Tracked envelopes for Etsy orders

How do I download Etsy orders as a CSV?

Etsy's help gives the path: go to Shop Manager, select Settings, then Options, open the Download Data tab and go to Orders. Use the menus to pick the CSV type, the month and the year, and download. PigeonTrail reads both the Orders file, with one row per order, and the Order Items file, with one row per item.

How do I bring Etsy orders into PigeonTrail?

Drop the file on the Orders page in PigeonTrail, as it came from Etsy. PigeonTrail recognizes the file by its column names, so you don't rename or delete anything first, and when an order has one row per item, the rows are folded back into one order. Each address is checked against USPS data before anything prints, and an address USPS can't match is flagged so you can fix it with the buyer. PigeonTrail mails only to addresses in the United States.

When the file carries each order's value, orders of $50 or more go to a separate Packages list instead of your letters, with a file you upload to Pirate Ship to buy Ground Advantage labels. You can change that $50 line in Settings, or turn it off.

How do I print tracked envelopes?

Pick the orders, choose what to print on and print from your own printer. PigeonTrail prints #10, #9, #6 3/4, A7 and 6 x 9 envelopes, Avery 5163 address sheets, 4 x 2 and 4 x 6 thermal labels, and a window slip that folds into a #10 window envelope. Each one carries the buyer's address and a USPS Intelligent Mail barcode in the places USPS's machines read them, with your return address and, if you like, your logo. You add a Forever stamp, which is $0.82 for a 1 ounce letter, and drop the letters in the mail.

The barcode only gets scanned when the letter goes through USPS's sorting machines, so keep it flat and flexible. Our letter checker tells you whether a mailer counts as a letter, whether it is machinable and how many stamps it needs.

What does my buyer see?

Every letter gets a tracking page with your shop's logo and colors, a map of the route so far and the day USPS expects it to arrive. Etsy's order files don't include the buyer's email address, so PigeonTrail doesn't email Etsy buyers. Each letter's page in PigeonTrail has a message with the tracking link ready to paste into an Etsy message. If you're on Pro, the emails come from your shop's name, and your buyer hears from you when the letter is mailed, when it's almost there and when USPS marks it delivered.

A letter's scans come from USPS's sorting plants, and its delivered event is USPS's estimate from the carrier's route rather than a scan at the mailbox. Our guide to what each USPS scan means explains what your buyer will see.

Does Etsy count a PigeonTrail letter as tracked?

No. Etsy's help says adding tracking is required for US sellers to complete an order, and for exceptions it shows an option below the tracking number field to say "This order doesn't have tracking" with a short explanation, which is the one to use for a PigeonTrail letter. PigeonTrail's barcodes carry our own USPS Mailer ID, and USPS reports a barcode's scans only to the owner of that Mailer ID and the companies it chooses to share them with. Etsy can't check our number, so don't enter it as a carrier tracking number.

That choice has two costs. Etsy's Purchase Protection for sellers covers orders up to $250 only when valid tracking was provided or the order went out with a shipping label bought on Etsy, and Etsy says orders for physical items need valid tracking to count toward Star Seller. Etsy sells its own option for letters: its help says Etsy "partners with Pitney Bowes" to offer First Class letters and flats with tracking included. If Purchase Protection or Star Seller matters for an order, buy that label on Etsy. PigeonTrail fits the orders where you want the scans and a tracking page more than Etsy's protection.