Message Icon on each Subscriber's Page

[LorryPolizziVintage]

Does anyone know what happened to the message icon on each subscriber's page.  It was a helpful tool to send my discount promo code to anyone favoriting an item in my ETSY Shop.   While Etsy is suppose to generate the coupon when someone does so, it wasn't always happening and/or it came after a person purchased what they favorited.   I found that my personal message was well received even if the person was only favoriting an item that they had no intention of buying.   It most always resulted in a revisit to my Shop.  

Why would Etsy eliminate something helpful to a seller???

Lorry Polizzi

LorryPolizziVintage

[TheVintagePineapple]

Etsy removed it just recently, most likely because of what you and other sellers were doing - sending unsolicited messages and coupons to buyers who merely fav'd some items.

[LAKEandFELLart]

Oh dear , this is classed as spamming other sellers and you would actually be in breach of privacy laws in many countries including the EU and UK and US.

[SeasideRoseCreations]

Those codes go to shoppers that sign up for the emails.

Some of your shoppers may not have seen them because they opted out.

What you were doing was spamming customers.  

[Jewels2at]

You can set up an auto coupon for customers who favorite your items.

[SeasideRoseCreations]

It seems as if the OP had that set up but since not everyone received the coupons, sent messages, too.

[NoFrogsAllowed]

@LorryPolizziVintage 

Etsy just removed it a couple of days ago.  I'm sure they did it because sellers were using it to send unsolicited emails to people who favorited their items.  This is illegal in many, many jurisdictions around the world.  

Etsy was not sending the favorite coupons to everyone that favorited, because a lot of those people have opted out of receiving promotional emails from Etsy.  They opt out because they don't want to be bothered.  Also Etsy has a limit to the number of coupons they send in an email, so as not to appear to be too spammy.

[ThePurplePuppy]

Etsy did away with it about 2 days ago. Probably for two reasons--it is against their TOU which everyone is supposed to read when signing up (and yes, I did) AND because in some countrys it is against the law--and I believe the USA is one of those countries.

[FancyTogs]

"Why would Etsy eliminate something helpful to a seller???"

. . . because unsolicited marketing communications, without a positive opt-in, are illegal in many countries.

The EU fines for GDPR violations can be up to 20 million euros, or up to 4 % of the total global turnover of the preceding fiscal year, whichever is higher.

Lawrence (Clare's other half)

[LorryPolizziVintage]

Yes, some where sellers, but many not!   

In any event, I think I have enough clarification on a misinterpretation I have owned up to and am grateful that my mistake can now be corrected.

[PlatypusDream]

"It was a helpful tool to send my discount promo code to anyone favoriting an item in my ETSY Shop. "

This is against Etsy's basic Terms of Use and what you agreed to when you started selling on Etsy.

https://www.etsy.com/legal/sellers/

c. Communication Standards

i. Messages

With Etsy's "Messages", you have the ability to communicate directly with your buyers or other Etsy members. Messages are a great way for buyers to ask you questions about an item or an order.

Messages may not be used for the following activities:

1. Sending unsolicited advertising or promotions, requests for donations or spam;
2. Harassing or abusing another member or violating our Anti-Discrimination Policy;
3. Contacting someone after they have explicitly asked you not to;  
4. Interfering with a transaction or the business of another member;
5. Exchanging personal contact, financial or other information for the purposes of evading the checkout process on Etsy, including phone number, address, email, social media handles, external URLs, instructions for money transfer, etc.

[DesertChains]

People who favored an item are NOT subscribers. Subscribers are people who intentionally sign up and verify that they want to receive communications from you. If you send messages and other content to people who have not done this, you are a spammer.

[LorryPolizziVintage]

Wow!  Thanking someone for favoriting an item in my ETSY Shop makes me a scammer???  I never randomly message anyone.

Appreciate the enlightment, but had the person not favorited something in my shop, I would not have messaged them to say, "thank you!"  Ironically, I often receive a reply thanking me for my "thank you."   

In any event, I do appreciate your clarification and will abide by and respect the blanket rule.

Thanks again!

[FancyTogs]

@LorryPolizziVintage 

I often receive a reply thanking me for my "thank you."

That may be from sellers. If a seller does not reply to a first message within 24 hours, or send it to spam, it affects their star seller score.

A friendly seller will message back with a thankyou to save their star seller score, rather than marking your message as spam. Marking your message as spam would be likely to get your message priveleges revoked or even your account terminated.

Lawrence

[LorryPolizziVintage]

Thank you to all of you who were so kind to respond.  I had no idea that sending my coupon to only those who favorited an item in my shop was not the right thing to do.  Interestingly, I not only sell, but do buy on ETSY.  I don't ever recall being asked whether or not I wanted to receive promotional emails.   I didn't get a recent memo on the elimination of the icon...did ETSY send one?

Again, so appreciate getting clarification !

Lorry

[TheVintagePineapple]

@LorryPolizziVintage The option to receive (or not receive) promotional messages can be found on You > Account Settings > Emails > Subscriptions.   There were no memos or announcements about the removal.  As usual, Etsy left it up to Forum members to address.

[NoFrogsAllowed]

Whenever I sign up for anything new, new credit card, new website, whatever, the first thing I do is opt out of promotional emails.  Every site automatically opts you in and you have to opt out.

[BagmakerSupply · Accepted solution]

@LorryPolizziVintage: "It was a helpful tool to send my discount promo code to anyone favoriting an item in my ETSY Shop." You should be happy that your messaging was never muted and that no one went after you for breaking the law.

[ArtDollsbyJD · Accepted solution]

@LorryPolizziVintage   None of us got the message.

As to the sending of the messages to those who favored, guess you never read the information in Our House Rules.  You were frotunate that Etsy did not mute your messages.    

[LorryPolizziVintage]

Truthfully, I have and did read the House Rules information when I joined ETSY and apologize for my apparent misinterpretation.  I wish ETSY had notified me of this error when I created my promo discount codes back in 2020.  I didn't realize that saying "thank you" for favoriting an item in my shop to someone who had and rewarding them with my 10% discount if they ever decided to purchase was considered "randomly soliciting someone."   Had they not identified themselves, I would not have thanked them.    Ironically, I so often am thanked for the "thank you."  I am aware now of the blanket rule and will respect it.....appreciate the clarification.