Communications
Communications keeps conversations inside the marketplace. Sellers talk to the store admin, and customers talk to sellers. Each conversation is a thread of messages, with file attachments.
Seller and admin
Message the admin
- In the Seller Panel, go to Communication >> Admin.
- Type your message.
- To add a file, click the attachment icon and choose a JPEG, PNG, PDF, DOC or DOCX file. The largest file you can send depends on your server's upload limit. You can send a file without a message.
- Click the send icon.
- Use Search Message to find a message, or the history icon to show only Previous 7 Days, Previous 15 Days, Previous 30 Days, Previous 6 Months or All Messages.
- A message can be up to 255 characters.
- If the admin blocks you, the page shows You are blocked by admin and you can't send messages.
No emails are sent for messages between sellers and the admin, so check this page for replies.
Message sellers
- In the admin panel, go to Marketplace >> Communications.
- Click a seller in Sellers, or search for one by business name, name or email. You can start a conversation with any seller. The list shows up to 20 sellers, with the most recent conversations first.
- Type your message, add a file if needed, and click the send icon.
Sellers with unread messages show a count. The menu at the top of a conversation has:
- Block Seller or Unblock Seller, once the conversation has a message. While a seller is blocked, neither of you can send messages;
- Clear Chat History — deletes every message in the conversation for both of you;
- Exit — closes the conversation.
Customers and sellers
Message a seller
- Sign in to your customer account and go to Communications.
- Click a seller you have already written to, or type the seller's business name in Search and click the seller. Only approved sellers who aren't suspended are found.
- Type your message, add a file if needed, and click the send icon.
The seller receives a New message from … email and replies in the same conversation. If a seller blocks you, you'll see You have been blocked by this seller.
To stop emails when a seller replies, click the menu next to Sellers, open Communication Settings, switch Receive email for seller messages off and click Save.
Reply to customers
- In the Seller Panel, go to Communication >> Customers.
- Click a customer in the list.
- Type your reply and click the send icon.
- The list shows customers who have written to you. You can't start a conversation with a customer.
- The customer receives a New message from … email, unless they have turned emails off.
- To stop a customer from messaging you, open the menu at the top of the conversation and click Block Customer. Neither of you can send messages until you click Unblock Customer.
- To stop emails about customer messages, go to Settings >> General. See Account Settings.
Unread messages from customers and the admin are counted under Buyer Messages on your Dashboard.
Subscription plans
When the store uses subscription plans, customers can only message sellers whose plan includes Communication >> Customers.
Permissions
- Team members need Communication, with Admin and Customers as needed.
- Admins need Marketplace >> Communications.
