Etsy's delivery estimate system is broken, and it’s hurting both customers and small business owners. As a seller, I’ve seen firsthand how Etsy’s inaccurate delivery estimates cause frustration. Despite clearly stating my production time (2-7 days) and shipping policies, customers are told to expect their orders to be DELIVERED in as little as 2 days. When those unrealistic expectations aren’t met, sellers like me face angry customers, canceled orders, or unfair 1-star reviews.

This isn’t just my experience—MANY Etsy sellers are affected. Etsy’s algorithm bases delivery estimates on shop history, not the seller’s actual settings. My approach of under-promising and over-delivering has backfired because Etsy’s algorithm turns my over-delivery into the new standard which can't always be met. To set realistic expectations, I’d have to delay shipping items until the last possible moment—a practice that goes against how I want to run my shop. This flawed system leaves customers disappointed when items, like a memorial banner for a loved one’s wedding, don’t arrive on time. Meanwhile, sellers work tirelessly to fulfill orders, only to face negative reviews and financial strain.

If Etsy doesn’t fix this issue, customers will lose trust in the platform, turning to alternatives like Amazon. Sellers, exhausted from managing impossible expectations, are already quitting. Etsy must align delivery estimates with seller-provided production and shipping timelines to ensure fairness and trust.

Sign this petition to demand Etsy fix its delivery estimate system—for the sake of customers, sellers, and the future of the platform!

EDIT: Since creating this petition I have received a responses from shop owners struggling with the same issue. Here are a few:

"I found an article that backs this up. They vaguely just sneak this in. I’m fuming. I’ve done the surveys over and over stating that I don’t want Etsy to calculate my times and here we are. 'In some instances, in addition to information you already provide—like processing times and shipping services—we’ll use your shipping history, along with carrier information like latest transit times, to calculate estimated delivery dates.' Processing times as of July 2024"

"I signed the petition! I’ve been selling on Etsy for a while and am a large seller. After this season — I am moving to my own website and away from Etsy. The amount of angry customers I’ve experienced this season has driven me to this decision. I’ve had people call me a scam, say that I’ve ruined Christmas, and customers saying they are reporting my shop. Also the amount of people that have said their order never arrived/they want a replacement is so questionable. I get 0 of these all year and then bam at Christmas it’s like every other day. I’ve had customers submit cases and leave 1 star reviews. Some cases have closed out of my funds and Etsy will not remove the 1 star reviews. It’s been AWFUL! Edited to say: All anger is stemmed from 1 thing — the delivery 'promise' set by Etsy."

"Thank you for this. I have a 1-2 day processing. I had someone order from me last Saturday night like 11:45pm my time and it was going to California which is all the way across the country from me and when I went to look at the shipping it says may arrive late customer expects it by Tuesday and Monday is the earliest they could get it and I'm like how would this get to them by Monday if I'm not even seeing this order until Sunday morning when the post office is closed and cant ship it to Monday…."

"Thank you for this. I feel like I'm losing my mind. Went to ship orders yesterday, with two days to spare for the ship-by date, and I get the 'The buyer expects this to be delivered between the 14th and the 18th' message, and I'm like, OKAY well who the f*** is giving them that false impression, ETSY??? So stupid and unnecessary!"

"I have spent HOURS messaging people back, trying to figure out where their order is since the last USPS scan was 3 days ago blah blah blah, so much time I could have been spending on orders I've been spending on messaging and usually no one's happy in the end anyways."

"I noticed it a while ago too, some people did take notice and wanted money back most understand, I'm not sure what or if etsy knows what it's doing. If it can't make it it pisses of buyers why not be honest and if it is faster they are happier for it."