Did anyone else experience sales drop after getting Star Seller badge?

[shopYPA]

Hi everyone,

I’m reaching out because I’ve had a really strange experience with the Star Seller badge. The day I received it, my sales suddenly dropped to almost zero — even though visits stayed about the same. Before that, my shop was growing steadily and profitable, but now for more than 3 months I’ve been losing money instead of earning.

I keep updating my listings, adding new products, and running ads, but the conversion rate is still much lower than before. It feels like something changed in visibility or buyer trust the moment the badge appeared.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? Do you think the Star Seller badge might sometimes hurt more than it helps? I’d really appreciate hearing your stories, insights, or tips.

Thanks in advance!

[NanaLetha]

Don't keep updating your listings. It takes a while for search engines to catch up. Star Seller does not affect sales one way or the other because most buyers don't even know what it is.

[shopYPA]

Yes in that day I did not updated nothing I waited week or even two and then started to desparately update my listings. nothing... for more that 3 months I am draining money not earning :

[PrescilasChina]

I don’t think your star seller badge is hurting you.  I believe the slow down in views and sales that is affecting many is mostly due to tariff uncertainty and may continue to be slow for a few months until it works it’s way through the courts and then start to return to something closer to what is was a few months ago, at least that is the hope.

[YinVivoWeddings]

Ohhh... I talk to brides on the phone. The level of anxiety this year is unusually high... one even cried talking about the stress at work and having to plan a wedding late at night when she's already kind of worn out. I gave her a shoulder to cry on... not that I was expecting a glowing 5 star review but she appreciated the sympathy and help and yeah, this is an unusually chaotic year. I myself was sighing a lot especially when tariffs were newish and 100% even... things started calming down around May-June. People are being careful with their budgets and that is a good thing. We're not doing badly, last year was a record in gross revenue and now that Oct is around the corner, we're probably going to be closer to 2023. 2024 would be a peak that we probably won't pass till a few years down the road. I have every confidence in New York getting things done right. 

[PrimFun]

It's most likely not the star seller badge.  It may be your titles so perhaps ask for a shop critique?  

It may be because you are in a saturated market that many can find free versions of what you have listed.

[shopYPA]

Yes... I have changed the titles so many times... Lost so mch time on that... tried  all of them... Etsy AI recomended, ChatGPT recomended, my own... nothing worked till Etsy support finaly started to investigate my case. Yes they told me to change the titles, but the sells started to get back before I was able to get to my PC and start the title changing process again...

I can agreee about the saturated markket, but so suden drop? I think that is not the case.

[SugarTaffySoap]

@PrescilasChina  It's not tariff related. She sells digital downloads.

[DivineCrossings]

I can tell you that the last two times I lost star seller (didn’t reach the minimum $), I had more sales and more traffic. It’s just weird. I’m not sure I want it back, lol.

[SugarTaffySoap]

@shopYPA  It could have been an algorithm change around the same time you received the SS badge.

[shopYPA]

I understand why you’d say it might just be timing with an algorithm change — if this had happened to me once, I’d probably agree. But the problem is, this exact situation has happened to me twice. On the very same day the Star Seller badge appeared, my sales dropped to almost zero, while visits stayed steady.

For more than 3 months, I did everything everyone recommends: changed titles several times, swapped images 2–3 times, updated tags and descriptions, ran ads, refreshed listings… nothing helped. Then, the moment I finally managed to get Etsy support involved, sales suddenly started coming back — literally the same day they “investigated.”

Etsy told me it was about titles, but I don’t believe that, because I had already changed them multiple times with no result. To me, that doesn’t look like coincidence. Twice in a row, the exact same pattern, and then immediate recovery when support touched the case — sorry, but I can’t accept that as just timing.

[YinVivoWeddings]

Funny enough, we had Star Seller status for a couple years after it launched, dropped out, got back in... and out. Our best year for gross revenue was 2024 when we weren't Star Seller. Etsy's gifting strategy worked in our favor. The economy is going to affect us more than anything really... politics too. Star Seller program is not perfect but it does help the smaller shops get some respect and recognition. It's easier to get and maintain Star Seller status when you don't have very many orders and have to juggle different client expectations and logistical challenges that will arise as you grow the biz. We also find Etsy Picks try to help the smaller players. We are careful with recommending other Etsy shops as we have been copied before, but most everyone is playing it right with regards to copyright and Etsy enforces so thank you, it truly makes it worth staying.

[shopYPA]

I get what you’re saying, but as a small shop owner I honestly don’t feel the same. To me, it looks like Etsy is working more in favor of the bigger and already successful shops. For smaller ones, the moment we finally reach the income level needed to qualify for the Star Seller badge… it feels like the algorithm “changes” against us. After 2–3 months it becomes almost impossible to keep up the $250 per 3-month requirement.

And in my case, it wasn’t just a percentage dip in sales — it was a collapse. On the exact day I got the badge, I went from just started to get profit and growth straight into the red. Suddenly in that exact day I couldn’t even cover ads costs and started losing money. Basically, I was paying Etsy just for the chance to endlessly change titles and descriptions without any real impact.

That’s why I have such a hard time believing this is just coincidence or “normal fluctuations.” For small shops, it doesn’t feel like recognition — it feels like punishment the moment we get close to growing.

[PrairiePrimitives]

@shopYPA Adding new listings is good. Continually updating existing listing is bad. 

When you update a listing (presumably even something as "small" as correcting a typo in the title) may cause that listing to tank for awhile. I do think typos should be corrected because, unless your business model is based on typos, it will make your listing & shop appear more professional. 

[SarahMillsPrints]

I made star seller last month and as soon as I had my sales disappeared. I won't make it this time which I'm happy about as hopefully my sales will return. Coincidence maybe?

[CasaLucasGlasses]

Finally someone with the same issue, I’ve been the same… frantically searching back and forth trying to find the issue, hopefully I’ll drop my star seller badge and get some sales in. I have never had so few sales in years. 

[TrinketDrawersUK]

Yes, much less views & visits but apparently it's just coincidence and being awarded star seller has no impact on sales or search placement. 

[YinVivoWeddings]

@shopYPA, I think you should escalate with Etsy as it does sound really off. I haven't relied on Star Seller status for a while now... as said before, it seems designed to give small/new shops a boost and give them targets to aim for. 

[BatknitcrazyDesigns]

I am sure you don't want to hear this, but I really doubt that star seller badge has any impact on sales. I have several shops, and the badge comes and goes and it really doesn't effect sales at all. Those of us that have been here for a long time know that there are a lot of factors that we can not control, contributing to sales fluctuation. I have to say this last week has been the slowest I have seen, across all of my shops, since I started selling here.

The best advice I can give is to focus on new products and improving your current listings. Try to not get too emotional about what may be happening. If you are really convinced it is the badge, than that is easy, do something to loose it next month.

[StudioThirteenTwelve]

I had star seller for a while but my sales faded out. I just lost star seller and I have had more sales this past week then I did all of last month, even though I ran ads the last 2 months and stopped at the beginning of the month.