Messages not appearing.

[BelovedbyHams]

I had a help request from a customer come through, I responded promptly while I was out in the garden but when I went back inside later on in the day to look for a response my message had disappeared! I then found out my star seller rating has gone down because my message disappeared. I watched the message get sent as I was showing my grandparents how I do it all.

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

Check your spam folder. Some buyer messages are being moved to spam without our knowledge. 

[BelovedbyHams]

It wasn't in the spam folder it was a message I had sent that randomly disappeared 

[TandemElementsShop]

apologies if you already know this but just in case:

if you just initiated a conversation,

there is a "sent" folder located below the "from etsy folder". if you sent a message but haven't gotten a reply yet, your sent message could be located over in that Sent folder.

(then after the person replies, the back-and-forth conversation stays on the main page where incoming messages are also shown)

again i apologize for how rudimentary that sounds but i had the same problem until i figured out to look there for messages i had sent  

hope that's it! good luck♥

[if you're signed in, this should take you to the folder i was talking about https://www.etsy.com/messages/sent ]

[JMOldeVintage]

@BelovedbyHams  - As already mentioned, check your Sent message box & check the Spam box.

If you cannot find it, I would consider opening a help ticket with Etsy.
Help Request messages can only from buyers who have made a purchase from you.
They will be tied to the order the buyer placed.

But Help Request messages are kept separate from any other message thread you may have had with the buyer since Etsy requires that a Help Request message be sent prior to a buyer opening a case against your shop. 
While some buyers do use help requests for simple "thank you" messages, if there is a problem with an order, there is a 48 hour window to settle the buyer's concerns. After that 48 hours if the buyer is not satisfied with the resolution a shop owner proposes they can open a case.

Hopefully there aren't any glitches in the Help Request messaging system.
Also, consider using a browser, on computer or your phone. The Etsy app is often not the best choice for many things due to its limitations.

[AtomicPad]

I just had a similar problem. Someone inquired 6 days ago, I replied almost immediately. They recontacted me yesterday, but I could not find our previous conversation anywhere. I checked in gmail to see the original notification and by clicking on it I was able to found our previous conversation (and a reply from my inquiring customer that I never saw before - and I was not notified on gmail).

I just found the whole conversation has been moved to spam and missed a $2000 sale