Etsy message reply examples
Replies to the messages sellers get most, each next to the buyer's message it answers. Select Use this to load one into the editor with your shop details filled in. Examples are free and don't use a run.
Etsy review response examples
Public responses are read by every future shopper, so they talk about your product and service, not the reviewer. For a bad review, the private message comes first.
How to respond to a bad review on Etsy
Etsy's own advice is to start in private: "The best way to deal with a negative review is to respond to your buyer quickly in Messages." Find the order the review is about and message the buyer from it. If you know what went wrong, offer a fix. If you don't, ask an open question. Etsy notes that responding quickly and showing you're willing to address the issue "may lead a buyer to edit their review".
Wait before you post in public. Once you respond to a review, the buyer can no longer edit their review or rating, even if you delete your response later. If you're still putting things right in Messages, a public response now takes away the buyer's chance to update it. Source: What to Do if You Receive a Negative Review.
If you can't work it out privately, a public response tells future shoppers how you handle problems. Etsy asks you to remember you're writing "not just for this one reviewer, but all future visitors to your shop", to keep it short and simple, to address the specific concerns and any changes you made, and to focus on your product and service, not the reviewer.
- Message the buyer privately first, from the order.
- Offer a fix you can stand behind, with nothing asked in return.
- Give the buyer time. Respond in public only when the private route is done.
- In public, say sorry once, name the concern, and say what you did or changed. No tracking numbers, links or private details.
Etsy review response rules
What Etsy's help pages say about responding to reviews, checked November 13, 2026.
| Question | What Etsy says |
|---|---|
| Where do I respond? | Shop Manager, select your shop name under Sales Channels, Reviews, find the review, then Post a public response. |
| How long do I have? | 100 days from the date the buyer last edited their review. |
| How many responses? | One per review. You can delete it at any time, but you can't edit it or leave another. |
| Can the buyer still change the review? | Not after you respond, even if you delete your response. Buyers can't reply to your response. |
| Who sees it? | Other shoppers, in the Reviews section of listing pages and on your Shop Reviews page. |
| What can't it include? | Tracking numbers, external links or private information. It can't be about things outside your control, like a shipping carrier or Etsy. |
| Will Etsy remove a bad review? | Only one that breaks Etsy's policies. Etsy Support can't remove a review because the seller asks. |
Buyers can edit their review any number of times during the 100 day review period, but not while a case is open for the order. Sources: What to Do if You Receive a Negative Review, How to Leave a Review on Etsy and the Seller Policy.
Etsy review response examples: before and after
The same review, answered two ways. The "before" replies are the kind sellers write when they're upset. Each one breaks an Etsy rule.
Before
This is not my fault. USPS lost your package and you should have contacted me before leaving 1 star.
After
I'm sorry your order didn't reach you. That's not the experience I want anyone to have, and I'd like to put it right.
Etsy says review responses may not be about things outside the seller's control, such as a shipping carrier, and to focus on the product and service, not the reviewer.
Before
So sorry! If you update your review to 5 stars I'll send you a 20% off code.
After
I'm sorry the paper was thinner than you expected. I've switched to a heavier stock for every print since.
Etsy's Extortion Policy names a seller offering compensation in exchange for a positive review. Offer the fix on its own, and let the buyer decide about the review.
Before
Your tracking number 9400 1000 0000 0000 0000 00 shows it was delivered on the 4th, so please check with your neighbors.
After
I'm sorry you haven't received your order. I'd like to sort it out with you in Etsy Messages.
Etsy asks you to keep tracking numbers and private information out of public responses. Put order details in a private message.
The second "after" only works if it's true. Write what you really changed, or leave that sentence out. More ready responses are in the review response examples.
How to reply to Etsy messages
- Answer first. Put the answer or the decision in the first sentence. A buyer asking where their order is wants the date, not a paragraph of thanks.
- Only say what's true. Check the order before you give a ship date or a status. This generator can't see your orders, so it leaves a [blank] for any fact you didn't give it, and its checker leaves out a draft that states one.
