Notes on shipping
After thousands of orders and happy customers, and years of selling on Etsy, most of the interactions I have with customers are about shipping issues.
Here are some of the most common questions I get:
1. My tracking number doesn't work. Why?
The vast majority of shipments from Colossal Sanders will be USPS first-class letters or flats though the tracking number provided with your order is NOT a USPS tracking number and won't work with a USPS tracker. While shipping through USPS, Etsy uses Pitney Bowes for tracking, but that tracking is often inaccurate, unhelpful, or flat out wrong.
2. My order says it is still in "pre-transit." Why? And why haven't you sent it?
You might see your shipment stuck in "pre-transit" with a date and time the label was created. That means I have created the shipping label for your order. From the bottom of my heart, I swear to you this also means I have dropped it with USPS that day. Sometimes the tracking will update along the way, but sometimes the shipment may stay in "pre-transit" up until the actual day it's delivered.
3. What is the best way to track my order then?
The tracking on your Etsy order page, however faulty, is the best hope for knowing where it might be in the shipping process, though it may likely be of no help. Example: Sometimes the Etsy tracking will say "Delivered" and you will not find your shipment in your mail nor your neighbor's mail. The best I can guess is that this is referring to being delivered to its final processing center before being put out for delivery to you.
I swear I'm not making this up.
4. I think my order is lost in the mail. Can you send another? Can I have a refund?
Etsy has a Purchase Protection program that refunds/replaces orders that are lost or significantly delayed in the mail without penalizing the seller. Thanks Etsy! Here is more information on how the program works and how to get the process started:
https://www.etsy.com/etsy-purchase-protection
5. Etsy said my order should have been delivered by now. Why hasn't it?
Please know, Etsy's estimated shipping times are, in general, extremely optimistic. Or maybe the USPS is running slow? Often I hear from customers saying their orders took 2-3 weeks to arrive. Ultimately, when I hand your order to the friendly USPS employee, where it goes from there and at what speed is one of life's great mysteries.
6. Why don't you just use regular USPS tracking numbers that actually work?
To do so would increase shipping costs by at least $4. And when the vast majority of Colossal Sanders orders cost less than $10, shipping costs would be almost as much as the order itself. However, there are other delivery options if you would like USPS tracking or expedited delivery, like USPS Ground Advantage or Priority mail for an added cost.
