Star Seller Messages

[ParkerApparelCompany]

I am ineligible for Star Seller (90 days is almost up) because of my message response rate being at only 80%.  I looked at the message history and the one message that I didn't respond to was for a purchase in which I was the BUYER, and it didn't require a response.  It said something to the effect of "I hope you're happy with your purchase,  if you have any questions or concerns,  let me know". So why does that count against my Star Seller eligibility?

[JackisJustVintage]

All initial messages need a reply or be marked as spam. Does not matter where they came from or why they were sent. The bots are not that smart. It has always been this way. You can try spamming it now and your numbers may go back up.

[AnnaleasFinest]

@ParkerApparelCompany 

for the starseller, you have to reply to ALL initial messages, be they from a seller or a buyer.

And when you say it didn't require a message,  think about how you would have reacted in a local store.

Would you have remained silent and walked out, or replied something like : "Yes, sure, thank you?"

[dippeldiundscribble · Accepted solution]

@ParkerApparelCompany 

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.

[BagmakerSupply]

@ParkerApparelCompany: Probably almost everyone on this forum can sympathize with you but a quick search would show you innumerable threads about your exact issue.

The Star Seller metric is that the FIRST message of a NEW thread must be replied to (or marked as spam) within 24 hours. Subsequent messages from the same account (a buyer may have multiple accounts) are supposed to be combined into a single thread.

Help Requests always start a new thread. By the way, if you are creating a custom listing based on a new thread, you still need to reply to the message. Etsy is now putting a blue text warning / advisory on those messages they consider to be a "new message" but should semantically be called a "new thread".

Cancellation requests must be replied to in the actual message - replies using the cancellation form do not count as a response.

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 be aware that doing so may cause other messages from that account to do directly to the spam folder.