No star seller badge for not replying to a thank you message from a seller

[KateDoesCreate]

My star seller badge was taken away for not replying to a seller who was thanking me for my purchase and asking me to review them

[leinweberstudio]

ALL MESSAGES have to be replied to. The system cannot distinguish between seller and buyer messages. Did you see in the guidelines where it says all messages?

If you don't want to reply, put it in spam and the count might update in time for the next assessment.

[TheVioletGoat]

Sadly, this is a frequent misunderstanding. Yes, EVERY message needs a response. I'm so sorry you lost your star seller badge but at least you'll know for the next review period. 

Btw, I LOVE your auditory processing disorder pin. I've never seen something like that before. Looks like I'm getting myself a gift...

[StreetwoodDesign]

yup. Every message needs a reply. GET THIS: I extended the ship date on an order. The "new delivery date expected" message was sent to the buyer, and it was so conveniently also sent to me as if I was the buyer. So the message my buyer should have, and probably did receive, was also sent to me. The first time this has ever happened to me, but I've heard it has happened to others before. So I knew what I had to do. I replied to that message, and elaborated on my 2 day delay for shipping their item, apologized, let them know I would post the tracking when it ships, and thanked them again for their order. I'm covered. I never should have received that message, but I had to reply to it. The message calculation on the pretty purple star seller badge is the biggest killer. They fixed the review rating calculation. Maybe they should fix the message thang too. Missing one message can take you down for a couple few months from getting that pretty purple star, the only calculation left for them to reconsider.

[ChillwolfArt]

@StreetwoodDesign 

"The "new delivery date expected" message was sent to the buyer, and it was so conveniently also sent to me as if I was the buyer. So the message my buyer should have, and probably did receive, was also sent to me. "
______________________

That is absolutely whacked.  Too many problems going off all at once (and continuously).  Truthfully I'm getting fed up.

[ThePurplePuppy]

IN the OP circumstances I simply say "you're welcome", in reply. If that is too much to do--just make a snippet to click on with those words.

[ChillwolfArt]

@ThePurplePuppy 

Yes, even before the SS came out.  Buyers said it to me and likewise I said it when I was the buyer.

[MarKatKnitNCrochet]

Same happened to me months ago.  Lesson learned and yes it is frustrating because it takes months to earn the badge back again, especially if a small shop that doesn't get many messages.  I'm also worried about the $300 sales requirement but what can one do. 

Overall, try not to fret as I don't really think it means that much when people shop.  People buy from shops that aren't completely set up or that don't follow the recommendations from Etsy so hang in there; it won't make that big of a difference for your sales. 

[DesertChains]

It doesn’t matter whether or not you answered questions or provided information. It doesn't matter if a message doesn't need a response. It doesn’t matter if you’re the seller or the buyer. It doesn't matter if the message you received is a duplicate. The system only determines whether or not you replied to an individual message. If you didn't respond or send a message to your spam folder, you are going to get rated down. That's how it works.

Right or wrong, the program has worked this way for nearly a year! The instructions for meeting this metric are clearly stated and easily accessible. Daily posts in the forums also discuss this exact topic.

Send the missed messages to spam. Your stats will update in a day or two.

[PillowDetails]

New first-time messages now have a blue banner ( a blue dot on the app) - easy to see and respond to.  Is everyone else seeing this?

Shouldn't be an issue from now on, right?

[CupidFalls]

your welcome

[robinhoodcouture]

Etsy should reconsider this approach - imagine a handmade seller buying from a supply seller and both ping-ponging the conversation forever as to not lose their Star status - doesn't make sense

[maggiemaybecrafty]

You don't have to ping-pong back and forth, just respond to the first message in every thread. Makes perfect sense.

[BlueBarnFiber]

I still don't understand why so many people care so much about a sticker. It is a terrible feeling when you have something and at some point in the future it's taken away from you. But at this point, the badge does nothing other than stick out on your page. People are still going to look at your reviews more than anything. This isn't Amazon Prime and most people do not expect handmade or vintage items to be shipped the same day.

We had the badge for the first 3-4 months and then it was taken away because our products are dyed to order and relist automatically when they sell out. We list as many as we can actually fulfill and some items have quantities of 99. For whatever unknown reason, when the auto relisting happens the shipping profile is removed most of the time. If we then sell one of those auto relisted items without checking our shipping profiles, it wont have one.. and automatically dings us even though it had a profile before it auto relisted.

Trust in your business, respond to messages as soon as you can and make good products. Don't worry about the sticker, It really doesn't mean anything at all. We have bought hundreds of things from Etsy and have never once considered star seller badge a must have or even a plus for buying something from a business.