This gives you an idea of just how horrible Etsy support is for sellers. It also shows business decisions are made by robots that humans won't override. I think bots are great as long as HUMANS ARE ACTUALLY IN CHARGE OF THE OVERRIDE BUTTON.
This is a chat transcript that I had with Etsy over a customer that used the wrong address when making a purchase. Please note this customer has been wonderful to work with. She originally made a mistake in her personalization which I caught and confirmed and fixed... but then she gave a wrong address in her purchase that I didn't catch. And don't think I should be responsible for catching... and especially don't feel I should be penalized by etsy for not catching. The end result after this chat, I canceled and refunded the customer's order and then created a custom listing with free shipping for her. (THANKS S.L. FOR ALL YOUR HELP AND UNDERSTANDING WITH THIS ISSUE.)
NOTE IN RED THE DISCREPANCY IN THE AGENTS ANSWERS BELOW.
Chat started on 19 Oct 2022, 05:58 PM (GMT+0)
(05:58:53)
*** Deborah joined the chat ***
(05:58:53)
Deborah
On a recent order a buyer used the wrong address so the item was sent back to me. In my dashboard it still shows out for delivery. I have purchased a new label with the correct address for the customer. I want to be certain this will not interfere with my delivery status which is at 100%. I don't want a reason that I don't get the star seller badge for November. So I'm even paying for the new label out of my pocket... but I want to be sure I've done all of this correctly.
Order # 2616XXXXXX
(05:58:55)
Etsy
We’re connecting you to an agent. Thanks for your patience! If you haven’t done so already, please provide a few more details about your request. Closing this window will end the chat.
(05:58:59)
*** Berdu joined the chat ***
(05:59:31)
Berdu
Hi there!
(05:59:36)
Deborah
Hello
(05:59:56)
Berdu
I see that you want to know if the label that shows on the order that is still out for delivery won't affect your star seller badge for November
(06:00:00)
Berdu
is that correct/
(06:00:01)
Berdu
?*
(06:00:38)
Berdu
since you will use a new label as the package was returned due to some issues with the buyer's address
(06:00:45)
Deborah
Yes, and that now it's been almost 2 weeks since the order was placed and I"m buying a new label I want to be certain it's not going to look like I messed up and am late in any way
(06:02:00)
Berdu
thank you for sharing that information with me Deborah
(06:02:04)
Berdu
I'll be happy to assist you
(06:05:26)
Berdu
I'm still checking on this
(06:05:30)
Deborah
Thanks
(06:07:36)
Berdu
sure!
(06:09:50)
Berdu
thank you for waiting Deborah, I will have to transfer you to another department that can help you out providing you the answer that you need for the star seller badge
(06:10:06)
Berdu
so please, stay on the chat, an agent from that department will join shortly
(06:10:10)
Deborah
No problem.
(06:10:13)
Deborah
Thanks again
(06:10:42)
*** Berdu has transferred chat to Selling on Etsy: Shop Management ***
(06:10:43)
*** Berdu left the chat ***
(06:10:47)
*** Maria G. joined the chat ***
(06:12:31)
Maria G.
Thank you for reaching out to Etsy Support, my name is Maria, I will be happy to support you today!
(06:12:37)
Deborah
Thanks
(06:14:16)
Maria G.
Nice to virtually meet you Deborah,
I completely understand the importance of the star seller badge and shipping score for you and your shop. I will be happy to look into this for you.
(06:14:17)
Maria G.
Absolutely, my pleasure.
(06:14:27)
Maria G.
Allow me a moment while I review some details in your order.
(06:14:30)
Deborah
Thanks
(06:18:29)
Maria G.
My pleasure.
(06:19:54)
Maria G.
I appreciate your waiting.
(06:20:06)
Deborah
No problem
(06:20:33)
Maria G.
Just to confirm, you add the other label label, correct?
(06:20:44)
Maria G.
other label*
(06:21:42)
Deborah
Yes, I just bought another label with the correct address. You can see in our messages when I got the item back yesterday I messaged her and asked if she had used an old address and her response was... Yes, my bad. And she gave me a new address.
