For new Etsy users, being told to go view your convos or to convo a seller can be confusing.  Truthfully, the first time I went to Etsy to buy something for my sister, I put off my purchase for a few weeks until I had time to figure out what the heck everyone was talking about.

It ended up being pretty simple, though.  Convos are conversations–or system messages.  They are accessible from just about any page I can think of on the Etsy site. I use convos in all of my sales to send out proofs. If you’re new to Etsy, here’s how to read your convos.

1. Using your web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc.), go to etsy.com
2. Click on Sign in–it’s to the right of the orange square that says “Etsy.”
3. Type in the username and password you created when you made your account on Etsy.
4. Click the blue Sign in button.
5. At the top of the resulting page, there’s a tan/grey bar with several buttons and a search area. You’ll see a small envelope in that bar; if you’ve been sent a convo and haven’t read the convo yet, you’ll also see a number overlain on the envelope. Click on the envelope.
6. Now you’re in your convo area.  To read convos, click on their titles.  Titles that are bolded and have a new icon placed before them are unread.
7. If I’ve sent you a proof, you should see a thumbnail at the bottom of my proof notification message.  Click on the thumbnail. Voilà–your proof will appear in a new window!
8. When you’re done viewing your proof, just let me know if it’s approved or needs changes via convo–when you’re viewing a convo, there’s a little reply box at the bottom of the message I’ve sent you.  Just type your message and hit Send.

There–I hope that helps those of you who were wondering how this works–Etsy is a great place, especially for a wide variety unique, warm and personalized goods and gifts.