Did not receive any notice of convo, so I did not respond in 24 hours. Wrecked Star Seller stats.

[TursiArt]

I have to assume this is a tech glitch on etsy's part but it's infuriating. 

On a whim yesterday I clicked the Star Seller tab under Shop  Manager. About two months ago I did not respond to a message until 25 hours later (Sunday Night, after I'd been vending long hours all weekend.) and responding to that one single message an hour passed the deadline on a weekend caused me to lose my Star Seller Status. Comically infuriating since that person even thanked me for my fast response, lol... but also it's a separate issue....  So I've been checking occasionally to see when that percentage will go up enough to get my status back. To my shock, it was now down to 75% ! 

I go to my messages to see what on earth I could have missed and right there at the top of my messages is a convo that is two days old! I had never seen this convo. I normally receive a text from the etsy seller app as well as an email when a new convo comes in, so I always know almost immediately. I questioned if somehow in the rush of it being Christmas weekend I somehow missed all this?? So I responded to the convo and the buyer wrote back within an hour. And again, I did not get any notice of it when the buyer responded!  I only noticed because I happened to check my messages tab on my computer. So now that's two known convos where I did not receive any kind of notification from the app, or an email (And I have my phone set up  so that I get notifications of a new email there too. I always do my etsy and email business from desktop but I get the notifications from my phone. I double checked the settings in the app and everything is set up correctly... so I have to assume this is an etsy screw up. 

Then, of course, this morning I receive a scam convo from someone claiming to be from etsy support saying my account was disabled and to give them a QR code to fix my account. My account was fine, it was a scam. But I sure got all the proper notifications from the app and my email for that! Also, there wasn't any way to report it that I could see other than mark it as spam.

SO. It seems etsy can't send me notifications for legit convos, but they are happy to notify me when a scammer sends me a convo. Then they slam me in my percentage for my star seller stats after THEY screw up in sending me notifications. I am really angry right now and at this rate, I will never get my star seller status back, all over nonsense I have zero control over. 

[ThePurplePuppy]

I know you are angry right now but take a deep breath while I tell you this has been happening to me with messages, AND  transactions  for well over a year now. I check my shop and all dashboard areas at LEAST once per day every single day. Sometimes the "orange" number showing a new message or sale does not even show up--I have to go into every single section of my dashboard DAILY to check. I also know I am not the only person this is happening too because others have posted here in the forum.

About all anyone can do is offer sympathy and say this too shall pass (in 3 months) if you will just check every single day.

At least you recognized the scam for what it is! That is a positive! Merry Christmas!

[TursiArt]

I am frustrated because this is entirely on etsy. But will etsy resolve this? Doubtful. I just attempted to contact support and got absolutely nowhere. 

[ThePurplePuppy]

@TursiArt 

I am not surprised that you got nowhere trying to contact support. While CS here is abysmal it IS Christmas Eve , and a Sunday. Support will probably not be available until Tuesday--other than the normal bots.

[ChucksEveryday]

You can and will recover from this! And if your incoming message rates are low enough that a single message unanswered can tank your stats, then it should be possible to recover pretty quickly as well.

If you really want to accelerate the recovery, think about spending the next month or two focusing on things that can drive more customers or potential customers to message you. You need more opportunities to respond within 24 hours, and instead of waiting for that happen organically you can actively seek to create those opportunities.

The simplest way to do that is to just have more listings, targeting a more diverse set of keywords, leading to more visits. Running ads, either on Etsy or elsewhere, to drive additional traffic can also help. And emphasizing your availability for custom work (e.g. in your shop announcement) can encourage more potential customers to reach out with a message. And all of these are things that can have added benefits for your shop—so much so that rehabbing your Star Seller messages badge might end up seeming like a mere bonus next to the other ways your shop grows!

p.s. Do make sure to set up the new (as of early 2023) recurring weekly auto-reply feature if you haven't already. It's a great way to have Etsy's auto-reply cover your non-online hours (e.g. nights and weekends) and prevent many (if not all) of these Star Seller message badge headaches. Unlike the temporary auto-replies (which still exist as well), you can just leave this one on and it keeps working week after week. So if you've worked a long weekend selling in person somewhere, you don't have to come home and immediately answer a bunch of messages.  

