About Message response rate for Star Sellers

[FatCloudStudio]

Hi all,

I got %94 rate on message for star sellers now. I got some messages in 2 days. But i downloaded message history. There are only those up to the 26th April. 

I meet all other necessary conditions. How can I fix this. If it's not fixed tomorrow, I may not be able to become a star seller because of a system error. I look forward to your help and advice. Have a nice day

[CappuccinoLace]

"Messages sent on the last two days of the 3-month review period may be excluded from the current review period and counted towards the next period instead. This is to allow Sellers a full 24 hours to respond and not be penalized for messages received late on the final day of the review period"

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/4403058372503-How-to-Become-a-Star-Seller-?segment=selling

[NbllDesign]

My message response rate last 2 months shows the same stats .it says that I got 14 messages and I didn't answer for 1 . But it is not true. I got much more messages from new costumers and I answered them all in time. Please check my shop's message history.

[NanaLetha]

Go back and mark them as spam.

[FatCloudStudio]

is that work for it. Actually i opened message and I thought I answered. Because of it my rates goes down.

[FatCloudStudio]

The person whose message I did not reply to was another seller, and she sent an automatic message saying I bought a product from her. That's why I didn't answer. So i punished because of spam message?

[CappuccinoLace]

If it's spam, you should mark it as such.

Yes, if you don't reply to a message (that etsy doesn't read) or mark it as spam you get dinged for it.

[PrimFun]

@FatCloudStudio Not punished.  You just didn't follow the star seller rules on new messages.

[NanaLetha]

@FatCloudStudio  - Yes, you must reply to ALL messages or mark as spam. It's an automated program - no one is reading your messages!

[FatCloudStudio]

it looks like spam but its not spam. i bought her item and she send me auto-message's like that. Because of it i didn't reply it. So actually she don't send message to my shop. She messaged to me. There is a interesting issue on here.

[PlatypusDream]

It doesn't matter what it said or who it was from.

You MUST answer all initial messages or mark them as spam.  It is automated, and those are the rules.

Lesson learned - do better in the future.

[NoFrogsAllowed]

You have to respond to all first messages.  Doesn't matter who or what sent them.  Mark the spam messages as spam.  That qualifies as a response.

[PinkBirdCottage]

You weren't "punished" because of someone else, you were punished because you didn't know the rules. The rule is you have to respond or send to spam ALL first messages from someone. Realizing it was your lack of action might make you feel less bitter. You know now so all is not lost. Lots of people don't realize this and if you check the forums you will see others come here and complain about it........daily.

[FatCloudStudio]

"check the forums you will see others come here and complain about it........daily."
So there is a problem about ETSY rules. I answer all my customer. not as buyer. So i'm different as a buyer. Etsy should know this? or maybe it's hard work to seperate customer and shopper by software  enginers?

[audreytherese]

It's not hard to separate customers and shoppers, but that's up to you to do. You can/should set up a separate account for your purchases, then your messages won't get mixed together. 

I've bought from shops then had the same shops turn around and buy from me. We were both the buyer and the seller. So who's messages would they ignore there? And Etsy sees this potential happening at any time. If you're going to use the same account for both buying and selling, then you have to understand that it's your responsibility to understand that all messages are considered the same, as potential customers. 

[michellepatterns]

All literally means all in the Star Seller rules.  It doesn't mean some, part, a few, the ones a person wants to answer, the ones where there isn't much to say, etc.  Even messages with no words need a response if it's the first message.   

[FatCloudStudio]

"A quick response gives buyers confidence and can help you score a sale. Try the Sell On Etsy app to check in on messages once a day."

All can see that on message response part. So she is not buyers. She is sellers. So ETSY can't seperate with buyer and seller. Also ETSY have to write down "all members" not "buyers"

[dippeldiundscribble · Accepted solution]

There is much more information on your Star Seller page than just the stats. Just scroll further down to the Q&A section.

https://www.etsy.com/your/shops/me/star-seller

Questions? We’ve got answers. -> Messages -> What messages count towards the message response rate?

