Message Response Rate Negatively Impacted by Messages from Sellers

[#1]

Hi

I sometimes use my seller account to make purchases on Etsy. I noticed my message response rate has been negatively impacted when not responding to a message from a seller. I make sure to respond to all of my buyer's messages, but I did not know that Etsy deducts from my response rate when I did not respond to a seller. The seller sent me an update about my order and specifically said in the message that I did not need to respond to the message. How can I appeal this?

[mommawhazelsquilts]

If you only have one account then you only have one inbox.

Create a buyer only account and there won't be a problem

[CarnevalMefisto]

@CraftyAcai Again, because many of us use the same account to sell and purchase.

Etsy does not know if I'm writing to another person as their seller / buyer / friend (I do chat with my befriended sellers using Etsy messages).

The only way to avoid it, would be a questionnaire before sending every message "Are you a "Seller / Buyer / Other" [and people do not like too much clicking].

If the seller sends you a message "Your order was dispatched" you can mark it as spam. It will fix your status.

And just like you, "I barely get 1-2 messages a month" - for me, it means it's very easy to manage messages and I won't accidentally omit a message in my inbox. IMO, it's far harder for sellers who have to have conversations with buyers about custom order details and have a successful shop.

[dippeldiundscribble]

@CraftyAcai "I want to ask you why are you OK with that then?"

Why should a seller who does not know how to meet one of the easiest criteria be awarded Star Seller?

Familiarize yourself with all the tools provided by Etsy and use them to meet the criteria.

1. Set up auto-reply
2. Create and use saved replies
3. Mark as spam 
4. Set up a buyer account for your purchases
5. Purchase as a Guest

*1: How to set an auto-reply for Messages

*2: How to Use Saved Replies in Messages

[CraftyAcai]

@CarnevalMefisto 

slowly figuring out this janky forum.... but also it is actually pretty easy to have the buyer side and seller side talk to each other. We have had 2 different seller only apps and a buyer app (Don't get me started on how buggy these are). I also think holding etsy accountable and having them be more seller/buyer friendly is extremely important. 

As a buyer - I should not have non-buyer-related items in my inbox. As a seller, I should not have seller-related requests in my buyer inbox. The fact that as buyer I can send an inquary to a seller - and as a buyer I can send promos, requests, or updates via my buyer inbox from the seller menu. I think Etsy is just being lazy and trying to milk more from sellers with offering the bare minimum of service. Sure they go off with their lip service but they are only making me (and assuming the others who see this post) upset with their lack of costumer services as we sellers ARE their bread and butter. 

As why should I mark a message of 'my item is on the way' as spam? what if I want to keep that? what if I have more questions? That again makes no sense as that is NOT spam. That is customer service from the seller. I want those in my inbox so I can track from when they sent the item to when I received it. 

I don't know why people are OK with the system as is. This is an easy internal fix but that is also why people are leaving Etsy. 

[bradgoodell]

No one is defending Etsy.  But it's Etsy's sandbox, and if you want to play, you play by Etsy's rules.  Etsy made the rules clear on day one.  Nothing has changed since Star Seller was introduced.  So in this case, it was your lack of understanding of Star Seller that caused the problem, not Etsy.  

If you are going to run a business on Etsy, it simply makes sense to understand that this is how Etsy wants it.  Sorry, I know that isn't the answer you want.  

Good news is, you will only make that mistake once. 

[BrambleBunnyDesigns]

I may have missed this because I have been away from Etsy for a very long time, so excuse my ignorance.... As a seller what is the etiquette for dealing with another seller who you purchased from and has sent you a thank you message and/or a discount code for future purchases that doesn't require a response. Do you message them back with a thank you? Or do you mark it as spam? Does Etsy do anything about messages marked as spam or is it just a way to let them know you read the message? Will the other seller face any consequences if it is marked as spam?