Lost Star Seller badge because of personal account

[SassyChikkinCrochets]

Another seller that I purchased from updated the shipping date on the item I purchased.  That update sent me a message notifying me.  I did not respond to it because it had nothing to do with my business and there was really nothing to respond to; it was just a notification.  Yet, apparently it still counted towards my star seller badge for my business.  Any time a customer reaches out, I usually respond within an hour!  So this is very frustrating!

[audreytherese]

Unless you have a separate account for making all your purchases, Etsy does not know the nature of the message and does not make a determination of what messages are 'buyer' messages and what messages are 'seller' messages. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

Etsy says reply to every new message thread once

they highlight it in BLUE, so you can't miss it.

Etsy doesn't read the millions of messages a day, the bots just do the check

[PillowDetails]

Yes, I got caught not answering a Seller update that I didn't think needed an answer too.

It happened once, and before the blue notices.

Now you know - should never happen again.  Look for the BLUE - banner on desktop, dot on mobile - for all first-time messages that require a response.

[ChillwolfArt]

The best way to remember it, any time you are not the Initiator of the Message, you must respond or Mark as Spam (I'd only do that if something really was Spam).  Also, if another Seller sends you a friendly Message, "Hey, how's it going"; the same rule applies.

Hope this helps.

[vintageNCtreasures]

These have been the rules for 1 1/2 years now, you must reply to ALL new messages.
This is posted in the help pages and on your dashboard > star seller 

It doesn't matter if from a buyer, a seller or a friend, if it's a NEW message you have to reply or mark as spam.
A simple thank you was all that was needed. 
There're a gazillion threads on the forums about this.

[moonbeamgifts]

Back in the day of reciprocal feedback, I created a buyer's account because it was frustrating to go through my purchases and try to split everything out.   2023 me is thanking past self as it solved all of these issues - keeps my purchases in one place which is especially handy in the event they're tax deductible, I don't have to monitor those messages, etc.     

While this will not rectify your current issue, I highly recommend a second account immediately, just be sure to disclose it - if that's still a requirement.    The rules can change on Etsy.....lol

[BeaconwoodDettman]

That's interesting - so at one time, Etsy had feedback for both sellers and buyers? eBay has this currently. Do you recall when and/or why this stopped?

[moonbeamgifts]

@BeaconwoodDettman 

It was many, many moons ago under the first and second leadership.    The shift to buyer only happened when feedback became.....retaliatory.    A buyer would neg a seller - seller would come back with their side of the story -- no character limits and oh, the drama!   

I was very new to the forums at the time of the shift to buyer only but there was much bitterness.   I think some of that was why Ebay doesn't let sellers leave negatives for buyers anymore either - it's positive only but even some of those I've read - "it might be a positive rating but I'm going to have my side heard!".  LOL

[MaynardMillinery]

@BeaconwoodDettman because they deemed that once the buyer had paid and provided a mailing address,that their part of the transaction had been fulfilled so their behaviour did not need to be rated.

Back before then, waaaay before EP was ever thought of, PayPal wasn't even linked to the checkout for immediate payment. Your competition would come along in the middle of the night, empty your whole shop, then walk away from the transaction without paying, but, they could also leave you (negative) feedback in an attempt to ruin your business, thus in turn, earning themselves "time waster" feedbacks. The abuse and t*t for tat of the old system was horrendous.

[WitticismsRus · Accepted solution]

Etsy is pretty clear about how the message response rate is calculated in help center here https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/4403058372503-How-to-Become-a-Star-Seller?segment=selling

There is a highlighted bit under message response rate info that says "The Message response rate only applies to the first message in a thread. Initial messages from both buyers and sellers on Etsy are counted towards the Message response rate. "

That means ALL messages. It also means each individual message thread so if someone sends you 5 different messages with 5 questions instead of putting them in the same message chain you need to respond to all 5 of them. The system is completely automated and doesn't know if the message is from a buyer or another seller. It just sees a message and calculated the response time. That's just how it works.

The info is also right there on the Star Seller page in shop manager. Just go to shop manager > star seller. Once there scroll toward the bottom until you find "Questions? We've got answers." Then click messages. The very first question there says

"What messages count toward the message response rate?

Your message response rate is based on just the first message in a conversation, not ongoing conversations. This means you just need to respond to the first message within 24 hours. This applies to messages both from buyer and seller accounts. Messages from Etsy staff do not count toward your response rate, and neither do messages that you mark as spam. You can also now find a breakdown of your message response rate score by downloading a CSV."

If the star is important to you then it may be a good idea to read or review all the info Etsy provides about the star seller program.

Bottom line...you have to either reply or mark as spam.

[SassyChikkinCrochets]

Thanks everyone!  I guess I just didn't even think of it as a "message" but just a notification.  So now I know.

[JDTotesnDolls]

@SassyChikkinCrochets   your account is both a buyer and shop account.  If you want your buyer account to be separate, you have to create a new account separate from the shop account.  That way messages from sellers won't interfere with purchasing.  

[JenniferMRamos]

Yeah this isn’t clear to me. If i make a purchase and the SELLER initiates contact to say thanks for your purchase, I have to say “you’re welcome,” or some needless response within 24 hours? As a buyer I should have the freedom to not reply. Can’t Etsy make the distinction between acts of buying and selling? 

[MaynardMillinery]

Nope, they don't know that the seller contact ting you, isn't asking a buyers question because they've taken a look at your shop after you've purchased from them and are messaging you with a view to buy something. 

[bradgoodell]

@JenniferMRamos You have 3 choices:

1. Answer 
2. Mark it spam
3. Set up auto-reply

That is 3 choices, use the 1 that works best for you.  

[BigXStudio]

Yes, ALL means ALL. So you must respond to messages from other sellers. The current system as designed by Etsy does not differentiate between messages originating as a buyer or as a seller. Or ignore it and let the star seller system go blank itself.

[audreytherese]

"Can’t Etsy make the distinction between acts of buying and selling?"

If you use the same account for buying and selling, then no, Etsy doesn't know the difference. They also look at it as that seller might become your future buyer, I've had that happen to me before. 

"As a buyer I should have the freedom to not reply." 

The best option to keep your freedom of not being required to respond is by setting up a separate account that is used for purchases only. 

[ChillwolfArt]

@JenniferMRamos   Hi Jennifer, just to add something else you may not be aware of.  Another Seller may send you a Message (a friendly How's it Going or maybe they are discussing something which was posted on the Forum, for example).
Should this happen, it still counts as a Message you must Reply to. 
Any time you are not the Initiator of a Message, you must Respond to it or Mark as Spam (I'd only do it on true Spam).  I receive Message every now and then from other Sellers, so I wanted you to know this in case it happens to you.

[JenniferMRamos]

I ended up making a dumb auto-reply that basically says, if you're a buyer, I'll do my best to reply asap. If you're a seller, please consider this your reply (I'm paraphrasing). I think the auto-reply will expire at some point so I have to restart it.

The one case that got me involved a purchase I made that was a sticker (no tracking) to be sent elsewhere. So I sent a note with the order to ensure he knew it was another address as I knew he wouldn't be printing a label, and the seller messaged with essentially an auto reply about stickers and there not being tracking. To reply would have been me saying "I knoooooow that already! That's not even my point!" And I didn't want to get into it. SO YES! Had I known that letting the (apparently very busy) seller have the last word would work against me, I'd have said "Thanks," or something simple.

[31RubiesQuiltStudio]

I've been dinged by not replying to a seller who thanked me for an order.  It's so stupid.  So we waste time replying back thank you to a thank you.