Messaging

Messaging is where deals on 12sell actually close. Every Deal, every Showcase, every Tale has a Message button — tap it and a real-time chat opens with the other business.

The Messaging tab is your inbox: every conversation you've started or received, sorted by latest activity. Chats come in two kinds — one-to-one (you and one other business) and group chats (a named group of up to 64 businesses). See Group chats below.

Starting a conversation

There are three ways to message someone on 12sell:

1. From a Deal — tap Message on the deal. The chat opens with a reference to the deal, so the other side knows exactly what you're asking about.
2. From a Showcase — same: tap Message on the showcase, the chat opens with the showcase referenced.
3. From a profile — open any user's profile and tap Message to start an empty chat.

You can also reply to a Tale — the chat opens with the Tale referenced.

What you can send

Messaging supports everything you'd expect from a serious business chat tool:

Real-time everything

• Messages arrive instantly — there's no refresh button and no delay.
• Typing indicators show when the other side is typing.
• Read receipts tell you when your message has been read.
• Voice messages show a "played" indicator after the recipient listens.
• Push notifications alert you to new messages on iOS, Android, and the browser.

Group chats

A group chat is a named conversation with more than one other business — useful for a deal involving several parties, a buying syndicate, a supplier-plus-logistics thread, or any closed B2B group.

Creating a group requires a verified account. To create one:

1. In the Messages tab, tap New group chat.
2. Search and select the members you want (at least one).
3. Give the group a name (required) and optionally a group photo.
4. Tap Create.

A group can have up to 64 members.

Roles

Every group has an owner and can have admins and ordinary members:

The owner (or an admin) can set whether any member or only admins can add new people.

Joining and leaving

• Invite links — owners and admins can generate a shareable invite link. Anyone who opens it sees a preview (group name, photo, member count) and can request to join; if they're not signed in, they're prompted to sign in first. Links can be reset by an admin.
• Leave — any member can leave a group at any time. The owner can't leave directly — they transfer ownership or delete the group first.
• Read receipts — in a group, a message shows as read only once every other member has seen it.
• Notifications — mute or snooze a group's notifications per-member, without leaving it.

Everything you can send in a one-to-one chat — text, photos, documents, voice, location, reactions, replies, forwards, shared deal/showcase cards — works in groups too.

Saved Messages

Every account has a Saved Messages chat — a private conversation with yourself, pinned to the top of your inbox. Use it as a scratchpad: forward a deal you want to revisit, jot a note, or stash a document. Only you can see it.

Managing your inbox

The Messages tab lists every conversation, sorted by latest activity. Filter chips at the top let you narrow the list to All, Chats (one-to-one), Groups, Following, or by Country. For each conversation you can:

• Pin — pinned conversations stay at the top of your inbox no matter how recent the activity.
• Archive — move a quiet conversation out of the main inbox without deleting it. You can find archived conversations under the archive view.
• Delete — remove a conversation from your inbox. Deletion only affects your side; the other person still has the history.
• Mute — silence push notifications for that conversation (or group).
• Block — block a user. Blocked users can't message you, can't see your profile or content, and don't appear in your search. (Block applies to one-to-one chats.)
• Report — report a conversation that breaks the rules.

These options are in the conversation menu (long-press the conversation in the inbox or open the conversation and tap the menu).

Search

Search across all your conversations from the Messages tab. The search matches:

• The other person's business title.
• The content of any text message.
• Shared deals or showcases by their title.

This is the fastest way to find that lead from three weeks ago.

Typing tips that close more deals

• Reply quickly. First-response time is the single biggest predictor of whether a 12sell lead converts. Even a "Looking, give me 10 mins" beats silence.
• Use voice messages for anything longer than two sentences. They're faster than typing, sound more human, and B2B buyers read them as a sign of seriousness.
• Send a photo of the actual stock when negotiating — even if you have a Showcase. It removes doubt.
• Reply to specific messages in long threads. It keeps context clear when discussing multiple SKUs or quantities at once.
• Share the original Deal or Showcase as a card inside the chat instead of repeating its details. It also locks the conversation to the right product.

Privacy and safety

• Conversations are between you and the other party only. Other 12sell users can't see your chats.
• Verified businesses (see Verification) display a verified badge inside the chat header, helping both sides decide how much trust to extend before sharing sensitive details.
• Block and report are always one tap away.
• Don't share sensitive payment info (full card numbers, banking PINs, etc.) inside chats. Use the platform's payment flows where applicable, or move to your usual escrow / banking process for high-value transactions.

What happens after you send a deal in chat

When you share a Deal or Showcase inside a chat, the other side sees a clickable card. Tapping it:

• Opens the full deal/showcase view.
• Lets them like, share, or message about it directly.
• Leaves the chat thread intact for follow-up.

This is the cleanest way to negotiate over a specific item without losing the conversation.

Notifications

You'll get push notifications for:

• New messages.
• Mentions and replies in long threads.
• Voice messages (with a sound preview hint).
• Reactions to your messages (configurable in Settings).

You can fine-tune which message events trigger notifications under Settings → Notifications.

Common questions

Are messages free?

Yes. Messaging doesn't cost tokens. Tokens are only for posting and boosting.

Can I message anyone or only people I follow?

You can message any 12sell user. There's no follow gate.

Can I message in groups?

Yes. 12sell supports both one-to-one chats and group chats of up to 64 businesses. Creating a group requires a verified account; anyone can be added to one. For broadcasting to many followers at once (rather than a closed conversation), post a Tale, Deal, or Showcase instead.

Can I edit or delete a message I sent by mistake?

Yes. Long-press your message. Edit works on your own text messages for up to 48 hours (edited messages are labeled "edited"). Delete gives you two choices: Delete for me (hides it from your view) or Delete for everyone (removes it for both sides).

Will the other person know I read their message?

Yes — read receipts are on by default. There isn't a way to disable them at the moment; this matches B2B norms (where prompt acknowledgement is expected).

How do voice messages work?

Hold the mic button in the chat input to record, release to send. The recipient sees a waveform and play button. Voice messages auto-compress for quick delivery and the player remembers your position if you pause mid-listen.

What happens if I block someone?

They can't message you, can't see your profile, can't see your Deals/Showcases/Tales, and don't appear in your search results. You become invisible to them.

What does "archived" mean vs "deleted"?

Archived conversations are hidden from your main inbox but still exist — you can find them in the archive view and the chat history is intact. Deleted conversations are removed from your inbox entirely (the other side still has the chat).

How do typing indicators and read receipts behave on multiple devices?

Both work in real time across web, iOS, and Android. If you're signed in on two devices, opening a chat on one marks the messages as read on both.

Next steps

• Deals — where most messages start.
• Showcases — share your catalog inside chats.
• Verification — verified badge dramatically increases reply rates.
• Tokens — how the rest of the platform's economy works.