Star Seller Response

[DesignsOnFirst]

I pride myself on replying to messages for help from buyers normally within a couple of hours and have a good track record of being a Star Seller.

What I don't like is that Etsy's algorithms cannot tell the difference between a request from a genuine buyer or a note from someone you have purchased an item from on Etsy thanking you for that purchase. They are NOT asking for a response and nor should they get one ubless I need help.

You are disadvantaging genuine shop owners who make the best effort in maintaining proper response times with genuine requests for help.

As far as I'm concerned, If a SELLER sends a message I shouldn't have to respond.

Surely Etsy encourages you to make purchases on their platform but if I lose my Star Seller Status because I didn't reply to an unsolicited thank you , then I will STOP making any purchases on the platform.

[KGarnerDesigns]

It doesn't matter. ALL messages must be replied to within 24 hours or marked as spam.

[NanaLetha]

How would the automated program know the difference? Do you think an actual person is reading all the messages?

[Former_Member]

Open a separate buyer account or purchase as a guest.

[Adorabilities]

Logically, you're right -- there should be a "no response needed" option. But Etsy doesn't care to split messages into categories (other than help requests) so we're stuck following the rules as they've been set out. Sellers have complained about this since the program started.

[DesignsOnFirst]

The moment we all 'Stop' complaining is the day that we are all happy to accept whatever they want  and just become meaningless....

[Adorabilities]

The moment we stop complaining, we can move on to something else that might help our shop. We did A LOT of complaining back when this started -- all we got for it was our own grief.

[bradgoodell]

@Adorabilities Apparently this is all our fault, because we hadn't bothered to complain enough....

insert eyeroll here

It's amazing what people say and do to deflect.  

[Former_Member]

Try sending that message to spam.  It might not be too late to recover your score in time for the next SSB.

[DesignsOnFirst]

Thanks for that advice. I just did that so I'll see what happens.....

[BagmakerSupply]

@DesignsOnFirst: "What I don't like is that Etsy's algorithms cannot tell the difference between a request from a genuine buyer or a note from someone you have purchased an item from on Etsy thanking you for that purchase." 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"?

[DesignsOnFirst]

Their so called 'bots' do a whole lot more than that already. When I get a request from a buyer my message has a caption that says 'Help Request'. When I get a message from anyone else there is no caption at all. They already read everything!!!!

[BagmakerSupply]

@DesignsOnFirst: Perhaps they are reading our messages, perhaps not. Fortunately some bot is not determining the nature of the message. "Help Requests" are determined by how the buyer initiated the message not the contents of the message.

[bradgoodell]

@DesignsOnFirst  "Help Requests" aren't bot-read.  It depends on which button a buyer uses to contact you.  If they click "Help with this order" or "Request help" it is marked "Help request".  

If a buyer replies in a previous message you sent, it doesn't matter what they say in the message, it won't be labeled "Help request". 

So no, bots aren't reading your messages and determining how to label them.  

[OneEyeCatStudio]

Now you know what to do.  I don't understand not buying because you might lose that Star.

Don't agonize over it, really, it is pretty meaningless.

[Former_Member]

Yep.  They give it to resellers, they give it to infringers, they feature people who don't have it.  It's meaningless.

[bradgoodell]

Yeah, no one said it was perfect.  But it is fairly simple:

1. Respond with "thanks"
2. Mark as spam

Either choice takes only a couple of seconds.  

Refusing to buy on Etsy because someone might send you a message this only hurts us, your fellow sellers, not Etsy.  Why would you do that?   

[BootifulLabels · Accepted solution]

It doesn't matter whether we feel we shouldn't have to respond to a message that needs no response.  The rules are clear. 

If you don't want your purchases to affect your SS status, you have a couple of options.

• You can use Auto reply to send a "thank you" or an "I'll get back to you shortly" message.  This counts as a response for SS, but needs to be reset every five days.
• You can create a few snippets with various messages and send quick responses that way in just 3 clicks, Snippets/Select/Send.
• You can create a new, buyer only Etsy account and keep all your purchases separate from your shop.

If you don't like any of these options, get used to being dinged for messages from other sellers, or get used to not having the SS badge.  It makes no difference in the long run, no matter how much Etsy may want you to think it does, they cannot feature all SS's on the first page every time.  

[DesignsOnFirst]

The rules are 'Wrong' and I will always speak out when that is the case. We can either go through life as puppets or be prepared to speak out when something is wrong....

[BootifulLabels]

The rules may not be what you would want them to be, but they are clearly laid out and you choose to sell here, knowing the rules as they stand.  You can't then decide that those rules are wrong, when you agreed to them from the start.

[maggiemaybecrafty]

I don't get why you would punish sellers by not buying, this is Etsy's doing and sellers can do nothing about it except leave if we are that upset about it. Those are Etsy's rules and they are not going to change them just because we don't like it. It is easy enough to respond and takes very little time. 

[DesignsOnFirst]

From all these responses it seems like everyone is just "puppets" to the system. Happy to go along and accept the rules of a large corporation without question. If something is not right then I will stand up and say so all day long. If you say nothing or do nothing then it will be 'status quo' forever - not what I want.....

[OneEyeCatStudio]

"From all these responses it seems like everyone is just "puppets" to the system."

Seriously?

Most of us know that the Star Seller badge is, at least at this point in time, worthless.

If I'm going to stand up and fight, I'll do it for something with an outcome that will actually have an effect on something.

[LeParisMetro]

A puppet wastes their time complaining about something that is meaningless, has been going on for two years and that they know will not change. There are more important things to focus our energy on in the world instead of a stupid purple star.

[bradgoodell]

Insulting people who are trying to be helpful is pretty harsh.  Complaining about something that is out of your power to change is a waste of time.  Insulting us is a waste of time. 

I guess it is easier to attack us than to admit you how the power to keep Star Seller all this time, and didn't realize it because you hadn't bothered to read.