Gift Messages Missing

[#1]

Hello, we have recently come across an issue where gift messages have been falling off of orders after customers have placed them. It's more than just a simple customer error as we have had 50+ orders at this point (probably more that have gone unnoticed) with buyers confirming that they submitted a message and it was not received on our end. 

I reported the issue to Etsy and they attributed it to an outdated version of the Etsy app, but the volume of orders affected by it does not seem to support that. 

We're very concerned the customer experience is suffering for who count on this feature when they place orders with us.

Is anyone else experiencing this issue? We'd like to be able to escalate the issue to the Etsy support team with more shops that have been affected and get things back to normal! 

[FramedbyJulieJ]

I don’t believe it’s an “outdated app” issue, as I had a repeat buyer whose ordered just over a week ago and her message was there, but her 2nd order on Friday had the message missing. 

[SincerelyMeGift]

It's definitely inconsistent! Very hard to keep up. 

Etsy is supposed to be reporting back to be today so I will let you know what I hear from them. 

[HangingMemories4ever]

This is happening in our shop as well.  I know of at least 2 this week.  There may be more, that is just how many have reported it so far. 

[mugshotmugscouk]

Same issue and not sure how to resolve sounds like Etsy are aware 

[SincerelyMeGift]

Etsy has been made aware but they believe it is an issue specific to users with an outdated issue of the app. Since this appears to be much more widespread than that, we are hoping to get as many shops as we can to report the issue to show that it's happening. 

Would you be able to also report it using the chat feature at well? Thank you!

[dayspringcollectible]

Another issue.  The last order I had that was a gift, I entered the gift message myself because the buyer had put it in the message box instead of the gift message box, but it didn't print.  The only message that printed was etsy's standardized message.  Tried several times, and it never printed.  I ended up hand writing the message.

[SincerelyMeGift]

So sorry to hear of your trouble as well! If you have the time to report the issue to Etsy, I think all of us teaming up to let them know about the problem will help! 

[dayspringcollectible]

Yes, and I only work on a desktop, so it is not an app issue.

[AAANativeArts]

A lot of customers will mark it as a gift but leave no message, especially on foreign orders. They think that will cause you to mark it as a Gift so they don't have to pay import fees. Or they think that will keep you from putting the purchase price on a receipt, so their spouse won't know what they spent. Who knows why someone would mark it as a gift, but it is common for them to not leave a message. I don't think it is an error on Etsy's side.

[SincerelyMeGift]

Thanks! Yes we're aware that customers do that a lot as well. While that certainly accounts for some of it, this seems to be a much bigger issue with Etsy's system. 

This was reported in messages by dozens of our customers who have confirmed they left a gift message and it does not show on our side of the order (or their purchase receipt). We do about 1000 orders a week so the volume we're experiencing of this (new) issue suggests it is not what you've outlined above.

[FramedbyJulieJ]

Yes, aware of this, and if name on the address is the same as the buyer, this is what I assume. But when it’s going to a different name on the address from that of the buyer, I always assume it’s going straight to the recipient and there’s nearly always a gift message. If there isn’t, I message the buyer to check if they want to add one, and recently they are saying that they did type one in, but it’s not showing my end.

[WaypostPaper]

An update from one of my customers who was ordering on her computer...so, not an app. Her report is that she would write out the message and it would disappear when she went to submit the order. She tried a few times and it kept disappearing. She fortunately realized it was glitchy and sent me the gift message separately. Another customer last week told me a similar story.

I've reported all this to the Etsy chat agent but no signs yet of it being fixed. 

[SincerelyMeGift]

Thanks so much for this update. That is good to have confirmation that it's not just the app. 

Etsy has yet to get back to me and I'll be filing another help request today. 

Thank you all for your updates and staying on this!

[FireWoodCreations]

We have also received confirmation that the issue isn't isolated to the app.  I have been in communication with a repeat customer who is very familiar with the gift message process and has always included a gift message with each order.

