Messages to me as a buyer are reflected on my star seller stats.

[KristiKeramik]

I have my own store on etsy, but I use the platform as a regular customer. I bought a product, I received a private message from the seller that the product was sent, I did not reply. Today I saw that this message counted as unanswered in my star seller stats and I lost my badge. How do I get in touch with the support team? This is the second time I've lost my badge due to bugs and errors on this platform.

[PriddeyThings]

It isn’t a bug or an error. It’s spelled out clearly in the star seller criteria on your dashboard.

[FallenAngelBrass]

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@KristiKeramik wrote:

I have my own store on etsy, but I use the platform as a regular customer. 

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You're using your shop account to buy things.  All message activity in your shop account is part of the star seller data.  If you'd like your buying and selling to be independent of one another, open a buyer account.  Many sellers on Etsy have separate buyer accounts. 

[BeaconwoodDettman]

For now, you need to reply to all messages you receive, both as a seller and a buyer. In the situation you describe, you could just respond "Thank You!". You can contact Etsy Support to inquire about this (we are all sellers here, we don't work for Etsy), but there may not be anything they can correct since you didn't reply to that message. 

In the future, Etsy needs to find a way to differentiate messages received from a seller when the buyer is also a seller. When a seller is a buyer, the Star Seller requirements shouldn't apply. If a buyer contacts a seller (you, me), the seller needs to respond per the requirements of the Star Seller program. 

[BootifulLabels]

In the future, Etsy needs to find a way to differentiate messages received from a seller when the buyer is also a seller.

No, they don't.  Sellers need to make a conscious decision not to purchase from their seller account, or be prepared to answer ALL messages received if they want the badge.

The rules have been clearly spelled out from the onset of the program and the system is as simple as they can make it.  All message activity on a seller account is deemed accountable for SS.  Nobody reads our messages to determine whether they are addressed to us as a seller or a buyer, and I expect there would be a huge outcry of invasion of privacy if they did. 

Separate your buying and selling activity and you won"t need to worry about being penalised for messages received as a buyer.

[BagmakerSupply]

@BeaconwoodDettman: "Etsy needs to find a way to differentiate messages received from a seller when the buyer is also a seller." What if the sender of the message is both a buyer from you and a seller to you? How many threads would there be in this forum that "some bot incorrectly classified my message"?

[GlassyFields]

Yep ... star seller counts the first message in ALL message threads. Etsy doesn't distinguish.

Imagine if the bots tried to figure out if a message should or shouldn't be counted ... that would be asking for errors.

[PrairiePrimitives]

This is how the Star Seller program works. As others have said, you need to reply to the 1st message in a timely manner, as described in the Star Seller rules. 

[SeasideRoseCreations]

Freshen up reading the SS rules.

This isn't a bug.

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

I can always tell when it’s the first week of the month on the forums. 

[BagmakerSupply]

@KristiKeramik: "... I saw that this message counted as unanswered ..." As it says right on your Star Seller page and elsewhere, you need to reply to the FIRST message of EVERY NEW INCOMING THREAD within 24 hours. It does not matter who sent it, the subject matter, if it is a duplicate or blank or anything else. If it is SPAM then it should be marked as such.

" I did not reply" The Star Seller metric for messages is very simplistic and binary - either you replied to (or marked as SPAM) that first message of a new incoming thread within 24 hours or you did not.

[ThePurplePuppy]

This is not a glitch or a problem. This is EXACTLY how the program has worked since it started in Sept 2021.