My 100% Messaging star status got dinged due to not replying to an admin msg.

[VerdureWell]

I purchased a product from [removed] and they sent a coupon in a msg. While I appreciated the coupon, I didn't reply w/i 24 hours as I thought that wasn't a requirement for the star status when a seller messages you. Because I rarely get messages (this was the 12th since Nov. 30), my status dipped to 91%, which doesn't qualify me to receive the badge. 

How do I get this issue fixed? Thank you! Carole

[NanaLetha · Accepted solution]

You must either reply to all messages or mark as spam.

[dippeldiundscribble]

@VerdureWell 

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

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

Questions? We’ve got answers. -> Messages -> 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.

[VerdureWell]

I've tried to mark the message as spam, to no avail. Please advise.

[VerdureWell]

Thanks. I have done all of this, but did not understand that the "Admin" meant an Etsy Admin, as opposed to a Seller Admin.

I did reply after 2 days, and now cannot mark as spam. 

Hard lessons from a company I've supported for years. 

[NoFrogsAllowed · Accepted solution]

You need to remove the shops name from your post.  You can mark the message as spam and see if your messaging rate goes back up in a couple of days.

[BagmakerSupply]

@VerdureWell: Probably almost everyone on this forum can sympathize with you but a quick search would show you innumerable threads about your exact issue. As it says right on your Star Seller page, you need to reply to the FIRST message of a NEW THREAD.

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. Those have always been the rules.

"... they sent a coupon in a msg" If the coupon was the only purpose of the message, by Etsy's Terms Of Use this would be a non transactional message and is SPAM. On the other hand, isn't a seller you purchased from a prospect to be a buyer from YOUR shop and worth being shown your outstanding customer service?

If the 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. Note that subsequent messages from that account may go directly to the SPAM folder.

[VerdureWell]

Thank you for your response. My bad, yes, certainly they deserve a quick response from me. And, in the future, all messages will get that from me as it's a requirement.

[VerdureWell]

Thank you!

[VerdureWell]

Thank you.