Buyer Messaging
Write the message once. Every buyer gets their own name, order details and tracking filled in, sent the moment their order ships. Switch the trigger and it goes out as soon as the order is placed instead. Each marketplace keeps its own message.
Where Messaging Sits in the Workflow
The card has sold and gone in the envelope. This is the last thing that happens.
The Message Nobody Has Time to Send
Everyone knows it helps. Almost nobody does it forty times a day.
A short note when a card ships is the easiest way to make a routine order feel like it came from a person. It heads off the where-is-my-order message, and it can be the difference between a neutral transaction and a five-star one.
It is also the first thing to go when you have thirty envelopes to fill. Nobody types the same thank-you forty times, and the sellers who try give up by Thursday.
So write it once, put a token where the buyer's name goes, and let it send itself. It reads exactly like the message you would have typed, because it is.
What Goes in a Message
Drop a token where a detail goes. Everything around them is your own words.
| Token | Fills With | Example |
|---|---|---|
| {buyer_name} | The buyer's first name. | Marcus |
| {item_title} | The first item on the order. | Charizard #4/102 |
| {item_titles} | Every item, one per line. | 4 cards |
| {tracking_number} | The tracking number. | 9400111899 |
| {carrier} | Carrier, in words a buyer knows. | USPS Ground Advantage |
| {estimated_delivery} | The whole delivery window. eBay only. | Jun 30 to Jul 8 |
| {estimated_delivery_min} | Earliest it should land. eBay only. | Jun 30 |
| {estimated_delivery_max} | Latest it should land. eBay only. | Jul 8 |
| {order_id} | The order number. | 07-13284 |
What One Buyer Receives
Your words, their details.
Things Worth Knowing
Behaviors that decide who hears from you and when.
One Message per Order
An order is marked as messaged before the message goes out, not after. Two syncs finishing at the same moment cannot both decide to message the same buyer. If the send fails outright the order becomes eligible again, instead of being quietly skipped.
Your Backlog Is Left Alone
Switching it on only affects orders that ship from that point forward. Nobody who bought from you last month gets a surprise thank-you, which is the mistake that makes a seller look automated in the worst way.
Your Storefront Sends It as You
A WooCommerce order gets the message as a note on the order, which your store emails to the buyer in its own branded template, from your own domain. PowerList TCG is not sending email on your behalf. Your store is, exactly as it does for every other order email.
Pick Your Moment
Send when tracking appears, which is what most sellers want, or the moment the order is placed. A sale-time message goes out before tracking exists. Leave the tracking tokens out of that one. On a storefront, order placed is the dependable trigger.
Carriers Read Like Carriers
eBay hands back its own internal codes. Telling a buyer their card is coming by eBay Send means nothing to them. Those get translated into the names people actually use before the message leaves.
Keep a Library
Save up to 25 drafts per marketplace and flip which one is live. A holiday message in December, back to the usual one in January, without rewriting anything or losing the version you liked. Each marketplace has its own library and its own live draft.
Off Means Off
One switch stops all sending. Turn it back on later and the cutoff moves with it. Orders that shipped while it was off stay quiet instead of all arriving at once.
Known Limits
What buyer messaging does not do.
- One message per order, not a sequence. A single note when the order ships, or when it is placed. It is not a follow-up campaign, and buyers would not thank you for one.
- A storefront message is one way. It reaches the buyer as email from your own store, so a reply lands in your store inbox instead of coming back through PowerList TCG. You get confirmation the note was created, not that it was read.
- 2,000 characters. That is eBay's message limit, not ours, and the same ceiling is used everywhere else rather than inventing a second number. It is far more room than a shipping note needs.
- Replies go where they always went. The message is sent as you. Anything a buyer writes back lands in eBay Messages, or your store inbox, the way it always has.
Buyer Messaging: Common Questions
When does the message go out?
Your choice. Either the moment tracking lands on the order, which is what most sellers pick, or as soon as the order is placed. Send at sale time and there is no tracking yet. Those tokens come out blank, and the message should not be promising a number you do not have.
Does turning it on message everyone who already bought from me?
No. Only orders that ship after you switch it on get a message. Your existing shipped backlog is left alone, which is what you want. Nobody enjoys a thank-you for something that arrived three weeks ago.
Can a buyer get the same message twice?
No. Each order gets one message. The slot is claimed before the send rather than marked afterwards, which is what stops two syncs finishing at the same moment from both messaging the same buyer. If a send genuinely fails, the slot opens back up and a later sync tries again.
Can I keep more than one message?
Yes, up to 25 per marketplace. Write a holiday version, a plain one, and a longer one for high-value orders, then switch which is live. Only one is active at a time on each marketplace and the rest sit in your library.
What can I put in the message?
Buyer first name, the first item's title, all items in the order, tracking number, carrier and the order number, plus the delivery window on eBay. Everything else is your words. Messages cap at 2,000 characters, which is eBay's limit and the ceiling used everywhere else for consistency.
What does the carrier token actually say?
A carrier name the buyer will recognise. eBay hands back its own internal codes. What eBay calls eBay Send reads as eBay Standard Envelope in your message. USPS Ground Advantage, UPS, FedEx and the rest all come through normally.
What if an order has several cards in it?
Use the all-items token and each one goes on its own line. The single-item token gives you the first item, which is usually what you want in an opening line.
Does it cover more than eBay?
Yes. eBay and WooCommerce both send, and each keeps its own draft library, its own live message and its own trigger. They are set up separately because they do not deliver the same way: eBay sends inside its own message system, and a WooCommerce order gets a note your store emails to the buyer itself.
Keep Reading
Every feature below is included on every plan.
Write the Message Once.
Every buyer gets their own name, order and tracking, without you typing any of it.
