Star seller incorrect - message not sent within 24 hours linked to a seller, not a buyer

[1whodreams]

I always respond within 24 hours to a buyer.  I went in to see why not a star seller this month and saw it had to do with not responding to a message within 24 hours.  I downloaded it to see what message I supposedly did not respond to and it was from a seller in UK that I bought something from.  That shouldn't count.  It looks like the same thing is happening this month.  Star seller stats should only apply to messages from buyers, not other sellers!  Please correct this Etsy.  This star seller thing is a nightmare in my opinion.  Wish Etsy would stop making all these ridiculous changes and go back to vintage, handmade items or supplies/tools to make things like it started out...

[WitticismsRus · Accepted solution]

@1whodreams 

Etsy is pretty clear about how the message response rate is calculated in help center here https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/4403058372503-How-to-Become-a-Star-Seller?segment=selling

There is a highlighted bit under message response rate info that says "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. "

That means ALL messages. It also means each individual message thread so if someone sends you 5 different messages with 5 questions instead of putting them in the same message chain you need to respond to all 5 of them. The system is completely automated and doesn't know if the message is from a buyer a another seller. It just sees a message and calculated the response time. That's just how it works.

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."

You can try marking it as spam now and it should be removed from the calculation in a day or two. 

If the star is important to you then you may want to review all the info etsy has provided about how the program works.

[1whodreams]

What if there is no need to respond to a message, i.e .seller messages you after a sale...

[WitticismsRus · Accepted solution]

@1whodreams 

You have 2 options. 

1- reply within 24 hours 

or 

2- mark as spam.

[NanaLetha · Accepted solution]

You must reply to all messages or mark as spam 

[1whodreams · Accepted solution]

Now I see the messages not responded to within 24 hours had to do with a Seller in UK, which I have just gone in and marked as spam, even though they are not.  I guess I will have to remember to do this in the future.  Thank you for your answers.