Can’t send message to buyers

[Bigbitemockups]

I can’t send message to buyers and keep on getting the same error no matter if I use the Etsy app or my computer or any other device is like my message options are suspended. I haven’t spam or anything like that. I keep on getting this error 

Could not send message

If this keeps happening, contact Etsy Support.

I have contact Etsy support on many occasions about this issue from the beginning of the month and I haven’t got an answer. Can any one help me plz.

[NanaLetha]

Send buyer an email instead 

[BagmakerSupply]

@Bigbitemockups: If your messaging has been muted (suspended) you should be seeing a message to that effect. Are you having this problem when replying to all messages or just some?

[Bigbitemockups]

i keep on getting this massages but i havent spam or do anything i just have response to people that have message me or buyers. i have contact etsy support already many times but no luck.

Bummer, your messages have been temporarily disabled. Please contact support to have them reactivated. Also, see the FAQ and Community Guidelines for more info about Messages.

[audreytherese]

For actual buyers you will have their email in the order and you can contact them directly. 

Everyone else you're just going to have to wait. 

You don't have many sales, so if you are getting that many messages from potential buyers then it's likely that you don't have enough pertinent  information in your listings. I recommend fixing whatever may be lacking (what are people asking about) while you wait for your ban to be lifted. 

[VintageRescueSquad]

If they have been disabled, you just need to wait it out. From what I understand, it takes 1-2 weeks.

[SVGRox]

Nope Etsy need to fix this and communications outside Etsy are a risk and open to scams as per various posts in the forums. There should be a call back option under Etsy help or find a topic where you can send an email and explain why. Final option would be to write to the head offices in dublin or new york

[DigitalElsterClipart]

In the recent days a lot of sellers have got their messaging blocked. I am among them. I sent NO unsolicted messages, NO spam and nothing uncompliant. I sent ThankYou messages to my customers.

I blame the new ETSY Messaging experiment that spammed my buyers with the same message but the ETSY algorithm that fights spam has not been adjusted to check this and now the antispam algorythm is blocking everything.

I raised 4 (FOUR) tickets with ETSY Support, 3 (THREE) of them were auto-closed after two days without any communications to me. The last one I keep opened by posting updates daily.

ETSY does not wait on taking their fees from my sales, but I need to wait for 5 or more days so they will fix the issue they appear to have generated out of nothing.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

Do not send thank you messages to customers, through the convo system.

when you mark as complete, you can put a  message in the confirmation e-mail on dispatch

or have one set up to go in the confirmation message on purchase.

There is no need to convo them, especially as you are just sending out the same message to them all, that's spamming.

There is no need, just don't do it, it annoys me, and I have always marked them as spam, which they are.

[audreytherese]

Actually, if you read the handbook, they recommend sending thank you messages after an order is placed and Etsy does not consider it spamming.

It may annoy you, and you may mark it as spam, but it is not against the rules and is in fact encouraged to do. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

The thank you message can be in the e-mail on purchase, or on the dispatch notification, it doesn't have to be a convo.

and you can tell they are cut-and-paste spam, as there is nothing personal in the message at all.

[audreytherese]

Still, according to the handbook, that is allowed and not spamming the customer. 

Adding a note to be automatically sent on the order receipt or dispatch notifications isn't personal either. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

The one I send on purchase, isn't personalised, it has my right to withdraw form. So it's part of the contract between me and the customer.

The one I send when I mark as complete, is personalised, and is on the dispatch note, so not a separate e-mail.

The few messages I have had, after purchase, through messages, have been cut-and-paste, and I have always marked them as spam, as that's what they are. They could easily have been put in either of the above, they didn't even mention what I had bought!
And they annoyingly come as another e-mail message too.

[audreytherese]

Doesn't matter how annoying they are or if they're not personalized. Etsy only says to thank them for their order, they do not say it needs to thank them specifically for what they ordered. 

As long as they are relating to the sale, like saying 'thanks for your purchase', Etsy does not deem them as spam. 

You can mark them as spam all you want.

But they are still not against the rules and messages like that are still encouraged by Etsy to send and not considered spam in their eyes.

