Star seller rating effected by message with no content

[RetroTO]

I recently received two messages from the same customer within minutes of each other. One message I answered immediately and the other message was empty.... no text. So I ignored it and then deleted it the next day . Now Etsy has interpreted that action as not answering the second message within 24 hrs and has down graded my rating in the star seller program. 

How to you argue with a 'bot'?

Is there anything I can do now?

[NanaLetha]

Go back and mark as spam.

[michellepatterns]

Etsy doesn't look at the content--or lack of content.  They only look at whether it's the first message.  You can try putting it in spam, but I'm not sure that really works all the time.  Still worth a try.

Whatever happens, you can earn the badge back next month by making sure to always respond to the first message--no matter who it's from, what it says, or doesn't say.  

[RetroTO]

Thats what I thought the answer would be...sigh. Just hoping for a different solution. Thanks for your input.

[SugarTaffySoap]

Respond to all messages even if they are "blank". I know it's crAzy but... you can spam the blank message as previously suggested.

[RetroTO]

Yes I now see my mistake..wish they could see theirs. Thanks for your input.

[AnnaleasFinest]

There is no mistake on their side.

The explanation is out, it's crystal clear, and yet people don't follow the rule:

"reply to ALL initial messages within 24 hours.

They didn't write:

"Reply to all messages with content."

They didn't write:

"Reply to all buyer messages, but not to seller messages".

Simply ALL.

[TonsOfPaper · Accepted solution]

Hi there,

Since all incoming message threads count towards your Response rate, we'd recommend replying to duplicate message threads with a response along the lines of "I'm responding to all questions in the original message thread." This will help to keep correspondence in a single thread. Just be sure to respond to each thread within 24 hours so that they count positively towards your score.

But please know that we heard your feedback about how hard it can be to stay on top of all the messages you receive on Etsy. In June, we introduced a new-and-improved Messages experience that will start to combine messages from the same buyer into a single thread. To earn your Star Seller badge, you’ll still need to respond to initial messages from buyers within 24 hours—but you’ll see fewer message threads from the same buyers. Not only will this change make it easier to qualify for Star Seller, we also think it will make managing your Messages much more streamlined.

You can learn more about this and some other exciting changes here.

We’ve also heard your feedback about the message response rate criteria adding extra stress to managing your messages. We’re exploring tools that would give you more flexibility to decide when to respond to messages. Remember that you can always turn on an auto-reply to ensure your customers receive a response to their initial message.

Thank you very much!

[SugarTaffySoap]

There's many threads on this topic. Respond to all messages even if they are "blank" as you indicated. You can spam the blank message as previously suggested.