Where does the Etsy 'Message to Buyers' appear?

Etsy automatically attaches it to the order confirmation the buyer receives right after they pay, and it shows on their receipt. You set it once under Settings → Info & Appearance → Message to Buyers and it sends with every order on autopilot. If you sell digital items, Etsy also gives you a separate 'Message to Buyers for Digital Items' box that appears on the downloads page for digital orders — so physical and digital buyers can each get the right note.

Can I ask buyers to leave a review in my thank-you message?

You can ask, but you cannot incentivize or pressure for a positive one — Etsy's policy bans things like offering a coupon for a 5-star review or asking for a specific rating. What's allowed is a polite, one-time message after delivery: thank them, invite them to message you first if anything's wrong, and then mention that a review would help your small shop. Routing problems to your inbox first protects your public reviews.

Should I include a physical thank-you note in the package too?

If you ship physical products, yes — a short handwritten or printed card is one of the cheapest ways to turn a one-time buyer into a repeat one and to soften the review ask. The auto message-to-buyers and the in-package card do different jobs: the auto note sets expectations at purchase, the card delivers the warmth on arrival. Digital-only shops skip the card and lean harder on the message to buyers.

Can I set a different thank-you message for digital orders vs physical orders?

Yes — that's the one split Etsy supports. Alongside the main Message to Buyers (which goes out on physical orders), there's a separate 'Message to Buyers for Digital Items' that appears on the downloads page for digital orders. What Etsy does not offer is a different auto-message per individual listing — both messages are shop-wide. So a seller with physical and digital products can have physical buyers read 'ships in 5 business days' and digital buyers read 'your files are ready now on your Purchases and reviews page,' without anyone getting the wrong instructions.

How long should an Etsy thank-you message be?

Short — two to four sentences. Thank them, tell them what happens next (ship time or where the download is), and make it easy to reach you. Save refund rules, processing policies, and the full FAQ for your shop policies and listing descriptions. The thank-you note is for warmth plus the one or two things the buyer needs to know right now, not a wall of terms.

Etsy Thank You Message to Buyers: Examples + Free Template

someone just bought from your shop — and now etsy is asking you to fill in a “message to buyers” box, or you’re standing at the kitchen table wondering what to scribble on the little card going in the package. you googled it. good. here’s the honest answer, plus a pile of thank-you messages you can copy, tweak, and use today.

quick version: the message to buyers is a short note etsy auto-attaches to every order so the buyer sees it the moment they pay. write it once, it sends on autopilot. keep it warm, set expectations (turnaround, downloads, how to reach you), and — gently — leave the door open for a review. examples and a fill-in template below.

where the “message to buyers” actually shows up

this trips people up, so let’s be clear about the three different “thank yous” on etsy, because they’re not the same thing:

the message to buyers (the auto one). you set it in your shop settings under Settings → Info & Appearance → Message to Buyers, then save. etsy automatically appends it to the order confirmation the buyer gets right after purchase, and it shows on their receipt. one note, sent to everyone, every time — and if you sell digital items, etsy gives you a separate box just for those (more on that below). this is the field you’re probably trying to fill in.
the physical thank-you note. the handwritten or printed card you tuck into the package. only physical-product shops have this. it’s where the warmth and the brand live.
a personal follow-up message. a one-off note you send through etsy convos after the order ships or arrives — usually for custom work, problems, or VIP repeat buyers. this one’s typed by hand, per order.

most sellers only need #1 done well, plus #2 if you ship physical things. you don’t have to overthink the rest.

the formula that makes a thank-you note work

a good thank-you message does three small jobs in order:

[warm thanks] + [what happens next] + [how to reach you / soft review nudge]

that’s it. thank them like a human, tell them what to expect (when it ships, where the download is, the turnaround), and make it easy to come back to you if something’s off — which, not coincidentally, is also how you prevent a bad review. now the examples.

examples you can copy and tweak

physical handmade item (the everyday default):

thank you so much for your order — it genuinely makes my day. i hand-make each [product] to order, so yours will ship within [X] business days, and you’ll get tracking the moment it’s on its way. if anything isn’t perfect when it arrives, message me first and i’ll make it right. thanks for supporting a tiny shop ♥

made-to-order, longer turnaround:

thank you! quick heads-up so nothing’s a surprise: every [product] is made just for you, so current turnaround is about [X] business days before it ships (transit is on top of that). i’ll message you when it’s heading out. questions in the meantime? just reply here — it’s only me back here, and i actually read every note.