- Reply in good time. Etsy's Seller Policy asks sellers to "respond to Messages in a timely manner" and to "resolve disagreements or order issues directly with the buyer". Buyers have to contact you through Help with Order before they can open a case.
- Cancel through Etsy. If you can't complete an order, Etsy's Seller Policy says you must tell the buyer in Messages and cancel it, and give a full refund if they already paid.
- Reply in their language. A buyer who writes in Spanish reads a Spanish reply faster. The generator writes in the buyer's language and shows you the English beside it.
For an away message, the shop announcement generator writes Etsy auto replies and vacation notes. Ready replies for the common cases are in the message reply examples.
What Etsy doesn't allow in messages and review responses
The rules below come from Etsy's policy and help pages, quoted as published. Where this tool is stricter than Etsy's words, the last column says so: that part is our choice, not Etsy's rule.
| Rule | Etsy's words | This tool adds |
|---|---|---|
| The sale stays on Etsy | “We don't allow instructing a member to pay for or purchase an item outside of Etsy's checkout system.” “Naming an off-platform payment method (e.g., Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, cash, cryptocurrency) as a way to pay for an item” “Charging extra after checkout for shipping, returns, duties, taxes, customs, or any other fee not included in the original Etsy transaction” Off-Platform Transactions Policy | This tool's choice: it never names any of these ways to pay, even to turn one down or to say Etsy checkout takes it, because it can't tell which one is meant. It also never asks for more money on an order already placed, for any reason, a custom listing included. Etsy's Seller Policy allows collecting more after checkout for a bespoke or highly customized order whose total price couldn't be set when it was listed, through Etsy's Create Custom Order feature. This tool can't tell that case apart. |
| No contact details | “We don't allow requesting or sharing contact information (e.g., a phone number, email address, or social media handle) for the purpose of completing a transaction off Etsy.” Off-Platform Transactions Policy | This tool's choice: it leaves every contact detail out of every draft, however it is written, because it can't tell why one is being shared. |
| Nothing in exchange for a review | “A seller offers a buyer additional goods, services, or compensation in exchange for a positive review.” Extortion Policy | Nothing beyond Etsy's rule. |
| No asking about the review | “Reviews and your response to reviews may not ... Undermine the integrity of the Reviews system.” Seller Policy | Etsy's help says a quick fix "may lead a buyer to edit their review", and its policy doesn't forbid asking. This tool never asks, because next to a refund or a fix the question reads as a trade. |
| No insults or blame | “Insults and offensive language: Severe insults intended to demean the recipient.” Harassment Policy | The tool also leaves out milder blame, like "you should have read the description". |
| No medical claims or legal threats | “You agree that you will not upload content that ... Contains prohibited medical drug claims.” Seller Policy | Legal threats are the tool's own line: for a dispute, Etsy's case system is the place for it. |
| No private information | “Do not include: Tracking numbers, External links, Private information.” What to Do if You Receive a Negative Review | Nothing beyond Etsy's rule. |
| Public responses stay on your shop | “Reviews and your response to reviews may not ... Be about things outside the seller's control, such as a shipping carrier, Etsy or a third party.” Seller Policy | Nothing beyond Etsy's rule. |
| Only facts you gave | “You agree that you will not upload content that ... Is false, deceptive, or misleading.” Seller Policy | Etsy's rule is about false content. The tool goes further and states no fact you didn't give it, because it can't see your orders. |
| No contact after a buyer says stop | “Messages may not be used for ... Contacting someone after they have explicitly asked you not to.” Seller Policy | Nothing beyond Etsy's rule. |
Every draft the generator writes goes through two checks before you see it: our own patterns, which find contact details, payment apps, tracking numbers and dates nobody gave however they're written, and a second AI model that reads each sentence for meaning in both languages. A draft that fails either is left out. On our own test set, written to trick the checks in English, Spanish, German and French, they left out all 62 rule-breaking drafts and kept 40 of 41 good ones. A test set is not every message a buyer can send, so checks lower the risk without removing it. Read every reply before you send it, because you're responsible for what you send.
