Star Seller Rate affected by non reply as a purchaser.

[GoldenDriftJewelry]

Hello, 

For some reason my star seller rate was affected by the message to me as a buyer. Meaning, I myself purchased a product and the seller sent me the shipping notification, where I didn’t need to reply, but that non-reply was counted against for me as a seller reply rate. Can this be fixed somehow, as that non reply has nothing to do with me as a seller, I always reply to my clients inquiries within 12hrs.

Thank you

[BigXStudio · Accepted solution]

Unfortunately that is how Etsy wants the system to work. EVERY new message thread needs replied to, even from other sellers. They won't fix it as that's how they intend it to work.

[HazelsSewingSupplies · Accepted solution]

Since Day One (and it's going on two years now) the rules have plainly stated that the first message in a thread must be answered in 24 hours or less.

From both BUYERS AND SELLERS.

So, no, it can't be fixed as there is nothing to fix.

[BagmakerSupply · Accepted solution]

@GoldenDriftJewelry: Probably almost everyone on this forum can sympathize with you but a quick search would show you innumerable threads about your exact issue. There is nothing to fix. As it says right on your Star Seller page, you need to reply to the FIRST message of a NEW INCOMING THREAD.

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 even puts a blue text warning / advisory (blue banner on desktop, and a blue dot on mobile) on those messages they consider to be a "new message" but should semantically be called a "new thread".

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. Note that subsequent messages from that account may go directly to the SPAM folder.

[LAKEandFELLart]

It sounds as though you have misunderstood the messaging Star seller metric . You can find everything you need here 

help.etsy.com How-to-Become-a-Star-Seller 

[AAANativeArts]

This is old news that has been reported in the forums many, many times. It says right on the star seller page that you must respond to ALL messages, regardless of what they are about. Your other alterative is to mark them as Spam.

[TastefulArtisan]

Every day. Every single day. LOL But in all seriousness, does the app not give the little blue line about a new message and needing a reply? I don't use the app for anything other than to get notifications to my watch or answer a quick questions if I am actually away from my studio so I have no clue. Could that be the reason for so many of these forum posts? 

I don't recommend using the spam feature as a way to make up for not responding because it seems like a person is only concerned about a message if it negatively impacts them. Not I am saying the OP did but more of a general observation after reading what seems like 1000+ post about this every month.

That said, I can't speak from experience as I've never spammed a message that wasn't real spam but I think I've read that if you spam it, your numbers will adjust with a few days. With it being the last day of the month though, who knows. 

-Maria

[SugarTaffySoap]

@GoldenDriftJewelry Hi, this isn't a technical issue. 

Here is what Etsy Staff says: 

"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."

[PrimFun]

@GoldenDriftJewelry  Do read the information on the program.  It is quite illuminating.  It helps to realize what Etsy has in the program.  What counts and what they will and will not do. 

Since your account is not just seller but also buyer, you need to reply to all new messages since Etsy is not going to distinguish that was you acting as buyer rather then seller.