digital download (no package, so this matters even more):

thank you for your purchase! your files are ready right now — head to Purchases and reviews → Download Files in your etsy account, or use the link in your confirmation email. nothing ships, it’s all instant. if a file won’t open or you need a different format, message me and i’ll sort it fast. enjoy ♥

personalized / custom order:

thank you so much! before i start on your [product], please double-check the personalization details you entered ([name/date/wording]) — reply here if anything needs fixing. i’ll send a proof within [X] hours so you can approve it before i make the final. so excited to make this for you.

repeat buyer (reward the loyalty):

okay, you again?! thank you — it means more than you know that you came back. same care as always; this’ll ship within [X] days. since you’re a returning friend of the shop, [small perk if you offer one, or just delete this line]. thanks for being one of my regulars ♥

holiday / deadline rush:

thank you, and thanks for ordering during the busy season! to be straight with you: current turnaround is [X] days, so your estimated ship date is [date]. if you need it by a hard deadline, message me right away and i’ll tell you honestly whether it’s doable. tracking comes the second it ships.

notice what every one of these does: it says thanks like a person, it tells them exactly what happens next, and it makes reaching you the easy first move. that last part quietly saves you from a lot of one-star surprises.

the review request — the part most sellers get wrong

you can ask for a review. you cannot pressure, bribe, or condition anything on getting a positive one — etsy’s policy bans incentivizing reviews (no “leave a 5-star and i’ll send a coupon”), and asking for a specific star rating is a fast way to look desperate and to get reported. the safe move etsy actually allows is a polite, one-time message after delivery.

so the approach that works is softer and comes after the order arrives, not in the purchase note: thank them, ask them to reach out first if anything’s wrong, and only then mention a review. something like:

hope you’re loving your [product]! if it made you smile, a quick review would mean the world to a one-person shop — and if anything’s not right, please message me first so i can fix it before you do. either way, thank you ♥

“message me first if there’s a problem” is the whole trick. it routes unhappy buyers to your inbox instead of your public reviews, and it invites happy ones to leave the kind word on their own.

free fill-in-the-blank template

steal this for your shop-wide message to buyers. fill the brackets, paste it into Settings → Info & Appearance → Message to Buyers, done:

thank you so much for your order — supporting a small shop genuinely matters and i don’t take it for granted. [what happens next: ships within X days / your download is ready now in Purchases and reviews → Download Files — pick whichever fits and delete the other]. if anything isn’t right, message me first and i’ll make it good. thanks for being here ♥

if you sell both physical and digital things, you don’t have to cram both into one note. etsy actually gives you two separate boxes: the main Message to Buyers for physical orders, and a Message to Buyers for Digital Items that shows on the downloads page and applies to all your digital listings. write one of each, and every buyer only sees the one that fits their order.

common mistakes that quietly cost you

a wall of policy text. refunds, processing times, and rules belong in your shop policies and listing descriptions. the thank-you note is for warmth + the one or two things they need right now.
no expectation-setting. if you don’t say “ships in 5 days” or “your download is in Purchases and reviews,” you get the “where’s my order?” message — or worse, the review.
begging for stars. “please leave 5 stars!!!” reads as needy and breaks etsy’s incentivizing rules. ask softly, after delivery, and route problems to your inbox first.
leaving it blank. an empty message to buyers is a missed, free, automatic touchpoint. thirty seconds of writing covers every order you’ll ever get.
stale seasonal notes. a “happy holidays!” auto-message still sending in march makes the shop feel asleep. clear or refresh it when it stops being true.

where this fits in the bigger picture (the honest part)

a warm thank-you note turns a buyer into a repeat buyer — but it only ever reaches people who already found and bought from you. it does nothing to get you found in the first place. that job belongs entirely to your listings: the title, all 13 tags, the attributes, the description. that’s what etsy search actually ranks.

so if the thank-you side is handled but writing a keyword-strong title, a full set of tags, and a real description for every single product is the part that makes you want to close the laptop — that’s exactly the grind the Etsy Listing Generator takes off your plate. you feed it one product detail and it hands back a title, all 13 tags, and a paste-ready description, so the part that genuinely moves your search ranking stops being the thing you avoid.

do both: use the examples above to write a thank-you message today, and let the Etsy Listing Generator carry the listing-writing so your shop is actually discoverable. the thank-you note keeps the buyer; the listings are how the buyer shows up at all.

faq

a few of the questions that come up most when sellers are filling in that box — answers below.