Q&A with Etsy staff: Star Seller

[#1]

Hi everyone,

Today we’re announcing Star Seller—a way for Etsy to reward shops that consistently offer an excellent customer experience in the areas we know are important to buyers: responding to messages quickly, shipping, and 5-star ratings. We’re also introducing a Star Seller dashboard in your Shop Manager that will be updated daily so you can track your progress to becoming a Star Seller. Some sellers will begin to see the new dashboard now in their Shop Manager as we make it available to all sellers throughout the day today.

We know that updates and new tools come with questions, so we’ll have Etsy staff from the Star Seller team on hand to help answer some of your top questions about becoming a Star Seller! 

Here are the Q&A details:

- Share your questions about Star Seller and/or the new dashboard by replying to this post from now until Friday, July 30. The post will close to questions that day at 9pm ET.

- Etsy staff from the Star Seller team will answer as many questions as possible on Friday, August 6th by 5pm ET.

- Because we will not be able to answer all questions, be sure to read through what others have asked before posting your own. If your question has already been asked, give it a Like! We want to ensure that we answer the questions that matter most to you, so with that in mind, we will prioritize answering questions with the most Likes.

And a few housekeeping notes:

- This Q&A is to address questions about Star Seller and the Star Seller dashboard. Please note that the team will not be able to look into shop specific scenarios or speak to situations specific to your shop here. Please also remember that all comments should remain on topic and in line with our community policies. Any comments that violate our policies will be removed.

- If you have feedback to share, we encourage you to fill out our seller survey form. We are collecting feedback and suggestions from the community here, and the team is actively reviewing it over the next couple of weeks.

Thanks, all. We're looking forward to your questions!

[DesignsbyDaffy]

I would like to also mention that the last 18 months has been some of the hardest times we as a country have faced and it's getting much worse again. We still don't have complete resolution to postal issues that have been going on since last Christmas. We had numerous boxes of Christmas Pajamas that didn't arrive to customers till a month after Christmas. It got better, no issues, then it happened to us again with Easter Baskets. We are still in the middle of a pandemic, we're going into 4th quarter, and now you decide to once again roll some craziness that is completely insane. My hard work pays your salaries, it's about time you start listening to your sellers.

Example of reviews I have no control over - I had a customer this week who evidently just can't read, place an order, I filled it exactly as she placed it, shipped it early, etc. She gets the order and next thing I know she posts a one star review saying she didn't get what she ordered and I'm unwilling to fix it. Haven't talked to her at all, didn't know there was an issue, she posts that she received a napmat, but thought she was ordering a lunch box and backpack. 1) my drop down has 3 options attached to pictures which are backpack only, lunchbag only, napmat only. Not sure how much clearer than that I can be and I do it that way so I can track my inventory accurately. We personalize items, so no I don't typically do returns, unless we made a mistake, or depending on the situation, I try to be understanding within reason and always do what I can, but I can't lose money when it's not something I made a mistake on. Point is she never reached out to me before posting that, I looked back to make sure I hadn't missed something or to make sure someone else who helps me hadn't responded and I didn't know it. NOTHING - no communication about it. I reached out to her regarding the matter, even though at this point there's nothing I can do about the 1 star. Humbled myself even though I didn't make a mistake and offered for her to send the napmat back, for her to send me the tracking and I would send the backpack and lunch she thought she ordered. Do you think she has responded to me??? NO!!! Will Etsy do anything about this 1 star review, no because it doesn't fit any of the criteria, it's automatically my fault!!!

[MetroEvents]

I got to do a survey about the star thing, didn't have anything nice to say about it at all especially considering that the message, stats, and dashboard systems still have glitches that have never been fixed in the last 10 years I have been on Etsy but why not start some sort of control service to keep the sellers in check. 
After being initially angry about this I spent some time in meditation and decided that the star system can suck it. I will never click on that stupid link again I don't care what Etsy thinks of me or my shop I work for myself not Etsy.