Your message response rate is based on just the first message in a conversation, not ongoing conversations. This means you just need to respond to the first message within 24 hours. This applies to messages both from buyer and seller accounts. Messages from Etsy staff do not count toward your response rate, and neither do messages that you mark as spam. You can also now find a breakdown of your message response rate score by downloading a CSV.

[FatCloudStudio]

Yes i know there. And i downloaded CVS so i know those of that but i am late a bit. 

Also in here
"A quick response gives buyers confidence and can help you score a sale. Try the Sell On Etsy app to check in on messages once a day."

All can see that on message response part. So she is not buyers. She is sellers. So ETSY can't seperate with buyer and seller. Also ETSY have to write down "all members" not "buyers"

[audreytherese]

You keep saying they should separate messages from buyers vs sellers. But then you used your seller account to make a purchase. The shop you bought from also likely uses the same account for buying. So how can they separate buyers from sellers when so many, yourself included, use one account to do both? If you don't want messages from shops you bought from to count towards the SS, then you need to create a separate account that you make all your purchases from. It's all within your control, you just need to understand how it works if it's that important to you. 

[FatCloudStudio]

"you used your seller account to make a purchase." 

Because I have the right to buy as same account. Etsy sees what I bought as a buyer and takes my right not to reply to the message from the seller. And ETSY talks about it in the stars seller section. "A quick response gives buyers confidence and can help you score a sale." I can't see the phrase from the seller or all incoming messages here. Can you see?

To sum it up, etsy needs to put "all members" in this section.

This confused me and I didn't answer. Because it says buyers.

I hope it was descriptive

[audreytherese]

I give up. 

This isn't about your 'rights' and Etsy doesn't 'see' anything.

The metrics are set to the accounts. 

A message was received.

Was the message responded to? Yes or no

They do not look at your purchase history to see if it was someone you bought from. 

They do not take into consideration if the message is coming from a shop that has a seller account or a buyer only. 

The program literally only looks at 'did any messages received get a response?' 

If the answer is no, then it deducts it from your star seller score. Because you are exercising your right to use your account for both buying and selling doesn't change those metrics. 

[WitticismsRus]

Etsy is pretty clear about how the message response rate is calculated in help center here https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/4403058372503-How-to-Become-a-Star-Seller?segment=selling

There is a highlighted bit under message response rate info that says "The Message response rate only applies to the first message in a thread. Initial messages from both buyers and sellers on Etsy are counted towards the Message response rate. "

That means ALL messages. It also means each individual message thread so if someone sends you 5 different messages with 5 questions instead of putting them in the same message chain you need to respond to all 5 of them. The system is completely automated and doesn't know if the message is from a buyer or another seller. It isn't reading your messages and deciding if it was about a purchase or from a customer. It just sees a message and calculated the response time. That's just how it works.

The info is also right there on the Star Seller page in shop manager on desktop/full site.  Just go to shop manager > star seller. Once there scroll toward the bottom until you find "Questions? We've got answers." Then click messages. The very first question there says

"What messages count toward the message response rate?

Your message response rate is based on just the first message in a conversation, not ongoing conversations. This means you just need to respond to the first message within 24 hours. This applies to messages both from buyer and seller accounts. Messages from Etsy staff do not count toward your response rate, and neither do messages that you mark as spam. You can also now find a breakdown of your message response rate score by downloading a CSV."

If the star is important to you then it may be a good idea to read or review all the info Etsy provides about the star seller program.

Bottom line...you have to either reply or mark as spam.

If you aren't understanding the info etsy provides about the program or you think that they should change something then you need to contact etsy support directly for assistance. We are just other sellers trying our best to help. We can't change the program, only etsy can. Just don't be surprised if they give you the exact same info we have all tried to provide for you here. 

[SupplyEmporium]

Explain how at 9:43am on May 1 with all messages answered, do I have a 95% rating for the month of May.

[CappuccinoLace]

The review period is now March, April and May.

Feb's stats dropped off.