Star Seller

[KitCutStudio]

I have been assessed as unsuitable to be a Star Seller, because I did not respond as a Buyer to a seller who thanked me for having purchased. I find this unacceptable. I feel like not using Etsy anymore, I have to be rated as a seller, not a buyer and by the way what should I answer?

[CraftyCornishMaids]

you have to respond to each new message thread, etsy highlights them in BLUE, so you can't miss them

etsy doesn't read the millions of messages a day, to see what they are about, you have to go with the BLUE highlight

You can mark it as spam, or you can open a separate buying account, for your purchases.

[VintageRescueSquad]

If you care about becoming a star seller, the rules are very clear. Etsy cannot differentiate between types of messages, and for privacy reasons should NOT be. 

Reacquaint yourself with the rules of star seller, and wait it out.

[OwlAlwaysKnit · Accepted solution]

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

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. 

[bradgoodell]

Sellers are often buyers, and buyers are sometimes sellers, as you know.  There isn't someone reading every message, so Etsy doesn't know the person contacting you was a seller spamming you, a potential buyer needing info, your best friend wanting to chat, or your ex harassing you.  So all new messages need to be handled.  The choice is to either reply, or mark it Spam.  This has been a basic rule for Star Seller since the day it was introduced.

Sorry you were blindsided by this.