As you all know, back in July of 2021 Etsy did it again and dropped a bomb on us – and I know you’ve been waiting for a video from me about this!
As you may also know around that time I was newly pregnant and experiencing the joys of being tired and rather sick… so I honestly couldn’t make the time to record this video for you! But I have moved along from that stage and I’m feeling much better now, and finally was able to sit down and make this video so that we can look at it together and share honest thoughts.
If I had to sum up my feelings in one sentence it would be ”Etsy, I still love you – but man there’s some things you do that make me mad!”
Let’s dive into the details!
Note: Etsy has made a few updates to the Star Seller Program, you can read about them here.
They have also split up the star seller badge, so even if you don’t qualify for the full star you get the badge(s) for what you do qualify for.
Let’s start with a summary of the Etsy Star Seller program.
Basically, Etsy developed this program to “reward shops that consistently offer an excellent customer experience “ based on 4 main criteria (that we’ll go over in a minute) to determine whether a shop is a “star seller” or not.
If you meet the Etsy criteria in those 4 areas, not only you get a special Star Seller badge for shoppers to see, and you also have more chances to be featured by Etsy to sellers on the platform.
These Star Seller badges started to show up on seller listings in September.
Since the announcement of the Star Seller rating in July, there have already been updates based on feedback from sellers and I’m sure it will continue to change.
So – let’s talk a bit about the “good” and the “bad” of the Star Seller program as it stands now.
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Ok, first – the good. And as you may guess, this part is going to be rather short! 😂
The first thing I want to mention is that I do see when looking at what has happened since the program was announced that Etsy is at least listening to sellers’ feedback — not perfectly, I’ll agree, but at least they are trying and they are making changes.
So I guess one “good thing” is that they are trying to fix issues that currently exist with this program? Not a strong “good point” I know but I had to mention it anyway.
And this is very Etsy I think, it’s kind of like they get all excited about a new program (in this case Star Seller) and launch it into the world then get the Etsy community feedback and then go “Oh yeaaa, good point there, didn’t think of that . . . oops! Let us see if we can fix it.”
So the program is not perfect but they know it and seem to at least want to improve it.
OK… second, from a customer standpoint, I can see how it makes complete sense. As in, Etsy is trying to put themselves in a customer’s shoes and think of ways they can make it easier for customers to have a good shopping experience and avoid sellers who maybe don’t deliver a great shopping experience. And as a customer, yes, it’s reassuring to know that this shop is responsive, has great reviews and ships items on time.
And look… if it was that easy I’d be all for it BUT it’s clearly not a perfect system – because it has the potential to also make shoppers avoid many MANY good sellers, who do offer great customer service but don’t qualify for the program.
So let’s shift gears and talk about what’s not so great about this program as it stands today.
First – keep in mind as we talk about each criteria that you are being assessed on the first of every month for eligibility and Etsy does this by looking back at the last 3 months of your shop’s performance.
So it’s not something you qualify once for and call it a day, Etsy looks at your past 3 months every month to decide whether you qualify that month or not.
With that out of the way… let’s start with…
To be a Star Seller, 95% or more of your orders must ship within your stated processing time and with tracking or a shipping label purchased from Etsy.
If you are inside the US, tracking or an Etsy shipping label is required on ALL orders.
There are exceptions for outside the US though : If you are a seller in Canada, the UK, Australia, or the EU, then using tracking or a shipping label purchased on Etsy is only required if your order is above a certain amount, which is 10 pounds or 15 canadian or australian dollars. For orders under that amount, you can manually mark as complete by the ship-by date instead.
Ok – so what’s wrong with this criteria?
Currently, this is definitely a problem for local sales, because when orders are picked up rather than shipped out, you get penalized because it’s considered by Etsy to not be shipping on time (because there is no tracking or shipping label).
Etsy has said though that they are currently working on an option for sellers to tag the order as a pickup so that this can count towards Star Seller moving forward- so here’s to hoping they fix this asap.
It’s also an issue because many customers don’t actually want to pay extra to buy a more expensive tracking option. If sellers are forced into having tracking on every order, it forces them to totally reevaluate their shipping options and raise prices to accommodate for the policy.
This raises a genuine concern:
“Is the “badge” going to compensate for the higher price needed for trackable shipping and the negative effect on conversion rate that higher prices may bring?” As in, would having the badge be SUCH a strong positive signal to customers that they’d be willing to pay more from a shop who is a star seller? I am not sure.
