Message to buyer

The message to buyer is the templated note Etsy sends every buyer after they place an order. There are two slots:

• Physical orders - sent at order placement.
• Digital downloads - sent at order placement, accompanies the file delivery email.

What works in this template

• Acknowledgment. “Thanks for ordering - your piece is in queue and will ship by [date you can pull from processing time].”
• Expectation setting. Restate processing time so the buyer doesn’t message you on day 2.
• Soft brand voice. A short, warm, real-sounding sentence beats a corporate template.
• One ask if appropriate. “If anything looks off when it arrives, message me first - I’ll fix it.” This dramatically reduces 1-star “didn’t reach out first” reviews.

What doesn’t

• A 500-word marketing pitch. Buyers skim.
• Coupon codes for repeat purchase. Etsy treats this as off-platform redirection if you also include external links; safer to send the coupon as a manual follow-up.
• Asking for a 5-star review at this stage. Wait until after delivery.

Limits

• One template per shop, not per listing. If you need different messages for different product lines, you need a separate workflow (like an automated review follow-up) for the differentiated copy.
• No personalization tokens (you can’t auto-insert the buyer’s first name or item title).

Post-delivery follow-up

Etsy doesn’t have a native post-delivery message template. The review-follow-up workflow (a separate, paid Everlyst feature in some plans) automates a “Hope it arrived safely - would love a review if you have a minute” message a few days after delivery.