Customer messages no longer in my email inbox

[PowellShirts]

In the last week or two, I'm getting notifications in my email inbox that I have a "message on Etsy," but I can no longer read that message without leaving my email inbox and going to Etsy.  This is pretty annoying (it was nice to quickly get an overview of the email before going to Etsy to answer it, and also, I sometimes need to search my emails in my inbox to find informaiton).  Is there any setting I can change to allow me to continue to see my message in my email inbox?

[funkydreamsmosaics]

No, from what we can tell, it is intentional on Etsy's part to help prevent scams by making you log into Etsy to see your messages.  There's another thread here:

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Managing-Your-Shop/Previews-of-conversations-in-email-notifications-no...

[PowellShirts]

Thanks for that link - still not happy with this decision.  I get very little spam/scam emails through Etsy.    I need my customer messages in email so I can refer back to them.  

[windfalcon]

The problem with this is we're not getting an email each time someone sends us a message - it's every few days informing us "you have unread messages" which doesn't help. I want to be informed IMMEDIATELY when someone messages me so I can answer their question or help them with an order. A customer responded to a message I sent asking for clarification on a custom listing and I never got an email notification. It was when I happened to open my messages that I saw they'd responded.

I've also noticed sometimes they're not sending emails when I receive an order, which is also a problem.

Really, sending us timely emails when we get an order or a message should be simple.

[ThePurplePuppy]

@windfalcon 

The same thing stated to happen to me last October. I have dealt with it by  staying signed in to Etsy on my computer at all times. I open several tabs and keep one open for sales and one for messages all the time. I come in here and simply check the tabs a couple of times a day.

Of course this is for when I am at home.  I do NOT save passwords on my computer and sign out when I leave home. 

I do like to be prompt but do not feel the need to be available 24/7.  If I am going to be gone more than 24 hours I set up the auto reply

[PowellShirts]

Agreed!

[PowellShirts]

Please see my message below - chat with them to let you know your concern!!  I did.  The more people to do, the more likely they will improve!

[TheArtfulTwig]

@PowellShirts I came here looking for this.  Very annoying.  I use email far more than I'm checking the Etsy app or even messages in a browser.  I even file the convo emails if it's relevant to something I want to keep track of regarding a custom order or a return or special request.  

I understand wanting to prevent scams, but I seriously don't think this will prevent scams.   

Very bummed about this change. : (

[PowellShirts]

Same - 100%!!!  I also save my emails so I can find them associated with an order.  I can understand how this might not be a problem if Etsy were my only source of sales, but it's not.  I need everything all in one place - my email folders!  

[PowellShirts]

Please see message below - chat with them to let you know your concern!!  I did.  The more people to do, the more likely they will improve!

[RavenHillJewelryShop]

It would be helpful if there was SOMEWHERE to leave feedback on changes to Etsy. The other thing I hate is that when I place an order (i both buy and sell on Etsy), my order confirmation does not contain the actual details of the order. You only get that when they finally mail it. I only realized this after months of saving order confirmations with reading them, as i have to keep track of the supplies i buy! Why in the world would they make such a change? I've NEVER encountered a place that doesn't tell you what you ordered when you get the confirmation email...

[PowellShirts]

Please see my message below - chat with them to let you know your concern!!  I did.  The more people to do, the more likely they will improve!

[CanningCrafts]

Yeah, it makes no sense that the order confirmation email no longer confirms WHAT you purchased! That email should serve as a follow up way for buyers to easily confirm that the purchase was correct. I chatted with Etsy last year (as a buyer) about this & they said they would pass on my concerns for "future updates". Like this has to be a glitch & not intentional! Otherwise, why would the shipping & delivery notices contain that purchase info?

[PowellShirts]

To all of you who don't like this new way of doing things, please go go Etsy and get on chat and tell them about it.  I did, and they said that removing this feature (messages being in the body of the email) was an "update", but they did understand how beneficial receiving the messages in my email was to me, and they are going to "consider" my input in future updates - the more people who chat with them about this, the better our results of getting change!!  Thank y'all!

[RavenHillJewelryShop]

I did leave feedback. That's just the way they're doing now. But yes, i want to easily see as soon as the order is placed what it contained, in case of an error, and NOT only when it's been shipped.

