How to mark old orders as completed without sending a message to the buyer

[RosimorosiStudio]

Hi - I did not mark orders as completed although I have completed them. Stupid I know but I was a newbie! I have fulfilled all orders and been paid however I cannot seem to mark them as completed without sending all buyers a message and putting in tracking etc. Please help as it looks to Esty as if I haven't competed  -  I have since I have reviews and have been paid.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

If you mark as complete, Etsy will automatically send a message

You can add your own, note to the e-mail, explaining why it is arriving later then normal

[RosimorosiStudio]

Thank you - it's just that I don't want an email to go out at all - the items have all been sent years ago and on time with customers very happy so if they receive an email now, years later, it will be weird. My fault entirely - however I can't understand why there is not the facility to assign an order as complete, on an old order that clearly has been fulfilled and paid for.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

Etsy promises that buyers get an e-mail, when the order is completed

so they will

You unfortunately failed to mark it as complete, and just posted it off

So the solution, is either

leave it as it is, with the consequences

or mark it as complete, and add a little message in the message to buyer to say why

[TheAtticRooms]

Why not just add a note as @CraftyCornishMaids suggested. You can always say 'Please disregard this email' with a very simple note attached to say you are simply doing some 'office housekeeping' or whatever. If I received a note with reference to a very old order I honestly wouldn't pay much attention to it and at least it will allow you to have a sort out and get loose ends tidied up as it were. 

[DragonflyDreams1]

You can contact Etsy and they will help you clearing those old orders out. There was a point in time that Etsy allowed a seller to mark all old orders as shipped without a message going out. Etsy did this before they transitioned to all the automatic notifications. Now you need Etsy to help you with it if you do not want notifications to go out to the buyers.