Star Seller Messages

[PupsNPlantsUS]

I didn't receive star seller this month due to a message I received after I bought something off Etsy, I thought it only counted if it was a customer of mine, not another seller that I'm purchasing from? Is this a mistake?

[PlatypusDream · Accepted solution]

EVERY message has to be answered.  If the star seller badge is important to you, become familiar with the rules:

https://www.etsy.com/starseller

"Your message response rate stat is based on:

• The per cent of initial messages that you replied to in 24 hours or less, including by auto-reply
• Only messages received in the current review period, excluding the last day

These messages won’t be counted:

• Anything after the first message in a thread (no need to worry about ongoing conversations)
• Messages you mark as spam
• Messages from Etsy admin

Try to set up an auto reply when you know you won’t be available. Note that marking a message unread doesn’t restart the clock, or count a message you’ve replied to as “new” again. It may take up to 24 hours for info to update.

Want more info on messages? Try the Star Seller Help Centre."

[UniqueGiftOrnaments]

If you read the star information on your dashboard, it specifically states that every new message must be answered or put into spam. Bots cannot differentiate between sellers and buyers.

[thePaperFramer]

And yet another seller that hasn't read the policies or looked this up in this forum. This is the 7 zillionth thread on this exact same issue. You have to reply to all first messages. Like it or not, this is what you have to do to keep from getting dinged for your Star Seller. Every body does this once. Hopefully to learn from this and not do it again.

[SugarTaffySoap]

Hi PupsNPlantsUS, it's not a mistake. All messages need to be replied to OR marked as spam. Hope this helps.

[PupsNPlantsUS]

Thank you for this, good to know!

[ChillwolfArt]

@PupsNPlantsUS   Just to let you know; even if another Seller wrote you a friendly Message ("How's it going?"), that still counts.
Anytime the Initiator of a Message is not you, you must answer it or Mark as Spam.  I would only a Mark a Message Spam if it was truly Spam.

Hope this helps.

[PillowDetails]

Look for the blue banner on desktop, and the blue dot on mobile - easy to see first messages that require a response now.

[LittleCopperMill]

This might be in the rules, however it does not make sense. Star Seller is selling - I am not attempting to be a start buyer. Etsy needs to smarten up its bots, not difficult to tell that a message is to do with a purchase and not a sell, especially since the message I happened to receive had a link to the item I purchased.  Also, from a comment above, 'everyone falls for this at least once' only demonstrates that the problem is to do with how Etsy has either not made it clear that messages from purchase also count.  I just do not see why a message from a purchase that didn't require a reply, that had nothing to do with me as a seller should count against me.  The rules may not state that messages from purchase must also be answered, but was that the original intent of the rule. I think what you have is a bad implementation by the programmers. 

[BagmakerSupply]

@LittleCopperMill: Not really disagreeing with you, but do you want some bot reading every one of your messages and guessing if it is from a buyer, a seller, or your best friend? How many threads would there be in this forum that "some bot incorrectly classified my message"?

[GoldenTimesWatches]

Basically all the rules to gain a "star seller" badge are stupid, over complex and draconian. Why didn't Etsy just do the same as Ebay where you as a seller are rated by each buyer on the purchase as to, communication level, delivery time and how the transaction went and then give an average for each section. We already have a 12 month average shown for reviews.

[LittleCopperMill]

Itsy should have the logic built in to know if the message originated from a 'Contact Seller' link or if you have purchased something from the person who is sending the email -who most likely used a contact buyer button from the sale or some type of Etsy Auto Generated message.

If you happen to purchase and sell on Etsy you should not get a penalty for making a purchase, why would anyone think they should need to respond to a shipping notification.  

There are many ways Etsy could detect this situation other than reading/analyzing messages.

The ability for Etsy to do so is there, the desire to do it is not. 

Also, for the record I am a professional computer programmer. So when I see something happen like this that should be and could be otherwise it irritates me. I was punished as the result of making a purchase on Etsy and not replying to a shipment notification from the seller - that is not logical.