Star Seller Rating Affected Due to Etsy Putting Messages Into Spam Folder

[GoldDoorVintage]

Same issues as others. No message alerts in Shop Manager to notify me that I had a message in my spam folder. Saw it after 3 days and responded immediately and it also resulted in a sale. Etsy support told me to post here. They would/could not resolve the issue or forward to technical team to change the rating. No option to forward my issue to the technical team either or chat with them directly. 

[AutumnHollowStudio]

I have been checking my spam folder every day because of this... it's been ongoing for at least a few weeks now (that I know of). The worst part about this is that the new and improved (smirk) seller app does not have the spam folder in the message section.

I am sorry you are dealing with this.

[Adorabilities]

I think the worst part is that they acknowledged the issue and promised sellers that those messages wouldn't count against them. But they did.

[AutumnHollowStudio]

@Adorabilities yes, it's terrible and they need to make it right

[GoldDoorVintage]

Thank you! Frustrating that they know about the problem but will not fix it. 

[NanaLetha]

Since this started happening, I check my spam folder a few times each day using my desktop and a browser.

[GoldDoorVintage]

Same! 

[TBQSC]

Set up auto reply message!

[GoldDoorVintage]

I can do that now, but too late for the last calculation. Shouldn't be up to the Sellers to fix technical issues that they are well aware of. 

[TigSylvan]

Etsy decided that a customer's inquiry was spam, and put it in the new spam folder. 

I found it there days later and responded (of course not less than 24 hours)

This is annoying, and it's also upsetting that a customer's inquiry actually ended up in spam.  Luckily they forgave the delay and I actually made a sale.

Unfortunately, as I don't have that many people write to me, this stupidity might cost me star seller next month also....

ETSY fix the spam filter -- and a response to something from spam should not count against star seller.

Sellers - BEWARE - and check that stupid spam box for inquiries.

[Adorabilities]

Put it back in the spam folder, and it won't count against you next month, at least.

[CarpetCollectionAU]

@Adorabilities Judging from what many contributors have reported in Forums lately, I think that is a "loophole' that has been closed.

I am not sure if the other "loophole" of just placing a missed message in Spam later than 24 hours uas also been closed, but I hope it has. 

I found a legitimate Message in the Spam folder recently. I did not move it out of Spam, but I did reply from the Spam Folder and it was recorded as being l Late response. I believe that the development of bot identification of "Spam" has been a bit "sketchy" and that there were also some other changes associated with this which we will only completely understand as we have more experience with and understanding of how this whole "Spam" notification syatem now works.

I suppose  I am seeking clarification of is when  a Seller marks a Message as "Spam" is this idfferen to the Etsy Bot identification of "Spam". Do the same rules apply to both or can Etsy differentiate between the two?

[Adorabilities]

@CarpetCollectionAU 
Well, that stinks. 

It would seem that they think they can differentiate between the two, since they assured sellers that those particular messages would not count against them.

But in practice, seems that it's not working. Now it's just more confusing. 

[VintageByGaslight]

I lost my star seller badge last month (April)  due to a 'glitch' in Message response rate. I actually received an email from Etsy to say they were reinstating my Star badge for the rest of April and May. On the 1st May I see I am down to 90% in my message response rate . Star sellers work hard to do their best for customers.  What's going on?

[TheWhiskeyWorkshopCo]

Same issue for me.  Had 4 legit messages end up in spam, which I eventually found and responded to.  That caused my message response rate to dip and for the first time since the program was implemented I lost Star seller status.  Tried to do a chat with Etsy support but they were no help.  Just kept telling me the spam issue was resolved, which it is.  For whatever reason, the agent kept telling me I responded after 24 hours and refused to acknowledge it was their fault that it happened.  

[JDTotesnDolls]

Contact Etsy to let them know you had this issue.  They said they were fixing the issue and would fix the badges for those caught in it.

My takeaway from this is to check the forums and, for example, when this one happened I started checking the number on the spam folder.  If it changed I knew I needed to answer to make it within that 24 hour period.

[TheWhiskeyWorkshopCo]

I chatted with Etsy support.  They cannot re-award a lost star seller badge due to their mistake.  They offered me 20 free listing credits.  A whopping $4 in value for potentially thousands of dollars in lost sales.  

