Etsy suggesting an email from a new or potential customer is Spam???? Late delivery of convos.

[2numerous]

I got an email from a potential customer requesting local pickup.

The customer has an account with Etsy (not a guest buyer) and lives in my state.

The email was not attributed to a specific item -- so I have no idea what item they were referring to.

A copy of the email arrived to my Etsy email (and my gmail account) early this morning (Sunday Jun 16th) -- but was timestamped Jun 15, 2024, 10:43 AM.

There was no sign of this email throughout the day and evening on Saturday. 

Based on Etsy's suggestion I marked it as spam -- and I have had second thoughts on Etsy's suggestion. As always, I am really concerned about Etsy's lack of accuracy in email delivery and providing appropriate suggestions.

[BagmakerSupply]

@2numerous: Are you talking about getting an eMail or an Etsy Message from the buyer (with an eMail copy of the Message) ? eMails are not counted for Star Seller.

Whose timestamp are you referring to: Gmail's, Etsy's, information embedded in the eMail header?

[2numerous]

The Etsy message showed up early Sunday morning and I marked it as spam per Etsy's suggestion.

The Etsy Conversation with (customer name) arrived to my gmail account with the time stamp of Sat, Jun 15, 10:43 AM, which also did not arrive  until Sunday morning.

I had two Etsy transaction emails on Sat and the convo with this customer was not there. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

e-mail systems can be unreliable, they can get delayed anywhere, and even blocked by your e-mail provider, do not rely on them.

use the message system on etsy,

if you mark as spam, their convos will go to spam, as long as they are not "help requests" they are separate.

you may have had more than one thread from the same person

[2numerous]

@CraftyCornishMaids 

The email (sent on saturday) did arrive to the message system on etsy until Sunday morning.

There never a popup on my iPhone. 

There was no orange dot over the my account icon at the top of the page while working on my desktop until Sunday morning.

There was not more than one thread from the same person.

The message popped up approximately 4 hours before the 24 hour mark. 

[SeasideRoseCreations]

For a long while, Etsy's emails (to my personal email acct.) have been wonky.

That said, I had a recent help request from a buyer and received the blurb about scams, etc.

So, it would seem that now they are warning us about EVERY message.

If you marked the message as spam, the buyer can't contact you again.

[2numerous]

So, it would seem that now they are warning us about EVERY message.

Good to know. It's the first I have experienced the warning message. I thought the warning might have been triggered because the email was not linked to a particular item. OR due to the fact the email mentioned local pickup.

Etsy blocking the buyer is unfortunate. Now that I have had second thoughts on marking it as spam, I'm concerned if I remove the email from spam and respond to the buyer two days later -- will Etsy ping my response rate?

[JMOldeVintage]

Now even Help Request messages are receiving the notice that it might be a scam?

One would think that since Etsy can & does keep these messages separate from any other thread that might have occurred with the buyer, they could tailor the notice to say "hey, this is a help request from someone who did purchase from you but be careful with any links".

And if help requests can now be sent to spam? This is not good...

[JMOldeVintage]

@2numerous  - If I click on the "message" link on a specific listing's page, I see the link to that item in my sent message to you. That listing should also be displayed to you in your "in box message".

If I saw a bunch of things of interest in your shop & wanted to message you about local pick up or whatever, I'd probably just click on the "contact" link below your avatar on your shop's main page. So no, no specific listings will be shown - it would be sort of a generic message.

With all the changes Etsy has made to messaging I have no idea what might happen if you remove the message from spam & reply to it. But it's possible doing that will affect your star seller stats.

Also do note that Etsy is not set up accommodate in person delivery. Orders that are delivered in person do not have a tracking number so they do end up dinging a shop's star seller stats. 

[SeasideRoseCreations]

Yes, your response will be pinged if you remove the message from spam.

[SeasideRoseCreations]

@JMOldeVintage 

If the message is removed from the spam folder after 24 hours, shops WILL be dinged.

Also, in reference to you stating help requests are being sent to spam...I never said that.

I was warned about clicking links (the banner was on my phone and laptop dashboard) when I received a help request in my Etsy messages.

It wasn't automatically sent to spam.

[JMOldeVintage]

@SeasideRoseCreations  - As I'd mentioned I'm surprised that even help request messages are being flagged with the "scam possibility" notice. 
Now if they can't be sent to spam that's good.

But if help requests can be sent to the spam box - newer shop owners who may not realize these can only come from one of their buyers - then as I'd said this would not be a good thing.

[2numerous]

From experience, I should have know to never follow Etsy's recommendations.

It's amazing to me how many of their policies and systems create problems and as a result create poor customer experiences for both the Etsy shop owner and the customer.

In hindsight, I would have messaged the customer, asked which item(s) they were interested in, and offered and adjusted the shipping for the short distance the package would have had to travel.