Etsy Star Seller: How the Program Works (Eligibility + Timeline)

Etsy Star Seller is a monthly badge that highlights shops with consistently strong customer service, and it’s earned automatically based on a rolling three-month review period. On the 1st of each month, Etsy checks your stats and, if you qualify, the badge typically appears within about a day, once your shop is at least 90 days past its first sale. Eligibility comes down to meeting minimum order and sales thresholds, staying in good standing (including case rate standards), and hitting the big three: fast message response rate, 4.8+ average rating, and 95% on-time shipping with tracking or an Etsy label. One small inbox habit trips up more sellers than they expect.

What does the Etsy Star Seller badge mean for buyers?

Where the badge shows up on Etsy

Buyers will typically notice the Etsy Star Seller badge when they land on a shop page. It’s a visual trust signal that Etsy uses to highlight sellers who have recently hit specific customer service targets for messages, shipping, and reviews.

In practical terms, the badge is meant to answer a buyer’s quick question: “Is this shop consistently responsive and reliable lately?” It is not a warranty, and it doesn’t replace the basics buyers still care about, like reading recent reviews, checking processing times, and confirming return or exchange policies.

If you want Etsy’s official definition, Etsy explains the badge and what it represents in its Help Center article on the Star Seller badge.

How long the badge lasts once earned

Star Seller is not a one-time achievement. Etsy reviews eligibility on the 1st of every month, based on the previous three months of performance. If a shop qualifies, the badge is awarded for that month, and it may take up to about 24 hours to appear after the monthly review.

Because it’s refreshed monthly, a shop can gain the badge one month and lose it the next if their recent performance slips.

Does Star Seller change Etsy search ranking?

Etsy says Star Seller does not directly impact search ranking. So the badge itself is not a “ranking boost.”

That said, the behaviors behind Star Seller (fast replies, on-time shipping, strong reviews) are the same things that tend to improve buyer confidence, which can help a shop convert better over time.

Star Seller eligibility basics: when your shop can be evaluated

90-day selling history and account standing

Your shop can’t be evaluated for Etsy Star Seller right away. Etsy starts evaluating you 90 days after your first sale, and then checks eligibility on the 1st of each month.

Beyond the performance metrics, you also need to be in good standing. Etsy can remove or withhold Star Seller if your shop has issues like an overdue bill, limited account privileges, policy violations, or signs of trying to artificially inflate stats. Etsy summarizes these program rules in its Help Center overview of the Star Seller badge.

Minimum orders and sales volume requirements

Even with excellent messages, shipping, and reviews, you still need enough recent sales activity to be considered. Over the last 3 months, Etsy requires:

• At least 5 completed orders, and
• At least $300 USD in sales (before shipping and taxes, or the equivalent threshold in your shop currency).

If you are under either minimum, your shop may show strong customer service metrics but still won’t be eligible for the monthly Star Seller evaluation.

Which shops are not eligible

In practice, “not eligible” usually falls into one of two buckets:

First, timing and volume: newer shops that have not reached 90 days since their first sale, or shops that do not meet the 5 orders and $300 sales minimums in the rolling three-month window.

Second, account and policy status: shops that are not meeting Etsy’s baseline customer service standards (especially case rate), or shops affected by billing, enforcement actions, or restricted privileges. Even if you hit the headline metrics, those issues can block evaluation or cause a badge to be removed.

Star Seller metrics Etsy uses: messages, shipping, and reviews

Message response rate requirements

Etsy’s message metric is about speedy first replies, not chatting all day. To hit the Star Seller target, you need to reply to 95% or more of first messages in a thread within 24 hours during the review period.

A few practical details matter here:

• Only the first message in each new buyer thread counts.
• If you receive no new messages in the period, Etsy won’t calculate this stat for that month.
• Messages that arrive near the end of the 3-month window can be counted in the next period, so your dashboard may look “off” for a day or two.

On-time shipping and tracking standards

For the shipping badge, Etsy looks for 95% or more of orders dispatched on time. “On time” means you mark the order complete by the ship-by date, and it’s handed off to the carrier within your processing time.

To meet the Star Seller shipping target, those on-time orders generally also need valid tracking or an Etsy shipping label (when required). If you are a US seller shipping physical items, missing tracking can be the fastest way to lose points, even when you shipped on time.

Review rating target and what counts

The review metric is straightforward: keep your average review rating at 4.8 or higher for the review period.

Etsy uses your reviews during the rolling window to calculate that average, so a single lower rating can have a bigger impact when you have fewer orders. The best defense is consistency: accurate listings, realistic processing times, and proactive messages when something changes.

