Star Seller - 24 hr response - Messages to Buyer inside of 'Refund' not considered

[GrittyCity]

Recently, I received a message from a buyer about an item she received that didn't meet her expectations.  I responded immediately, same day, by refunding the item and including a short message inside of the Note Section of the Refund.  More than 24 hrs later, I realized that message didn't count as a response because it was not formulated inside of 'Messages'.  As a result, I have now gone from a 100% response rate to 75%. This doesn't take into account that I 'did' immediately respond, in less than 24 hrs, inside the Refund.  (NOTE:  My customer was very pleased with my quick response and gave me an Excellent Review.  Shouldn't my customers know that I 'Do' respond quickly When viewing my Star Seller Status?)  Please help! 

[FallenAngelBrass]

The way I look at this is that we make this mistake once and then never again.  Most of us have learned the hard way that when Etsy says "message," it literally means an Etsy message in the Etsy message system.   The criteria for the star seller badge can be maddeningly simple. 

[OmasFabricStash]

Etsy made it clear that you need to respond to the message. You got a message and you didn’t respond to the message, much less quickly. There is nothing Etsy can do if sellers don’t follow the rules and respond. I’m sorry this has happened to so many sellers but you really need to answer all your messages. This includes messages to you as a buyer. It’s a message so respond. 

[NanaLetha]

The Star Seller criteria is very clear - respond to all messages or mark as spam.

[GrittyCity]

Thank you for your opinions.  I hear what you all are saying, but it's a technicality that doesn't reflect the Fact that that Buyer received a response in less than 24 hours.  When it's December,  Peak season for sales, it's an easy technically to overlook.  Honestly, I think I've made this same mistake one other time, in December last year.  I accepted my fate then and moved on, but now I realize it's an easy mistake to make when you get busy.  I'm not happy that I'll be starting off the new year with a mark against me when I was sure I did everything right.  Would appreciate if ETSY would address this issue. 

[PlatypusDream]

If you find you are too busy to answer messages, set up the automatic response.

Etsy does give us tools to manage our shops.  
BTW, you will most likely not hear a response from Etsy on the forum, as many, many sellers have brought this “issue” up before and never heard a response.

[JDTotesnDolls · Accepted solution]

@GrittyCity   The note section of the refund is not part of messages.  If you received a new message in messages that needs to be answered or spammed.

So if you receive a request for a refund, answer that message that you are going to process the refund.  That's what i have done.  Then I go off and do the refund.

It's easy when you are in messages to take care of the message right then.  At least it is for me.

[VINTAGEbytheMAGPIE]

 Replying this way will affect your message response rate . So if you want to engage in the Star seller system , this way can affect your messaging stats .

You mention this has happened  in the  past , so you may wish to find a solution that works for your business to resolve. Etsy offer an automated messaging prompt which works well in this situation .

as you say .....would appreciate if ETSY would address this issue.....

Etsy will only change this if they believe this is an issue However , looking at this from Etsys perspective i'm sure they believe they have given us the tools to manage our  messages .

You can always log this as a suggested system change with customer support .

[PrairieCrocusStudio]

Another place to watch for messages that don't show up in the message system, is in the notes on the order. I am not sure whether they affect star seller or not. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

the only thing that affects star seller, is replying, or not replying, to the first message of a thread, which is also highlighted in BLUE

nothing else counts

It is really one of the simplest things ever

[JDTotesnDolls]

Notes on order are not part of the messaging system.  The messaging system is apart from the order system (which includes the refunds) .  Two separate areas.

[cutebutton]

@PrairieCrocusStudio 

notes to the seller do not count as a message. 

The only thing that counts is the actual messages and if you get one you should ALWAYS either respond to it or mark it as spam.

If it's a continuing message you don't have to respond back and forth but the thing to be careful about is if a person who has sent you a message also sends a message through the help function, those do not combine, which can throw people off.

[BootifulLabels]

IMO the Star Seller Requirements bear no real resemblance to Customer Service.  However the crux of the matter is, if you want the badge, you have to meet the criteria, regardless of whether you agree with them.  I won't change my own high service levels just to get their badge, it means nothing to me, my customers mean much more.

