How to Link a Drop: Import Your Existing Instagram Posts
Already posted your drop straight to Instagram — from your phone or Meta Business Suite — and then decided you want the Sales Assistant running it? You don't have to start over. With Link a drop, you point Thryft Ship at posts that are already live, and it reads the comments, answers questions, and builds every buyer's cart, exactly like a drop you posted through Thryft Ship.
- Start a new drop and choose Link a drop (the “I post, Thryft tracks” option) instead of Create a drop.
- Give the drop a name, pick your drop type, and set when bidding ends — the things Thryft Ship can't read off Instagram.
- Pick your posts from a grid of everything you've posted in the last 48 hours — tap the ones in this drop.
- Confirm, and the Sales Assistant reads the comments already on those posts and keeps monitoring new ones. It never posts anything on your behalf.
When you'd use this
Normally with Thryft Ship you create a drop first and post from there. But plenty of sellers post to Instagram first — manually or scheduled through Meta Business Suite — and only later think, “I wish the Sales Assistant were handling these comments.” Link a drop is for exactly that. It connects posts that are already live on your profile so you get the automation without re-uploading a thing.
How to link a drop
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Start a new drop and choose “Link a drop”
Head to your Sales Assistant and start a new drop. You'll see two ways to run it: Create a drop (“Thryft posts for me”) or Link a drop (“I post, Thryft tracks”). Choose Link a drop and click Link my posts.
Screenshot: the “Start a new drop” screen — choose Link a drop -
Tell us about your drop
Because these posts are already on Instagram, there are just two things Thryft Ship can't read from them: how bidding works and when it closes. Give your drop a name, choose a drop type (this tells the Sales Assistant how to read the comments on every post you link), and set when the drop ends. Then click Pick your posts.
Screenshot: “Tell us about your drop” — name, drop type, and end time -
Pick your posts from the grid
You'll see a grid of your Instagram posts from the last 48 hours. Tap the ones that belong to this drop (tap again to remove one). Posts already in your inventory are tagged; anything new gets imported as a new item when you link. Just posted something and don't see it? Hit Refresh.
Screenshot: “Which posts are in this drop?” — your last-48-hours grid -
Verify, and let the Sales Assistant take over
Give everything a once-over to make sure it's right, then confirm. From that moment, the Sales Assistant reads all the comments already on those posts — bids, BINs, and SOLD/claims — responds to them, and keeps monitoring new comments in real time. It runs exactly like a drop you posted through Thryft Ship.
Good to know
- You choose the posts. Nothing gets swept in automatically — you tap the exact posts that belong to the drop.
- It shows your last 48 hours. The grid pulls your recent posts; use Refresh if you just posted. Items already in your inventory are tagged, and anything new imports as a new item.
- The drop type matters. It's how the Sales Assistant reads each post's comments (for example, bidding vs. buy-it-now), so pick the one that matches how you ran the sale.
- Scheduled-but-not-yet-posted items aren't supported yet. Link a drop works with posts that are already live. Pulling in Meta Business Suite posts that haven't gone out yet is something we're looking at for a future update.
Common questions
Will buyers be able to tell I linked the drop?
No. To your buyers, nothing looks different — they keep commenting on your Instagram posts like always. The Sales Assistant simply starts handling those comments behind the scenes, and Thryft Ship never posts anything itself.
What happens to bids that came in before I linked?
They're picked up. When you link, the Sales Assistant reads all the existing comments and processes them — so early bids, BINs, and claims are recognized and answered, not lost.
Why do I set an end time instead of it being automatic?
Because the posts are already live, Thryft Ship can't know from Instagram when you want bidding to close — so you tell it during setup. That, plus your drop type, is the only info it needs that it can't read from your posts.
