How long did it take you to achieve Star Seller?

[PhelpsFamilyCrafts]

Evening, all! I'm needing a little perspective here. If you've achieved Star Seller, how long did it take? I'm aware that Star Seller is a complicated topic, but I'd like to get the badge, if at all possible, because otherwise a shop can be easily filtered out of search results. I've missed it by a whisker for several months and, well, it's the last day of the month, and unless a miracle happens I'll be missing it for May, too.

Thanks for your input!

[CarpetCollectionAU]

Star Seller Program Badges are based in the data from the immediate, past 90 days. So, newly opened shops would be eligible for SSP Badge/s 90 days after the first Sale. It looks like you have been making Sales since January, so you should be eligible to receive the SSP Badge/s 01 May.

The next question is did your shop have 5 Orders and make USD $ 300 01 Feb to 30 April? These are 2 metrics which must be met before a Shop becomes eligible for SSP Badge/s.

As you have no Badges for April, but seem to have satisfied at least the Reviews Badge, it looks like the USD 300 benchmark has not been met

To answer your overall question, many Sellers achieved the SSP Badge from Day One as they had an established Order History. Whilst the Reviews, Shipping and Messaging metrics are all totally within the control of a Seller, many Shops which fulfil these requirements may drop in and out of SSP due to the Number of Orders and USD $ 300 benchmarks. Depending on the product and price, a Shop may have only 4 Orders but make USD $ 3000 in the 90 day Review Period. Or, if the product is of lower value, another Shop could have 100 Orders, but only make USD $ 200 so, again, the Shop remains ineligible for SSP.

Whilst Etsy does place importance on SSP, particularly when considering Payment Account Reserves and Purchase Protection, it is the data behind the metrics, not the actual presence of the Badges which is significant. Replying to Messages, Shipping On Time and Positive Reviews are all things Etsy uses to evaluate a Shops compliance with TOUs. So, even though a Shop may miss the SSP Badge for any month/s, if the reason for this is not meeting the USD $ 300 / % Orders in the 90 days Review Period benchmark, but Messaging/Reviews/Shipping are all over the benchmarks expected, a Shop is not disadvantaged / devalued

[PhelpsFamilyCrafts]

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@CarpetCollectionAU  "...if the reason for this is not meeting the USD $ 300 / % Orders in the 90 days Review Period benchmark, but Messaging/Reviews/Shipping are all over the benchmarks expected, a Shop is not disadvantaged / devalued

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This is good to hear. Yes, it's the revenue threshold that I keep missing. I maybe should have concentrated all of my online sales on Etsy but felt like that wasn't fair to buyers who prefer a different but perfectly legitimate online marketplace.

[faejays]

seems hard to get unless your business is booming

[PhelpsFamilyCrafts]

Yes, completely agree.

[NoFrogsAllowed]

Although I have met all the other criteria since the beginning of star seller I have never achieved the $300 (7 cents short once) and I am doing fine without it.  I'm getting more sales and more revenue each year, even though views and visits have declined a little.

[PhelpsFamilyCrafts]

Oh man!! This is good to hear, though. Etsy can be very unpredictable, and make changes with little or no warning, so it's hard to gauge just how much weight they give certain programs or features. Very reassuring!

[CarpetCollectionAU]

@PhelpsFamilyCrafts Most changes Eysy makes are window dressing, but there are some things which never change. If a Shop is meeting all of the key metrics of SSP, is fully compliant with TOUs, has legal Return / GDPR Policies etc then the presence / absence of the SSP Badge is of little consequence.

For example, although this Shop met all the metrics except number of orders for April. I had a NAD Case opened for a product valued over $ 2800.00. Of course I was concerned as we all hear horror stories of the Etsy Bots automatically refunding without requiring a Return.

However, as everything was in Order in the Shop, the automated "bots" were not set loose, the case was referred to a "person", I was given the opportunity to substantiate my position that the product was exactly as photographed and described. Etsy reviewed all information and the Buyer's claim of NAD was rejected. So, the absence of SSP Badge did not negatively impact in any way.

[rarefinds4u]

Personally, I know I have good customer service and do my best to meet the criteria for star seller.  I don't always make it (mostly due to the message response, some don't qualify for responses and I forget to mark them "read").  I don't loose sleep over it as it doesn't seem to make much of a difference to my shop.  I would suggest the same as putting energy towards this is not all they hype it's made up to be in my opinion. 

[howtobooksandmore]

I think the star seller program doesn't really mean what Etsy intended it to mean.  It might have spurred a lot of shops who never answered questions to start doing so but it doesn't really mean anything when it comes to how good a seller is at things like customer service, shipping speed and other things.  So many resellers and IP infringers have the star seller badge it has almost become a joke.  Just do the best you can and don't worry about the stars.  There are a few things that help the seller like reserves and chat options but some sellers with star seller badges still complain about having reserves and the chat button not showing up that these really aren't advantages.

[mommawhazelsquilts]

How long does it take?  Technically 90 days if you meet all the requirements.

I don't "try" to make the SSB.  I have no control over how many sales I get or what reviews are left- but I can control how I handle shipping and customer service.

Even before SSB, I never felt like any message didn't need an answer.  I've always answered messages because it's rude not to.  I always ship with tracking because I want my customer and me to be covered.

All anyone can do to achieve the SSB is to run their business with integrity and treat their customers like they would want to be treated.

Control what you can - that's all you can do.  If you sell a good product, ship on time with tracking, answer messages timely then you are likely to achieve star seller status.  In other words, just do the right thing on what you can control.

[ImGlassyEyed]

5 years from today........

[cindylouwho2]

If everything in your shop sold exactly once over 3 months, you would still not have enough sales to reach Star Seller. If you want more sales, you will probably need to list more items.

"I maybe should have concentrated all of my online sales on Etsy but felt like that wasn't fair to buyers who prefer a different but perfectly legitimate online marketplace." - it's best to be diversified. You can't really trust any  of these platforms. 

I agree that Star Seller does not mean much, except it prevents you from being put on reserve if you have a sudden surge of sales, or of cancellations. I really doubt many people use the filter.