Response to message % is not accurate

[GlassRiverJewelry]

If a buyer asks me the same question in 2 different messages, I am not given full credit for answering the questions.  

[GieseDeseiGns · Accepted solution]

You have to answer both initially.

[ArtDollsbyJD]

You have to answer both.  Answering is either an answer or spam.  So answer one and then spam the other. 

[saharhome]

je pence qu'il faut faire attention au spam ci ces un acheteur j'ai peur que vous soyer pénalisé  

[GlassRiverJewelry]

Thank you all. Seems like a big waste of time and they should be combined in one thread.

[BagmakerSupply]

@GlassRiverJewelry: "... they should be combined in one thread." Allowing for the occasional glitch, subsequent messages from the same account (a buyer may have multiple accounts) are combined into a single thread - but there are exceptions. For example, Help Requests ALWAYS start a new thread because they also start the clock ticking on a potential case against the shop.

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; and Etsy is putting a blue text warning / advisory (blue banner on browser, and a blue dot on app) on those messages they consider to be a "new message" but should semantically be called a "new thread".

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.

[NoFrogsAllowed]

How many precious second does "answered in other thread" or "duplicate message" take?

[BootifulLabels]

If the buyer answered twice in the same thread you only need one answer, but if they start a second thread then it becomes a new enquiry and you have to answer once.  If it is a duplicate you can spam the message, but it is not a good idea to do that with any message from an actual buyer as it could treat future enquiries as spam and you may miss out on orders in the future.   Far more sensible to simply reply with a thank you.

[PlatypusDream]

This is all answered in the rules right in your Dashboard. On the left hand side is says "Star Seller" with all of the details.

What messages count towards the message response rate?

Your message response rate is based on just the first message in a conversation, not ongoing conversations. This means you just need to respond to the first message within 24 hours. This applies to messages both from buyer and seller accounts. Messages from Etsy staff do not count toward your response rate, and neither do messages that you mark as spam. You can also now find a breakdown of your message response rate score by downloading a CSV.

What happens if I’m getting messages from the same user through multiple message threads?

If messages are appearing in separate threads in your inbox, then as it stands today you’ll need to respond to the initial message of each thread. One idea to help mitigate this in the interim is to set up an auto-reply or to create a Saved Reply for multiple messages from the same user that don’t need individual responses.