Guest Checkout Issue: Only One File Downloadable in Multi-File Instant Downloads

[9lo96lohnfuj03to]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a serious and ongoing issue I’ve encountered — and I’m hoping to hear from other sellers who experiencing the same and may be have already reached out to Etsy as well.

For several weeks now, I’ve noticed that when a customer purchases an instant digital download as a guest, they only receive access to one single file via the confirmation email — even if the product includes multiple files. There is no link to a proper download page showing all included files.

To confirm this, I made a test purchase from a different shop (not my own), and the exact same issue occurred. The email showed the product and stated “Includes: 2 PDF,” but I was only able to download one — the one that was hyperlinked in the product title. There was no button or download area to access the other file(s).

When clicking the “View your files on Etsy” button, I received an error — because, of course, as a guest, I wasn’t logged in and had no account.

I’ve already contacted Etsy support three times. Each time, I was told the issue was known and forwarded to a specialist team, but I never heard back. 

This is not just affecting my shop — it seems to be a platform-wide issue affecting sellers offering multi-file digital products. It completely undermines the purpose of “instant downloads” if guest buyers can’t access their full purchase without creating an account or reaching out to me as a seller for sending the items manually.

Has anyone else experienced this? Has anyone received an actual solution or update from Etsy?

[NanaLetha]

You have no Etsy shop for anyone to buy from.

[9lo96lohnfuj03to]

I posted this from my secondary account, from a shop I’ve currently deactivated, because I wanted to avoid too many people clicking on my active shop and negatively affecting my conversion rate.

[PlatypusDream]

"Sock puppet"

[PrimFun]

@9lo96lohnfuj03to   That is unfair to us.  Sometimes answers are based on the shop in question.

Since you are not posting from the shop in question cannot answer the question.

[9lo96lohnfuj03to]

I personally don’t see an issue here, because this problem clearly isn’t specific to my shop — it seems to be a platform-wide issue affecting many sellers. That’s why I chose to protect my shop stats by posting from my secondary account.

In other cases, where individual shop setup or handling is relevant, I would of course be happy to use my main account and provide full transparency for questions or feedback.

[cindylouwho2]

@9lo96lohnfuj03to "I wanted to avoid too many people clicking on my active shop and negatively affecting my conversion rate." That's really not a thing. Etsy doesn't punish you for occasional spikes in activity. That is expected to happen. 

[9lo96lohnfuj03to]

Thanks for the info. I’ve often heard from others that it’s better to avoid unnecessary traffic to the shop, so I just wanted to be a bit cautious.

[NeniDesignCrafts]

I'm experiencing this too, I keep sending digital files. They say they can only download part of it, or not at all.

[9lo96lohnfuj03to]

I’m experiencing the exact same problem, and I had the same issue during a test purchase. I don’t understand why Etsy isn’t addressing this quickly — it seems to be a platform-wide problem.

How have you been handling it? Do you manually send the files as well?

It obviously doesn’t help customer satisfaction when someone purchases an instant download and then has to wait for a manual email.

At the moment, I’m offering my customers a free upgrade to a larger poster bundle as compensation — but that can’t be a long-term solution. I don’t want to give away my products for free just to avoid negative reviews for something that isn’t even my fault.

Have you already contacted Etsy customer support about this?

[BigXStudio]

Yes, I can also confirm this. I have had several over the last few weeks. Always guest orders with more than 1 file for instant download. They only get the link to the first file. So I have to dropbox the other files and send them an alternate link. Giant pain.

[9lo96lohnfuj03to]

Yes, absolutely. Have you already been in contact with customer support? If so, what did they tell you?

[BigXStudio]

I have not. I have never found Etsy's support to be very responsive and when they have been it's never been helpful or fixed anything. I believe things only get fixed when there is a critical mass of complaints from the BUYER side about an issue.

[9lo96lohnfuj03to]

You’re probably right, unfortunately. I was hoping the issue would be resolved on its own over time, since several people have raised complaints over the past weeks — and I assumed Etsy would be working on it. But apparently, nothing has happened. It’s really frustrating.

[chocolaterabbit]

This has been going on for a while for me. Both Guest Buyers and Apple pay buyers can't access their files. I email them as soon as they let me know, but it's a big pain for the buyers. It's not just you.

[9lo96lohnfuj03to]

Yes, absolutely. I hope the issue will be resolved soon

[NanaLetha]

@9lo96lohnfuj03to  You might have made a sale or two by posting from your shop.