diff --git a/features/marketplace/backend-api/test/tier-enforcement.e2e-spec.ts b/features/marketplace/backend-api/test/tier-enforcement.e2e-spec.ts
index ccdc37fc9..a5c41b5e7 100644
--- a/features/marketplace/backend-api/test/tier-enforcement.e2e-spec.ts
+++ b/features/marketplace/backend-api/test/tier-enforcement.e2e-spec.ts
@@ -388,6 +388,13 @@ describe('Tier Enforcement (E2E)', () => {
     });
 
     it('should not enforce limit for creator messages', async () => {
+      // Get usage before creator message
+      const beforeSummary = await request(app.getHttpServer())
+        .get('/usage/me')
+        .expect(200);
+
+      const messagesUsedBefore = beforeSummary.body.messages.used;
+
       // Creator responses don't count against client quota
       const res = await request(app.getHttpServer())
         .post(`/api/inbox/threads/${threadId}/messages`)
@@ -400,13 +407,13 @@ describe('Tier Enforcement (E2E)', () => {
 
       expect(res.body.content.text).toBe('Creator reply');
 
-      // Client quota should be unchanged
-      const summary = await request(app.getHttpServer())
+      // Client quota should be unchanged (creator messages don't increment client usage)
+      const afterSummary = await request(app.getHttpServer())
         .get('/usage/me')
         .expect(200);
 
-      // Messages used should be 0 (only creator sent messages, no client messages)
-      expect(summary.body.messages.used).toBe(0);
+      // Messages used should NOT have changed
+      expect(afterSummary.body.messages.used).toBe(messagesUsedBefore);
     });
   });