Etsy

[Lady Day]

Has anyone ever had to cancel a sale? Ive been waiting nearly two weeks for payment to arrive for an order and they have yet to return my messages. I have little tolerance for that type of thing.

LD

 

[Lauren]

Wow! Two weeks? Sounds like you have more tolerance than me! lol
If you say within your shop policies that you expect payment within a certain amount of time and they haven't contacted you, I think you have every right to cancel the sale. Usually if I don't get payment within a day I sent a nice message saying to contact me if they need help checking out and what time frame to pay within. If nothing the next day I'll poke again. If still nothing the next day, I'll send them a note saying I'm canceling the sale the following morning and I do! My terms say two days (and in each listing I say to look at my policies before ordering), but I think three (or sometimes four or longer) should be plenty of leeway if you've had no communication. If someone contacts me directly and asks if they can make payment on such-and-such day I'm usually cool with it... it's the checking out and then NOTHING that's a pain in the butt. I've had it happen A LOT on Etsy. Maybe one every two weeks? I've found about 95% of the time if they don't contact me within the first day about payment or when to expect it I don't ever see it. And 75% of the time they're buyers with no feedback, so when I send the initial message I usually include by business email so they can contact me through there if they're having trouble maneuvering around the convos.
One thing that's wonky is tracking down your listing after you've reported it. I found the listing hidden in my billing info and I could relist it from there, but the last time I relisted when I reported and it saved a deal of heartache having to reinsert all that info again!
Sorry you have to cancel your sale

 

[Foofoogal]

One thing to think about thought that is probably not the case in your case.

The weather is horrible many places in USA and many have lost power.
Another thing with PayPal is many flat get confused with it. I will convo and ask if I need to send a request to them.
Over the years I have had many think they have already paid. Hold their hand as I also know to a newbie the net can be daunting.
It is a pain to get Etsy to give back the fee.

 

[Lauren]

This is totally true, too. Most of the time if they're new they're just confused which is why it's good to send multiple messages, and, like Foofoo said, offer to send a paypal invoice to their email. Some new buyers do pick that option for sure. But since you haven't heard a peep for two weeks I think they probably just flaked out.
I actually haven't had any trouble getting my fees back. Usually it takes at least a few days, though. [huh]

 

[pdxvintagette]

I cancel about the same number of sales as you, Lauren - one every two weeks or so. Communication is the key to everything on Etsy, and though frequent emails I HAVE salvaged a few, though.

If they don't pay within the first hour of their purchase, I send a very nice letter thanking them for the order, letting them know about my three-day payment terms and letting them know that they have but to ask if there is anything further I can do to assist them. Most of the time I get a reply and payment within another 24 hours.

If not, I send a second message, 48 hours after the order, reminding them that their payment is due the next day, and that I will have to cancel the order if it is not received. I almost always receive a response to this - either payment, or asking for more time. Sometimes, I get a lame excuse along with it.

If they give you a lame excuse they will not pay. Guaranteed. "Forgot my PayPal password" or "My son's friend threw a rock through the window" or "I thought I was putting it on hold" etc. are all translations for "I am not going to pay for this item."

Every once and while someone will write with a specific date by which they can make payment. If they have 100% positive feedback and the date isn't TOO far out, I will do what I can to accommodate them.

Etsy is a site that works largely on the honor system, and it is good to be at least a little flexible to recognize that. But I'd say that at the two-week point, a cancellation is entirely reasonable. After all, if they are without power for some reason, they can always repurchase and pay immediately at a later date.

 

[The Shirt]

I had a recent wonky etsy experience. I had sent my family my sign in and Favorites as a sort of Christmas list. I was tired of hoping for vintage and getting another mall gift certificate. So I thought this was brilliant. Problem was - instead of my sister getting her own sign in - she tried to purchase as me. She got frustrated and went offline when she couldn't figure out how to pay with her credit card. Then I was stuck with all these notices that my payment didn't go thru. It was fine in the end - I bought myself my presents. And the people on the other end were more than accomodating to our little family mess. It did take a few days to figure out though as I wasn't expecting any emails and all the sudden I had all these notices.

I wish it was a little easier for the gift buying public!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

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Unfortunately, Etsy's selection of vintage golden era menswear is very low.


