Message rate going down from messages between me and another seller

[ThornBirdCo]

My message response is going down because I did not respond to a sellers auto message that I bought from. Please advise 

[leinweberstudio]

self-edited

[BootifulLabels]

This is correct.  The rules say ALL new messages require a response within 24 hrs, or to be marked as spam, regardless of who they are from or what they are about.  No-one reads your messages, and most sellers would not want them to.  If it is a new message, you either need to answer it or mark it as spam. 

Etsy gives us several tools to assist with managing messages.

• You can use Auto reply to send an "I'll get back to you shortly" or similar, and this will count as a response.  You need to reset this every 5 days though.
• You can create a separate account for buying only and keep your purchase activity separate from your selling activity.
• You can log out of your shop account and purchase as a guest.

The second option is probably the best.  For next month's badge, you can mark that message as spam now, and it should adjust your stats in a few days, but it won't change the result for the July badge.  

[georgiabsoaps]

It's ridiculous, but you are apparently expected to reply to messages regarding your own purchases as well as business messages from customers. I hope that Etsy will fix this because it doesn't make any sense to penalize sellers for this, and countless people are dealing with the same issue (myself included). It's very frustrating, and unfortunately they are of no help for this and they will not do anything to remedy it. 

[TheVintagePineapple · Accepted solution]

Open a buyer account and make purchases on that one.

Now that you're aware of the situation, answer any message a seller sends to you with a simple thank you.  Even 'ty' will do.

Do we really want another Etsy bot checking our messages?  We all know how well they work!

[BagmakerSupply]

@georgiabsoaps: Probably almost everyone on this forum will agree with your feelings, but how is Etsy supposed to know the nature of a message? Do you want some bot reading every one of your messages and guessing? How many threads would there be in this forum that "some bot incorrectly classified my message"?

And why do you not see this as an opportunity to convert a seller into a buyer?

Or insurance in case you actually do answer a message late (since it takes 19 answered on time new threads for every 1 answered late or unanswered new thread)?

Or, for shops with few or no new threads from buyers, the opportunity to qualify for the speedy response badge?

@ThornBirdCo: Etsy does not expose any method for anyone to legitimately send "auto messages". If the unanswered message is not a Help Request, at least for the time being, it appears that marking an unanswered message as SPAM (even after the 24 hour deadline has passed) will cause your reply percentage to change in a day or two if the original message was within the current star seller period (but not retroactively). Note that subsequent messages from that account may go directly to the SPAM folder.

[georgiabsoaps]

It is already coded for, that's the frustrating part, it wouldn't be hard for them to modify it. Messages from sellers you have bought from say "have a problem with your order?" on the bottom, so it's clearly coded to differentiate. You wouldn't even need a bot, it's much simpler than that. They could easily change it, but keepers sellers happy is unfortunately not a priority for Etsy, which has become more and more clear lately. 

[FeltOnTheFly]

"Please advise".  OK.  I would advise that you respond to every message.  Regardless of who sent it.  

This has been the rule of the Star Seller thingy since it started.  

You're definitely not the only one to make this assumption and mistake though!  Frustrating for sure.  For so many.

[AnnaleasFinest]

Etsy says:

Reply to all initial messages.

It doesn't say: Reply to all customer messages.

You should also see a lightblue banner (computer) that explains that you need to reply to this, and a bluebanner congratulating you, once you did.

[SomeMorrisThings]

I'm having this issue now. I don't understand how I can purchase something from my  personal account (I purchased as Kaylen Morris, not SomeMorrisThings) and it end up affecting my business messages and removed my Star Seller. I didn't reply personally because it was the shop stating their shipping times. Personally I think that is BS because they should be separate accounts to begin with. What I do on my personal account should not be associated with my business account. I reply to every single customer the moment I get it, if not in the morning if it's during the night.

[BagmakerSupply]

@SomeMorrisThings: Are you sure that the message(s) you are referring to were not sent to your "seller" account? Have you checked the applicable CSV file to see which messages Etsy thinks you did not answer within 24 hours?

[SomeMorrisThings]

Yes I looked to make sure. A purchase was made on my personal Etsy for my personal self and that message wasn’t replied to so it counted against my business message not being relied to. 

[TonsOfPaper · Accepted solution]

Hi @SomeMorrisThings,

We've double-checked the message that is affecting your Star Seller, and it appears that you've used the account associated with your shop: SomeMorrisThings to placed the order. The Message response rate counts initial messages in new threads from all Etsy members, both buyers and other sellers. You may want to create a Saved Reply in order to quickly and easily answer messages from other Sellers. Using a Saved Reply within 24 hours will count as answering the message.

 If the message you've received is not a spam message, it requires a response within 24 hours. If it is a spam message you can mark it as such and it won't count towards your score. Marking a message as spam will remove it from your inbox. 

Kindly remember that once you setup a shop on an Etsy account, the shop will be bound to that account and we're unable to separate them. This means that your Star Seller will count the messages you receive from your buyer and if you purchase using this account(shop associated with it), messages from the sellers will also count towards your Star Seller.
 

While it is not possible to retroactively remove this message from your score, we do understand your concern, and really appreciate you sharing your experience with me. We've gathered your feedback and will be sure to share it with the appropriate teams.

Thank you very much!