Message response rate dropped from 100% to 92% due to duplicates

[resumella]

Hi,

My message response rate has always been 100%.
A few days ago I received the same message twice from a buyer. I guess the buyer was impatient and wrote the exact same question again.

I responded only to one of the messages, since they were the exact same content, and didn't think about Etsy's response rate algorithm. Now my message response rate has dropped to 92% making me ineligible for a star seller badge! I worked so hard to get to this. How can I fix this? Obviously Etsy’s algorithm doesn’t take into account unique situations such as this but it’s also not fair to me as a seller who’s always quick to respond my sales have also dramatically dropped as a result.

Please let me know if there's anything i can do to undo this. Someone from Etsy I can speak with? 

[PlatypusDream]

"How can I fix this?.... Please let me know if there's anything i can do to undo this."

No, there is nothing you can do but mark the unanswered one as spam.

"Someone from Etsy I can speak with? "

The Forums is not a way to contact Etsy support. We are only other sellers here and Admin rarely visits, even more rarely answers question.

Even if you DO "speak" with someone at Etsy, they will not be able to help you. The Star Seller metrics are automated and Admin CAN NOT change them.

Better luck next month.

[mommawhazelsquilts]

Etsy doesn't change things due to our mistakes.  If it wasn't a help message you can send the other one to spam, but it won't help for this month.

We have to answer all first messages - even duplicates - or send to spam.

[BootifulLabels]

You should have marked the duplicate as spam, then it would not have counted.  You can still do this and it MAY be excluded from the calculation for next month but it will not help with the badges already awarded.

[BotanicalBirdJewelry]

Mark it as spam, it may take a day to update in the system, but that should fix the issue.

[BagmakerSupply]

@resumella: Unfortunately you made the choice to not reply to one of the new threads. The Star Seller metric for messages is very simplistic and binary - either you replied to (or marked as SPAM) every first message of a new incoming thread within 24 hours or you did not.

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

[dippeldiundscribble]

@resumella 

Go to your Star Seller dashboard and scroll down to the Q&A section.

https://www.etsy.com/your/shops/me/star-seller

Questions? We’ve got answers. -> Messages -> What happens if I’m getting messages from the same user through multiple message threads?

If messages are appearing in separate threads in your inbox, then as it stands today you’ll need to respond to the initial message of each thread. One idea to help mitigate this in the interim is to set up an auto-reply or to create a Saved Reply for multiple messages from the same user that don’t need individual responses.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

You have to reply to each new message thread

They can use ordinary messages, and that is one thread

If they open a help request, that is another thread - those are the ones that start the clock ticking for a refund, you absolutely have to reply to those in 48 hours, not just in 24 hours for star seller, but if they ever open a case, and you haven't replied to the help request  in 48 hours, etsy will automatically refund from you, and let the customer keep the item, it's a bot that checks, and you don't get protection, because you broke policies.

not even sure if etsy lets you mark help request threads as spam, even if they do, don't do it.