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I listed a pre-order item on Etsy and did not think of the handling time. My handling time for the pre-order is 4-6 weeks. I have had 2 people pre-order already, but had not changed the handling time, so now, it looks like I’m “overdue” to ship the items, since I had the original 2 days handling time. Does anyone know if there is a way to fix this? I’ve looked all over Etsy, but to no avail. My options are “new”, “mark as shipped”, or “in progress”. None of those apply. Does anyone have any words of wisdom on this? Thanks in advance.
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Yes. I sell fabric on etsy. Since the pandemic hit, there is a run on 100% cotton novelty print fabric, and that’s what I sell.
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So you sold out your stock, ordered more, and are now taking pre-orders? Any worry that your new stock may be delayed?
eBay lets you extend handing time to up to 30 business days but must happen before the sale. If someone bought before we changed the handling time, we’d need to cancel the sale if we couldnt ship for a while. Maybe Etsy is different, but usually platforms like for sellers to have stock ready to ship.
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I only ran out of 1 item and that is the only pre-sale item I have in my shop. If the paid pre-orders are delayed I would refund the customer at the end of August-so August 31 I would promptly refund the buyer if the item had not shipped to them on that day.
In all my years selling on etsy, I have never set up a pre-order before, so to be fair, I am learning as I go along about pre-orders. I think because many items on etsy are custom and/or handmade orders, they do allow long handling times. I had the option to set up a 4-6 week handling time-and I did-but after the fact.
The good thing about pre-orders is 1.you get a better sense of how much you will need to order from your supplier and 2.If you need to order more, you can do so seamlessly 3.for the most part, the hope is that your pre-ordered items will be paid for by the time you receive your supply. Like I needed to tell you the benefits. 😀
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Thats cool that etsy allows pre-orders. Makes total sense with the original nature of the “hand made” vibe of the sites early years.
eBay does allow long handling time too. But there’s a real struggle against Drop Shippers who list thousands of new items that they don’t own. They wait for a sale, then purchase the item and ship it. Can often involve slow shipping and bad customer service because the seller is not in charge of the order.
Why do you think fabric is selling so well?
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Oohh…drop shipping…something I would never attempt. Too much risk involved for my taste.
I think the pandemic is largely the reason for fabric sales. First, the obvious, the masks. Then, I guess folks are just looking for crafty type things to keep them busy. I have so many hobbies, I don’t understand how some people have “no” hobbies. I have to keep busy at all times, plus I am a multi-tasker. Too, I think people who once crafted, are probably finishing up their previous projects.
I was teaching sewing classes pre-pandemic. I stopped because of the pandemic. Not sure I will be teaching classes in person again, although I loved doing it. I got a lot of messages from people who wanted to still take classes because they had all this time on their hands. I was not willing to teach classes, not knowing what all the virus triggers were, etc. I think the pandemic has people a little stir crazy, so they are taking up hobbies like sewing. Sewing, I will say is very relaxing and I highly recommend it.
But Jay, if you remember, I mentioned a few times a while back, how I had so much fabric that I wanted to unload. I sold a lot of it on etsy. Also, I had a nurse contact me through a mutual business associate and literally ordered a couple thousand. So, I got rid of a lot of little odds and ends fabrics that way.
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It’s been a couple of weeks so you may have solved the issue by now, but…. Have you tried looking in the Forums on Etsy? You can search for the topic or start a new Discussion. One thing I would do is reach out to the customer via Conversations so that they are aware of the issue and that there is documentation that you are giving good customer service. I only sell vintage on Etsy, so I have no experience with this type of problem.
Good Luck!
Marianne
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I did reach out to the customer. They never responded. They might have bought as a “guest”, so they are probably not even aware I tried to contact them. I am not crazy about Etsy forums. I think etsy forums are not complicated, but convoluted, to be sure. I find that folks here are far more knowledgeable and experienced in answering questions related to re-selling.
I wound up just leaving it as is,. I have gotten quite a few more orders, and so far, no one is complaining. I’ll just ride the tide for now. For the future however, I’ve decided to create a “Pre-Orders Only” listing, showing items they can pre-order with the understanding that the delivery time is (fill in the black) weeks away. I am not able to create a listing with 2 different items having 2 different shipping dates for the same or like items on Etsy.
Thanks for your suggestions, Jay and Marianne!
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