Christmas is 3 months away (103 days), but Etsy is already reminding sellers about shipping cutoff dates. “We know the holiday season can be stressful enough without worrying about shipping deadlines and extra fees,” it told sellers in a recent post. “That’s why we’ve put together this handy guide with information that will help you ship successfully—so you can worry less about shipping and focus on delighting your customers.”
Etsy also offered some advice to sellers: “Add your holiday cutoff dates to your shop announcement and listing descriptions. This way shoppers know what your deadlines are. You can use the bulk edit tool to add a brief message to all of your listings at once.”
But are cutoff dates from shipping carriers realistic? In December 2021, there was a delivery meltdown that led to many packages shipped prior to cutoff dates arriving after the holiday. Sellers should keep that in mind and use official cutoff dates with caution.
While many shoppers are procrastinators, this year may be different, as news media have already been running stories about difficulties retailers are having getting inventory into the country due to delays in the global supply chain.
Etsy told sellers, “We’ll share info from the shipping carriers available for purchase on Etsy and update it as new information is released, so bookmark this article and keep coming back to it through December.”
It also included a reminder for sellers to look out for higher rates and surcharges – you can find the full post on the Etsy Seller Handbook.
If you have thoughts about the challenges of shipping during the holiday shopping season ahead, leave a comment on today’s AuctionBytes Blog post, “Peak Holiday Season Is One Day Longer than Last Year.”
Dear Etsy :
Shut UP !