Next issue I am seeing is how this kind of doesn’t work with what Etsy wants to see in terms of Free Shipping…
… Because at the same time Etsy wants you to use the more expensive trackable shipping, they are also encouraging sellers to offer a free shipping guarantee on orders over $35 by giving priority search result placement for items that ship “for free”.
Most of you probably know what I’m referring to, but if you are like whaaaaat is that? I have an article about the Etsy Free Shipping Program that explains it in great detail that I’ll link to below.
So if your postal service provides GREAT free shipping service (nationally and/or internationally) – so it’s really reliable, it’s fast, it’s wonderful … but it doesn’t include tracking – and your customers are happy with that and don’t care if they have tracking, you’re now between a rock and a hard place:
Suddenly you have a really low shipping score with the Star Seller program and have to choose the lesser of three evils:
Ok next issue with this criteria is that the Star Selling shipping requirements are definitely a problem in many non-U.S. countries.
For example, how is Etsy going to rate shops in countries where the seller has no ability to purchase Etsy labels, or where it is not possible for Etsy to see if the shipper has tracking?
Sellers in smaller countries end up penalized in the Star Seller system because they have fewer shipping options that meet the Star Seller criteria when compared to sellers in other countries.
What If You Can’t – Or Don’t Want – To Use Etsy Labels?
Star Seller shipping policies are also a problem if you can’t get Etsy labels, or don’t want to use Etsy labels for other reasons.
For example, you might somehow still get better rates through your own account with your post office than with the Etsy labels. I’ve seen a few conversations about that in various countries where to get the Etsy labels you need to upgrade to a more expensive account with your local post which in turn makes the Etsy label rates not that attractive at all.
Or – you might prefer to support your local post office. One UK seller put it beautifully in her comment on the Etsy Forum:
“In the UK we are losing small local Post Offices which are a lifeline for many people and those that they employ – many of us small sellers prefer to buy our shipping over the counter at our local Post Office to help support them. I already use Etsy for all of my overseas shipping, but it is highly unfair to try to make us buy all of our shipping through you when this doesn’t always suit us, for whatever reason.”
All right, the next question you might have is …
What if there are carrier delays?
Fortunately, this is not a problem as long as you have valid tracking or Etsy shipping labels and ship during your processing window. So you’re responsible for shipping on time, not for delivering on time – that’s on the postal service.
So … is all of this a way to push for Etsy labels??
The “Etsy Star Cheller checklist” in the Etsy handbook pushes it for sure. Inside the U.S., the reason given for not having an exception and needing tracking or an Etsy label on all orders is that “there are low-cost shipping and labels solutions to help sellers ship their orders that don’t always exist in markets outside the US, which is why the tracking exception does not apply to US sellers.”
. . . which kinda reads like: “In the US you can get shipping labels and good rates with our Etsy labels so just do that thank you, next!”
This is also pushing Etsy labels outside the US of course and as mentioned previously, you might have gone to your local post until now … but this program definitely entices you to purchase from Etsy and to stay in the “Etsy eco-system” instead.
OK, the next criteria Etsy uses to determine whether a shop qualifies to be a Star Seller is the response rate.
The Star Seller rules state that 95% or more of initial buyer messages must be responded to within 24 hours.
I’ll admit, at first I had a heart attack when I read it and might even have gotten quite mad in front of my computer because who on earth would want anyone to be available 7 days a week? Way to promote work-life balance!
But … I read a bit more, and realized:
OK – outside of setting up an auto-reply, Etsy gave 2 tips to help stay on top of your response rate
I like neither of those options personally (but you do you!) because they’re about replying quickly and slightly more easily – but they’re not about looking after your mental and physical health and allowing for normal, expected time off each week.
Needing to have the app ON at all time to reply to a message even on a day “off” is not healthy at all in my books and like any other human being or business in this world, you’re entitled to days off and weekends and no customer in their right mind should expect an answer on a Sunday morning. These customers are not customers you want anything to do with.
So these options – to me – only make Etsy sellers who are ALREADY working too much and working their butt off stress more about how “available” they need to be.
So my advice here is to set up an auto-reply and forget about it. You may also be wondering…
“What if I contact the buyer first? For example, to check what text they want to have on a personalizable item… ?”
Etsy’s response in that situation is that they only count messages that were initiated by the buyers, so that would not count against you – which is great.
Ok, the next criteria has got to do with…
NOTE: Etsy responded to these concerns and streamlined messages:
“We’ll introduce 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 need to respond to initial messages from buyers within 24 hours in fewer threads than before, since you told us it was difficult to stay on top of your messages. (…)
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.”
