Star Seller review for last period is missing 4 messages from the 26th through the 28th

[AmbassadorGrooviness]

Hi, I would have received Star Seller this month, but for some reason the 4 messages I received and responded from the 26nd through the 28th of February were not included. Do message from from later in the month not count? The report says it includes data from: "December 1, 2022–February 28, 2023" so I'm disappointed that these last few messages I replied to quickly did not count, resulting in me losing Star Seller status over one missed message from 3 months ago. Thanks for any insight.

[GlassyFields]

if those messages were from previous people you've messaged with - they won't count. Etsy groups messages from individuals in to a single thread - this started a couple months ago. It has reduced my messages drastically.

for the one missed message you can mark that as spam and it will be dropped from your stats - although I'm not sure if it will fix your Mar SS status retroactively.

[CappuccinoLace]

"Messages sent on the last two days of the 3-month review period may be excluded from the current review period and counted towards the next period instead. This is to allow Sellers a full 24 hours to respond and not be penalised for messages received late on the final day of the review period."

from

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4403058372503-How-to-Become-a-Star-Seller?segment=selling

under message response rate

[WitticismsRus]

I'll just add that the "last two days..." bit can sometimes be 3 days due to time zone issues. Star seller bits are in UTC time zone which does impact things. 

[mommawhazelsquilts]

It takes 19 answered to offset 1 unanswered.  Unless you had a total of 20 messages and only 1 missed during the period, it would not have made any difference.  

[BagmakerSupply]

@AmbassadorGrooviness: You should always check the applicable CSV file available on your Star Seller page to see which message(s) Etsy thinks there is an issue with. Messages are included by the date the 24 hour reply window closes (with the possible additional delay that stats may only be processed once per day), only the first message of a NEW INCOMING THREAD is included, and dates and times are in UTC not your time zone.

[LinLuLockerVintage]

Make an automated message so that when someone messages you, your automatic reply to counts as an instant response. 

[ArtDollsbyJD]

The last two days are not used for the following month.  They will show up however later.

November days 29 and 30 did not show up for inclusion for December SS but does show up in the CSV for Dec, Jan Feb for March.

It's a quirk Etsy has had from the beginning.

Etsy uses UTC time and since the site is global the last two days are not registered for the following months so all the calibrating for the next SS can be taken and applied.

[TreasuresDiscovered]

I didn't respond to a seller when they messaged me thanking me for purchase I made. Because of that I lost my Star Seller status. Why????? I don't Etsy really cares about Seller status. I notice that they never get back to anyone. Hope you get yours straightened out!

[WitticismsRus]

@TreasuresDiscovered 

"Why?????"

Because you have to reply to ALL messages or mark as spam if they are spam. Etsy is pretty clear about that in all the info they provide about Star Seller. The system is completely automated, it can't read your messages and then make a decision if it's about something you purchased or not. Perhaps review the info etsy provides about star seller. 

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/4403058372503-How-to-Become-a-Star-Seller-?segment=selling

specifically this bit that's highlighted "The Message response rate only applies to the first message in a thread. Initial messages from both buyers and sellers on Etsy are counted towards the Message response rate. " 

The info is also right there on the Star Seller page in shop manager. Just go to shop manager > star seller. Once there scroll toward the bottom until you find "Questions? We've got answers." Then click messages. The very first question there says

"What messages count toward 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."

Bottom line...you have to either reply or mark as spam. It's been that way since it began.