DM templates · Instagram
Instagram replies for order status questions
Answer “where is my order?” by asking for the one detail that finds it, usually the order number, then send a tracking link the buyer can check without you. The 14 replies below follow an order from payment to a parcel that never arrived, and the rules show what Meta lets a shop send once the chat goes quiet.
Updated 6 October 2026 · 14 templates
14 messages to copy
Tap a card to copy the message. Swap anything in braces, like {name}, for your own words before you send it.
Payment received, order confirmed
Payment received, thank you {name}! Your order is confirmed and we'll pack it within {time}. The tracking link will come by email or text as soon as it ships, so you won't need to chase us.
Shops that take orders in DMs should confirm payment the moment it lands. Until then, a buyer who paid by bank transfer or UPI is left wondering whether it went through.
Asking for the order number
Sorry you're still waiting, let's find it. Could you send me your order number? It's in the confirmation email or text you got when you paid. If you can't find it, the email address you ordered with works too.
Ask for one thing that finds the order. A name, a date or “the blue one” can match several orders; an order number matches exactly one.
Packed, not shipped yet
Thanks for checking, {name}. Your order is packed and leaves us on {time}. The tracking link goes to your email the same day, so keep an eye on your inbox, and the spam folder just in case.
Point to the email rather than a future DM. If it ships three days from now, an automated DM can't reach them by then.
Made to order, still in the queue
Your piece is made by hand after you order, so it takes {time} before it ships. You're in the queue and nothing is wrong. The tracking link will be emailed to you on the day it leaves our studio.
With a long lead time, state it in three places: the product page, the order email and here. Most buyers read at least one of them.
Shipped, with tracking
Good news: it's on its way! Here's your tracking link: {link}. New labels often show no movement for the first day, so if it looks empty, check again tomorrow.
A parcel often shows nothing until its first scan at the courier's depot. Saying so now heads off a second “it's not moving” message.
Tracking hasn't moved
I've checked, and the parcel hasn't had a new scan since {time}. That can happen while it's between depots. I've asked the courier, and I'll message you here with their answer by {time}.
Promise an update within the next 24 hours, while the chat is still open. Then keep the promise, even if the answer is “no news yet”.
Held at customs
Your parcel has reached customs in your country. This step can take a few days, and neither we nor the courier can hurry it. If there are import charges to pay, the courier will usually contact you before delivery.
Say who has the parcel now. People wait more patiently once they know it's out of the shop's hands.
Late because of us
I'm sorry, {name}. Your order is running late because of a stock delay on our side, and it will now ship on {time}. If you'd rather not wait, reply CANCEL and I'll refund you in full today.
Give the new date and a way out in one message. A choice turns a complaint into a decision the buyer gets to make.
Changing the delivery address
Yes, I can change it as long as it hasn't shipped. Please send the full new address in one message, with the postcode and any flat or unit number, and I'll confirm here once it's updated.
Ask them to paste the whole address. Copying it out piece by piece is where house numbers and postcodes go wrong.
Cancelling before it ships
I can cancel that for you. It hasn't shipped, so the full amount goes back to the card or account you paid with. Reply YES and I'll cancel it now.
A YES stops a cancellation nobody meant and leaves a record in the chat. Once it's done, tell them roughly how long their bank takes to show the refund.
Says delivered, but it isn't there
That's frustrating, I'm sorry. Couriers sometimes scan a parcel as delivered a little early. Could you check with neighbours, your building's front desk and any safe place by the door? If it still hasn't turned up by {time}, tell me and I'll open a claim with the courier.
Set a time to escalate, so they know exactly what happens next if the parcel stays missing.
Wrong item or damaged
I'm so sorry it arrived like that. Could you send a photo of what you received and one of the shipping label on the box? Then I'll arrange a replacement or a refund, whichever you'd prefer.
The label photo shows whether it was packed wrong or damaged on the way, which decides whether you or the courier covers it.
Public reply to an order complaint
So sorry about the wait! I've just sent you a DM so we can sort this out quickly.
Answer in public so other buyers see you responded, then fix it in private. Never ask for an order number or an address in the comments.
Private reply to that comment
Hi, I saw your comment about your order and I'm sorry it's taking so long. Could you send me the order number here? I'll check where it is straight away.
This is the only message Instagram allows after a comment until they answer, so it ends on a question. It has to go out within 7 days of the comment.
Set it up in DMFast
Message TRACK, get the tracking page
A DM opens the 24-hour window, so the card can go out with the first reply. Keywords match whole words: ORDER would also fire on “can I order the blue one?”, so TRACK is safer, with TRACKING added as a second word. The reply can't see your orders, so it hands over the page that can.
