Etsy Shipping Price Snafu Leaves Sellers Holding The Bag
Etsy users report shipping price problems on the platform today, with buyers being charged a significantly lower amount than they should be for Priority Mail and sellers eating the difference.
KnotOriginal
i just had an order come in, weighing 8.5oz and the buyer chose priority. they were only charged $1.31 by etsy. i can't possibly mail for that without losing out $$.
is this an etsy bug happening site wide? the mistake was definitely etsy's as my shipping rates have not changed or been problematic before.
Another poster pointed to a different thread in the Etsy community where a seller saw the exact same issue with the same low price, but unfortunately it's in a section of the forum that is not viewable to the public.
There is another poster with the same problem -- same exact amount.
https://community.etsy.com/t5/Managing-Your-Shop/Etsy-Insider-Shipping/m-p/147533649#M1780194
And users in the EtsySellers subReddit say they are also seeing orders coming in with the same $1.31 shipping price.
Just a heads up to check the ship charges on orders that came in today. I noticed customers were being charged an abnormally small amount for USPS priority, basically $1.31 instead of $12+. I hadn’t changed anything on my end since yesterday. Etsy chat escalated the report as a technical issue.
Will be interesting to see if they make the sellers cover the cost of their calculation errors, or make the customers (doubtful) or will Etsy eat the cost (unlikely). Will probably depend how widespread the issue is.
Sveral users have pointed out that new USPS rates for Parcel Select, Ground Advantage, Priority & Priority Express went into effect today - and that it wouldn't be the first time Etsy bungled a postal rate update.
Other sellers say their buyers who were incorrectly charged are part of the Etsy Insider buyer membership program trial, which is supposed to offer free shipping to the buyer but not at the seller's expense.
the seller who started the other thread said their customer is a part of etsy's trial run for their version of amazon prime shipping.
Those who have contacted support say so for Etsy isn't offering any information about what is causing the glitch or any assurances that sellers will be compensated for the difference - in fact, they are being told they should simply cancel orders if buyers don't want to pay the additional amount.
i was told that if my customer doesn't want to pay for the correct amount to cancel the order. i'm shocked that i'm expected to ask my customer for more money to cover shipping when this was etsy's mistake.
Are you seeing errors in shipping costs on Etsy today? Let us know in the comments below!
As many of the items I sell are £10 or less, this makes it not worth the bother and I'll probably have to give it away to the charity shop.
Add that to the "buyer protection" fee they've added on - and the costs are making it untenable for people trying to clear the house, or make a few bob from old bits and pieces. Not happy at all and there doesn't seem to be a way of opting out.
The sooner these sleazebags at the top can be got rid of, or some community-run buy/sell/swap sites come up - the better. We don't need ebay.