[FuzzyFoxDesigns]

I am frustrated, but much in the same way I'm always frustrated by injustice and willfull stupidity : )

I've got many thousands of followers on social media, thousands of positive reviews on Etsy and have been recognised for my work by the leading magazines in my field. If Etsy doesn't want to get with the program, that's their issue! : P I neither need nor desire their silly badge. hehe 

[DesignsByMiffy]

Basing the Star Seller rating on ratings and comments is a much better idea than basing it on 'orders sent with tracking info'.   1.   If orders being sent without tracking (as it common for us Canadian sellers who have small items being shipped lettermail) are not arriving, our feedback will reflect that.   2. NOBODY would pay the $17 that Canada Post charges for a trackable packet when purchasing a $0.50 product.    I thin, the Star Seller program is a great idea, for sure, but when 'tracking info' is one of the main considerations, well, anyone can ship out a crappy/subpar product with tracking info on it; that doesn't make them a 'Star Seller'.   

[WolfcatCreative]

Canadian here bumping up this comment!

[NotSoPerfectLeather]

I have a couple of questions. First, is the response rate to customers for the initial response or for everything time they add a comment. My response rate is lower than expected, so I wondered if that was because I didn't "get the last word in" when they finished with a thank you. Also, my shipping rate is also lower than expected because I can only think of a couple of time out of 700 orders that I may have had to ship a day or two late. I'm assuming it is because there were several local orders that I hand delivered and didn't have a tracking number for. In the case when I end up hand delivering, what should I put in the tracking number slot so that it won't count against me? Thanks.

[blue510patterns]

Star Sellers is another one of Etsy's REALLY, REALLY BAD IDEAS! Programmers NEVER listen to sellers and since they don't run their own shops; how could we expect them to know what is actually happening on a daily basis......yet blindly they judge the ones doing the work.

[WhoozQueen]

Star Seller is a dreadful idea, not based in reality.  Very few of us will ever qualify, and it won't be our fault.  I will never qualify because I don't use tracking.  Its just too expensive compared to the products that I sell, especially as Etsy has pushed us to offer free postage.  It would cost me half my income.  As another store here has pointed out, the idea has no data scientific backing and should be dropped altogether.  It comes across as an idea some executive thought up and the yes men surrounding them applauded it without seeking advice or testing it.

[HigherEdApparel]

I use a third party print-on-demand company to fulfill my orders. They ship my orders directly from their warehouses. Thus, shipping is out of my control. How does this feature handle third party company's shipping delays?

[WolfcatCreative]

I received messages when I made my own purchases (“thanks for your order” kind of message) and messages from Etsy inviting me to sellers summits.  It appears these counting against me if I don’t reply. 
I don’t have tracking on my orders so my Canadian orders count as shipped on time but the US ones don’t - I have marked them all as shipped and no one has raised a case or complained about shipping so this is frustrating that you are saying I’m not shipping on time.  Can I just punch random numbers in the tracking field to make you happy?

[valleycreativedesign]

One major major flaw I see in this is for those of us selling digital custom items. Those are never physically shipped so will never have a tracking number. Etsy tracks this as me not shipping “in time” despite my marking the order complete within the timeframe, simply because I don’t have a tracking number included. It is very rare that I have a “late” shipment but because they are shipped physically they are counted as late?? This is ridiculous. What would you have me do? I could make up a tracking number if that would help trick your algorithm. SMH. 

As others have mentioned too… some messages don’t require a response (for example, a customer responding to YOU saying “Great! Thanks!” doesn’t need a response from me) or would be unreasonable to be responded to that quickly (for example: Christmas, weekends, message coming in the middle of the night from another time zone). Your goals are admirable but they’re not accounting for natural human behavior. 

I also do find it odd that my “rating” rank is penalized if I have a recent low score… regardless of the hundreds of 5-star ratings I’ve already received. Some consideration should be taken into account for a long-term track record. 

[CreationsMarika]

Hi ! My customers cannot leave a comment or a star on my store. How can I activate this function? Thank you !