Pick direct messages
Connect your Instagram account and add an auto-reply for DMs. It answers messages, not comments.
Set the word: TRACK
Any message with the word TRACK in it gets this answer, in capitals or not.
Paste the message
Add the message shown here and the link card that goes with it.
Free plan, no card. Instagram professional accounts and Facebook Pages.
Rules to know
- Automated DMs can only go out within 24 hours of the buyer's last message. A shipping update three days after they last wrote can't be automated, so send it by email or text.
- Meta's human agent tag lets a person, not a bot, answer a support question for up to 7 days after the buyer's last message, in inbox tools that support it. It can't carry promotions.
- Through Meta's API, a shop can only message buyers who messaged it, commented, or replied to or mentioned it in a Story. Placing an order on your website doesn't open a DM.
- A comment about an order can get one private reply, sent within 7 days of the comment. Nothing else can follow until the buyer answers it.
- Replies that run automatically must make clear they're automated, under Meta's policy for automated chats.
Sources
Why shipping updates belong in email, not DMs
Instagram feels like the natural place to update a buyer who asked there, but the timing rules get in the way. Through Meta's API, which every automation and shared-inbox tool uses, automated messages stop 24 hours after the buyer's last message, and a person using the human agent tag has 7 days.
Say a buyer asks on Monday and the parcel ships on Thursday. Three days have passed since they last wrote, so an automatic “it's shipped” DM can't go out. Someone on your team could still answer by hand with the human agent tag until the following Monday; after that, the thread waits for the buyer to write again. Replies you type yourself in the Instagram app don't go through the API, but then every promise has to be remembered by hand.
Tip: Put the tracking link in the order confirmation, the shipping email and your link-in-bio page. Each buyer who finds it there is one fewer “where is my order?” in your DMs.
What to ask for, and what never to ask
One detail is enough to find an order: the order number, or the email or phone number used at checkout. Ask for it once, in your first reply, and don't make the buyer repeat anything already in the chat.
- Ask for the order number, or the email or phone number on the order.
- Ask for photos only when something arrived wrong or broken: the item, plus the shipping label.
- Never ask for card numbers, bank logins or one-time codes. No shop needs them to check an order, and fake accounts copying real shops ask for exactly these.
- Never ask for a home address or order details in public comments. Move the chat to DMs first.
- Skip “what did you order?” when the order number will tell you. Every extra question is another wait for the buyer.
When the complaint lands in your comments
Buyers who are tired of waiting sometimes post “still no order??” under your newest post. Reply in public so others can see you answered, then move it to DMs. The private reply is the only message Instagram lets you send until they answer, and it must go out within 7 days of the comment, so make it a single question: the order number.
Keep the public reply short and calm. Don't argue about dates where everyone can read it, and don't post the buyer's details. If the mistake is yours, a public “we got this wrong and we're fixing it” does more for the next buyer than any caption.
What to measure
Support teams call these WISMO messages, short for “where is my order?”. Count them each week. If the number jumps after a sale or a launch, buyers aren't finding the tracking link where they look, so add it to the order email, the shipping email and your bio link, then count again.
Put a tracked link on the tracking card to see how many people tap it. If plenty tap it and still write back, the tracking page itself is the problem: the order number field may be hard to find, or the courier's updates too vague to reassure anyone.
Questions people ask
Can I send an automatic DM when an order ships?
Only if the buyer messaged you within the last 24 hours. Automated messages through Meta's API must go out inside that window, and most orders take longer than a day to ship. Send shipping updates by email or text, and keep DMs for the questions buyers start.
Can an auto-reply look up someone's order?
No. A keyword reply sends the same message to everyone, so it can't check one buyer's parcel. What it can do is send your tracking page the moment someone messages TRACK. In DMFast, AI replies can also answer general questions, such as delivery times, from the business info you give them, but not questions about a single order.
How quickly should I answer an order status DM?
The same day if you can. A person using Meta's human agent tag can reply for up to 7 days, but a buyer asking about an order is already a little worried. An automatic reply that sends the tracking page and says when a person will check buys you that time honestly.
What if a buyer asks about their order in a comment?
Reply publicly with a short apology and say you've sent a DM. Then send one private reply, within 7 days of the comment, asking for the order number. Nothing else can go out until they answer, so keep that message to the one question.
Is it safe to ask for an order number in Instagram DMs?
Yes. An order number, or the email used at checkout, is all a shop needs. Never ask for card details, bank logins or one-time codes, and say in your bio or order emails that you never will, since fake shop accounts sometimes ask for them.
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