My Star Seller badge is affected by my message reply rate. I had a customer message asking me for a custom order. I replied to the message (within 24 hours) with a link to a post for a custom order. The customer immediately purchased through the link and everything was good. However, my replying to that message with a link to order counted against my star-selling rating. I'm a newer shop so of course, I want to do everything right so I can grow my business.
It seems like this is not fair to count against my reply % since I did reply.
" I'm a newer shop so of course, I want to do everything right so I can grow my business. "
I would do some reading. I think this is the least of your worries.
How to Become a Star Seller – Etsy Help
Star Seller Terms and Conditions - Our House Rules | Etsy
If you qualify for the Star Seller badge, you agree that you will not violate any laws in connection with your use of the Services, and you remain entirely responsible for complying with applicable laws and for all your other obligations under our Etsy House Rules and Terms of Use.
Intellectual Property Policy - Our House Rules | Etsy
You replied to the customers message with a link? Did she at any point start a new conversation? You replying to her message within 24 hours is what star seller expects. If she started a new conversation, you needed to answer that or spam it.
However check your spam folder, if a legit message ended up there, it still needed to be responded to within 24 hours. It is a glitch that ETsy says they are working on or have fixed.
Check the CSV for messages. That may show you it was a different message and not this one.
@KreationsByKorieCo: "I replied to the message ..." Have you checked the applicable CSV file available on your Star Seller page to see which new Message threads Etsy thinks were unanswered or answered late? When you look at the file remember that that the dates / times are in UTC (not your time zone), only the first message of a new incoming thread is included (all that counts for Star Seller), and usually a new incoming thread is not included until after the 24 hour reply window has passed regardless of when you replied. Star Seller stats (and the CSV file) seem to be updated only once per day so there may be an additional day's delay. There is also a link to the actual message thread so you can verify if the data is correct or not.
As mentioned, you are responsible for making sure that you are not violating other people's intellectual property (IP). You need to include the licensing information for any trademarked and copyrighted names and images in your shop in your listing, otherwise buyers (and Etsy) may conclude they are counterfeits. Including the licensing information will show that you are not selling those items illegally.
Your listings contain a "You Cannot" section but you seem to not be following that credo when it is someone else's IP. For example Peeps is very clear that they do not allow the use of their trademarks.
Song lyrics are protected by copyright, and Taylor's legal team is aggressive in pursuing intellectual property theft.