Error in Star Seller Calculations

[CozyCactusStore]

Hi,

currently my star seller dashboard claims I only have an 89% response rate to my messages. However, I have responded to every message from a customer. The one message I didn’t respond to was one in which I was the purchaser, and the seller messaged ME to ask for a rating. How can I fix this? 

[hopeandjoystudios · Accepted solution]

ALL messages count even from other sellers where you were the  buyer. You can put it in your spam folder and it should drop off in a couple days but in the future I would make sure to reply "Thanks"

[NanaLetha]

You must either reply to all messages or mark as spam. It’s an automated program and only knows you did not follow the star seller rules.

[JMOldeVintage]

@CozyCactusStore - The Star Program has always required that shops reply to ALL messages. This includes messages that relate to your purchases.

While I'm not one to say mark messages you have received as the result of a purchase as spam, in this case a message asking for a review is over the top. Mark as spam & in a few days your stats should change.

[BagmakerSupply]

@CozyCactusStore: Almost everyone on this forum can sympathize with you but as it says right on your Star Seller page and elsewhere, you need to reply to the FIRST message of EVERY NEW INCOMING THREAD within 24 hours. It does not matter who sent it, the subject matter, if it is a duplicate or blank or anything else. If it is SPAM then it should be marked as such.

The Star Seller metric for messages is very simplistic and binary - either you replied to (or marked as SPAM) that first message of a new incoming thread within 24 hours or you did not.

"How can I fix this?" A controversial workaround : if the unanswered new thread is not a Help Request, at least for the time being, it appears that marking an unanswered message as SPAM (even after the 24 hour deadline has passed) will cause your reply percentage to change in a day or two if the original message was within the current star seller period (but not retroactively). Note that subsequent messages from that account may go directly to the SPAM folder.

You may want to reread all of the Star Seller requirements so you are not surprised by something else.

[UppNorthEh]

You say this every time.  Almost everyone does not sympathize.  Many of us were aware of the star seller requirements from the get go, and if we weren't, would have surely figured it out by now.

[michellepatterns]

You made an assumption and it turned out not to be correct. That's why it's important to not make assumptions. I know it's hard not to make them sometimes but if you can learn to catch yourself when you make one you will save yourself a lot of trouble in life. 

Step #1 in not making assumptions about the Star Seller badge is to read the rules etsy has for the program.

[AAANativeArts]

It says right on the Star Seller page that you have to respond to ALL messages at least once. I don't know how you could miss it. It's also been posted in the forums hundreds of times. This program is what, 2 years old? It is your responsibility to make yourself aware of the rules in a timely manner. 

[CozyCactusStore]

Thanks the replies, though I hope some of y'all answer your customers more politely than you have answered me. I have only been selling on Etsy since August, so the length of time the program has been available is irrelevant.

[BootifulLabels]

I have just discovered this thread,  and I have to say, I don't see anything impolite in any of the answers offered.  All everyone did was point out where your assumptions were wrong and where to go to read the rules of the program so you will know for next time.  It may not be what you wanted to hear, but it was all quite polite, succinct and accurate.  

[AAANativeArts]

The time to read ALL the rules is before you start selling, so even three months is longer than you should have waited to read the rules.