Disablement of messages, Help

[LaVieEstChouette]

Hello,

Since yesterday, I've been facing an issue: I want to reply to my customers who are waiting for answers to their questions, but since last night, I've been getting the message: "Bummer, your messages have been temporarily disabled."

I would appreciate your help because not responding to my customers reflects poorly on my shop's reputation. I don't know how to restore the ability to send messages. I've chatted with Etsy customer service, and they told me to forward my request to the appropriate department, but I haven't received any response since then.

I'm puzzled because I've only been replying to my customers, without spamming or sending fraudulent messages. I always strive to maintain a professional and impeccable environment.

So, I'm asking for your assistance in reactivating messaging as soon as possible.

In the meantime, do you think it would be wise to put my shop on vacation mode to avoid receiving questions from potential customers that I wouldn't be able to answer?

Thank you in advance, and have a great day.

Ps: Sorry for my english

Sandra

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

Have you been sending a lot of messages?  We are not allowed to send messages to previous customers for any reason other than their order.  If Etsy thinks you are sending too many and spamming customers, then they will disable them.  It can last a week or two or sometimes longer. 

[LaVieEstChouette]

Thank you for the response.

Good news, Etsy has just reactivated the messages, saying it was a bot error.

Phew, all's well that ends well. I've managed to respond to my clients now after a few hours of being blocked.

Sandra

[LaVieEstChouette]

Finally, 4 hours after the resolution by Etsy support, I'm blocked again and unable to respond to my clients.

So, I've submitted a support request and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a quick resolution.

I can't take it anymore

[howtobooksandmore]

The appropriate department is another name for the trash bin.  If they have bought something from you, they are customers.  You can always change your descriptions to add this information but other than that, until Etsy decides to restore you messages there isn't much you can do except contact Etsy through email, not chat.  Keep after them every day using the same inquiry and state you still need help.

[LaVieEstChouette]

Finally, 4 hours after the resolution by Etsy support, I'm blocked again and unable to respond to my clients.

So, I've submitted a support request and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a quick resolution.

I can't take it anymore.

I've followed up on my support request again, and 5 minutes later, the support person reactivated the messages. They're aware there's an issue and are working on it...

Anyway, fingers crossed now.

Sandra

[LaVieEstChouette]

Hello,

This morning, I discovered that my messages are once again blocked. So, I reached out to Etsy's customer service again...

Etsy informed me that it's still a problem with their bot, but personally, I've had enough...

Three blockages in two days... It's impossible to work peacefully like this...

I'm considering putting my shop on vacation mode a few days after the messages are restored. Maybe the bot will forget about me if I'm absent for a while.

Sandra

[dippeldiundscribble]

„I've managed to respond to my clients now after a few hours of being blocked.“

„Finally, 4 hours after the resolution by Etsy support, I'm blocked again and unable to respond to my clients.“

@LaVieEstChouette How many messages did you send before you were blocked again. And did you send several messages with exactly the same wording? 

The bots check how many messages are sent and whether they are repetitive.

[LaVieEstChouette]

Hello,

Between the first and second blockages, I responded to 3 or 4 clients, nothing more, and each time they had different questions about my articles or their orders.

And between the second blockage and today's, I only responded to 3 clients.

I even waited a few minutes between each response out of fear of making mistakes.

[FruteJuce]

That's a pain and if we don't reply to messages in a timely manner we are penalised for it. 

[howtobooksandmore]

Once you realize the star seller badges are a joke and really mean nothing about how good or bad a seller is, it isn't really a penalty anymore.  It is just annoying.

[LaVieEstChouette]

Hello again,

At this point, my third message blockage in 2 days without any response from Etsy customer service. I've been forced to put my shop on vacation mode because I'm receiving inquiries and messages from potential customers that I can't even reply to...

What else can I do besides waiting and keeping my business closed?

Does Etsy monitor forums to see that there are issues with messages for several members?

The person who unblocked my messages twice informed me that it was a system bug, so I don't understand why Etsy allows this bot bug to persist?!

Best regards,
Sandra

[GroundZeroCreations]

I hate to say it, but if a bot is blocking messaging, I would take a closer look at the contents of the messages you are sending. Do they have any wording that might cause a bot to flag them? You didn't clarify whether your customer responses all contained a unique response message or if you are using a template type message response and they are all receiving basically the same thing. How close together are you sending the messages? Are they seconds apart, minutes apart, hours apart, etc.?

How long has your shop been closed for vacation? Did the problem start before or after you went on vacation mode?

Also, if you have put in a help request, don't keep doing it over and over. Every time you do it, it restarts the clock (so to speak) for a response from Etsy. Since Etsy support is outsourced, many of the people that respond to sellers don't have any real idea of how Etsy works. You will receive conflicting information and even be given bad information. Etsy help is pretty much a joke!

[LaVieEstChouette]

I only respond to my clients, and between the first and second blockages, I have replied to only 3 clients, each with different questions. Moreover, the time gap between each message ranges from 15 minutes to 2 hours. There are no external links or standard messages, and no personal information such as email addresses or phone numbers has been exchanged. These are just simple questions from clients.

Sandra

[LaVieEstChouette]

In response to your question about the vacation mode, I just activated it a few minutes ago because I'm receiving inquiries from potential clients that I can't respond to at the moment, and it frustrates me to see clients without answers.

So, I've decided to put my business on hold for now.

It's a tough decision because I'm pausing my business.

[RogersLooms]

I hope a person at Etsy sees your problem. 

Yesterday I had one new convo message that I can't see in my message folder.

Today I have an email saying I now have 8 new messages.  I can't see any of them.  Refreshing the page doesn't change anything, only the old messages are there.

So now when I can't answer the messages I can't see, Etsy will have 8 more reasons to mess with me.

I was going to list more items to sell but what other problems would that bring?

Roger, Hideaway Homestead AZ