Help please is this a scam? long time seller but VERY confused about email from etsy

[thewoollydog]

This morning I  used help to ask why I haven't received the usual email copy, of the email sent to a customer telling them I've refunded overpayment of their postage and a message from me, because I didn't know if they'd received the notification or not. They asked for the order number then replied that sellers never get sent a copy of the notification sent (which is wrong because I've always received a copy of the message sent). I was then told the buyer had received the message but hadn't yet ticked a refund box.

I then went to the post office and posted the buyers item.

Returned home and I've now just received an email from etsy support (it looks so real) saying my buyer has contacted them (etsy) with a question about their order, the email to me contains the buyers 'buying' name on etsy and the order number, but not the buyers actual name. It tells me not to reply to the email as it's a no reply address, but to message the buyer via conversations from my etsy account. It says I may also see a message waiting for me in my email or etsy conversations. It has 2 blue links WHICH I AM OBVIOUSLY NOT GOING TO CLICK ON, so no need to advise me about that.

I have no messages from etsy showing and no message from my customer showing in my etsy messages, but the problem is, I don't know if this is a real message and there's a problem with my incoming messages to me on etsy and I do need to contact my buyer or if this is a scam email.

It's very strange that right after contacting help and giving the order number I received this email.

How do I find out if this is a real etsy email and if I have a problem with my messages in etsy or if this is a scam please?

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

How did you access help?  Did you do it through your Shop Manager?  I am not convinced you were really talking to Etsy customer support. 

Go to your Shop Manager and click on Messages and see if there is a message in the "From Etsy" folder.  If not, then you can be sure it was a scam and then do nothing more about it. 

You can check whether a refund went through by going to your Payment Account.

[thewoollydog]

Just checked and yes their postage refund went through. Please, I would be really grateful if you would be kind enough to message me with something trivial and I can see if my messages are working, obviously I'll have to reply to you or get dinged, thank you. x

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

I just sent you a message. 

[PillowDetails]

@thewoollydog That is strange - most likely just a delay in the email.  And definitely confusion with the Etsy Support person you communicated with.  Yes, any refund - partial or otherwise, I always get an email "you have issued a refund".  If you go to the completed order, it should show "partially refunded" - right on the Orders page, right next to the order price on the top left, under the Buyer's name.  Opening the full receipt should show any messages related to the order from the Buyer.  Not sure what is going on there, and not sure if a Buyer needs to click on anything to "receive" a refund, like "ticking a box" .  

Probably just a glitch/delay/confusion  - just another day Selling on Etsy!

And always good to be wary of possible scams and not click on links!

[thewoollydog]

Thank you, yes opened the full receipt and it shows no messages from the buyer... worrying when an old timer like myself is confused about emails being real or not.

[ArtDollsbyJD]

I think buyers still have to choose between a credit and the refund which can add more confusion to the refund.

[thewoollydog]

@JJewellerySuppliesUK thank you so much for that, at least I'm now sure it was spam, I pity new sellers because it was so believable. Still find it strange coming in after contacting help and yes I contacted them through my shop manager, which leaves me even more concerned, it was too much of a coincidence. x

[Marmalady]

"the buyer had received the message but hadn't yet ticked a refund box."

Buyers now get the choice of receiving the refund as "Etsy Credit" to be spent on future purchases or as a refund to their original payment method. If they don't make a choice within a certain time ( a few days) then the refund goes to their payment method
So when the Support person looked, the refund was in limbo waiting a choice from the buyer

[funkydreamsmosaics]

^This.

And you won't get the email that you issued a refund until the buyer makes their choice.  So if you were looking for it immediately, that no longer happens.

[HauteVintageJewels]

I'm glad I read this thread.  I wasn't aware of the refund options being provided to customers.  I'm sure this could cause confusion with a buyer receiving a partial refund and cause them to wonder if there was a problem with their order.  I do hope it's presented to them simply and straightforward, because people frequently do not read things carefully.

[artbyjocelyn]

Sounds like Etsy received an email reply to a No Reply email the buyer received via Etsy about their order with you, and are letting you know. Despite it saying that the email is a No Reply email, the entity (in this case Etsy) is indeed able to see and Replies someone may send replying to a No Reply email. If it is important, they will pass along info, as they sound like they did in this case. I had it happen a few times with company sent No Reply emails at a job I was at, that is how I learned from the IT team that replies to No Reply emails are indeed received and visible to the sender.

[giftedboxes]

It's a real email. I've had one once before, when a customer decided to contact etsy with a message for me, instead of sending it straight to me.

It took etsy a couple of days to send me a message, which basically just said to contact the customer.  The customer confirmed that they had messaged etsy rather than myself.