Communication Guidelines
Last updated: December 24, 2023
As part of selling on the Ponlo en Casa store, sellers communicate with buyers both directly and indirectly. Ponlo en Casa requires that sellers follow the guidelines below for any communication with buyers. The Communication Guidelines policy is meant to protect buyers from fraud and abuse, and to protect you from unscrupulous actions from your competitors. Raising the bar for all communications to buyers benefits all our selling partners, resulting in a stronger marketplace.
Direct communication
Order status messages
- Problem with order messages: You must communicate with buyers if the product ordered is not available to be shipped. Firstly, you must provide to us the reason of why you are not able to complete the order. Secondly, follow the necessary steps to communicate with the buyer about your inability to fulfill the order. The message must contain a confirmation that the order will be canceled, with the appropriate reason for the unavailability of the items. If you think you can fulfill the order, but the shipment will be delayed beyond the advertised availability, you must notify us and the buyer about the delay. If the buyer decides to cancel the order, we will to process the refund without prior advice to you.
- Return-related messages: We will process a refund for canceled orders minus any fees incurred if the buyer canceled the order without a reasonable justification. If the seller is responsible for canceling the order, the default fee will be deducted from any amount they have in stock with us or will be charged on future sales.
Buyer-Seller Messages
You may only send Permitted Messages to customers who have contacted you about purchasing a product or who have already purchased a product from you on the Ponlo en Casa store. We define Permitted Messages as those communications necessary to complete an order or to respond to a customer service inquiry.
Proactive Permitted Messages are those messages that you initiate and are not responses to a buyer’s question. Proactive Permitted Messages can be sent via email, using Ponlo en Casa templates via the Contact buyer or Request a review page in Seller Panel Account. You may send proactive Permitted Messages for the following reasons: resolving an issue with order fulfillment, requesting additional information required to complete the order, asking a return-related question, requesting product review or seller feedback or both, scheduling the delivery of a heavy or bulky item, scheduling a Home Services appointment, verifying a custom design, or any other reason where the contact is required for the buyer to receive their purchase. Proactive Permitted Messages must be sent within 30 days of order completion. All proactive Permitted Messages must include the order ID and be in the buyer’s language of preference.
Permitted Messages do not include any of the following message types (in many cases we are already emailing customers with this information on your behalf):
- Order or shipping confirmations (Refer to the Indirect communication section below)
- Messages that say only “Thank you” or that you are here to help if buyers have any problems
- Marketing or promotional messaging, including coupons
- Language that either incentivizes or persuades the buyer to submit positive product reviews or seller feedback, including by offering compensation, money, free or discounted products, refunds, rebates or reimbursements, or future benefits
- Language that requests removal or an update of an existing product review
- Language that requests a product review only if they have had a positive experience with the product
- A repeat request (per order) for a product review or seller feedback
Permitted Messages may not include any of the following:
- External links unless they are secure working links (https, not http) necessary for order completion or links to Ponlo en Casa
- Attachments except for those needed to resolve a buyer’s issue (for example, shipping labels and custom designs)
- Logos, if they contain or display a link to your website
- Link to opt-out of messaging
- Sensitive content in images or text (for example, bare skin, violence or gore, and adult or offensive language)
- Tracking pixels or images
- Email addresses
- Telephone numbers except those related to warranties, shipping providers, or manufacturers
- Images of purchased products as Ponlo en Casa includes those on your behalf
- Images that do not relate to your brand or company
Permitted Message styling may not contain any of the following:
- Accessibility issues from links without explanatory text (for example, Click here for warranty information) or images or graphics without alt-text
- Emojis, including emoticons
- Animated GIFs
- Fonts in more than three sizes
- Message bodies that are centered or that otherwise override default text alignment settings
- Unsecure images (http instead of https)
- Egregious spelling errors or grammar issues (Yes, you must have fluency, good spelling and consistency in your messages so that they can be understood without difficulty. Remember that Ponlo en Casa clients are people who live in other countries, have different cultures, and the language in which you communicate with them is different from their primary language. Poor communication can lead to a sale not being made).
