Star Seller Message Response Calculation

[Elev8Earth]

My stats show that I didn't respond to one of my messages within 24 hours.  When I received a copy of the message, it wasn't from a customer.  There is a message included where I am responding to a seller I made a purchase from.  It should not be calculated into my Star Seller qualification.

[JackisJustVintage]

All messages, no matter where they originated, need to have a reply or be marked as spam.

[dippeldiundscribble]

@Elev8Earth 

Go to your Star Seller page and scroll down to the Q&A section.

https://www.etsy.com/your/shops/me/star-seller

Questions? We’ve got answers. -> Messages -> 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.

—————

Familiarize yourself with all the options provided by Etsy and use them to meet the criteria:

1. Set up auto-reply
2. Create and use saved replies
3. Mark as spam 
4. Set up a buyer account for your purchases

*1: How to set an auto-reply for Messages

*2: How to Use Saved Replies in Messages

[TonsOfPaper · Accepted solution]

Hello there,

Please know that the Message response rate counts initial messages from all Etsy members, both buyers, and other sellers. This is because fellow sellers could be potential buyers for your shop. If it's not a spam message it requires a response within 24 hours. If it is a spam message you can mark it as such and it won't count towards your score.

Thank you so much!

[BagmakerSupply]

@TonsOfPaperWould it not be more correct to say the initial message of a thread (since Help Requests spawn a new thread even if from an account you have previously had messages from)?

[HtoHdesign · Accepted solution]

Hey There!

The Message response rate counts initial messages from all Etsy members, both buyers, and other sellers. This is because fellow sellers could be potential buyers for your shop. If it's not a spam message it requires a response within 24 hours. If it is a spam message you can mark it as such and it won't count towards your score.

Thanks!

[LongmoreStudioCo]

Hi there - is there some way that Etsy could distinguish between buyers and sellers when calculating the response rate? For example, if I just bought something from a seller and they send me a “thanks for buying” message, Etsy should not count this as a message I have to respond to within 24 hours. Or would you recommend that sellers have two separate accounts, one for buying and one for selling? I just saw that my message response rate is 67% but it’s because I didn’t respond to other sellers who were sending me info (such as asking me to leave a review for a purchase) that I didn’t need to respond to. I’ve worked hard to respond to all actual buyer messages within 24 hours. I’m so disappointed that random messages from sellers have ruined my response rate. I feel bad marking those messages as spam as I don’t want to cause issues for other sellers. Help! 

[BagmakerSupply]

@LongmoreStudioCo: I doubt that anyone would disagree with you, but Etsy does not have the concept of buyer or seller accounts, so how is Etsy supposed to know the nature of a message? Do you want some bot reading every one of your messages and guessing? How many threads would there be in this forum that "some bot incorrectly classified my message"?

[LongmoreStudioCo]

I hear you @BagmakerSupply! For me, I'm going to create a separate account to buy things on Etsy so that I don't have to worry about it, but I totally understand that most people might not want to do that. 

[OutOfMyBarn]

a separate account to buy things is a good idea - will also prevent being pestered to give reviews on goods not yet received!!

[OutOfMyBarn]

I also received a 'thank you' message from a seller. They then followed it straight away with another message saying the purchase was 'on its way'.  

I replied to the second message but could not find a way to reply from the first one. Will this count against my Star Seller?

[BagmakerSupply]

@OutOfMyBarn: Scroll up through the thread. IF things worked as they should, then both messages are attached to the same thread.