"Message response" BS

[allisondotjean]

I thought we were now only being "judged" on whether we reply to the FIRST message in 24 hours? So how am being un-awarded star seller for not replying to someone's second message fast enough? I am OVER this stupid grading system. How about we keep SELLERS human too? I've already had to stop sending out "Thank you" messages when someone makes a purchase because if they reply "thank you" and I don't answer, I'm punished for it. 

[BagmakerSupply]

Was it the second message in an existing thread or was it the first message in a new thread?

[icetttbf]

I lost my star too... for not replying to a BLANK message.  There was literally nothing there! Bye bye star... oh well.

[NoFrogsAllowed]

@icetttbf 

Spam it.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

You need to reply to each new thread - that's it

Etsy is linking messages from customers so they are in the same thread.... it's still ongoing, so they won't all be linked yet

but if its a new thread, and not linked, reply to it.

[icetttbf]

@NoFogsAllowed

I did, sent that lil sucker right to spam... I'm over the star seller BS, I had perfect 100%'s until I got a 3 star review, (that was removed by the buyer) but apparently that still counts against me.  Then to get hit with the no response curse, for getting a blank message. SO completely ridiculous. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

You may have just spammed a repeat customer, for the sake of a blue badge that does nothing,

be careful who you send to spam, that could lose you sales

[HtoHdesign · Accepted solution]

Hey There!

The message response rate is the percentage of your reply to all messages initiated by other users within 24 hours. This includes duplicate messages, blank messages, or messages sent in error.

Please note that the new change in the message started June 30th, we combine multiple message threads between users into a single message thread for any messages received on or after June 30th. Messages received before June 30th will not be combined. The only exception to the single-thread rule is when a buyer reaches out via the Help With Order flow, at which point a new thread will be created and clearly labeled as such.

Thanks!

[allisondotjean]

But you'll still base someone's star seller status on something you know is a clear issue?

The recommendation to send an automated response KILLS me. That's not customer service. I dare you to find a review that says I have anything but excellent communication. But some automated system on Etsy decides that's not good customer service?

[PersonalizeStation]

You seem to be throwing shade on an Etsy staff member whose job is to explain how the system works and/or give recommendations to help sellers achieve the badge.

He or she did not create the SSP. 

The only thing left is for Etsy staff to read every single message in every single seller's inbox. I don't want that. Do you? It would be impossible anyways. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

ouch, the fees would have to go sky high for that

Just reply thanks, or your welcome, or send an emoji, it's not rocket science and it takes about 5 seconds

[allisondotjean]

It's fixing a problem that didn't exist. I used to be able to send everyone a "thank you" message after an order but now if they say "thanks" or "okay" or "no problem" I have to find a non-awkward way to reply or I'm punished. Now I just don't bother sending thank you messages and that sucks.  My original duplicate message that spurred this post was from 6/29-- apparently not July enough to not count against me.

And I'm not "throwing shade." Etsy explicitly recommends using the forum to talk about this because when you go to email them about it, you A) never get a reply anyway, and B) are told that there's nothing they can do, so try posting about it.

If I'm getting 100% 5 star reviews and all my comments talk about how good my communication is, why is Etsy going to throw up some arbitrary ranking system that decides I'm not as worth recommending as someone with an automated "I'll get back to you when I feel like it" message? I was doing just fine before.

[PersonalizeStation]

Sorry, it seemed you were speaking to HtoHdesign as if they had anything to do with it. 

They only reason I can think of as to why they send sellers to the forum for SSP issues is so that they can lurk behind the scenes and gather information. I assume they saw the 4,284 posts about the same issue and assumed an "improvement" needed to be made.

Many of us are not happy about the unorganized bundling of messages. It complicates things to an extent or makes us take extra steps when we shouldn't have to. 

I'm not quite sure why most sellers don't have issues with not saying the last word as long as that last word was a reply to each initial thread. Anything after that within the same thread should not matter in regards to the SSP. 

I've had the badge most months but when I lose it, it doesn't phase me. I'm happy buyers can see reviews and make their decisions to purchase based on those as opposed to a star which most people likely don't hover over to see what it means. 

[TonsOfPaper · Accepted solution]

Hello @allisondotjean,

After carefully checking in here, it seems that the buyer sent you multiple messages and one message didn't receive a response. 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. Sellers are re-evaluated on the 1st of every month, so even though you did not obtain the Star Seller badge, your shop will have opportunities in the coming months.
 

We know that multiple or duplicate message threads can be challenging to manage. To help with this, on June 30, 2022, we introduced a new-and-improved Messages experience that will start to combine messages from the same buyer into a single thread. You can learn more about that and some other exciting changes here.

Thank you very much!

[BagmakerSupply]

@allisondotjean   Just to clarify so people don't think they have to respond to every message and it will be a never ending loop: the FIRST message of a NEW thread must be replied to within 24 hours. It does not matter who sent it, the subject matter, if it is a duplicate or blank or anything else. If it is SPAM then it should be marked as such. Those have always been the rules. By the way, if you are creating a custom listing based on the message, you still need to reply to the message. Etsy is now putting a blue text warning / advisory on those messages they consider to be a "new message". At least for the time being, it appears that marking an unanswered message as SPAM (even after the 24 hour deadline has passed) will cause your reply percentage to change in a day or two if the original message was within the current star seller period.

[RSHFS]

ive stopped caring about star seller ratings...i've never had it.  I take my time answering emails now ON PURPOSE.  If etsy wants to squash my sales because of it, GOOD, amazon ships and handles all customer service issues while I sleep.

[TonsOfPaper · Accepted solution]

Hello @allisondotjean,

After checking in here, it appears that the message that affected your Star Seller for the previous month was from a buyer who sent you multiple message threads. 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 the first message on each thread within 24 hours so that they count positively towards your score. Sellers are re-evaluated on the 1st of every month, so even though you did not obtain the Star Seller badge, your shop will have opportunities in the coming months.
 

We know that multiple or duplicate message threads can be challenging to manage. To help with this, on June 30, 2022, we introduced a new-and-improved Messages experience that will start to combine messages from the same buyer into a single thread. You can learn more about that and some other exciting changes here.

Thank you very much!

[BagmakerSupply]

@RSHFS   Better keep an eye out because according to reports in this forum "led" and "battery" could get your listings flagged.

[RSHFS]

my battery-powered and LED items have been up for years, so not at all concerned, but thanks for the heads-up.

what is the perceived problem with batteries and/or LED lights?

[CraftyCornishMaids]

children can swallow the little led batteries

[RSHFS]

they can swallow beads too...no beaded items on etsy?  

Is that REALLY the reason???

[CraftyCornishMaids]

beads aren't corrosive

If your child swallows a button battery it can cause burning, corrosion, or completely destroy the tissue in the upper digestive tract. This damage can happen very quickly and is likely to be worse if the battery gets stuck in the esophagus (throat) instead of moving into the stomach

etsy has been removing a lot of items with button batteries lately

[BagmakerSupply]

@RSHFS   There seem to be issues with button batteries and child safety. There have been reports that listings that include LED and battery get flagged. It appears that the bots are looking for trigger words with no consideration for context. The fact that you have been selling something for years or that there are other shops selling similar items is not an indication the listing is deactivation safe.

[RSHFS]

the fact that my items don't violate policy is all that matters.

i have only found one seller with a problem and they were trying to sell lithium ION batteries with their product.

[RSHFS]

i dont see this policy anywhere...the only mention is loose lithium ion (rechargeable) batteries being non-listable.

My items contain lithium metal batteries, installed in the equipment.  these items are recommended for 15+ age, on the packaging and on the listing.