She wasn't able to see her gift message on her most recent order receipt and reached out to us to let us know.  She only orders via the website on our computer.  She also said "it kept disappearing". 

We have also reported the issue to Etsy via the Star Seller chat and was told to "watch our email".  To date we've not received an update.

[completelywiredjewel]

This is the response I received.  If the gift message is not showing on any of my devices OR to the customer after the fact when they look at their order, I don't think any of this applies:  

I understand you are having concerns with buyers gift message not available on order and I will be happy to help you in resolving your concern.
 
Trisha, to resolve this issue, I have taken a look into your account  as a buyer and I can see that gift note alert are working perfectly fine and there is issue is not from your end. 
 
However, I recommend that you try some basic troubleshooting on a desktop to see if this fixes the issue.
 
Try to use a different browser such as Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Safari, or Firefox, and make sure it is updated.
 
Try to disable toolbars or add-ons that didn’t come pre-installed with your web browser. Some browser add-ons or extensions can interfere with the performance of Etsy.com. If disabling your add-ons resolves the problem, turn them back on one at a time to see which add-on was causing the issue.
 
Clear your browser’s cache and delete your Etsy-related cookies. Clearing all of your cookies may cause you to lose other information stored on your browser, like saved passwords and login information. It’s a good idea to ensure that all of that information is saved elsewhere before clearing cookies.
 
If your issue, still persist after the basic troubleshooting, I would suggest you to help us with buyer's order number. So, we can dig deeper into the concern.
 
I hope I was able to resolve your concern. You can contact us back anytime for any other questions or concerns and we will be happy to assist you.

[SincerelyMeGift]

I have not heard back from Etsy again. They seem to be writing off the issue entirely. The last ticket I filed was just "marked as complete" without a response from an agent at all. 

[FramedbyJulieJ]

I got told by Etsy to send my buyers a screenshot of how to correctly enter a gift message bt ticking the “it’s a gift” and the “gift message” boxes. Wtf?! Like that would go down really well with buyers! (Especially as that’s what they are already doing). Please acknowledge the issue Etsy! It needs looking into properly!

[QuirkyMiniatures]

Im Having this issue too … upset customer I didn’t send her gift message, needless to say I never received a message to send. Come on Etsy you are making us look bad! 

[SincerelyMeGift]

See below, it looks like Etsy is NOW officially looking into this! Thanks for your help getting them to take notice.

[StainedGlassYourWay]

As far as I know, I haven't experienced this, BUT I also haven't gotten an order marked as a gift with no note in the last two weeks which is unusual for me.  To those that have had an issue, did the order come through marked as a "gift", but without a note, or was there no indication at all it was a gift?

[FramedbyJulieJ]

Marked as a gift, but with no message. Buyers are saying they included a message, but are missing when order comes through my end. I only realised it was an issue when I noticed an order had a different name in the address to that of the buyer, so I reached out by message asking if they wanted to include a message. Buyer was perplexed as she said she had included one when ordering. That made me suspiciousof all further orders, so now I’m asking all buyers with different names on their order addresses if they left a message, and so far in the past 10 days, 5 out of 5 have said they had entered messages.

[StainedGlassYourWay]

@FramedbyJulieJ Thank you for the info.  I will be sure to double check any of mine that come through that way as well.

[SincerelyMeGift]

See below, Etsy is finally looking into this! Thanks for your help getting them to take a look.

[WaypostPaper]

It's been a few weeks since this issue started and chat support hasn't helped. I'm now having to reach out to each buyer who marks their order as a gift and doesn't leave a gift message. 90% of the time, they say they DID leave a gift message, but of course, I don't see it on my end. I'm now adding the messages manually via the "private notes" box onto each order. 

It's slowing me down and it's annoying, but at least recipients are getting their gift messages. 

[SincerelyMeGift]

See below, it looks like Etsy is finally looking into this! Thanks for your help getting them to take notice.