Replying to messages

[CoutureNicole]

Etsy really needs to work on Messages as they relate to Star Seller status and percentages.  As it is, there are all sorts of problems as I can see from comments in this forum.  My comments:

A few minutes after a customer ordered from my shop, she asked for a cancellation. I acquiesced immediately, but now Etsy is penalizing me for not adding a message reply to that initial request for a cancellation. I didn't realize I had to answer that specific help request with a message, as I had cancelled the order!  It seems redundant and unfair that my shop is being penalized when I actually did what the customer asked.  This is bringing my Star Seller status down to 91% on messages.

Also, I do have the Saved Replies turned on and it didn't work with this customer message, so I'm assuming it doesn't work for Help Requests-totally unfair.

[NanaLetha]

You must reply to ALL messages or mark as spam. 

[ChillwolfArt]

Sorry you got hit by this.  That is the way the SS Metrics work.  You have to answer all Messages which you did not Initiate, or Mark them as Spam (personally I'd only do this if it was true Spam.  And BTW, that does not included Messages from a Seller re: my Order).  This could include Messages from other Sellers, "How's it going?"   Whenever you did not Initiate the Message, you must answer it, always. I've had someone use Help Request right after purchasing, to ask if I had another of something which was sold.  But every Message must be responded to.  

Hope this helps.

[CatsBeadKitsandMore]

Mark the message as spam now and it will update in 24 hours or so. Are you sure you have auto reply set up correctly? I've had help requests before and they got an auto reply.

[TBQSC]

It’s possible your auto reply timed out.  You can set to 5 days, but you have to reset it again or it will time out.  Or you can use the new weekly message function (enter your working hours) and messages will automatically send during your off hours.

[BagmakerSupply · Accepted solution]

@CoutureNicole"Also, I do have the Saved Replies turned on ..."  Saved replies and auto reply are not the same thing.

If your customer requested the cancellation through a Help Request, that needs to be replied to - if for no other reason that Help Requests start the clock ticking on opening a case against you.

Probably almost everyone on this forum can sympathize with you but as it says right on your Star Seller page, you need to reply to the FIRST message of every NEW INCOMING 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.

If the unanswered 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.