[hopeandjoyhome]

If they check out as a guest they can't leave a review..but they could join etsy/get an etsy buyers account then leave a review on a qualifying guest purchase if they wanted to I have heard

[GroundZeroCreations]

I just had a thought...Why doesn't Etsy convert this to an Etsy Employee Customer Service Response Star System? I would love to see how their employees fair, especially on the responds to messages thing!

[FidosFlowers]

Hello, everyone!

Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback and questions in this Q&A. We’re closing this thread now. The team will be here next week to answer your questions.

[FidosFlowers · Accepted solution]

Hi, everyone! The team is here today to answer your questions and will get started shortly. Thank you for your patience.

[FidosFlowers · Accepted solution]

Hi all,

Thanks again for taking the time to share your questions and feedback. In addition to the answers from Etsy Staff that you’ll find below, we wanted to share a summary post to highlight answers to some of the most asked questions. 

General 

• Why is Etsy rolling out Star Seller?
  • Delivering an excellent customer experience is core to selling on our platform. Star Seller is a way to recognize and reward Etsy sellers who consistently provide this great customer experience to their buyers. As part of Star Seller, we’ll be providing data and insights so sellers know exactly how they’re doing in the areas that matter most to customers. Starting in September of this year, we’ll introduce a buyer-facing badge for sellers who meet the Star Seller criteria to signal to buyers that Star Sellers have a proven record of providing an excellent customer experience based on the Star Seller criteria: response rate, on time shipping & tracking, and ratings.

• How can I get to be a Star Seller? What should I do? How often will I be evaluated for Star Seller?
  • Qualification criteria for Star Seller:
    • Response rate: 95% or more of initial buyer messages are responded to within 24 hours
    • On-time shipping & tracking: 95% or more of your orders must ship on time with tracking or with a shipping label purchased on Etsy 
    • 5 star ratings: 95% or more of your orders must receive 5 star ratings
    • You must also meet a minimum of 10 orders and $300 in sales during the 3-month review period, and you must have been on Etsy’s platform for 90 days since your first sale.  
    • Star Sellers will be reviewed on the first of each month, and the review period for Star Seller will look at the last 3 months of data prior to the review date. You can read more about Star Seller here or in our terms here.

• Is Star Seller replacing the old ODR system? Will sellers be penalized in any way outside of not receiving a Star Seller badge if they aren’t meeting the Star Seller requirements? 
  • Nope - Star Seller is not a disciplinary program (instead, quite the opposite!) Low stats will not be penalized through Star Seller. 

• Does becoming a Star Seller impact my search ranking?
  • At this time, Star Seller will not directly impact your search ranking. Outside of search ranking, we plan to introduce a buyer-facing Star Seller badge later this year, starting in September, to make it easier for buyers to identify and shop from Star Sellers. Do keep in mind that a listing’s conversion rate can impact a listing’s visibility in relevant searches, and a Star Seller badge could influence purchase behavior.

• How do canceled or refunded orders work towards my orders and sales?
  • Canceled orders are not counted towards your minimum threshold for orders or sales, and they’re also not counted towards your customer service metrics. However, if you refund an order without canceling it, then this will still count towards all your metrics. We encourage you to use the streamlined process for canceling and refunding orders together if you wish to both cancel and refund an order. Read more about how to do that: https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015587347-How-to-Cancel-a-Sale?segment=selling 

• How does vacation mode affect my eligibility for Star Seller?
  • Turning on vacation mode will not pause your metrics for Star Seller. On the first of every month, we’ll look back at your last 3 months of performance on Etsy to evaluate for Star Seller - this is regardless of vacation mode. If you come back from vacation and you reach the Star Seller criteria for the current review period, then you’ll be eligible for Star Seller.

Response rate and messages

• How is response rate calculated? What about time zone considerations? Am I expected to respond to messages on the weekends now too?
  • Your message response rate shows the percentage of initial buyer messages that you reply to within 24 hours in your current 3-month review period—just the first message, not ongoing conversations. Your response rate is refreshed daily. Your response rate does not include messages marked as spam, and marking a message unread doesn’t count that message as “new” again (and doesn’t restart the clock). If you feel you cannot keep up with your incoming messages in a 24 hour window, a few options to consider could include: setting up an auto-reply in your shop (which will count as a response), using Saved Replies to quickly respond to frequently asked questions, downloading the Sell on Etsy app to more easily respond to messages on the go, or going on vacation mode and using the vacation mode auto-reply if your shop is taking a short break.

