Star Seller Messaging Counts Non-Customer Messages within the 24 hour Requirement

[Galaxysodas]

Hello, 

I got docked for message response rate for a message I received from a shop for an order I made, which has nothing to do with messages for MY SHOP. I do not believe this should count toward the response rate for star SELLER, as the message is for me as a CUSTOMER and not as a SELLER, and was an update on shipping times for something I ordered, which I did not feel needed a reply since again, it was not REGARDING MY SHOP. 

Therefore, I think we should not be docked from being a star seller for not replying to messages sent to us as a CUSTOMER. 

[Marmalady]

That is how it works

ANY message must be either answered or marked as Spam within 24 hours if it is thye first in a thread.

The Etsy bots have no way of telling the subject of our messages -- so cannot distinguish between buyer and seller messages.

It tells you this right on the Star Seller page:

Reply to the first message within 24 hours

Just the first message in the thread counts, not the ongoing convo.

Messages that you mark as spam don’t count.

Set up an auto-reply when you’re unavailable. It counts as a reply.

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.

[UppNorthEh]

thank you for that news flash

[audreytherese]

Clearly you are using the same account for both buying and selling. It's also likely that who you bought from is also using one account for buying and selling. Which means both of you could be potential buyers, and why Etsy has determined that they are not going to distinguish between different message types and just clearly state that all messages, both from buyers and sellers, require a response. 

If you feel that strongly that you should not have to respond to other sellers, then I recommend creating a buyer only account and making all purchases from there instead of using the same account that you're selling from and expecting Etsy to sort through your messages. 

[BagmakerSupply]

@Galaxysodas: "I do not believe this should count toward the response rate for star SELLER" A lot of sellers would agree with you but as it says right on your Star Seller page, you need to reply to the FIRST message of EVERY NEW INCOMING THREAD 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.

A workaround : if the unanswered new thread is not a Help Request, 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 not retroactively). Note that subsequent messages from that account may go directly to the SPAM folder.

[GieseDeseiGns]

Etsy doesn't read our messages, so doesn't know who the message was from, all first messages must be answered no matter who they are from. If you purchase a lot on here it might make sense to create a  separate buyer account or use guest when buying.

[WitticismsRus]

The system is completely automated and doesn't know if the message is from a buyer or another seller. It isn't reading every message and making a decision if it's from anothrr seller or a customer or what it's about. It's a computer program that calculates data. That's it. It just sees a message and calculates the response time. That's just how it works.

Do you really want a computer program "reading" and making decisions for you? I sure as heck don't.

If the star is important to you then it may be a good idea to read or review all the info Etsy provides about the star seller program.

Bottom line...you have to either reply or mark as spam.

It takes just a few seconds to mark spam as spam or send a quick thank you reply for nonspam messages. Or you can set up an auto-reply every 5 days.

Etsy provides tools for sellers to use , it's up to us to use them.

[WantableDesigns]

Regardless of what you believe, the rules haven't changed since the inception of Star Seller. You can disagree with it all you like, but if you want the badge, you have to follow the rules and keep yourself informed of said rules.