How Etsy evaluates Star Seller each month (timing and rolling window)

Review date and monthly refresh

Etsy runs Star Seller evaluation on a fixed schedule: the 1st of every month. That day is the refresh point. You either earn the badge for the new month or you do not, based on what your dashboard shows at the time of review.

This monthly cadence is why Star Seller can feel “all or nothing.” You can do everything right for weeks, miss one requirement near the end of the period, and still lose the badge on the next refresh. The reverse is true, too. A steady month can put you back in Star Seller quickly.

Last 3 months of performance data

Etsy uses a rolling three-month window leading up to the review date. That means the evaluation is not “this calendar month.” It is your performance across the last three months of data right before the 1st.

Practically, this rolling window matters most when you are trying to recover from a dip. A late shipment or a slow first reply does not haunt you forever, but it can affect you until it ages out of that three-month period.

Etsy also layers in baseline eligibility requirements alongside the three headline metrics, including shop tenure (90 days after first sale), minimum orders, minimum sales, and meeting customer service standards for case rate, as outlined in Etsy’s Star Seller badge overview.

When the badge appears after evaluation

If you qualify on the 1st, Etsy says it may take up to 24 hours for the badge to display on your shop and in your Star Seller dashboard. In some situations, Etsy notes it can take up to 48 hours for the badge to show.

If you do not see the badge after that window, the most common reasons are a policy or account standing issue, or a metric detail you assumed counted (like tracking) that did not.

Tracking your Star Seller progress in the dashboard

Where to find Star Seller stats in Shop Manager

Etsy puts everything in one place: your Customer service stats page. On Etsy.com, go to Shop Manager, then select Customer service stats to see your Star Seller dashboard. Etsy also shows the same area in the Etsy Seller app under More > Performance > Customer service stats.

Two refresh cycles are easy to miss. Your detailed stats update about every 24 hours, while the monthly overview at the top updates on the 1st of each month. Etsy walks through the exact navigation in its guide on tracking your progress toward Star Seller.

Reading the three-month trend view

Think “rolling window,” not “this month.” The dashboard is built around the last three months of activity, since Star Seller is evaluated monthly using that period.

Use the trend view to spot patterns, not single blips. If your message response rate dips, check whether it lines up with weekends, evenings, or time off. If shipping slips, compare it to your processing time settings and your busiest order weeks. With reviews, remember that one lower rating has a bigger impact when you have fewer total reviews in the window.

Common reasons your stats do not match expectations

Most surprises come from how Etsy counts events:

• Stats lag: daily metrics can be up to ~24 hours behind.
• Message rules: only the first message in a thread counts; auto-replies can count; messages marked as spam and “From Etsy” messages do not count.
• Shipping details: being “on time” can still miss the metric if valid tracking or an Etsy label was required and not present.
• Order and sales thresholds: canceled orders don’t count toward Star Seller progress, and changing your shop currency can reset the month’s order and sales progress shown in the dashboard.

If you lose Star Seller or miss a metric, what happens next

How quickly you can regain the badge

If you lose Etsy Star Seller, you are not “locked out” for a season. Etsy reevaluates shops on the 1st of every month using a rolling three-month window. So the fastest path back is simply: get your metrics back over the targets before the next review date.

In other words, you can regain the badge as soon as the next monthly evaluation, as long as your last three months of data meet the requirements again. After that review runs, it can take up to 24 to 48 hours for the badge to show on your shop.

Fixing one weak metric without hurting the others

When one metric is dragging you down, fix it in a way that does not create new problems:

• Messages: turn on auto-replies and build quick templates for common questions, but still follow up with a real answer within 24 hours. Auto-replies count, so use them wisely.
• Shipping: adjust processing times to match reality before your busy weeks. Shipping late to “keep a short processing time” usually costs more than it helps.
• Reviews: do not chase ratings. Focus on reducing misunderstandings with clear photos, accurate sizing, and proactive updates when an order is delayed.

A simple rule helps: do not “borrow” time from shipping to answer messages, or from messages to pack orders. Set daily blocks for both.

Edge cases that can affect eligibility and scoring

A few situations can change how Etsy counts your stats:

Holiday Mode does not pause the rolling window. If you take time off, unanswered first messages can still affect your rate. Etsy addresses this and other common scenarios on its Star Seller program page.

Also watch for shipping exceptions. Digital orders are handled differently than physical orders, and some orders may not require tracking in specific cases. If you rely on exceptions, document them correctly when completing the order so your shipping score reflects what Etsy expects.