Ongoing Technical Issues in My Second Shop — Star Seller Badge Missing, Payment Holds, and Support S

[StraumeWatercolor]

Hi everyone,

I hope you can help me figure out some persistent technical issues I’ve been experiencing with my second Etsy shop. I’ve been an Etsy seller since 2018, and my first shop runs smoothly without any problems. However, my second shop, opened in October 2024, feels like it’s running on an entirely different platform, with issues I’ve never encountered before.

Here’s a breakdown of the problems:

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1. Star Seller Badge Missing

• I quickly earned Star Seller status after opening my shop.

• Last month, the Star Seller badge disappeared despite my shop meeting all criteria for both the current and previous review periods.

• I reached out to Etsy Support, and they confirmed that this is a technical error on Etsy’s side, and I should be receiving the badge. They asked me to wait a few days, but weeks have passed, and nothing has changed.

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2. 2-Week Payment Hold Despite Eligibility

• My shop has over 100 sales, no cases, no returns, and is almost 9 months old. I have Etsy Payments.

• The dashboard states that all payment reserves have been lifted.

• However, I’m still on a 2-week payout delay for every sale, which shouldn’t be the case for an established, compliant shop.

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3. Support Chat Access Lost & Ignored Messages

• After my initial conversation with Support about the Star Seller issue, the chat simply went silent.

• I never received a standard “How was your support experience?” email.

• My messages remain ignored for weeks, and I’m unable to open a new chat or get any response.

• I feel completely stuck, as I can’t reach out to anyone for further help.

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I’m sharing this here in case anyone else has faced similar issues, and in the hope that Etsy moderators or technical staff can look into these problems.

To summarize:
I meet all Star Seller criteria, but the badge is missing.
I’m stuck on a 2-week payout delay, despite no cases, no returns, and a healthy shop.
I’ve lost access to support and can’t get help through the chat.

I would be incredibly grateful for any assistance or guidance.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this,
Alina

[CryzalisMasksUK]

Sorry to hear you going through this, the hold should have been lifted after 90 days from your first sale in your second shop.

Maybe one of the moderators can get this to the right department, I remember some other sellers last year who were stuck on the hold after 9 months some mentioned they were told it was down to a glitch others including myself were told the 90 days was 180 working days, we did never get a straight answer, either way your 2nd shop seems to have passed both.

@thatregina is there anyway you could assist?

[StraumeWatercolor]

Thank you so much for your reply and for sharing your experience — it really means a lot to know I’m not the only one who’s faced this issue.

It’s really confusing and frustrating that some sellers were told it’s 180 working days, while others were told it’s a glitch — it feels like there’s no clear answer.

I really hope a moderator can help escalate this to the right department. I’m just a small seller trying to keep my shop going, and it’s so disheartening to feel stuck like this.

Thank you again for taking the time to reply, I truly appreciate it!

[CraftyCornishMaids]

your other shop has all badges,, and star seller

this shop does not have the messages badge, only the other two, so won't have star seller

default in stats is "current" review period
you need to click on - "PREVIOUS review period", you can download the csv, to see which message/s etsy thinks you missed.

not sure how sensitive etsy's bots are when newer sellers miss the messaging stats

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@StraumeWatercolor 

just did a quick check

the customer service stats for messaging, is 80%, if you are less than this, it could definitely trigger another hold

[StraumeWatercolor]

I have 100% Message response rate for the Previous review period. And for current too. And I always had 100%, never less.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

it's the message badge that is missing, did you check the csv for previous?

[CraftyCornishMaids]

it's the message badge that is missing, did you check the csv for previous?

sometimes moving messages from spam to normal affect them, or two separate threads from the same seller

[StraumeWatercolor]

Thank you so much for the advice — I just downloaded the files, and they show something very strange.

There are only 4 messages listed, and yes, one of them I did reply to a little later than the 24-hour window, but I’m absolutely sure there were more than 4 first messages from buyers in the past 3 months, and I replied to all the others on time.

Even stranger, the Star Seller report still shows 100% response rate. It feels like the system is counting only part of the messages, or not counting them consistently.

Any ideas on how to fix this? I really appreciate your help!

[BagmakerSupply]

@StraumeWatercolor: "... only 4 messages listed ..." Only the first message of a new incoming thread is included (all that counts for Star Seller), and a new incoming thread is not included until after the 24 hour reply window has passed regardless of when you replied.

Star Seller stats (and the CSV file) are updated only once per day so there may be an additional day's delay.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@StraumeWatercolor 

If you are on your dashboard, and click messages

you can see how many messages you replied to in the last 3 months, in date order, but some of those might have been older threads, you had an ongoing conversation with,  so weren't counted in previous review stats

[CryzalisMasksUK]

You are very welcome. Many believe this issue is just for new sellers as they are told they have to prove themselves but the fact is, it is for all new shops, that includes 2,d 3rd or more shops by well established trusted sellers.

I hope they get this sorted for you, as it is not fair.

[LastCentury]

star seller badge requirements:

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/4403058372503-What-is-the-Star-Seller-Badge?segment=selling

What is this 2nd shop? 
"If you choose to run multiple shops on Etsy, you must list all the shops you run in the Public Profile section of each account. Each account must also comply with Etsy’s Seller Policy. "

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017604474-How-to-Open-a-Second-Shop-on-Etsy?segment=selli...

You sell to everywhere but your shop policies are not compliant for selling to EU. You need to add:
- sellers details
- gpsr
- right of withdrawal

[StraumeWatercolor]

Hi!

Thank you so much for taking the time to review my shop and leave such helpful feedback. I really appreciate it!

I went through all your suggestions, and I've made the necessary updates:
Added safety notes (GPSR compliance) to all my listings
Added Right of Withdrawal information
Double-checked that my full name, address, and taxpayer information are correctly listed in my shop details — as far as I understand, Etsy displays these automatically for EU customers
And you were absolutely right — I had only listed my other shop in the descriptions, but not in the public profile. I’ve fixed that too!

English is not my native language, so I sometimes miss small details like this — but thanks to your comment, I feel much more confident that my shop is now compliant with Etsy’s requirements.

Thanks again for your time and help!

[thatregina · Accepted solution]

Hello @StraumeWatercolor, I'm sorry to see this! I've referred your queries here to the correct team. Please look out for a follow up via your latest ticket. Thank you for your report and thank you to those who have offered help and insight!