Buyers showing as REPEAT when they are not.

[IncredibleinedibleSw]

Causing a lot of confusion and wasted marketing materials for us. 

[LeLightFantastique]

I don'tunderstand what you mean - repeat buyers are highlighted when they purchase something then come back and purchase again in the future.  What do you mean by wasted marketing materials.  You need to explain with more details.

[ReImagineBrewing]

I had this happen too last week. The customer bought two things at once and it indicated they were "starred" "repeat buyers".

I always check past orders when this happens to see if anything "special" was done for the customer that they might have forgotten to request this time. This is the difference many "true handmade" Etsy Businesses can/do do. I searched by their name, address, part of their name/address, past personalization, etc. Nothing came up at all. To get the star they'd have to claim their guest purchase too if they were a guest in the past. NADA. 

I'm pretty sure it is a bug.

[QuiltStencilsAndMore]

If a buyer buys multiple items, they also show as a repeat buyer.

[Adorabilities]

Not for multiple items in the same order. This happens if they place more than one separate order in a row. 

[IncredibleinedibleSw]

What you said is true. The buyer bought 2 of the same item in my order. But no sales history to speak of. This is a programming error on Etsy’s end and needs to be fixed. 

[ReImagineBrewing]

It isn't supposed to, but I think this is part of the bug.

[Adorabilities]

I have had this happen recently too. The customer is starred as a return customer, but has no sales history with my shop. I'm not sure what you mean about wasted materials, though. 

[IncredibleinedibleSw]

I mean that I have different marketing materials for return customers and new customers. I write their names on them so when the system says “REPEAT BUYER” and they are actually not, it makes me waste valuable resources.

[BagmakerSupply]

We have never had the 'repeat buyer' applied to a new customer (except when they placed multiple orders before we processed the first one) but quite often we have repeat customers that are not marked as such because they have ordered using a different account or as a guest. Basically we do not rely on Etsy to manage our business but keep our own records.

[FogliaViola]

This happened to me too.
The customer seems to be returning (1 star) instead it is his first purchase.

I also use different material for return customers, luckily I always check out first ..for curiosity! XD

[tassellove]

This has happened to me a few times. I search and search for their other order(s) but they are nowhere to be found in my "completed" section.  It's important for me to know if they're ordering a duplicate of their original order so I can get the colors exact.  It's weird, and I haven't been able to figure it out.

[cutebutton]

If the buyer is showing as a repeat buyer you can click on the little down arrow by their name on the most recent purchase and if they are actually a repeat buyer the purchases will show under order history.  That doesn't take much effort to do and there wouldn't be a need to really search other than that.  You would know if they are actually a repeat buyer or if it is a glitch of some sort if it's not actually showing any more orders.

[fabricfetish]

Just got my 1st one.  I hope this get fixed quickly as it is super confusing.

[fabricfetish]

I just reported this to Etsy via chat so hopefully it will be taken care of shortly.

[ReImagineBrewing]

I posted about this last week. Nada...

[SeasideRoseCreations]

I had one last week.  Very strange.  

So, to Etsy, buying more than one item in one order is "repeat".

Alrighty.

[Adorabilities]

It can't be that, or half of my buyers would be shown as returning customers, and they're not. It's got to be prompted by something only Etsy can explain. (And they probably can't.)

[cutebutton]

@SeasideRoseCreations 

I have tons of people recently who have never purchased from me but bought more than 1 item in the same transaction and none of those are showing as repeat.

I wonder if it is some sort of glitch that only some people are seeing?  Also so far all the ones showing as repeat customers are actually repeat customers. 

weird.  Surely it's not a bizarre etsy test?  Not sure why they would want to change it but they do make weird changes.

[fabricfetish]

@SeasideRoseCreations  it is not this.  It seams to be random customers who make a purchase that are showing up with the repeat buyer badge but are new buyers.  It has nothing to do if they purchased single or multiple items.

[SeasideRoseCreations]

Well, whatever the reason (intended or glitch), it was my experience.

A new buyer (not repeat) purchased 3 things in one order (3 separate listings) and showed as repeat.

@fabricfetish 

[TickleYourWitch]

Yes I’ve had this happen several times too. I’ve had to redo my thank you card as I say “thanks for the repeat business” but then think Hmm I don’t remember this person…only to find that’s because they’re NOT repeat customers.

[TheMonogrammedPrep]

I've had the same thing happen multiple times.  I started a chat with an Etsy representative to ask about it, and they did not understand why it was happening either. Must be a glitch 

[DisneyPinTraders]

Well it is now January 2025 and it has yet to be fixed.