitely consider using a faster shipping method if available and padding the cost into your prices. It would help take the sting out of your 2-7 week production time for international buyers. I wouldn't hesitate to buy something beautiful and handmade with a 1-2 month production time, but if shipping added another 2 months to my wait time I would be very unlikely to purchase.

It may also help to add information about your made to order timeline in your shop announcement, FAQ, listings, and note to buyer so that you are communicating it in every possible place. Some customers still won't read, but if you plaster your shop with the information it may reduce the number of confused customers.

Good luck, your work is beautiful!

[MinzooNeedleFelting]

All these things are clear in my listings, but now always every customer read it. And as soon as I make a sale, I write the client to make it clear how much time he would have to wait. That large timeline is just because I'm only able to make one piece each ten days if I rush a lot so as soon as I have some pieces in a row, timeline increases a lot. Anyway this is not the question, but how easy should be, that for made to order items, Etsy just show the phrase MADE TO ORDER instead or "one left".

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@MinzooNeedleFelting 

your items are not clear, you have not set up processing times, and everything looks a bit odd,

you are getting questions, because you haven't set up the processing times properly,

It's isn't etsy, it's the way you have set up the listings

[AnchorRoadVintage]

You still have to say how many you can make to order, though, for technical reasons. If customers are not seeing it, put "MADE TO ORDER" in the title, in the description, in the materials field, the FAQs, make it a variation where they have to choose "Yes" they are buying "made to order", put it in the automatic message they get when they order, and in the message you manually send customers after they order. After all that, if they still don't clue in, you can cancel and refund.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@MinzooNeedleFelting 

I'm not sure you understand etsy correctly,

on made to order items, you can put in however many you can make, in the processing time you specify

You can put in that you can do 1 made to order in your processing times, or 2, or three, or however many you can make in your processing times,

If you can't do any made to order in your processing times, you shouldn't have it for sale at all.

Looking at a few of your listings, I don't see a "ready to ship in" time, so have you set your shipping profiles up properly with processing times?
check it out in a browser, not the app.

[JudyStalus · Accepted solution]

You aren't getting the problem.  I also do made to order and put the correct no. I can make in my processing time. Unfortunately, this shows on the listing as 3 available. You can't imagine how many customers I've had to argue with who insist I have 3 ready to ship because of the dumb way Etsy sets up the listing page. I think perhaps you are the one who  doesn't understand Etsy correctly. (Not in this shop in my knitting shop)

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@JudyStalus 

I list some ready made, and some made to order,

I have processing times, which etsy converts to dispatch dates, which say when they will  ship,

it doesn't actually mater, whether they are made or not made, I have a dispatch dates, and will ship in those dates.

The problem is, the OP doesn't have dispatch dates set up.

[JDTotesnDolls]

If the listing is made to order that is selected from the about this order in the listing.  It then shows in the listing.  If a seller does not select that then the made to order does not show in bold near the top of the listing.

It's not the quantity that is the issue.  One has to be shown as seller one can be made.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

The OP does not have processing time, that should be shown, whether it's made to order or not

otherwise it's confusing to the buyer, which is why they have problems

[UppNorthCo]

at the risk of jinxing myself, I don't recall this ever being an issue in my shop and everything is made to order.  I only find it here in the forums.   

[JDTotesnDolls]

@MinzooNeedleFelting    Are you chosing the 'made to order' in about this listing when you make the listing?  It should show made to order in bold print near the top of the listing.

A few of your listings you have placed made to order near the top of the description but on other listings it is further down.  Custom orders are not the same as made to order.  If what you are making is truly custom you may want to use only the custom button and show items made to order only listings offering the buyer to select cusom when they want something made from a photo.  Made to order is really for the item in the photo not for custom items

Etsy still has to offer that you make at least 1.  Not something to be removed.  I would add the 'Made to order line' from the listing so it is higher up.

Beautiful work btw.  Absolutely breathtaking.  I almost expect the dog to bark or Pegasus to fly.  You are extremely talented.  

[TBQSC]

@MinzooNeedleFelting -- If I were to order an item today, I see it would ship within 1-2 months, and would arrive here within 3-4 months. YIKES!  What happened to your 10-day processing timeframe?  (I'm only able to make one piece each ten days)  

When you list an item, you need to set the processing timeframe for just that 1 item (not multiples) because you won't usually get an order for more than 1 item at a time.  But if you do get a larger order (from 1 person), you would just adjust the shipping timeframe AFTER the order comes in, and not before!  If you need more time once an order comes in, you can extend shipping up to 3 weeks max.  

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@TBQSC 

You can only extend the dispatch time in agreement with the buyer,

I would be pretty annoyed, if the buyer changed the dispatch time on me, after I ordered.

get it right upfront, or don't expect to have happy customers, and expect to have to refund

[MarjorysMiniatures]

Your felting artwork is beautiful! Love it