(06:22:38)
Deborah
I just want to be sure Etsy knows I did my part... I got the item out the next day after the purchase... but the customer messed up the address. I'm willing to make it good for her.
(06:25:17)
Maria G.
For Star Seller, adding tracking at a later date will not retroactively satisfy the order's Star Seller tracking requirement, even if the tracking events show shipping on/before the ship-by date.
• Tracking must be added on or before the ship-by date, when marking the order complete, since tracking added later won't satisfy the Star Seller tracking requirement.
• Sellers should still add tracking to older orders, but for Star Seller, should focus on adding timely and correct tracking for current and future orders.
(06:25:31)
Deborah
I lost the badge a few months ago when a client purchased a product but "wished" it was bigger... so she only gave me 4 stars. Although the size was listed in the product description and in the picture. And I offered a refund but she didnt want to return her item because she liked it. So for that ... no star seller. Last month I finally had enough sales and $ again... and 5 stars ... but nobody messaged me. Which seems dumb.. noone had a question or problem you would think that was good ... but again no star seller. So I'm not losing it for this buyer.
(06:25:48)
Maria G.
I want to confirm this information, one moment while I take a deeper look please.
(06:26:43)
Maria G.
Many thanks for confirming the information and contact the buyer. That is proof of your great customer service and quality of your items if your customer keeps looking for them.
(06:27:26)
Deborah
So this won't have any affect on me getting the badge or I will lose it because the first label never gets delivered?
(06:27:58)
Maria G.
That's is what I'm confirming, one moment please.
(06:28:09)
Deborah
ok great
(06:30:30)
Maria G.
I appreciate your waiting.
(06:31:37)
Maria G.
Upon double checking some information, I'm very sorry to inform that it is going to affect due to the reason stated above, again I'm very sorry.
(06:32:34)
Deborah
That's BS. I'm sorry to be so upset. What if i cancel and refund the order altogether. Like it never happened.
(06:32:44)
Maria G.
I do understand where you are coming from since the address was incorrect. For future reference please verify the addresses are correct before sending orders so you can complete the order with the correct tracking information.
(06:33:44)
Deborah
And I've tried that before but in some instances had to send because the customers didn't respond. That's crazy to put on the seller.
(06:35:05)
Maria G.
I completely understand how do you feel.
Thank you very much for your efforts selling on Etsy, we really appreciate your business.
(06:36:11)
Maria G.
this is also for future reference, In addition to Messages on Etsy, I also recommend emailing the buyer directly if you haven't yet, in case they're simply not looking at their Etsy Message notifications.
You can find this on your end as well by visiting Shop Manager > Orders and Shipping (https://www.etsy.com/your/orders/sold), and selecting your buyer's Etsy username.
This will display a menu with their email address.
You do have the option of refunding and canceling the order when you need information from the buyer to complete the order, and they're not getting back to you.
We leave it up to you to decide how long to wait, as you know your business best. We just ask that you let the buyer know you intend to cancel, and keep them informed at every step of the process, even if they're not immediately responding.
(06:36:24)
Deborah
So just to confirm there's nothing you can do since you can see i've made no mistakes and gone above and beyond for this customer?
(06:38:13)
Maria G.
I would love to assist with the score. However, the data is calculated systematically we can not manually make changes to the Star Seller score, there are still improvements to be made for our Star Seller initiative.
(06:38:38)
Deborah
So robots are doing the work and not humans. That stinks
(06:39:34)
Maria G.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write your feelings and thoughts about this situation.
I'm noting your feedback and will be sharing it with the team to consider for a future update. Please know we take comments from the community to heart, and we make many changes to the site based on what we hear.
(06:40:02)
Deborah
Thanks for your time.
(06:40:36)
Maria G.
I was checking for a solution but canceling and refund the order is not an option. Again, I'm very sorry for this situation.
(06:40:43)
Maria G.
Is there anything else I can assist you with?
(06:40:54)
Deborah
nope
(06:41:13)
Maria G.
May you have a lot of sales and I am looking forward to your shop's success.
We appreciate your extended patience and kind understanding. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you need further assistance. We're here to help! Have a great day!