• Are auto-replies counted towards my response rate?

  • Yes, whether you set up a temporarily auto-reply or have an auto-reply on through vacation mode, these count as messages, so they’ll count positively toward your message response rate.

Shipping

• How is the shipping stat calculated? What about time zone considerations?
  • The shipping metric is calculated by the percentage of orders that include a valid tracking number or with a shipping label purchased on Etsy, and that are shipped within your stated processing time. In the US and for sellers listing in USD, we are asking that sellers provide a valid tracking number or use a shipping label purchased on Etsy on all orders since we know that tracking is a core component of what buyers in the US expect when ordering online.
  • If you are a seller in Canada, the UK, Australia, or the EU, then using tracking or a shipping label purchased on Etsy is only required if your order is $10 or more.
  • On-time shipping & tracking is calculated by looking at your orders during each 3-month review period and is refreshed daily. Note that the cut off time for your ship by dates are based on your timezone setting, which you can set within Shop Manager > Settings > Options > Current Timezone. On-time shipping & tracking also reflects when a label has been “future dated”.

• Why are there different tracking requirements for different markets and sellers?
  • We know that buyers in different countries have different expectations about what makes a great shipping experience. In the US, tracking is expected among the US customer base, and there are also low-cost shipping and labels solutions to help sellers ship their orders that don’t always exist in markets outside the US, which is why the tracking exception does not apply to US sellers.

• What if the carrier is delayed? Will my on time shipping be impacted?
  • We know things can happen that are outside a seller’s control, like shipping carrier delays. Because of this, we made sure that most of the inputs of on-time shipping are within a seller’s control, like adding a valid tracking number, using a shipping label purchased on Etsy, and shipping within your stated processing time. If the carrier is delayed, but you’ve provided a valid tracking number or purchased a shipping label and shipped within your processing window, then your on-time shipping will not be negatively impacted.

• I do local pickup. Will my on-time shipping & tracking be impacted?
  • Currently, on-time shipping & tracking does not account for local pickup -- all physical orders must include a valid tracking number or a shipping label purchased on Etsy to be counted positively towards your on-time shipping & tracking. In the meantime, we are currently working on an option for sellers to tag the order as a pickup so that this can count towards Star Seller moving forward. We’ll be sure to let you know once this improvement is ready.

• How can I see which orders were shipped late?
  • To get a closer breakdown of your orders that were counted as late, you can download a CSV by going to your Shop Manager dashboard > Star Seller dashboard page > selecting the On-time shipping & tracking tile > selecting the ‘Export’ link next to ‘Order breakdown’.

• If you are unable to add tracking to an order and indicate an exception when marking an order as complete through selecting “other”, will it count towards your shop’s Star Seller eligibility?
  Adding tracking to your physical orders is one of the criteria for the Star Seller badge. Marking your order complete without adding tracking will not count as a tracked order towards Star Seller eligibility.

Reviews

• How are 5-star ratings calculated? I often have happy customers that still leave 4 star reviews - will I be penalized?
  • The 5-star ratings stat is based on the percentage of 5-star ratings you've received on your orders during your current 3-month review period.

Digital products

• Are shops who sell digital items eligible for Star Seller? What about tracking?
  • When it comes to qualifying for Star Seller, digital orders will not require tracking information or shipping labels purchased on Etsy. Because of this, shops who list their items as “digital” vs. “physical” will still be eligible for a Star Seller badge since on-time shipping & tracking will be reviewed on sales of physical items only. 

