How Long Does Etsy Take to Ship in 2024

Etsy is a fascinating platform for handcrafted goods with over 8 million merchants. But customers keep asking how long Etsy takes to ship their orders. Indeed, Etsy’s delivery time could be affected by a bunch of factors and thus confusing. So, the goal here is to provide a clear explanation of Etsy’s delivery time and solve all your questions.

Why Etsy shipping takes a long time

In fact, Etsy’s shipping time is mainly determined by two factors: processing time and shipping time. So, why does Etsy shipping take a long time? The answer is that Etsy doesn’t have any control over the shipping time at all. The processing time depends on how quickly the seller could finish the order, while the shipping time relies on the shipping services such as UPS, FedEx, or USPS.

As a result, it is hard to know how long it will take for an order to finally arrive. First of all, we are not sure about the shipping time. It depends on which service the seller chooses. What’s more, as Etsy is a handmade marketplace, some sellers only start their production after an order is made, so the production time also varies. Some can be finished within one day, while some take days, weeks, or months. Different sellers have different policies and schedules.

How long does Etsy take to ship

As we have mentioned above, Etsy’s shipping time relies on processing time and shipping time. We will explain the two terms in the following section. But another question is that even if we understand the complexity of Etsy shipping time, we still have no clue about how long we can get our orders. We will also talk about the estimated delivery time provided by the Etsy platform to solve this problem.

Processing time

Processing time is the time it actually takes to create or produce the item after an order is made. This is not surprising as Etsy is a handmade marketplace. Compared with sellers on other platforms, some Etsy sellers don’t store their products in stock. Most Etsy sellers keep a large half-done inventory but additional manufacturing work is required to finish the production.

But don’t be disappointed. If there is no special customization, the processing time for most items is likely to be within 1-3 days. However, if the item you ordered requires customization, for example, special construction or unique features, the additional time the seller needs to complete the order could be longer.

Therefore, you should be aware that your purchase is not guaranteed to arrive before the expected processing time. You have to consider the processing time in Etsy’s delivery time. And if you are not sure about how long it will take, you can go ask the vendor.

If you need some products as soon as possible, you should check the delivery time first. Some people get frustrated when they want a customized product but are not satisfied with the fact that it takes six weeks to finish. Another solution is to require faster delivery, but the expense will also increase.

Shipping time

Shipping time is the estimated delivery time after the products are completed and packed. It is independent of the processing time that the sellers are responsible for. It is determined by the selected shipping service and its delivery speed. Etsy sellers have no control over the shipping time of their products. They have less information than customers about the location of the package or when the package will arrive.

The problem is that during the transportation, some packages will not be correctly scanned and sometimes the delivery information could be mistaken. And any delay could happen due to local variations, especially when it comes to international delivery.

Generally, it takes 2-3 business days for domestic delivery and up to 30 business days for international shipments.  There are also some shipping options that could reduce the shipping time such as Next-Day delivery. If you want to get your order faster, you can choose a faster shipping service like this. But pay attention to the increased expense before you make your decision.

Estimated delivery time

The good thing is that Etsy does provide an estimated delivery time so that customers can have an idea of how long they will get their items.

The estimated delivery time is actually very simple.

Estimated delivery time = processing time + shipping time + 1 day.

For example, if it takes 4-5 days to create your order and 2-4 days for delivery, then the estimated delivery time is 7-10 days from today.

If your order arrives faster than expected, the estimated delivery date will also be updated.

However, not all sellers provide this estimated delivery time. If this is not available, you could ask the seller directly about their processing time and the average shipping time based on the shipping service. In this way, you can also know the estimated delivery time.

But you should keep in mind that the estimated delivery time is only an approximation. There is always unpredictable delay that is caused by local postal variation, especially when it comes to international orders.

Helpful tips

1. How to track your package

If you are worried about the delivery of your package, there is one way to track your package. You can go to the website of the shipping company and sign up for tracking updates. In this way, you can get the most up-to-date information about your package delivery. But you should also know that not all packages are tracked automatically and you may have to pay extra for tracking in some countries.

This is available for most shipping services. All you need to do is to register. If you are not sure, go ask the seller and check if you can be added to the mailing list.

2. How to see the estimated delivery time on Etsy

• Go to Etsy.com and click the Your Etsy Account icon.
• Select Purchases and Reviews where you can see the orders you made.
• The estimated delivery time will be to the right of your purchase if it is available.

Conclusion

So, how long does Etsy take to ship? There is no exact answer. All we know is the estimated time provided by the sellers and shipping services. We need to consider both the processing time and the shipping time to get an estimated delivery time. In most cases, it won’t be too long. But if you order customized items from international sellers, the best you could do is to be patient because it could take over months to produce and weeks to ship.