[TursiArt]

Your entire response is ignoring the key point that I am being punished for etsy's glitch. 

I don't need help driving traffic or increasing sales. I just need to be notified when I receive a convo so I know to respond to it. 

[DesertChains]

“And if your incoming message rates are low enough that a single message unanswered can tank your stats, then it should be possible to recover pretty quickly as well.”

Your math on this is wrong. For every missed message, you need 19 messages answered promptly. With a low message rate, it is possible, even likely, that the OP will need to wait out the 3 months.

[Debsellstoyou]

I put the Etsy ap on my phone.  It still tells me what's going on.  Etsy stopped bothering to tell me if someone messaged me last month.

[TursiArt]

I do have the app on my phone.  And I have it set up to send me notifications when I receive a new convo. I also have my settings on etsy set up that I receive an email every time I'm sent a convo. Yet twice in this week, etsy failed to send me any of these notifications. 

[HouseofWhisperingFir]

Please, when you say "THEY" are responsible for sending notifications, no.  YOU are responsible for checking your dashboard on a timely basis and maintaining your shop.  

Whether this is just a side gig for you or your shop is your main income, remember it is a "business" and  should be treated as such.  Please, respect and give it the attention it deserves if you want it to pay. 

[TursiArt]

Yes, Etsy is responsible for notifying me when I have a new convo. This is absolutely etsy's fault. 

And I do check my dashboard on a timely basis. I've been shipping nearly every day this month. It's crazy that you want to blame me for not noticing a convo within 24 hours that:

1. Etsy never emailed me about.

2. Never sent me a notification about via the app. 

3. On Christmas weekend. Literally the only time this month where I haven't been glued to my computer working. 

Sure. My fault.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[FeltOnTheFly]

The internet can always be glitchy. I always go directly to the source (my shop dashboard) for information. I’ll never trust that things will always work flawlessly through multiple places. 

[EmeraldGoddessGarden]

At least they did add the ability to set an auto responder up for after business hours, so that's helped some.  And yes, it's a shock, absurd and annoying when you cannot trust their tech to work the way it's supposed to. 

But it also just is the way that it is.  One of my New Year resolutions is to stop wasting time and energy on things I cannot change...and the tech and AI insanity of the internet is one of those things I have vowed to accept as the way of the Brave New World and to just get on with trying to adapt and keep food on the table.   

So, nope, it's not your fault, well, except for trusting what they said about their POC App, but now you know you cannot trust it.   I deleted it off my phone a year ago as it was no help and just added another layer of annoyance.  

[EmeraldGoddessGarden]

and oh, btw, when are you returning to work after the Holiday?  Because, you know, friends who looked at your shop here might have questions that will need answers on the next working day?  

[GetLuckyVintage]

If you mark a message as spam it won’t figure in your stats. It may take a few days for Etsy to update it, but it should refugure it. 

[AnnaleasFinest]

I haven't received any email notifications in ages, @TursiArt .

You can set up an automatic reply, if you don't want to check your shop everyday.

(Just a question... how do you obtain these little insects, -- do they die a natural death...?)

[bradgoodell]

I know this won't make it easier, but I had my email server block messages about sales from my own website.  Then 3 months later, they were all delivered.  It happens.  I know to check my website regularly now.  I've also had my server block emails I sent to myself from my own email address as part of a systems check.  It's crazy, but it happens.  

You can't depend on emails, because they can be blocked by your server, caught in your spam filter, or simply lost in cyberspace.  Whether it is a glitch on Etsy's part, or a glitch somewhere else, don't depend on emails.  Check your shop.

Sorry. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

You need to run your shop from a browser,

Emails get lost - It might not even be etsy, it can be your e-mail provider, or any glitch along the way - (currenty BT e-mail is having a huge problem, and down detector is going through the roof)

the app is limited.

Use a browser, you can see all convos that way, and mark spam messages as spam. It's all in your hands.

[JDTotesnDolls]

Never rely on emails for messages.  Always check a shop daily. 

[CatsBeadKitsandMore]

If star seller is that important to you then use the auto reply function. That way you won't miss any messages.