Posted by Unknown at 12:04 PM
Read our previous post
... Remember that even beautiful roses have thorns!
Probably the most common problem Etsy sellers have is shipping. Everything regarding shipping. Starting with the insane shipping fees and ending with packages not being delivered! Everything in between those two examples is also of high importance, however this time around let's focus on those two, discuss about them, find solutions and give tips.
1. Shipping fees
This is by far the biggest problem of them all. First things first:
- for Etsy sellers - don't feel guilty about the shipping fees! You're not the ones making them; you have no control over them. Try and make your customers understand that. Give them links for the websites of the couriers / post office and have them see the fees themselves. Do not charge less for shipping fees because you feel like they're too high! A possible solution for this would be taking a little out and putting it on your items' prices. However, keep in mind that Etsy calculates its fee from your items prices!
- for Etsy buyers - in order to have your orders sent safely towards you, you need to pay shipping fees. They are high, but Etsy sellers can't do anything about it. The lowest shipping fee always comes with risks - damaged package, lost package, delayed delivery, no track & trace, no insurance, no way of ever finding out what happened to your package. You have to pay extra for the package to arrive sooner, you have to pay extra for the package to have a tracking number, you have to pay extra to have insurance, you have to pay extra to have a confirmation of receipt, you have to pay extra if the package is heavy. It's terrible, all Etsy sellers know that, but this is how it is, unfortunatedly.
2. Lost packages
The Etsy seller gives you a heads up when he mails your package and you've also read about how much time it would take to get to you. That time had come and passed and you still don't know anything about your package. What do you do?
- check out the track & trace number - usually when you make an Etsy purchase you'd receive a track & trace number for your package. Check it out and see where exactly your package is at the moment.
- no track & trace number? - if, however, you don't receive a track & trace number, contact the Etsy shop owner and let him know about the problem. He would then give you that number and check it out himself. There are situations where there is no track & trace number (for example: packages sent with non-priority mail if the customer so wishes, simple envelopes etc.). For those situations it's best to have your package sent with a confirmation of receipt. That way it will certainly either arrive to destination or get back to the sender. If there's also no confirmation of receipt, the Etsy seller should send a new package to his client, but this time making sure all the proper precautions had been taken care of.
- for Etsy sellers - it does cost extra, but make sure you either have a track & trace number or a confirmation of receipt. Otherwise, you'd have to send out a new order on your expense.
- for Etsy buyers - please understand that shipping problems are out of the Etsy seller's hands. They will of course do everything they can in order to have your package delivered safely, but what will happen on the way to you is out of their reach.
Hope everything above will be helpful for both Etsy sellers and Etsy buyers.
Funky Box Studio wishes you a colorful day!
Visit our Etsy shop - Funky Box Studio
Very useful info!
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