Message for a product I was BUYING, has affected my STAR SELLER rating

[KindlyYarn]

Hi

I received a message updating me about a product I was BUYING.

It was just confirmation (about when they were going to despatch TO ME) and didn't require a response. But now I notice I'm missing my Star Seller stats for prompt replies.

Can this be removed from my stats? It was about something I was buying, it wasn't a message from a customer.

Bev

[ThePurplePuppy · Accepted solution]

It doesn't matter what it was about--you must answer ALL messages. The only other option is to put them in spam. If it has not been too long (I think you have 3 days--not sure) if you put it in spam you eligibility will be reinstated.

[KindlyYarn]

Ok. I'll try spam.

It was just what looked like an automated email telling me the despatch date, so didn't look like it needed a response. I'll know better next time and reply with a quick 'ok'.

Fingers crossed it works, as my products are pretty low tech, so get very few customer emails, so this buyer email will have messed up my star seller ratings for the full 3 months.

[KindlyYarn]

Put the message from the seller in Spam last night, just re-checked again this morning and it'd been excluded from my Star Seller stats...

Thank you!!!

[NanaLetha]

And how would the automated program know the difference?

[KindlyYarn]

Err, because the product was BOUGHT on Etsy. Not SOLD on Etsy. 

They can work out which way the payment goes. So doesn't sound impossible to work out which way the comms go.

[cutebutton]

@KindlyYarn 

sellers are buyers too.  Etsy doesn't read the content of the message.  They only see that it was a message sent.

Also it has been said many many many times by etsy and on the forums.  You have to reply to every single message or mark it as spam.  Doesn't matter who sent it.  This isn't new news.  It's been like this from the get go of star seller so I'm shocked at how many people do not realize this.

[NanaLetha]

Who is "they"?

[KindlyYarn]

Whoever programs Etsy

[blue510patterns]

evil idiots program Etsy.🤨

[PurityGems]

Make sure you always get the last word in, put a thumbs up emoji at the end of every convo if you have to, that's the only way to guarantee 100% message compliance 

[GieseDeseiGns]

Don't need last word as long as you answer "everything" at least once.

[hopeandjoyhome]

Etsy won't fix it as there is nothing to fix and even when there is a SS glitch they still tell sellers they can't adjust SS data.

What messages count towards 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.

[hopeandjoyhome]

Admin messages DID count in the beginning but they had a lot of people angry about losing their Star over an admin message that said it didn't need a response so they changed that part..

[maggiemaybecrafty]

NO surprise as we have been told how messages work for nearly a year, over and over by Etsy and by others sellers in forums. It does not matter if the message is from a buyer or seller. We have to either respond within 24 hours to the FIRST THREAD in EVERY message or mark it as spam. We have been seeing sellers complaining about this every day and sometimes several times a day for a year or close to it. I guess a lot of sellers do not read Etsy's messages or check their dashboard or read the chats? Try marking the message in question as spam and see if that helps. We do not have to "get the last word in", we just have to respond to the first message in every thread.

[mommawhazelsquilts]

This program has been going for about a year now.

When are sellers going to start reading the rules?  

The forum is clogged every day with sellers who didn't bother to read the rules.  I wonder what percentage of these non-readers are among the ones that complain that buyers do not read descriptions?   Probably a lot.

[maggiemaybecrafty]

Totally agree. It gets tiring seeing these messages so often when shop owners should have read and understood how Star Seller works by now. As the saying goes, it isn't rocket science. Etsy won't fix this for you as it is working just as Etsy intended.

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

The first week of the month is the worst when everyone comes to the forums freaking out over not getting star seller because of their message response rate. Then the complaints very gradually die down until the first of the next month. It’s a vicious cycle. 

[thePaperFramer]

What everyone else said.

This is the 7 zillionth thread about this. It happens to everyone..................once.

At least it should only happen once. learn from this and move on..............................

And read/search the forums when you have an issue.

[DesertChains]

I’ll try to explain again one more time.

It doesn’t matter whether or not you answered questions or provided information. It doesn't matter if a message doesn't need a response. It doesn’t matter if you’re the seller or the buyer. It doesn't matter if the message you received is a duplicate. The system only determines whether or not you replied to an individual message. If you didn't respond or send a message to your spam folder, you are going to get rated down. That's how it works.

Right or wrong, the program has worked this way for a year! The instructions for meeting this metric are clearly stated and easily accessible. Daily posts in the forums also discuss this exact topic.

Send the missed messages to spam. Your stats will update in a day or two.

[HouseofWhisperingFir]

@DesertChains:   This ^^^^^

It might behoove the forum if you posted this every month just after the 1st..   Just a thought.

[ChestnuttVintage]

What would happen, I wonder, if two sellers who both thought you had to "get the last word in" ended up having a conversation with each other?

[ChillwolfArt]

@ChestnuttVintage 

Lol.  I've conversed with a few Sellers.  It's turned out fine.  But I know what you mean ("You hang up", "No, you hang up:)

[BagmakerSupply]

Does anyone know for sure if falsely making a message as spam (when it is not) will negatively affect the original sender (perhaps lowering the "quality" score Etsy uses to determine listing placement in search)?

[cutebutton]

@BagmakerSupply I don't think it does because this is the suggestion that etsy has given for people to do. 

It would be lame if etsy told people to do it and then it penalized them LOL.  But etsy can be lame so who knows.