With 2 weeks to go before Christmas, Etsy sent a marketing email to buyers to drum up last-minute holiday sales this weekend. “Calling all last-minute gifters!” it wrote in the subject line of the email.
The message emphasized three elements of shopping on Etsy to appeal to gift givers: buying from small shops; the availability of “meaningful” gifts; and the ability to get the items in time for gift-giving.
The text read: “There’s still time to deck those halls! Discover delightful holiday decor, straight from independent sellers. Need something heartfelt in a hurry? These small shops have ready-to-ship presents that can arrive in time to make the season bright.* Whoever said last-minute gifts can’t be meaningful has obviously never met an Etsy seller.” And it ended with a hyperlinked call to action: “Finish that shopping!”
Underneath, Etsy included a prominent note that many sellers are bound to appreciate in which it attempted to manage buyer expectations around delivery time, writing the following:
“The estimated delivery date at time of purchase is based on your purchase date, the recipient’s location, the seller’s processing time and location, and the shipping carrier. Other factors—like placing an order on a weekend or a holiday, or weather—may end up pushing the arrival of your item beyond the estimated delivery date.”
The fact the message included mentions of weekends and weather as possible causes for delays may feel like a win for sellers who have a lot at stake if buyers don’t get their holiday orders in time – see Saturday’s AuctionBytes Blog post, “Playing Chicken with Holiday Ship-by Dates.”
In the beginning of the stupid buyer’s cry over delivery,
it should have been met with stone cold silence.
Shuts ’em up every time.