I just got a suspicious chat request a few minutes ago from “a marketer with vast year’s of experience”, promising me the moon blah blah blah … blocked right away.
I never ignore a potential customer. Sometimes they just say hI because they justifiably think it is a live messaging chat and they are confused why there is no answer. I explain it isn’t and they come back in six hours still confused, but we work it out and I make a sale. Some times it turns out to be spam and I ignore them. It has never ben anything to worry about. Zazzle is becoming more interactive and I really enjoy it. I don’t judge their opening line, because there are many customers who don’t speak English as a first language. So their vocabulary doesn’t sound right to my ears, but they are totally legit.
You can give your Zazzle store whatever tone and interaction that you wish. I use my real name, I tell them where I live and I am often online when they contact me and I answer right back. I have found the more I engage with Zazzle the more money I make.