Whenever I get a notification that I’ve sold something, I go to my sales report to see who it was. Why? Because I like to thank the person. Out loud. Sure, they can’t hear me and never know that I do this…unless they’ve just read this sentence, in which case, if this is you: THANK YOU!
But, yeah, it’s something I like to do.
Anyway, while I’m looking at the name, I check the number next to it. That number tells me how many things that person has bought from me in the past. If that number is more than one, I always, always, always click on it to see what else they’ve purchased. It shows me every resource that person has bought from my store and when their last download was.
I love seeing proof that people have come back over the years to re-download. It totally makes my day.
But here’s the other side of that. It’s disappointing, really disappointing, when I click through and see that someone bought something back in 2016 and has never re-downloaded it since. Especially when it’s a bundle that ballooned from a couple of resources to over 100. Or a resource that grew from 10 pages to 50. They bought the early, scrappier version and have no idea what it is now.
I wish I had a way to reach out and tell them. But I don’t. And thinking it loudly in my head has so far not been effective. At all.
So, here I am, putting it on the internet instead, in hopes that a few people who didn’t know about this decide that maaaaaybe, just maybe, they should go check their “My Purchases“↗ tab. (Link works best if you are already logged into TpT.)
Go look! Your old purchases might be unrecognizably better.
Log into your TpT account, go to My Purchases, and sort by “Recently Updated.” Here’s the thing about digital purchases…they don’t work like apps on your phone. There’s no little badge, no pop-up, nothing nudging you to go back and grab the new version. You bought it, it did its job, life moved on.
TpT does post a notification when a resource you bought gets updated, but it’s a bit like a handwritten note on an index card posted on the community bulletin board at the back of a small local hardware store in a rural town. It’s there if you know where to look, but you have to go to that specific place on your own to even know it exists. (Which, on TpT, is in your “My Purchases” tab, and if you don’t use that “Recently Updated” filter, you’re totally on your own to notice if the “Last Updated” date is after the “Last Downloaded” date.)
So, go look because sellers update their resources all the time. Sometimes it’s minor, like a typo or a formatting fix. But sometimes it’s significant. There could be a completely redesigned layout, a new digital component, a whole additional set of activities, or more pages that simply didn’t exist when you originally bought it. And if you purchased before the update? You get the new version at No Extra Charge. You just have to go download it.
What if your next purchase could be cheaper…and your review could help another teacher make the right call?
Okay, so, while you’re already in there, looking at your purchases, go ahead and scroll scroll scroll while scanning for black “Leave a Review” buttons. (There used to be a filter for this, but TpT got rid of it, and as of this moment, we still haven’t been able to persuade them to put it back.)
TpT gives you one credit for every dollar you spent on a resource, but only after you leave a review on it. Those credits apply directly toward future purchases at checkout. Think of it this way…every paid resource you bought and never reviewed is a little pile of potential credit just sitting there instead of being applied to those things in your cart or wish list that you want.
I know you’re busy. I know a review feels like one more thing. But you’re already right there and looking at the list. Three minutes or so, and you get something back on your next purchase.
When you do leave that review, pretty please don’t skip the “Grades Taught” field just because it says optional. If you leave it blank, TpT will fill it in based on whatever it can infer from your account, which means a resource you used with adult ESL students could end up looking like you think it’s appropriate for third grade. That affects every future buyer trying to figure out if this resource is right for their students. Two seconds. Fill it in. Please.
Oooh, and be specific in the written part while you’re at it. You know how useless it is to scroll through five reviews that just say “Great resource!” Don’t be that review. Tell people what level your students were, whether it matched the description/preview, whether it needed adapting, whether the prep time was worth it, etc. That information is absolutely invaluable to someone trying to decide if this is worth their money.
Reviews are more powerful than you think.
Plus, well…I’ll just say it. It means the world to me (and other sellers). I’m not going to pretend otherwise. When someone takes the time to write a few real sentences about something I poured hours/days/weeks into, it totally makes my day. We all need to know our work matters. Teachers especially know that feeling, right? I mean, how often does anyone tell YOU that what you did made a difference? (And it did/does, by the way!) A thoughtful review is just that, and for a lot of sellers, it’s the closest thing we get.
Now, before leaving a negative review, PLEASE reach out to the seller first (the Q&A tab or via email if that’s provided within the resource). Most of us will bend over backwards to make it right if we know something is wrong. A typo, a broken link, a file that won’t print…these are all fixable, but only if we know about them. (Hey, we’re human, and we can’t afford the giant staff of a major publishing company.)
However, technical issues are TpT’s department, so contacting their support directly will get you help faster than we can.
Honest, constructive feedback is soooo valuable…reviews don’t have to be glowing. But if something went wrong, give the seller a chance to fix it first. A one or two-star review doesn’t give us that chance. And for a lot of sellers, this is income we depend on.
One more thing while you’re at it, and it couldn’t be easier!~
If there’s a seller whose resources you keep coming back to, Follow Their Store.
Sellers can activate a follower discount whenever they choose, and followers can use it once while it’s active. But you have to already be following when the discount goes live. If you’re not, the discount simply doesn’t appear for you. You’d never know it was there.
Following also means you’ll get notified when they release something new. (TpT sends out a New Resources email every morning.) Updates to existing resources, however, are a different story because TpT doesn’t send an alert for those. That is exactly why it’s worth sorting your My Purchases page by “Recently Updated” before using a resource again if it’s been a hot minute.
The Bottom Line
None of this is complicated. It’s just a few things that live a couple of clicks deep in an account you already have. TpT isn’t hiding it. But when you’re busy, stressed, and short on time (did I just partially define ‘teacher’?), it’s the kind of knowledge that gets set aside to deal with later, and later never quite arrives.
And if you’re in the adult ESL world, TpT may not even be fully on your radar yet, much less the finer details of how it works. Tips and hacks are probably not exactly popping up in your social media algorithm.
So…check your purchases for updates, write those reviews, and collect your credits. Fill in that grade level field (please!). And follow the sellers you like. (If that’s me, you’ll find me here.)↗
That’s it from me. See you in the next post!
Looking for teaching material? If you get image overwhelm when shopping on TpT, here‘s a quiet place to start.
