Unacceptable Loss of Star Seller Status

[ChristieJewels]

I placed an order with an Etsy seller in my private capacity not as a seller on Etsy.  That seller sent me an email thanking me for the order, but as I didnt respond to it my Star Seller status has been affected.  That cannot be right and adjustment needs to be made so that activity by a seller as an individual not as part of their business does not affect seller ratings.

[JackisJustVintage · Accepted solution]

You have to reply to all messages or mark as spam. It has always been that way. The bots do not know who sends the message.  You can mark that message as spam, and your number should go back up in a day so. 

[ChristieJewels]

Thanks all, I already did that so hopefully issue will be resolved.

[SteampunkCreativeEng]

Learn acceptance

or send the message to spam…

[Spellbinderie]

Unfortunately Etsy states in their rules for star seller that we must reply to all messages, not just messages from our buyers. I would guess they do it this way because it's too much work for them to know if you are operating as a buyer or a seller in each message.  

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

This is a daily complaint on the forums. Etsy has never distinguished messages from buyers or other sellers when determining a shop’s star rating. 

“Responding to 95% of ALL your initial messages within 24 hours will earn you the Speedy replies customer service badge.”

Star Seller 

[hopeandjoystudios]

They never distinguished it but in the criteria on the shop manager page it said BUYER messages until sometime in Dec.21. If you read that info and didn't go back and reread it later after they changed it to all messages I get the confusion. Yes all messages have always counted.

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

I guess I missed that. I've always assumed it applied to all messages, even at the beginning. Expecting Etsy's system to distinguish a buyer from a seller is giving them way too much credit. LOL

[Magicicadas]

This is my first time i enter an etsy forum,and i am desperatly looking for some help.I am about to loose my star seller badge,(after six months on the row and a lot of hard work) due to a 4 star review a customer updated.(I have 236 sales and only 5 star reviews, 45 of them)The problem is that i sold a customer a selection of driftwood hearts and then i replaced it with an other similar listing which of course has diferent photos.Customer now claims that she bought this new listing even though i send her a screen shot of my sales page, and also after making my sales public so that she can see with her own eyes,what she purchased.She also claims that her hearts arrived broken,and even though i was willing to replace them she didn't accept my offer as she insists,that we "cheated".I tried reporting her review.The box with given choises open,but  the "submit' choice dosen't appear.What can i do???? Am i at the mercy of a person like this????

[CraftyCornishMaids]

It's the way it is,

I lost my star seller for 3 months, because a customer left a glowing 4* review.

these things happen.

On the plus side, the star seller badge does not affect search placement, and I found no difference in sales, with or without the badge.

a 4* review is good, I'd leave it alone.

....

etsy won't remove that review, it does not meet their criteria for removal

[hopeandjoystudios]

Why did you replace with a similar item? If they arrived broken a 4 star is generous. No they won't change that review. 

[hopeandjoystudios]

Ahh you edited the listing after it sold..

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

I agree with @hopeandjoystudios that a 4 star review is very generous considering the item arrived broken. I would worry less about your star rating and more about your future packaging. 

Do you still have the original image that the buyer purchased from on a device? Why not send it to her in a message so she can figure out which one was broken?

[anythinggoeshere]

Your buyer isn’t happy.  Why would you can her “a person like this”?  She wanted what she ordered originally.

[SunshineCottageGift]

The whole star seller thing is hilarious. So far, even though I answer EVERY message in a timely manner, Etsy says I didn't. It's very childish to offer "gold stars" on a sellers "report card", ignore it, it's meaningless.

[LastCentury]

Letting go of your star seller woes & goals will improve your mental health.

[CoquetteBath]

PREACH.

[Magicicadas]

Thanks for your comments and help everyone,i am really gratefull .It looks like there is nothing i can do...I just want to add that anyone can claim that he/she received a broken item.But shoudn't there be some kind of proof ??? Like a photo of the broken pieces??? Even without that proof i offered to replace them just to avoid a "bad" review. It feels like  she was determined to leave this review no matter what... Which of course means , that now (if she is telling the truth which i doubt) she has some broken hearts and no replacement.I fail to understand how that can be a satisfying solution for  a customer...

[Magicicadas]

Also she received exactly what she ordered.I just replaced the sold order,with a similar one which of course has new photos.And yes,i send her a screen shot,of her order,from my sales page,and also made my sales public,just for her,to be able to click there and see with her own eyes

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

Did you ask her for a photo of the broken pieces?

[HazelsSewingSupplies]

@Magicicadas 

You do realize that even without the problems, the reviewer had the right to leave whatever review they wish and you are not supposed to "update" or change listings.  If it's not the same thing - make a new listing - it's part of the rules.

[moonbeamgifts]

This is why I have a buyer account that I purchase under (disclosed) - I started it a long time ago because of the writing on the wall but it's nice to have everything neat and tidy/separated when it comes to taxes.   

[thePaperFramer]

same same here. One account for selling, a separate one for buying.

[Magicicadas]

I didn't know,that it is against the rules,to publish a very similar listing,in the place of a sold one,If i knew ,i wouldn't do it,and of course i wouldn't have the nerve to complain or seek  advise in this forum  ..But she DID receive what she ordered. Also i do realize that a customer can write whatever he/she wants in a review. I only thought,that there would also be some rules,when someone claims that he/she received one or more broken items.Like a photo maybe to verify that ???? (Which i asked but not received). I now wonder what is the proper thing to do,next time.A customer claims that he/she received a broken item ,and then what??? I just take their word for it and i just pay to  send a replacement,no questions asked???? Also,if i was a customer that received a broken item,i would DEMAND from the seller to replace it.But she was not interested in that.Even when i quit asking for photos of the broken pieces,even when i send her photos of the replacements   she just ignored my proposal...

[thePaperFramer]

I just discovered another reason for having separate buying and selling accounts.  I had a buyer today tell me they got an error adding something to their cart.

I went into my buyers account and was able to test adding one of my products to my buyer's account cart and then delete it. This is a helpful way to test your shop.