[JMOldeVintage]

I will once again post this:

Originally posted by an Etsy rep. in this older thread:

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Technical-Issues/Non-spam-ends-up-directly-in-Spam-folder/td-p/1451063...

"Thank you for reporting this! We’re dedicated to keeping your accounts and the Etsy marketplace safe and secure. 

We’ve been making improvements to help you better identify authentic messages from Etsy. Recently, we’ve worked to reduce the noise in your Inbox by automatically moving potentially suspicious messages to your Spam folder (which you can only check on desktop right now). 

As a result of this, some of your messages may have been moved to the Spam folder in error. We’re working to improve the accuracy of these measures and we apologize for the confusion and inconvenience this may have caused. 

We’ve also heard your questions and concerns about how this might impact your Star Seller eligibility, which we wanted to clarify. Messages marked as spam by Etsy will not impact your Star Seller eligibility. If Etsy has marked a message as spam that you subsequently move out of the folder, we’ve ensured that also will not impact your Star Seller eligibility."

My addition of italic/bold.

Etsy appears to have acknowledged that their attempt to curtail the scam/spam messages did not go as planned. They should be more than willing to correct their error.

Realize that with all the changes Etsy has made to Search recently there is one consistent filter I am always given the option to use - the ability to filter for Star Seller Shops. 

How many buyers &/or browsers actually use this filter option is irrelevant. It's there. In the Etsy tv ad I saw yesterday they make a point to show one of the shops they're featuring is a Star Seller. IMO Etsy should be working on updating all shops' stats until this gets issue gets corrected.

[TBQSC]

I will once again post this ...

Set up an AUTO REPLY (not the 5-day max one!!).  The AR works for attaining & maintaining your Star Seller Messaging Metrics, no matter which folder the messages originally arrived in.  Use the browser to check your messaging folders DAILY, even several times throughout the day if need be.  While the spam folder issue is an ongoing problem, there IS a viable solution ... you just have to be willing to use it!  Wishing everyone best of luck!

[BagmakerSupply]

@Adorabilities: I believe that the "put in SPAM" workaround only worked for unanswered Messages.

[Adorabilities]

@BagmakerSupply 
It was working for back-and-forth (answered) threads at some point, but it seems things have changed since then.

And because now they've just gone and deleted select spam messages from our spam boxes, I doubt what was working yesterday is still working today. 

[CarpetCollectionAU]

@BagmakerSupply I think you are correct. Any action on a message except putting it into "spam" untouched, seems to afect the "on time replies" metric

@Adorabilities  I agree this "back and forth" did work in the past but, clearly, that loophole has been closed subsequent to / consequent of the most recent "automated bot" spam filtering

[SouthwestJewelryUS]

I followed a thread last week from a guy who wrote on this forum about losing his Star Seller Badge over spam messages. Other sellers weren't overly kind to him telling him this is a seller's forum and why the heck was he reaching out here to get help on this matter. Well, Etsy is actually giving those of us with this problem a link to the forum here, telling us this is where we're supposed to report our problem and they will be able to resolve it from here. Thought you should know. And they're doing nothing to resolve the mistakes they've made taking away some Star Seller Badges, like mine, over delayed responses to spam messages.

[GroundZeroCreations]

Please understand that when you reach out to support, you are not talking to Etsy employees. Maybe rarely you are, but Etsy outsources their support. Unfortunately, this company they are using is ignorant to how Etsy works or they simply just want to get rid of the person and give them anything just to close the convo/ticket out.

So please understand that while sellers can come here asking for advice, they cannot get help that results in a change with the problem. As for the issue with spam messages affecting eligibility for SS, that is most often on the seller for failing to educate themselves on the SS requirements. It is hard to feel empathy for that since Etsy actually has a link on our shop dashboard that goes directly to those requirements.

[michellepatterns]

The forums can resolve issues by explaining some of the "why" things happen the way they happen. The forums can't fix anything which is the resolution most people are seeking.  

When etsy gives a link to the forum they are saying in an indirect way "we can't or won't be able help you with this problem" so explanations from people in the forums are pretty much the only resolution available.  That's not ideal and I agree etsy should correct things when the mistake is on their end, but there are times they can't or won't.