Shoppers can message your shop before they buy and after. Everything lands in the Messages tab of your dashboard, so you never need to give out your email or phone number.
Where messages come from
- A question about a product. Sent from the product page. The conversation shows a View Product link so you can see which item they mean.
- A question about an order. Sent from the customer’s order. Usually “has it been posted yet” or “can I change the colour”.
- A message from us. Conversations from the Crafter’s Market team are marked Admin.
Only approved shops can receive messages, so if your shop is on holiday mode or suspended, shoppers see the shop but the conversation waits.
How you know a message has arrived
A New Message notification appears under the bell in your dashboard. The seller app can alert your phone as well. It is worth checking once a day: a quick reply is the difference between a sale and a shopper moving on, and it heads off most refund requests before they start.
Replying
Pick the conversation from the list on the left, type in the box at the bottom and click Send. The Reply as line shows the name the shopper will see, which is your shop. Keep replies short and friendly. If someone asks for a custom piece, agree the price, the details and the dispatch time in the conversation before they order, so you both have it in writing.
Keeping the list tidy
- Archive moves a finished conversation out of the way. Unarchive brings it back.
- Delete removes it from your view.
- Read marks a conversation as read without replying.
- Conversations with no activity for a year are cleared automatically, so save anything you need to keep.
A message that is rude, or looks like a scam
Click Report and the team will look at it. Do not click links in a message that asks you to “verify your account” or pay something outside the site. We will never ask for your password or bank details in a message.
Three things to avoid
- Taking payment outside the marketplace. Neither of you is protected if something goes wrong, and it is against the vendor rules.
- Sharing personal details you would rather not. Your shop address and phone number can stay hidden; see Your shop page.
- Promising a dispatch date you cannot keep. Give the time you set on the product, then beat it if you can.