How to fulfill Etsy orders with AliExpress, step by step

01The steps

1. Wait for the payment to clear. Etsy says an order that is still processing cannot be refunded or canceled yet, and that most orders paid through Etsy Payments finish processing within 24 to 72 hours.
2. Check the margin. Compare the Etsy price with the supplier price and the Etsy fees before you order.
3. Order from the supplier. Use the customer’s shipping address exactly as Etsy shows it, and pick the same variation, size and color the customer chose.
4. Pay the supplier. This is your money, and your decision.
5. Copy the tracking number and the carrier when the supplier ships.
6. Add them to the Etsy order. Set the ship date to the day the parcel is really handed to the carrier.
7. Answer the customer’s messages until the parcel arrives.

02Why the ship date matters

Etsy says that setting a ship date before the package is really on its way gives the buyer a wrong expectation, can make the order arrive after its estimated delivery date, and can hurt your on-time delivery rate for Star Seller and the order’s eligibility for Etsy’s Purchase Protection. Etsy’s tips for avoiding a payment reserve include not marking items as shipped before the carrier has them.

03Where the time goes

Every sale means switching between Etsy, the supplier and your messages, copying an address and a tracking number. With a few sales a day it is manageable. With dozens, and several shops, it is where mistakes happen: a wrong address, a tracking number on the wrong order, a customer who waited.

What Sereane takes over

Sereane prepares the supplier order from the Etsy sale, with the customer’s address. The order is created without being paid, and you validate it, so a prepared order is not an order that has been placed. When the supplier ships, Sereane sends the tracking number and carrier to the right Etsy sale. You keep the payment and the decisions.