Setting Up Messages
To set up your automatic eBay messages, log in and go to Preferences → Messages.
There are four message types, and you can turn each one on or off:
- Purchase message: sent when a customer pays for their order.
- Dispatch message: sent when the order is marked as dispatched.
- Feedback received message: sent when the customer leaves you positive feedback.
- Feedback reminder message: sent after a delay you choose if the customer hasn't left feedback yet. See Feedback Reminder Messages.
Each message type is sent at most once per order.
Domestic and international messages
Every message type has a domestic and an international version. An order counts as domestic when the buyer is in the same country as the eBay site you sell on (for example, a UK buyer on eBay.co.uk). If you'd rather send the same message to everyone, tick Send same message for International Orders?
Writing your message
Messages can be up to 1,000 characters. You can start from one of the ready-made templates for each message type, and use the preview to see how your message will look with a real order. To send a different message for some orders, such as particular items or returning buyers, use Message Rules.
Variables
Add any of these variables to a message and they'll be replaced with the details of the order:
| Variable | Replaced with |
|---|---|
{{first_name}} |
The customer's first name |
{{last_name}} |
The customer's last name |
{{username}} |
The customer's eBay username |
{{item_name}} |
The item's title |
{{variation_details}} |
The item's variation (or its title if it has no variation) |
{{item_id}} |
The eBay item number |
{{item_sku}} |
The item's SKU |
{{order_id}} |
The eBay order ID |
{{total_items}} |
The number of items in the order |
{{total_paid}} |
The order total, in your account's currency |
{{address_first_line}} |
First line of the delivery address |
{{address_second_line}} |
Second line of the delivery address |
{{city}} |
Delivery town or city |
{{county}} |
Delivery county or state |
{{post_code}} |
Delivery postcode |
{{country}} |
Delivery country |
{{time_ago}} |
How long ago the order was placed, e.g. "2 weeks ago" |
{{tracking_information}} |
"Your tracking number is: … sent by …", or nothing if there's no tracking |
{{leave_feedback_link}} |
A link for the customer to leave you feedback |
{{product_review_link}} |
A link for the customer to review the product |
If an order contains more than one item, the item variables use the first item in the order.