Checked November 13, 2026. Etsy's help pages and the Off-Platform Transactions Policy, last updated October 5, 2026, were read live on Etsy that day. Etsy's other legal pages turn away automated readers, so we read the Internet Archive's newest copy of each: the Seller Policy last updated October 5, 2026 (copy of November 9, 2026), the Harassment Policy last updated October 7, 2026 (copy of November 7, 2026), and the Extortion Policy last updated July 15, 2020 (the newest copy there is from April 1, 2025).
When a buyer asks to pay outside Etsy, or it looks like a scam
Etsy's Seller Policy says Messages may not be used for “Facilitating or directing off-platform transactions”, and that sellers agree to “Not facilitate off-platform transactions.” Buyers asking to pay by another app to save on fees is common. The reply is short: orders and payment go through Etsy checkout.
Some messages are not from buyers at all. A message asking you to verify your shop through a link, to pay a shipping agent, or to send back an overpayment is a classic scam. Don't click the link or move to another app. Etsy lets you report a message. The generator flags these patterns when you paste them and keeps every reply on Etsy.
The full version: replies drafted from each buyer's order
This free tool only knows what you paste. Alura's Customer Messages reads the whole conversation and the Etsy order linked to it: the item, status, ship date, tracking and the buyer's checkout note. It drafts each reply in your voice from your shop policies and saved replies, and nothing sends until you press Send. A draft that promises a refund or discount your policies don't back is marked Needs review.
With Alura's AI agent in Alura, ChatGPT or Claude, you can add tracking, see what's unshipped, find your repeat buyers and get your reviews summed up, with a preview before anything changes.
Yes. In Shop Manager, select your shop name under Sales Channels, choose Reviews, find the review and select Post a public response. You have 100 days from the date the buyer last edited the review, and you can respond once.
No. You can delete your response at any time, but you can't edit it or post another one. Write it carefully, or draft it here first.
No. Once you respond, the buyer can't edit their review or rating, even if you delete your response. If you're still sorting the problem out in Messages, wait before you respond in public.
Message the buyer privately first, from the order, and offer a fix or ask what went wrong. Etsy says that's the best way to deal with a negative review. If you respond publicly, keep it short and simple, address the specific concern, and focus on your product and service, not the reviewer.
Never offer anything for it. Etsy's Extortion Policy names a seller offering goods, services or compensation in exchange for a positive review. Fix the problem with no strings attached. Etsy notes a quick, helpful response may lead a buyer to edit their review on their own. This tool goes further than Etsy's policy and never asks a buyer to change a review at all, because next to a refund or a fix the question reads as a trade.
Only if it breaks Etsy's policies, for example if it contains private information, harassment, or is only about something outside your control, like a shipping carrier. Etsy Support can't remove a review because the seller asks. You can report a review from your Reviews section.
Say that orders and payment go through Etsy checkout. Etsy's Off-Platform Transactions Policy says "We don't allow instructing a member to pay for or purchase an item outside of Etsy's checkout system." The generator flags these messages. This tool's choice: a draft that names any other way to pay is left out, even one that turns it down.
Each draft is checked twice before you see it: by our own patterns, and by a second AI model that reads every sentence for meaning in the buyer's language and in English. A draft that breaks a rule, states a fact you didn't give, or says something different in the two languages is left out. Checks lower the risk, they don't remove it. Read every reply before you send it: you're responsible for what you send.
Yes. It writes the reply in the language the buyer used and shows an English version beside it, so you know what you're sending. The checker compares the two and leaves out a draft whose versions don't say the same thing. The English doesn't follow your own edits.
Yes, with no account. You get 3 runs a day, because each run costs two AI calls, one to write and one to check. A run that shows nothing doesn't use one, up to 3 failures a day. The examples are free and unlimited. What you paste is sent to the AI models to write and check the replies and is never stored on our server. Your shop details stay in your browser.
