Non messages counting towards star seller rating

[essieandelle]

Hello

A buyer contacted me to say thank you for sending out her order. It wasn't a message or query, just 'Thank you'. This has been counted towards my star seller rating as me not responding within 24 hours, is there anyway of removing this?

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

All messages no matter who they are from or what they are about need to be responded to.  It is automated and there are no exceptions.  You can mark the message as spam and your score may recalculate over the next 48 hours. 

[GalleryAntiques]

It is a requirement of SSP that you have to respond to every message (just the first, not continuously), or mark the message as spam. A simple "you're welcome" would have sufficed to avoid being "dinged".

[CraftyCornishMaids]

It was a new message thread

it would have been highlighted in blue, saying you  had to reply

you need to reply to each new message thread, or mark as spam, as Etsy says

[OmasFabricStash]

Thank you is not a non message. You receive a new message and didn’t respond so you got dinged. A simple you’re welcome would have been sufficient. 

[LynnsLittleShop]

Try putting it in your spam folder and see if it helps your SS score. It sometimes helps.

[GlassyFields]

Like @LynnsLittleShop says, putting a message you got dinged for in your spam folder will remove the message from your message count and star seller response stats. I've seen it take up to several days.

And it won't correct the star seller status for a period if the you got dinged, lost star seller status for the period and then fix. It only works within a period.

The Etsy message system doesn't attempt to interpret messages. They're all treated the same. Hence the need to respond to the first message in every thread or send to the spam folder.

[LynnsLittleShop]

Thanks for more clarification on this! 

[GieseDeseiGns]

The bots don't read incoming messages, they just see that one is unread after 24 hours. They do not know who or what its about so it does need to be answered. I don't think you really want Etsy reading and deciphering your messages for you, with how they handle other things. Its only initial incoming messages that need answering, and you can send it to Spam and it will usually update your score even after 24 hrs,  but remember if its someone you do business with your messages from them will now be in Spam.

[audreytherese]

"A buyer contacted me to say thank you for sending out her order. It wasn't a message or query, just 'Thank you'."

It wasn't a message? Then how did they say thank you? How do you consider someone sending a message not a message? 

You may not consider it a message, but as far as Etsy is concerned a message is a message is a message. It really doesn't matter what the contents of the message are. 

[Adorabilities]

Maybe the OP meant to say it wasn't a question. Because it definitely was a message. 

[BagmakerSupply]

@essieandelle: "Non messages counting towards star seller rating"  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.

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.

You mat want to reread the Star Seller rules so that you are not surprised by something else.

A controversial workaround : 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.

[HazelsSewingSupplies]

It seems to be hard for some people to say "thank you" or "you're welcome".

Makes me wonder where they were hiding when manners were being passed out.