[FeltOnTheFly]

@BootifulLabels Do you think Star Seller status might make a difference to you if Etsy starts promoting those shops over others?  I've heard from a few shoppers that they've chosen to purchase from shops with the purple stars when they found them in 'search'.  

[BootifulLabels]

None whatsoever, I have over 20 years of online selling behind me and I know that what my customers consider great customer service does not match Etsy's standards.  Besides, the majority of buyers aren't even aware of the badges, let alone go looking for them when deciding who to buy from.  When they started "prioritising" shops with the free shipping guarantee it made very little difference, after all, not everyone can be on the front page all the time, despite Etsy's dangling carrots.

I don't rely on my shop for a living, it's a passion for me, rather than a pay-check.  I won't be penalising my customers by charging them ridiculous prices for shipping just so I can get a (not so) pretty badge from Etsy.  

I will make my feelings known if they start giving tangible incentives for the badge, but it won't change what I do.  If not having the badge means my sales dry up (which I seriously doubt), I am prepared for that. I retired from my corporate job 8 yrs ago, I can cope with retiring from this as well.

[FallenAngelBrass]

"the majority of buyers aren't even aware of the badges, let alone go looking for them when deciding who to buy from."

This is said all over the forum, but how do we know that this is factual?  Are we all just hoping that this is true, basing it on anecdotes or on our opinions? Do we have any actual data on this oft repeated statement? 

[howtobooksandmore]

@FallenAngelBrass   Etsy will never give sellers access to this data but based on my own experience not having the badge does not make a difference.  I don't have and never will have the badge because I ship things first class letter without tracking.  My sales have not changed since the star seller program started.  With only a small percentage of sellers having the badges, customers who do know about the program won't be able to find what they are looking for unless sellers without the badge are included in the search results.  And Etsy isn't about to loose sales because someone no seller with the badge has the sky blue pink widget a customer is looking for.

[FeltOnTheFly]

@BootifulLabels - I have just 14 years of online selling experience.  And before that, I did presentations to corporate executives focused on customer service trends in both internal operations and directly with their clients. 

I definitely agree with you that Etsy's customer service standards are certainly not up to par in so many ways.  But I disagree with you about whether or not buyers are aware of the stars.  I believe those stars are noticeable, and I think many buyers are clever enough to not only notice, but to even read about what the stars mean since Etsy clearly explains when you simply mouse over them.  

I don't rely on my shop for a living either.  Like you, my shop is a hobby that I take seriously.  I have no idea what you're talking with this comment, "I won't be penalising my customers by charging them ridiculous prices for shipping just so I can get a (not so) pretty badge from Etsy. "  Why would you need to charge high prices for shipping?  Not sure what that has to do with the star seller status....  

[BootifulLabels]

@FeltOnTheFly 

Shipping in Australia is very expensive compared to many other countries, largely due to population.  US has what, 370 million people?  UK has 75 million?  Australia has only 26 million, so the volume doesn't lend itself to cheap postage rates.  My items are paper based and can be sent as large letters, which costs between $2.20 and $5.50 (domestically) but letter mail does not come with tracking, not even as an add-on.  They recently added a prepaid tracked envelope for domestic large letter post at $6.15.  Etsy requires tracking for orders over $15 for AU sellers,  but my average order is around $10-12, which means when you add shipping they are all over the $15 mark. Then for International orders, tracked options start at $18 and I consider that excessive and unnecessary for a $10-12 order, wouldn't you?  

I can manage the domestic charges, but for international I cannot justify a $20+ charge on a $12 order, so I use untracked letters.  I can live with not getting the star most months, it really doesn't mean anything to me.

[TonsOfPaper · Accepted solution]

Hello @BootifulLabels,

As a seller from Australia, you're only asked to add a valid tracking number for Star Seller on orders with an item value of AU$15 before any discounts, not including shipping or taxes. For more information about this, we strongly recommend checking this Help Article.

Thank you very much!