Star Seller Error

[MSGBLADES]

I am trying to get help with an issue regarding my Message Response Rate.  On 07/28/22 I received a message from a client that said, " From Parker".  This Client reached out to me via Instagram to inquire about a custom order.  After I received his message, I responded to him within 24 hours with a private listing, but I was marked as not responding to my messages which lowered my Star Seller percentage.  I've been a Star Seller every month since my shop opened and I was hoping this error could be corrected.  We pride ourselves on having excellent customer service and also respond to customers well before the 24-hour time frame. Can someone from Esty please contact me and tell me how to resolve this issue?

[BootifulLabels]

This is a peer to peer forum, Etsy is unlikely to answer you here, its just your fellow sellers.  That said  if you receive a message, you need to respond to that message within 24 hours, that is how the program works.  It doesn't matter what you do outside of the message system, Etsy only looks at the messages and responses to them.  It is not a glitch, it is just the way it is and Etsy will not change it.  The badge is not worth worrying over, it does absolutely nothing for your shop most buyers will not even notice and those that do will have no idea what it really means.

[OneEyeCatStudio]

"This is a peer to peer forum, Etsy is unlikely to answer you here, its just your fellow sellers."

Actually, TonsOfPaper, who is new to me, has been quite regularly jumping in with advice on the Star Seller topic.

[BagmakerSupply]

@MSGBLADES  This is a seller peer to peer forum, not a way to contact Etsy, if that is your hope. Etsy does, however, sometimes post a response. There are many threads about this in this forum, but a message on Instagram would not affect Star Seller - how would Etsy know about it. Have you checked the CSV file to determine which message(s) Etsy thinks you did not reply to?

For all we complain about Etsy they have been very clear and consistent about messages / convos from the very beginning. Just to clarify so people don't think they have to respond to every message and it will be a never ending loop: the FIRST message of a NEW thread must be replied to 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. Those have always been the rules. Etsy is now putting a blue text warning / advisory on those messages they consider to be a "new message".

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.

[MSGBLADES]

Thank you for the response. I was initially talking to the customer on Instagram but then he sent me a message via Etsy. After I received the message, I responded to it by adding the custom order link in the message back to him. I figured that would be enough to show that I responded to the customer, but I guess that doesn't count as a message.

[BootifulLabels]

The custom order link is done "behind the scenes".  At one point the link used to appear in the message thread but I have noticed with my last few it hasn't.  I always send a reply to the message after I build the custom order to let the buyer know it is on its way to them.

[MSGBLADES]

My original message was not clear, so I apologize for the confusion. The customer initially reached out to me on Instagram but then he messaged me through Etsy.

[BagmakerSupply]

@MSGBLADES    Any reply within 24 hours should have counted. Did you check the CSV file to make sure that there was not some other thread you missed?

[PillowDetails]

@BagmakerSupply  - SS doesn't consider a Custom Order a response.  Dumb, innit?

[PillowDetails]

@MSGBLADES   I'm sorry, this is a little known fact I've experienced myself - creating a Custom Order through messages doesn't count as a "response" for the SS program.  Even though Etsy sends an email to the Buyer immediately, with a link to view their Custom Order.  You also need to respond with "here ya go!" or "Let me know if you have any questions!" .

Additionally, in the past there were many reports of the "newer" Custom Listing format (with the dumb thumbnail graphic) - where Buyers where not even able to access the link in the Etsy email to view their listing.  Not sure if that's still happening.  Personally, I find the newer set-up barely functional, and have been creating regular listings (that I pay 20 cents for, up front) and mark as "RESERVED" and send the link to the listing as a message response.  That way, I know the Buyer can access it without issue.

Sorry that happened.  Now you know.

[MSGBLADES]

Thank you for responding to my post. I'll know better for next time.

[MSGBLADES]

Thank you all for responding to my post. I'll know better for next time.

[BagmakerSupply]

Thank YOU @MSGBLADES and @PillowDetails  for sharing. We all learn from the pain of others.

[TonsOfPaper · Accepted solution]

Hello there,

As of the moment, the custom order link isn't considered in Star Seller. But please know that we will take this as feedback and will be sharing it with the team to consider for a future update. Please remember that we take comments from the community to heart, and we make many changes to the site based on what we hear.

Thank you very much!

[MSGBLADES]

Thank you for recognizing this issue and listening to our concerns. When we set up the custom order, it showed up in the message thread and appeared to be a legitimate response to the customer.  Therefore, we thought nothing of it. I hope this is something that Etsy can correct in the future as it was an obvious mistake and in no way was it a non-response or delayed response to a customer message. At MSG Blades, we pride ourselves on providing "Chick-fil-A" quality customer service and will continue to do so for our customers. Until this issue is corrected by Etsy, hopefully, others will read this thread and learn from our situation...  

[TonsOfPaper · Accepted solution]

Hello @MSGBLADES,

As of the moment, custom listing links aren't considered as a response. But please know that we will take this as feedback and will share it with the team to consider for a future update. Please know we take comments from the community to heart, and we make many changes to the site based on what we hear.

Thank you very much!