This one is a stab where it already hurts!
This criteria is about having 95% or more of your reviews be 5-star ratings.
But the fact is, some people give 4 stars even when giving a stellar written review to go with it… which is more than frustrating for the seller.
You know the one, the review says “amazing service, best product ever, couldn’t recommend highly enough” but then give only 4 stars and you’re like “well could you just give me 5 then?” 😂
Etsy, I’m guessing, has heard a LOT of feedback to this point. Here is their response:
“We understand and hear the frustration around 4 vs. 5-star reviews, and this is something we’re taking back to further explore with the team. However, for now, 5-star ratings are still needed to qualify for Star Seller”
So here again, here’s to hoping this changes soon!
Note: Etsy has updated their requirements to:
“We heard your feedback that the ratings criteria made it hard to achieve Star Seller because it only considered 5-star reviews. We’re updating the criteria to a 4.8 rating average in the three-month review period so that 4 star ratings count more positively toward your eligibility for Star Seller.”
Ok, the next criteria to qualify for the Star Seller program is actually 2 in 1:
To get the Etsy Star Seller badge you need to have had at least 10 orders over the last 3 months AND a minimum sales amount of USD$300 – or equivalent in your currency. In Australia for example it’s AUD$350.
I am honestly not sure how I feel about this one.
On the one hand, they have to set a minimum number of orders so your average star rating isn’t just coming from one or two orders – they need to see that you provide “consistent” great service/cust experience.
But, it does make it easier for people with products that have a medium avg price to reach the minimum $ amount of sales.
For example, if you sell products for around $30, you’ll get to exactly $300 in 10 sales – double win. But if you’re above or below… it definitely gets a bit awkward.
Imagine if you sell stickers or low price digital files, you will have to sell a LOT of items to reach the minimum sales dollar requirement.
The good thing though and I think what you really need to keep in mind if you’re worried about this is that in each of these situations, your competition has the same problem as you do – so this levels the playing field. It’s hard for them to get to those numbers as it is for you.
NOTE: Etsy has updated their minimum order amount:
“Starting in July, shops will need to have at least 5 orders (down from 10) within the three month review period to qualify for Star Seller. Those orders will still need to total $300 before shipping and taxes.”
OK, now that we’ve looked at concerns in relation to the specific criteria laid out in the Star Seller program, I want to also address other concerns that many Etsy sellers have raised.
Many sellers are worried about the effect of canceled orders if they are applied to the order and sales amounts of the current month.
Etsy addressed that, saying:
“Canceled orders are not counted towards your minimum threshold for orders or sales, and they’re also not counted towards your customer service metrics.”
. . . so that’s good . . . however…
“if you refund an order without canceling it, then this will still count towards all your metrics. We encourage you to use the streamlined process for canceling and refunding orders together if you wish to both cancel and refund an order.”
So be careful when canceling/refunding orders so that you don’t get stung here.
Technically, search ranking is not affected “at this time”. If you qualify and become a Star Seller, you won’t get priority in search results, and reversely if you DON’T qualify this will not penalize you in search results.
But in actuality — it kind of does change things a little doesn’t it?
Because a shop’s conversion rate is a big part of the Etsy SEO algorithm, and having the Star seller badge is likely to increase a shop’s conversation rate because it sends positive signals to potential customers, and therefore indirectly impacts search ranking.
So what I’m saying is that even if it doesn’t count as an actual SEO algorithm factor, if more and more shoppers gravitate to sellers with the star seller rating, all of the shops with badges will gradually float to the top of the search listings because they will benefit from a boost in their conversion rate.
So time will tell us here if this is what ends up happening or if Etsy decided to give priority in search based on the Star Seller program – for now I am just parking this in the “let’s wait and see” category but I am a little tiny bit worried 😉
This is another one I don’t like very much.
Etsy calculates all the Star Seller requirements on a rolling 90 day window.
So if you take 2 weeks off – with no sales coming in during that time – and Etsy looks at the 90 day rolling average, if you were just qualifying when you left to go on holiday – you will most likely have lost your Star Seller badge while you were on vacation as you won’t get sales in that time which would put you under that threshold when you get back. . .
. . . but here again: how is that encouraging people to take a break and have a balanced lifestyle?
Vacation mode is already scary for so many sellers.
“Should I put my shop on vacation mode?” is a question I get asked ALL the time and already a hot topic as sellers worry they’ll lose views and search rankings when they come back and that it might take some time to build back up…
By not encouraging a healthy balance, or forcing sellers to stretch out processing time instead of putting their shop on vacation mode, Etsy is already putting its sellers in a stressful headspace when they’re thinking about taking a well-deserved break.
