Processing Profiles on Etsy Explained
How to Set Up Etsy Processing Profiles (The Correct Way for Poster Sellers)
If you're selling posters or using a print-on-demand workflow, your Etsy processing time is one of the most important settings in your entire shop. It affects:
- How trustworthy your shop appears
- How quickly customers expect their order
- Whether Etsy penalises you for late dispatch
- How high you rank in search
- Customer satisfaction and reviews
Thankfully, you don’t need to edit processing times on every listing individually — Etsy lets you create Processing Profiles, which make everything simple and consistent.
This guide shows you the correct way to set them up, including the most common mistake new sellers make:
👉 forgetting to disable weekends, which makes Etsy count Saturday and Sunday as working days.
Let’s walk through everything.
📦 What Are Etsy Processing Profiles?
Processing Profiles are saved settings where you tell Etsy:
- How long you need before dispatching an order
- Which days of the week your shop works
- What timeframe customers should see on your listings
Once set, you can apply the same profile to all your listings with one click.
It keeps your entire shop consistent and prevents accidental late-dispatch warnings.
⏱ Recommended Processing Time (VERY Important)
You have two realistic options as a poster POD seller.
⭐ Option 1: 1-Day Processing Time
(Only choose this if you log in EVERY day)
This gives customers the fastest possible delivery expectation, and Etsy loves fast dispatch.
But…
⚠️ Warning: A 1-day processing time leaves zero breathing room.
You MUST log into Etsy every single day you receive orders in order to keep this accurate.
If you forget, Etsy will mark orders late — and that damages your shop score.
Choose this only if:
- You check Etsy daily
- You have notifications on
- You react quickly to dispatch changes
⭐ Option 2: 1–2 Day Processing Time
(The safer, recommended setting)
This is the ideal balance for most sellers.
Benefits:
- ✔ Still looks fast and attractive to customers
- ✔ Etsy still favours fast shops
- ✔ Gives you breathing room if PrintShrimp dispatches next-day or on day 2
- ✔ Protects you from late-dispatch penalties
For 95% of shops, 1–2 business days is the best setting.
🚨 The Most Important Part: Turn Weekends OFF
This is the step almost every beginner gets wrong.
Etsy DOES count weekends as working days unless you disable them manually.
This means:
If you leave Saturday and Sunday turned on, Etsy assumes you are working and dispatching on weekends — even though print partners don’t operate then.
This can cause your processing timer to run incorrectly, leading to:
- ❌ Late-dispatch penalties
- ❌ Lower search rankings
- ❌ Customer confusion
- ❌ “Where is my order?” messages
✔ How to Set Up Your Processing Profile Correctly
Inside your Etsy shop:
- Go to Shop Manager
- Click Settings
- Choose Shipping settings
- Find Processing Profiles
- Create a new profile
- Set the processing time (1 day OR 1–2 days)
- Scroll down to “Business Days”
- TURN OFF Saturday and Sunday
- Save
This ensures Etsy only counts:
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
NOT the weekend.
By doing this, your processing timer becomes realistic, accurate, and safe.
📅 How Etsy Counts Business Days (With Weekends Turned Off)
Let’s say your processing time is 1–2 business days:
- Order on Friday
- Saturday: not counted
- Sunday: not counted
- Monday: day 1
- Tuesday: day 2
This gives PrintShrimp the correct breathing room to fulfil your order without Etsy marking it late.
🔥 Quick Summary: Best Settings for Etsy POD Sellers
- ✔ Best processing time for most sellers: 1–2 business days
- ✔ Best fast option if you log in every day: 1 business day
- ✔ Absolutely essential: Turn weekends OFF
- ✔ Use Processing Profiles: keeps everything consistent
🚀 Want More Etsy Help?
PrintShrimp fulfils posters domestically in the UK, EU, US, Canada, and Australia — fast and tracked.
And our free Skool community teaches you everything you need to know about selling posters on Etsy, including:
- SEO
- Listings
- Mockups
- Scaling
- Processing times
- Customer service