Spam Messages and Star Seller Status

[RouteArcana]

Hey Etsy Community,

I need some advice on a recent issue. I received a spam message on Etsy, and I promptly trashed it, thinking it was the right move to keep my shop spam-free.

However, Etsy's system now says I won't be promoted to star seller because I didn't reply within 24 hours. I'm worried about my shop's reputation and sales being impacted due to what seems like an Etsy system flaw.

Has anyone dealt with this before? Any tips on how to resolve it?

Thanks for your help!

-Roberta from Route Arcana

[FuzzyFoxDesigns]

Pretty sure you have to mark it as spam. Hopefully that fixes it. 

I've just lost star seller myself as Etsy put my shop in vacation mode. I have no idea why. If they do that you lose all of your badges. My dashboard still has them all. 

[MaynardMillinery]

You mean you just deleted it - you didn’t send it to spam right?

That counts as not answering and will go against your Star Seller score. Alway reply or mark as spam. Don’t just read/ignore, leave unopened, or delete. 

[BootifulLabels]

When you receive a spam message, you need to mark it as spam and then Etsy will not count it.  Deleting it at your end doesn't necessarily remove it from Etsy's servers and it can still count against you.  If you can still locate it in  your Recycled file, ( I notice I have one there from 2018 so there's a chance it is still there) SPAM it, and it won't count any more.  From past reports, doing so now should adjust your stats in a couple of days and in time for next month's badge.  Of course if it is gone for good, you are stuck with the strike.  Good luck.

[BagmakerSupply · Accepted solution]

@RouteArcana: Keep in mind that, as it says right on your Star Seller page, 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.

If you cannot find the thread, you might try the link in the CSV file available from your Star Seller page. If the unanswered new thread 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 (but not retroactively). Note that subsequent messages from that account may go directly to the SPAM folder.

Unless something has changed recently, you can only mark a message as SPAM using a browser, the option is not available in the app.

[OldNouveau]

Yes, both times those spams came to me and I dealt with them appropriately. My star sellers status suffered.

[BootifulLabels]

What you consider dealing with them appropriately may be ignoring them or deleting them, but neither of those options meet SS requirements, and neither one flags the message to Etsy so that they know it was spam.  If you don't want spam to affect your SS status, MARK IT AS SPAM.  Then it won't count against you.

[DragonflyDreams1]

It is so sad to see all the people who come to this forum in a panic because they did not answer a spam message. You would think that Etsy would nullify the messages sent by scam accounts that they close. Simple solutions can lead to a healthy environment for sellers and buyers. 

[Rummage4Retro]

Hi, What I do is have an automated message, which responds to all messages, along the lines of "Hi thank you for your message, we will get back to you as soon as possible with an answer (We are on London time)" Its a practical message but helps preserve your seller status by responding automatically and then allows you to research the answer your customer requires...for a quick reply and of course you just spam the unwanted messages.