Spam message stopped my shop from being a STAR SELLER -

[5yearwoodshop]

Received a SPAM message trying to solicit my business for their services outside of Etsy. 

I did not reply at all and did click SPAM.

However, because I did not answer the message I am now not a Star Seller.

My site is 5 Year Wood Shop.

Please rectify this issue ---- I should not be penalized if a Spammer sends me a message - [REMOVED]

Thank you for your prompt attention to this. 

[NanaLetha]

Marking as spam does the same as replying.

[NanaLetha]

@5yearwoodshop  you have no badges at all so you did not meet the required $300 + 5 sales.

[5yearwoodshop]

Yep I met all of the requirements and I did not receive the star seller badge because I did not reply to the Spammer message.

[GlassyFields]

When you mark a message as spam, even retroactively, it will not count against the star seller message response badge. It can take several days for the star seller stats to update.

Bottom line - spam messages - those marked as spam - have no impact on the star seller badge.

[5yearwoodshop]

Hope so --- thank you for your reply!

[BagmakerSupply · Accepted solution]

@5yearwoodshop: Have you checked the applicable CSV file available on your Star Seller page (previous period for September Star) to confirm which message(s) Etsy thinks you did not reply to within 24 hours or mark as SPAM? When you look at the file remember that that the dates / times are in UTC (not your time zone), only the first message of a new incoming thread is included (all that counts for Star Seller), and usually 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) seem to be updated only once per day so there may be an additional day's delay. There is also a link to the actual message thread so you can verify if the data is correct or not.

As mentioned, 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.