Error in message replies for star seller

[JaneeMichal]

I am not sure why I was directed to post this problem on the technical forum....however the way the replies to messages are being calculated in the star seller tally are completely wrong. I am a seller, and respond to anyone who has a question about a product within an hour. However, I am being sent personal messages asking for reviews as a buyer in which I do not reply to. How is this affecting my seller response rate? These are Etsy sellers I purchased from, not buyers questioning me about any of my products. Why on earth are the two mixed in the first place? I would appreciate it if this could be corrected.

[BootifulLabels · Accepted solution]

The rules clearly state that all new messages require an answer or to be marked as spam within 24 hrs in order to qualify for SS. It doesn't matter who they are from or what they are about, no-one reads your messages, the system is automated and simply compares the time-stamps for receipt and response to determine compliance. If you mark that message as spam now, it should update your stats within a day or two, but it will not help with the badges already awarded.

If you don't want your purchases to affect your SS status, you have a couple of options.

1. You can use Auto reply to send a "thank you" or an "I'll get back to you shortly" message. This counts as a response for SS, but needs to be reset every five days.
2. You can create a few snippets with various messages and send quick responses that way in just 3 clicks, Snippets/Select/Send.
3. You can create a new, buyer only Etsy account and keep all your purchases separate from your shop.

Number 3 is the easiest option, once your buyer account is set up it requires no ongoing maintenance and you never have to worry about messages from sellers interfering with your SS rating.

[JaneeMichal]

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain in such detail. I appreciate it! 

I will look into how to create the buyer only account. Thanks.

[BagmakerSupply]

@JaneeMichal: "How is this affecting my seller response rate?" As it says right on your Star Seller page, you need to reply to the FIRST message of EVERY NEW INCOMING THREAD within 24 hours for Star Seller. 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.

Whether we think the rules are right or wrong, fair or unfair, there is no error in the calculation since you choose not to follow the rules that Etsy set.

As @BootifulLabels explained so well, there are alternatives or you could have used the message as an opportunity to try and convert the seller into a buyer from your shop.

"I would appreciate it if this could be corrected." Just so you know, even if Etsy Support or the Help Pages sent you here this is a seller peer to peer forum, and should not be considered a way to contact Etsy, if that is your hope (although Etsy does sometimes read and reply to posts).

[WantableDesigns]

The 'correction' required is that you keep yourself informed of Etsy's rules and manage your business accordingly. Sorry if this sounds harsh but this 'issue' is posted more or less every day on here for nearly two years and the rules have been pretty clear from the start. You need to respond to all messages (first one only in a thread) or mark them as spam, regardless of who they're from.