[windfalcon]

There's an additional issue that I'm only now discovering. Not only am I not getting customer messages, but CUSTOMERS are not getting MY messages. I have sent multiple Etsy convos out to customers asking for clarification and whereas I'd usually get a response within the day, I'm getting absolutely nothing back. This is a huge problem for custom orders where I need to ask customization questions or send them a photo of the finished product for approval.

What's interesting is Etsy is so concerned with timely communication and accurate shipping times, yet they make it nearly impossible to do this for custom work because each party isn't getting each others' messages in a timely manner! This is the absolute basic square-one requirement of any online shop site and for some reason it's completely broken on Etsy.

[RareRetroTreasures]

I am relieved to learn that others are having this issue.

I do not have the messages anywhere in my "shop ETSY" Messages center. I have tried marking these as unread, read, add to inbox... nothing. I have to "remember" to go back to my email, look through the numerous "ETSY" emails to find the one that has the customers messages, open that link, go to the message and guess if they received my message and if they have responded."

I am about to launch another store whereby I will have to have constant communication for customized clothing.

If anyone has any recommendations for me I would appreciate it.  I dont know if there is a setting I need to change, but something is very wrong.

[ThisandThatCapeCod]

This is a change that is a nuisance and hopefully there really is going to be a reduction in spam.

I am concerned about customers having issues getting messages to sellers. Any Etsy data on this?

Is Etsy collecting any data about how helpful this will be in decreasing spammers? 

[BootifulLabels]

You may not be happy with this but I daresay newbies who are spared the angst of clicking a scam message and thinking it is Etsy support might see it differently.  I imagine this move is part of the impending change to the forums where we will have to login to read them, and an effort to make it harder for scammers to fool unsuspecting new users.  The way things have been going lately, the time it takes to login to Etsy to read the message may be long enough for Etsy to remove the scam message and prevent the fraud.

It doesn't take long to open Etsy and login to read a message, about the same as opening an envelope to read a letter.  If having to do so slows the scammers down, I am happy to be inconvenienced.

[BagmakerSupply]

The only real issue we see with the text of the actual Message not being in the eMail copy is a shop complying with the various Message and eMail retention rules and regulations. Previously we just archived all of the eMail copies, now we are dependent on Etsy making them available which can be an issue because there does not seem to be a way to download and store Messages.

[CanningCrafts]

This is why I like having copies of the messages sent to my email & be viewable. It's my "backup" in case Etsy goes poof, even if temporarily. Technically the "message" IS still on the email. If you go to "View Message Source" in your email app on one of the Etsy emails, the customer's message is hidden there within the code. It's just not viewable in the message when opened.

[BagmakerSupply]

@CanningCrafts: Yes we were aware of that, but a) terribly inconvenient and b) how long before Etsy "fixes" that.

[CanningCrafts]

Yes, inconvenient... and not really much help considering that the message "hidden" within the code isn't searchable in an email app. My emails were missing the text last year for about a week before they came back. This has been going on much longer now which makes me worried it may be permanent. 

[RareRetroTreasures]

I am relieved to learn that others are also having this problem. 

I do not have the messages anywhere in my "shop ETSY" Messages center. I have tried marking these as unread, read, add to inbox... nothing. I have to "remember" to go back to my email, look through the numerous "ETSY" emails to find the one that has the customers messages, open that link, go to the message and guess if they received my message and if they have responded."

I am about to launch another store whereby I will have to have constant communication for customized clothing.

If anyone has any recommendations for me I would appreciate it.  I dont know if there is a setting I need to change, but something is very wrong

[Working925Jewelry]

Also super irritated about this! Lol I’ve been meaning to look into this for months, so I’m very glad for this thread.
Personally, I have an employee checking messages, but I like to also check in on them at night when I clear my inbox without them actually being marked as read so this was a nice way to be able to be on top of things without interfering with the actual communication with the customer. Now I can’t tell you how many times I’ve inadvertently checked a message, determined it was something I needed my employee who works in office to respond to (like a customer asking for additional photographs of an item) and I have forgotten to mark it as unread so total mom brain moment, but it is causing issues for me and the way I’ve done things! I’d be interested to hear how much scamming they’ve been able to eliminate with this change versus how many Etsy sellers they’ve frustrated lol 🤦🏻‍ 

Any word about a potential change back? 
Best wishes to all of you fellow Etsy sellers out there!