Etsy will soon be taking customer purchase protection more seriously than ever before.
The popular online shopping site recently announced it is launching its Purchase Protection Program to help users receive refunds for faulty or incomplete purchases made on its platform.
Etsy's new program will come into effect by August 1.
Etsy Purchase Protection Program Details
Etsy's Purchase Protection Program allows customers of the website to receive a full refund of an item they bought on its platform if it either doesn't match the item description, arrived damaged, or outright never arrived on part of the deliverer.
According to the Etsy help Center, Etsy doesn not hold sellers responsible for missing packages.
To cover the refund requests that would arrive, Etsy plans to invest at least $25 million annually into the program on behalf of sellers for qualifying orders up to $250, including shipping and taxes, per the website's updated seller handbook, according to The Verge's report.
This measure will enable sellers to keep their earnings from sales when things happen outside of their control. However, only the first instance of damage in a calendar year is covered.
To be eligible for purchase protection, sellers must ship purchases with tracking information and/or use a shipping label purchased on Etsy. They will also need to have an estimated delivery date, and that the listing details must be accurate.
In addition to the purchase protection program, the company will invest in product and customer service improvements to make the process of resolving issues from a faulty or incomplete order as seamless and efficient as possible for both customers and sellers.
Etsy's launch of the Purchase Protection program follows the strike of more than 14,000 Etsy sellers due to the platform's announcement that it is increasing its transaction fees from 5% to 6.5%, according to Tech Crunch.
The strike was also the result of the company's advertising policy that made it mandatory for sellers making more than $10,000 annually to allow Etsy to advertise their products on ad-friendly sites like Facebook and Pinterest while taking at least 12% of every sale it refers.
Etsy's Comment on Purchase Protection Program
Raina Moskowitz, Etsy's Chief Operating Officer, mentioned that easy issue resolution is a "critical part" of the e-commerce shopping experience, and its new purchase protection program will make said experience on Etsy "even more worry free."
"This program will help buyers feel more confident when they shop from small business on Etsy, while we invest directly in our sellers to provide them an important layer of assurance," Moskowitz said.
She also added that the program is part of the company's efforts to "inspire trust and confidence in the Etsy brand." The company explained that the program complemented Etsy's efforts to improve customer support to increase "trust signals" in users' experience, and maintain the integrity of its marketplace as a "destination for unique and special items."
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