There might not be a need to convo them, but again, Etsy recommends it in the handbook that everyone likes to point out to new sellers to read. 

https://www.etsy.com/seller-handbook/article/26590492608

They do say later on not to communicate too often, as that can be a nuisance, but that is at everyone's discretion. 

[BagmakerSupply]

A transactional message is by definition NOT spam.

[howtobooksandmore]

Various Etsy employees recommend sellers do things that the Etsy employees who make the rules and write the bots consider against the terms of use.  I once saw a member of the marketing team recommend sellers include a bag of coffee when they sold coffee mugs (which is not etsy legal unless they roast or grind the beans themselves) and include items they buy in a gift basket, both of which are not legal.  Just because you found something that said you should send a thank you message doesn't mean its a good idea as sellers are finding out when their messaging privileges get suspended.

[audreytherese]

I never said it was a good idea. 

I honestly think it's one of their worst ideas to put in writing in their handbook. 

I only found it when I was trying to find proof that sending exactly those types of messages was considered spam. 

But, there's a difference between saying something is a bad idea and something is against the rules. Or saying that Etsy considers something as spam when they in fact don't. 

Now their bots deactivating messages because of sending messages like this is a whole different story, as there's all sorts of issues with the bots.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

sending the same thing over and over, is spam.

[audreytherese]

And today my shirt is colored the absence of color. 

[DigitalElsterClipart]

Once again. ETSY is sending messages AUTOMATICALLY in their new experiment with messaging system. Check your Sent folder - you will see those messages there. I am writing manually only to my customers and only after they placed the order.

The point is ETSY Support team is ignoring the messages and tickets, and just closes them automatically after two days in order not to have a lot of overrun tickets so not to (probably) spoil the Ticket Resolution KPIs.

[DigitalElsterClipart]

I was sending personalized messages and, once again, I am here talking more about ETSY sending messages through messaging system - those were not personalized and cloned. And ETSY send them AUTOMATICALLY to my buyers when testing their new Messaging system.  I have asked ETSY to explain what is going on, BUT still no answer and my tickets are closed after two days if I do not update them. 

I was sending previously similar messages for months, my messages are personalized and sent only to my buyers.

I think the only way to get out of this is to completely disable the "Thank You" offers in the shop.

[irmaKdesigns]

Etsy did recommend sending Thank you messages, but that was a good idea before Star Seller came along. Many buyers are also sellers and have to respond to that Thank you message. Instead, they might be sending those messages to spam, which might trigger the sender's messaging privileges being revoked.

I think Etsy is trying to deal with increasing scam messaging, so anything repetitive is seen as spam. 

@Bigbitemockups @DigitalElsterClipart were your messages repetitive, snippet copy/pase type? It would be helpful for us all to know so we could avoid that. Thanks!

[michellepatterns]

Many years ago etsy pointed out that sending the same message repeatedly was one of the ways they determine whether to mute someone, so I agree that it's an important point.  

[TouchingGhosts]

I have had the same problem! Buyers ask questions about my product and I can’t answer or I can’t send Thank yous or Discount Codes! I go to Support Chat and they’ve promised me that my problem has been escalated and their DEDICATED SUPPORT STAFF will email me but it’s been over a month and I could be losing business at this point! There is NO CUSTOMER SERVICE ON ETSY!!

[PlatypusDream]

@TouchingGhosts 

"I can’t send Thank yous or Discount Codes! "

You aren't supposed to send unsolicited messages or promotional offers.

Have you read the rules?

https://www.etsy.com/legal/sellers/

"i. Messages

With Etsy's "Messages", you have the ability to communicate directly with your buyers or other Etsy members. Messages are a great way for buyers to ask you questions about an item or an order.

Messages may not be used for the following activities:

1. Sending unsolicited advertising or promotions, requests for donations or spam;
2. Harassing or abusing another member or violating our Anti-Discrimination Policy;
3. Contacting someone after they have explicitly asked you not to;  
4. Interfering with a transaction or the business of another member;
5. Exchanging personal contact, financial or other information for the purposes of evading the checkout process on Etsy, including phone number, address, email, social media handles, external URLs, instructions for money transfer, etc."

BE PREPARED to wait for up to 2 months to have your messages reinstated if you have broken the rules.