Penalized on Star Seller for a purchase I made

[whimsywendy]

Wondering how to tackle this one. I purchased a printable sewing pattern from a lovely Etsy seller. I downloaded the pattern and instructions without issue. The seller also sent me a message with the instructions to finding everything I needed including the links I had already received.

Because I DID NOT respond to her instructions from MY purchase I already had, I am now dinged on my message score.

Any suggestions?

[UniqueGiftOrnaments]

It clearly states in the star seller information that ALL new messages must be answered or put into spam. That will bring your percentage back up.

[boygirlboygirldesign · Accepted solution]

Mark it as spam. I missed a message not to long ago and someone in the forums said to mark it as spam. I did and my percentage came back up to 100% the next day.

[whimsywendy]

done! 

Thanks a bunch!

[TonsOfPaper · Accepted solution]

Hello there,

Please remember that the Message response rate counts initial messages from all Etsy members, both buyers, and other sellers. This is because fellow sellers could be potential buyers for your shop. If it's not a spam message it requires a response within 24 hours. If it is a spam message, you can mark it as such and it won't count towards your score. It will take up to 24 hours for this to be reflected in the Response rate score.

Thank you very much!

[NVFaceMasks]

If the star seller is all about providing exceptional customer service, why in this world are we allowed to put a legitimate message to spam?  Isn’t it rude to ignore the customer (or the seller in this case)?  The first message should NOT be allowed to be sent to spam, especially if you know who the sender is.

I feel that the “spam” action defeats the purpose of the Star Seller program, which is not just a badge to brag about.

[cutebutton]

@NVFaceMasks 

I tend to agree with you. 

If there is a way to cheat the system it renders it meaningless LOL. If you mess up you should have to realize you messed up and then next time do better. 

I saw somewhere today that someone posted that etsy has said that if you mark messages as spam that are not spam your account can be suspended (this could be totally not true though), but on the other hand that is also what etsy has suggested LOL.  Who knows.

[2di4jewelryoriginals]

If a seller is sending an unwanted/not needed message isn't that the same thing as spam?
There are some sellers on this site that send unnecessary convos. I don't need a convo to tell me you shipped my item, which I get from some sellers. Then I have to reply to something that shouldn't have been sent in the first place. Ridiculous. 

[cutebutton]

edited....

spam would be something that is unsolicited.  If it's just informing you that you order is shipping and a simple thank you.  that would be to do with a specific transaction.  If they messaged you multiple times and tried to upsell you that would be spam but simple info about an open order not spam.

[ByThePoole]

Unfortunately I just had a somewhat similar experience that is too late to be remedied....after 8+ months in a row of being a Star Seller my message response rate dropped below the threshold because of ONE message that I received for an item I purchased that was informational and didn't require a response. I didn't mark it as spam because it wasn't. I wasn't even thinking about the fact it could affect my Star Seller Score (yes I realize this is in the policy and that is an oversight on my part)  It is still frustrating that the months of providing customer service worthy of the Star Seller badge is void because of a sticker I purchased.