Every message, on one page

The whole site listed at once, in reading order, for people who already know which message they have to write. Each entry says what it is for rather than what it is called.

Thirty three messages across five stages. Nothing here is arranged by topic, because a buyer with a problem does not know what the topic is called. It is arranged by when in an order you have to write the thing.

Before you order

Read in about four seconds by somebody with a queue. See the stage page for what the whole group has in common.

• The first messageThe opening line that decides how the rest of it reads
• Asking about shippingHow to ask about posting without sounding like trouble
• Asking what is in stockStock questions age fast, so ask them so the answer stays usable
• Sending your detailsThe one message where less is not always safer
• Querying a listingWhen the page and the description disagree with each other
• Asking for a signed messageHow to ask for proof without implying you expect a fake
• Turning down a bigger orderSaying no to an upsell without souring the exchange

While you wait

Mostly an exercise in not writing. The stage page covers why the first useful message is later than it feels.

• Asking if it has shippedThe question everybody sends too early and too often
• Asking about trackingA number that usually explains less than people expect
• Chasing an orderThe message that decides how the dispute reads before there is one
• Asking for more timeWhen the vendor asks you to wait, and what you say back
• Replying to a delayWhat to say when you are told something has gone wrong at their end
• Writing to yourselfThe only message on this site with no recipient, and the one that saves you

When it goes wrong

Written under pressure, read later as a record. The stage page covers the gap between what you feel and what is arguable.

• Reporting a short orderLess arrived than was paid for, and the reply depends on what you send first
• Reporting qualityThe hardest thing to put into writing without it becoming an opinion
• Reporting a lost parcelNothing arrived, nobody is necessarily at fault, and the message should say so
• Asking for a partial refundName the number yourself or somebody else will name a smaller one
• Refusing to pay outside escrowOne flat sentence, decided long before you need it
• Refusing to release earlyA polite request for the one click nobody can reverse
• Answering fake supportThe channel answers the question before you read a word
• Reporting a vendorWritten for a stranger who has none of your context

In a dispute

Written for a third reader who does not know either of you. The stage page covers what a statement has to do.

• Opening a disputeFour lines at the top decide how the rest is read
• Replying to an arbitratorAnswer what was asked, in the order it was asked, and stop
• Answering the other versionWhen their account of it contradicts yours
• Listing your evidenceAttach it, do not describe it
• Accepting a splitThe most common outcome, and how to take it without spoiling it
• Withdrawing a disputeSometimes right, occasionally a mistake you cannot undo

Afterwards

Written when nothing is at stake and read by people you will never meet. The stage page covers the change of audience.

• Leaving feedbackThe one thing you can put back, and almost nobody bothers
• Leaving bad feedbackThe rare one that carries weight, if it is written coldly
• Answering a request to change feedbackAn offer to buy back the record, and why it is not a small thing
• Asking in publicHow to ask a question without marking yourself as somebody in trouble
• Saying nothingThe message that is best not sent, and how to tell
• Closing your notesWhat to keep, what to delete, and when

The reference pages

Four pages that are not messages. They hold the parts that would otherwise be repeated on every entry above.

• The skeleton, the five part shape every message page follows, and why it is in that order.
• What to leave out, the detail that feels important while typing and works against you once sent.
• Timing, when to send rather than what to say, including how long to leave a message unanswered.
• Questions, the things people ask about this site and about the addresses on it.