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[Lady Day]

They were sending a money order. In my policies I give a max of 10 days. I sent a message at day 7 (which I tell is when I expect it) but got nothing. Today is the tenth day.

Thanks. I do plan to stay in line with my policies. If it were a PayPal payment, they have 24 hrs to pay or else! lol


LD

 

[pdxvintagette]

Marc, the men's vintage selection is growing! I saw the most beautiful light green 40's fedora there for $150. It was snatched up very quickly. Here are some great men's pieces I've found browsing Etsy:


A very nice Double Breasted Suit in Brown


Gray Fedora

A STUNNING Nude Painted Necktie

This last shop has a few very nice hats too - a Stetson panama, a boater and a fine top hat. This was the seller who had the green fedora that disappeared!

I'm a member of the vintage marketing team on Etsy, and I have been working very hard to encourage people to list their menswear items. I regularly see very nice suits and hats come and go - they never last long - and have thought a time or two that it would be nice to see an Etsy thread on one of the "men's" forums, where people who search Etsy could post their finds to make other loungers aware of them. Because of my business, though, it isn't something I feel appropriate trying to start.

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Unfortunately, Etsy's selection of vintage golden era menswear is very low.


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[anon`]

Marc, the men's vintage selection is growing! I saw the most beautiful light green 40's fedora there for $150. It was snatched up very quickly. Here are some great men's pieces I've found browsing Etsy:


A very nice Double Breasted Suit in Brown


Gray Fedora

A STUNNING Nude Painted Necktie

This last shop has a few very nice hats too - a Stetson panama, a boater and a fine top hat. This was the seller who had the green fedora that disappeared!

I'm a member of the vintage marketing team on Etsy, and I have been working very hard to encourage people to list their menswear items. I regularly see very nice suits and hats come and go - they never last long - and have thought a time or two that it would be nice to see an Etsy thread on one of the "men's" forums, where people who search Etsy could post their finds to make other loungers aware of them. Because of my business, though, it isn't something I feel appropriate trying to start.

Thanks, now there's really going to be a dearth of men's stuff on Etsy

 

[Miss 1929]

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Unfortunately, Etsy's selection of vintage golden era menswear is very low.


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That will change very soon.. watch this space...

 

[Miss 1929]

This whole thread really ought to be in a more guy-friendly place...why the Powder Room?

 

[Foofoogal]

I am also a member of the vmteam on Etsy and have several ties, bowties, cufflinks and more.
As well as on my other shops online.
How is that?

 

[Lady Day]

For those who have canceled a sale, do you leave feedback before, or just let it go?

Thanks all,
LD

 

[Lauren]

I only left negative feedback once. I dunno, I always end up feeling bad, though I know I probably shouldn't. But that person had other negative feedback, so I felt it only fair to alert the other sellers of a trend. You do have to leave feedback before you report a transaction if you're going to because the item will disappear from your sold list.

 

[pdxvintagette]

I usually do, yes. The last time I cancelled a sale (yesterday) I REALLY wanted to, but the buyer had several negatives and had reciprocated in kind to all of them. I didn't want to spoil my perfect feedback record, so I let the other sellers do the talking for me. Lame, but prudent. She, however, was of the excuse variety, not a non-respondent. I would leave the neg, then immediately cancel.

For those who have canceled a sale, do you leave feedback before, or just let it go?

Thanks all,
LD

 

[Lady Day]

I would leave the neg, then immediately cancel.

Thats what I did. This person ordered two things, so Im glad I realized I had to do a cancelation for each item, not the transaction.

Thanks for the help, all!

LD

 

[Neany73]

It seems there's more and more people complaining of non paying customers recently. It's quite discouraging in ways. Hopefully the new measures they're bringing in will make it happen less...

 

[pdxvintagette]

I think it will happen until they make a built-in check out system, that doesn't allow an item to be considered sold unless it has been paid for. Sellers who want to accept checks and money orders could still do so - those options would only appear at checkout for sellers who offer the option.

 

[pdxvintagette]

This whole thread really ought to be in a more guy-friendly place...why the Powder Room?

I like the business discussion on the powder room - unless there's some men on the lounge who sell on Etsy - but maybe a general admittance "Etsy Finds" thread would be nifty, where people could post cool things they've run across that aren't their size, or things they have bought and love. (Not for sellers to post their products in.)