• I sell custom digital items and was told I could list them as physical as a workaround to not having a file ready for download at purchase. What about tracking? 
  • We understand there are pain points for custom digital sellers, especially if that digital listing is currently listed as a physical item. In this case, if you are still hoping to qualify for Star Seller, we are suggesting listing your item as “digital” vs. “physical” and uploading a placeholder file to the listing. The placeholder could be an example of the product (similar to what you use in your photos) or a file that just has a note saying “thanks for your order; we’re working on it!”.
  • Listings categorized as digital items will not be counted towards your on-time shipping & tracking in the Star Seller dashboard at all.

Dashboard

• How often does the Star Seller dashboard data update? When will I see the updated data?
  • About once a day, usually overnight for UK/US time zones. Daily data may be delayed (or updated more than once a day), but don’t worry; all monthly data will be accounted for in the final review. While daily data may show a lag, we wait for all monthly data to be complete before running the Star Seller evaluation.

• How often are these stats refreshed? Will I be able to see my improvements right away?
  • The data for Star Seller is updated every 24 hours, so your metrics will update daily. They will be reflective of the 3 months included in your current review period, and you will be eligible for Star Seller on the first of every month. If you make changes on any existing listings (i.e. adding processing times to listings with previously unknown processing times), then your on-time shipping will not retroactively count this -- instead, this will be taken into account for any orders and transactions moving forward.

Badge

• Where will the Star Seller Badge appear, once it launches to buyers?
  • We’ll be experimenting with a few placements for the Star Seller badge, including testing into showing the badge in search results, on a seller’s listing page, shop home, and in buyer marketing (like email) as a few examples. 

Bugs

We’ve got a team investigating the issues that have been shared via the forums and through support tickets about Star Seller. Here’s an overview of the main issues we’re seeing:

• Orders shipped via Royal Mail with tracking are not counted as shipped with tracking
• Shipping CSV printing blank for some sellers

Regarding changes to your stats, please note that your Star Seller dashboard updates daily, so it's intended that you may see some fluctuation in percentages based on recent activity. 

For updates on bugs or technical issues, please see our pinned thread over in the “Technical Issues” forum. And if you have any questions about your shop, please reach out to support and a specialist will take a look.

Thanks everyone! Read on to see additional and more specific questions, answered by Etsy staff from the Star Seller team.  

[ogal7eat · Accepted solution]

Hi there, my name is Amy and I’m a user researcher at Etsy. I work closely with sellers to understand their experience, gather feedback and pass that along to our product teams to ensure we’re building tools with sellers’ thoughts in mind. In my spare time, I love to dabble in hand lettering/calligraphy!

[KatherinesCloset22 · Accepted solution]

Hi everyone! I’m Katherine, and I’ve been on the Seller Product Marketing team at Etsy for over 5 years. I work closely with our Product and Marketing teams to build and announce tools, education, and resources so you can manage and grow your Etsy business. In my spare time, I enjoy getting outside and trying new things - whether it be a new coffee shop, a new restaurant, or just exploring a new part of town. I'm looking forward to answering your Star Seller questions!

[TheSchlockMarket · Accepted solution]

Hi, Etsy Community. My name is Bowen and I'm a product manager at Etsy. I live in Brooklyn NY, and in my spare time I like to go running and watch old movies!

[ExtremelyFakeGoods · Accepted solution]

Hi! My name is Ashi and I work with the Member Services team here at Etsy. A big part of my job is gathering member concerns and using that information to influence our product decisions. I spend most of my spare time in the ceramics studio or getting out of the city and into the mountains!

[sheelahshop · Accepted solution]

Hello! My name is Sheila and I’ve been a product designer at Etsy for 3 years. I’m one of the designers who worked on Star Seller and am really excited to be here today to help answer your questions! Outside of work, I love spending time with my 2 year old, exploring new parks and dancing around the house together.

[TheWonderfulKiki · Accepted solution]

Hi there, my name is Shadi and I'm a senior editor on the Brand Content team at Etsy. I'm based in Brooklyn, NY, and when I'm not working I like to spend my time eating my way through the city, exploring new bars and restaurants.

[FidosFlowers]

Hi again, all! 

That's a wrap for this Q&A. We're closing this thread back up now. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts with us. If you still have questions or concerns you want to share with the team, please reach out to support here or share your feedback in our Star Seller survey.