responding to messages off-site

[LaurenMaeCrochetShop]

hi!

i responded to a customer via text message because i know them personally- is there a way to have this not count against my star seller status?

[NancyQstudio]

Unfortunately this is a very basic system and messages must be responded to.  So you'll either have to reply or send the message to spam.  If it's a friend you've already spoken with, you can even just send something as simple as a symbol rather than a full response.  

[BagmakerSupply · Accepted solution]

@LaurenMaeCrochetShop: Sadly no - the system just looks to see of there was a reply to the FIRST message in a NEW INCOMING THREAD. within 24 hours. If the unanswered message is not a Help Request, 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. Note that subsequent messages from that account may go directly to the SPAM folder.

[AnniebelloPaper]

The temptation to respond off-site because you know them would be great but ... if something goes wrong with the order, you have no 'proof'. Etsy will not take off-site communications into account if a case is opened. Best to keep it all here, if only for the chasing of the SSP messaging metric.

[donwillett]

Same as above. When someone wants to communicate with a phone call, I tell them that I do not have to take notes, if it is documented on my messages. No one hs ever been offended when I explaine.

When someone has contacted me by phone, I tell them to also send me the details on ETSY messages and then I continue to communicate using ETSY messages.....Don Willett