Etsy wants to bring you goodies in a snap
For handicrafts in a hurry, Etsy will soon offer its customers same- and next-day delivery service. The online retailer of handmade crafts has partnered with startup delivery service Postmates to test super-fast delivery in Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn and Queens, beginning this fall. The quick delivery will cost customers $20.
Apparently customers need their hand knit sweaters and vintage tchotchkes as quickly as they can get their hands on them. According to Calia Talmor, senior manager for shipping for Etsy, they “hear from sellers that they get constant requests from buyers for getting stuff really fast. They feel they are in a bind and actually it’s technologically impossible.” The collaboration with Postmates gives merchants “a way to do it really easily on Etsy.”
To help customers get what they’re after all the faster, Etsy is also offering a new feature on their app that shows when and where sellers are hawking their wares live in person at local craft fairs, art shows, or boutiques. That way, impatient craft addicts can get their fix without having to languish by the mailbox, waiting for the postman.
How sellers can track and gauge
Sellers can enable the service for individual items, or for their entire catalogue, and can designate times during which they are available to hand packages off to Postmates couriers, who are stationed throughout the metropolitan area of New York. Sellers can also track the delivery to be sure it arrives promptly.
Because sellers handle their own shipping and Etsy does not hold any of the merchandise, it has been a challenge for the company to figure out how to get products to customers faster. It will be especially important for Etsy to troubleshoot this problem, as Amazon is primed to become a major competitor in the handmade goods market.
The ecommerce giant plans to launch Handmade on Amazon, and obvious Etsy knock-off. And what’s more, Amazon offers two-day shipping for its Prime members. Etsy’s collaboration with Postmates is one way that they are offering faster delivery in hopes of staying strong in the competition against Amazon.
