How to Buy a Gift on Etsy

When you shop for a gift on Etsy, you can mark your purchase as a gift and we’ll let the recipient know something special is on the way.

Choose how much (or how little) you’d like to share with the recipient. Mark your item as a gift during checkout and the seller will hide the price of the gift on the packing slip. Etsy can also send an email to the gift recipient with a link to their gift teaser that includes your message and a preview of the gift.

Did you receive a gift teaser from Etsy? Learn how to see the status of your gift.

How to mark your item as a gift

  1. In your cart, select Mark order as a gift.
  2. Select Proceed to checkout.
    • Add an optional gift message, if offered by the seller. This message will appear on the packing slip the seller prints.
  3. To send a gift teaser to the recipient, select Send them a gift teaser. Include a sneak peek image of their gift, an audio or video message, or keep it a surprise.
    • Select when you would like to deliver the gift teaser: when the gift is dispatched, right after purchase, or choose a specific date.
    • Add the recipient’s email address.
    • Add who the gift is from.
  4. Continue checking out.
  5. Review your order and select Place your order.

Etsy will send you an email for each shop you purchased from. If you have any questions about your order, be sure to reach out to your seller directly.

If you chose to Send a gift teaser, Etsy will send your recipient an email with a link to their gift teaser. They'll also see a tracking number on this page if the seller provides tracking information.

Choose your order to check the status of your gift order. If you purchased as a guest without signing in, your order will appear here if you connect it to an account. Learn how to connect a guest order to an account.

Uploading an audio or video message with your gift teaser

If you choose to include a gift teaser, you can choose to upload or record an audio or video message. Audio and video messages can be up to 30 seconds long and can be a maximum file size of 100MBs. 

Only one audio or video message can be added to a gift teaser. 

To record a message: 

  1. When adding gift delivery details, select Add video or Add audio
  2. Enable camera and microphone access on your device if you haven’t already enabled it. 
  3. Select Start recording for video or Record for audio to begin recording. 
  4. Once your message is done recording, you can choose Play, Retake, or Save

To upload an audio or video message: 

  1. When adding gift delivery details, select Add video or Add audio.
  2. Select Upload video for video messages or Upload for audio messages.    
  3. Select the video file you’d like to upload from your device. File types supported are .mp4,.webm, .mov, .ogg, and .mkv. 
  4. Once uploaded, tap Save.

After you placed an order marked as a a gift

Once you’ve submitted an order using the gift teaser option, you will see on the thank you confirmation page: 

  • That the item you purchased was marked as a gift 
  • The option to view and share the gift teaser. 

On your purchase page, you’ll see that the order is a gift, along with the selections you chose when marking your order as a gift. From here you can copy the gift teaser and share it. 

If you select your purchase link from the transactional email, the receipt that appears will also indicate that the purchase was a gift. You can create a gift teaser from here or share the gift teaser link. 

If you marked an order as a gift but didn’t choose any of the gift teaser options when checking out, you can create a gift teaser after purchase. 

To create a gift teaser after making a purchase:

  1. Go to Purchases
  2. Find the order that you sent as a gift.  
  3. Select Create a gift teaser
  4. Fill in the forms for including a gift message, and who the gift is from. 
  5. Decide whether to provide them with a sneak peek of their gift. 
  6. Decide whether to provide them with an audio or video message.
  7. Select Save

After entering this information you’ll be able to copy and share the gift teaser. At this time it’s not possible to send an email using this option, which can only be done at the time of checkout. 

You can still copy the link to the gift teaser and email it to your gift recipient yourself, or share the link via text message. 

With Etsy’s Purchase Protection programme for qualifying orders, you’ll receive a full refund for your item if it doesn’t arrive, arrives damaged, or isn’t as described. Reach out to the seller directly to get help with an order.

How to use Etsy Gift Mode

Gift Mode makes gifting extra easy. Select the gift icon at the top of the navigation bar or tap the icon in the Etsy app, or go to Etsy.com/gift-mode.

To shop for gifts, you can start with taking a quiz, or scroll on the page to see popular gift ideas.

  1. Select who you are shopping for and select Next question.
  2. Select the occasion.
  3. Choose three or more interests that describe the recipient for the best results.
  4. Select Show gift ideas.

Browse the gift recommendations based on the recipient and their interests. Choose a listing or select Shop all ideas to see more gift ideas.

Select All gift ideas to return back to all the gift picks for your recipient, or Edit answers to select a new recipient or interests.

I couldn’t find what I was looking for using Gift Mode

If you need a little help finding the best gift, here are a few tips:

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