The Star Seller requirement doesn’t help with that.
And let’s be honest here – if you take 2 weeks off you don’t just forget how to provide good customer service. I understand it’s different if you take 2 years off your shop and that they had to draw the line somewhere but surely there’s a better way?
Now I guess you could try and get around this by stretching your processing times like crazy instead of pausing your shop – but is an item shipped 3 weeks after the order is placed going to get you a 5 star review?
The fact is that many customers (too many!) don’t read processing times properly and then get upset if their order isn’t shipped immediately.
I don’t really have a better solution here, but I really think this puts a lot of small businesses in a lose-lose situation.
Shipping and tracking criteria are not counted for digital products, so if you sell both physical and digital products in your shop, the criteria is only counted for physical items.
The Star Seller program did raise some justifiable concerns amongst sellers who sell “custom” digital files though.
Here is one seller’s example:
“For those who offer custom digital items like me (that is, they are NOT an instant digital download, since they take time to prepare) that would mean being penalized with a 0% score because in reality there is nothing physical to send, nor a tracking number”
In this case Etsy recommends – and I absolutely agree – setting up a placeholder or a “Thank you! Here’s what happens next!” message to be delivered as a download straight away.
Ok so we’ve looked at each criteria and talked about what is kinda problematic with each – now I want to share my general thoughts about the Star Seller Program.
Let’s start by looking at how Etsy announced it:
“Today we’re introducing Star Seller, a way for Etsy to reward shops that consistently offer an excellent customer experience in the areas we know are important to buyers”
“Rewarding sellers”…. This wording made me mad. It’s subtle but I think it matters – many sellers work incredibly hard to offer stellar customer service and will not be granted a badge for ALL the reasons we mentioned previously…
… so this choice of words was rather infuriating to me as some of them are as deserving as those getting the badge.
A different choice of words would honestly have made such a big difference here and would have helped in making it feel like it was a “bonus, but ok if you don’t qualify” — where this feels a little personal and although you don’t get “punished” in any way for not qualifying, it does “FEEL” like not getting a badge is a bit of a punishment in itself because not getting the benefits of the badge when others are… kind of is a negative impact isn’t it?
Another bad choice of words that says a lot (at least in my opinion) is Etsy’s response to this seller’s question in the Etsy forum:
This seller was essentially saying she would not be able to qualify due to the lack of shipping options in her country. The details are irrelevant but what’s important is this reply that Etsy wrote back:
“Star Seller is an aspirational program meant to celebrate the very best in customer service, only a select group of sellers will likely earn the badge when we launch to buyers later this year.”
Ok so… that’s upsetting!
“Celebrate the best in customer service”? Ouch!
“Select group of sellers:” I get that it’s not meant to be something everybody has OR what’s the point of having a badge at all— BUT the very maddening part is that it’s not a fair baseline.
It’s like you could only qualify if you had green eyes! The program doesn’t celebrate the best in customer service… It celebrates the best in customer service AMONGST sellers who can qualify. Some simply can’t and it’s NOT because they don’t provide excellent customer service.
So then saying to people who weren’t given a fair chance to qualify that they haven’t EARNED the badge – well that’s not fair by any means and completely disregards the hard work sellers put into their shop and customer service.
So all in all not super great news, BUT I have hope the program is in its infant stage and will become more fair as Etsy works on sorting out issues mostly related to making qualifying actually accessible for more hard working sellers!
Remember also – you can only control what you can control so take some time to be mad and swear at Etsy a little but then get back to what you can control instead of wasting too much energy on it . . .
OR work towards developing other sources of income like your own website, etc., if you’ve really had enough and want to break up with Etsy.
I’ll leave you with wise words from one of our Tizzit HQ members – it is good advice if you’re frustrated because you don’t qualify for the Star Seller program:
“I’m not going to worry about it.
If you have a nice shop with good photos, good products, good descriptions, etc. the customer is going to make their own decision whether to purchase.
If they want what you’re selling, they’re going to buy it, regardless of a stinkin’ badge.”
Goooooooood point!
Now . . . if all of this talk has left you a bit frustrated and needing some positive motivation, click the link below and watch my video about 10 actionable tips to make more sales on Etsy – it should be showing up on the screen right now, and I’ll also drop the link below in the description.
Thanks for watching, don’t forget to subscribe, and until next time, au revoir!
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