Purchasing items online can be doubtful especially if you don’t know the reputation of the seller and their items.
To eliminate any doubt, e-commerce such as Etsy has developed a review system that allows buyers to give feedback about their experience with the seller and the purchased product.
Etsy reviews allow potential customers to know what to expect before they hit the ‘add to cart’ button. In this article, we will look at how to write a review on Etsy, read on.
Etsy in Brief
Founded in 2005 in Brooklyn, NY, United States, Esty is a global marketplace for custom-made and crafted goods that connects sellers and buyers.
It has a customer base of about 3.9 billion and a seller’s base of nearly 2.3 million and over 60 million items for sale making it one of the largest e-commerce marketplaces.
Unlike most marketplaces, Etsy focuses on vintage and handmade items such as home décor, clothing, greeting cards, and jewelry among others.
Its mission is to keep human connection through e-commerce by providing a secure environment for sellers to turn their creative hobbies into an income opportunity and enable buyers to discover uniquely made items.
This makes Etsy the place where you find items that aren’t on any other e-commerce platform. You can discover these items through their different categorization comprising of:
- Home & Living;
- Clothing & Shoes;
- Art & Collectibles;
- Craft Supplies;
- Jewelry & Accessories;
- Toys & Entertainment;
- Wedding & Party;
- Vintage.
What is an Etsy Review?
A review on Etsy is a great opportunity given to the buyer to give feedback to the seller about their product or services. The review can be both positive and negative.
When a customer wants to buy something online, they will firstly check what other people have to say about it. This might determine whether they’ll buy the actual product or not.
When other people give positive feedback on the usability of the product, customers gain confidence knowing they’ll not be disappointed if they buy it. If the product has no reviews, it might cause some doubts for customers.
For Etsy, reviews don’t just act as a mirror for the product; they also mirror the entire store. These are often founded at the bottom of the listing or in the link at the top of the store.
Reviews on Etsy start from: 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest score.
The Review Period
A buyer can leave a review 100 days after their purchase. Timer starts from the day of the delivery or digital download.
However, if the product or service was acquired physically on Etsy, the buyer can leave a review right after the purchase.
In order to leave a review, clients need a buyer account on Etsy. If a client purchases a product or acquires a service as a guest, they cannot leave a review.
How to Leave a Review on Etsy
Leaving a review is easy, because once you’ve finished your purchase process, you’ll receive an email from Etsy on your email address. In the email, you get the remainder of your purchases and it will ask you to leave a review.
If you don’t get an email, no worries, simply login into your Etsy account, and under your profile, click on purchases and reviews. From this, you’ll be redirected to all your purchases with a special provided space to write the review.
As stated earlier, you can leave a review in the first 100 days after the product is delivered. After that period, the option for leaving a review is removed. This takes us to the question...
When are you not able to leave a review on Etsy:
- you don’t have an account and checked out as a guest;
- you canceled the order;
- your order was refunded;
- 100 days have passed.
The Etsy Review System
Etsy uses its review system to help shoppers check the credibility of the shop they intended to purchase from. This system benefits both the seller and buyer.
The system encourages buyers to leave a review based on the following criteria:
- Was the product delivered within the stated time frame?
- Did the product’s quality match what was expected or promised?
- Would one transact again with the same seller?
The leave a review option can be accessed through the Etsy website or mobile app. From here, you can either rate the products and seller, by giving them a star rating between 1 and 5, or leave further comments on the experience you had with the product.
Once the review is set, the Etsy system will automatically attach a picture of the purchased item to the review.
Image courtesy wiki
The good thing with this system is that it offers a lot of flexibility to the buyer such that one can edit their reviews several times within 100 days. This allows for honest customer reviews.
The reviews system displays a seller's rating for the past 12 months on overate, which is a great option to show the buyers' the real reviews obtained by the seller.
For the seller, it is an opportunity to build a good reputation through positive customer feedback and also improve on the area that may be raising concerns from the customers.
Etsy Reviews From The Sellers View Point
Reviews aren't just for the eyes of future buyers. Sellers can also access these reviews. Through the system, a seller can address any complaint or query raised by a customer. This can be done through the following options:
- Reply privately to reviews and address their complaint;
- Request the removal of reviews that do not align with Etsy’s policies;
- Hide photographs posted by buyers and do not reflect the product;
- Report photographs that may be a violation of Etsy policies;
- Publicly respond to any Etsy review that is 3 stars and below.
Also, note that, when a seller respond publicly to a review, the buyer can no longer edit their review nor change their rating even after the seller delete their response. The buyer cannot also respond to the seller through their seller review page.
For sellers, the reviews and ratings are displayed for the past 12 months of their customer service. If there is a bad review due to poor customer service, the seller has a chance to make improvements, after which, the poor review will be dropped.
Responding to Etsy Reviews
The review system gives equal chances to the seller as it does to the buyer. When the buyer is free to edit their reviews, the seller is also allowed to address any negative customer experience publicly or privately.
As such, to establish an open flow of communication, Etsy uses different channels of communication for both private and public communication.
However, a seller can only respond to a reviewer once, after that, their conversation is moved to the private messaging system.
Flagging Etsy Reviews
The flagging option is available for both the seller and buyer. They can request the removal of a review, photograph, or even a seller's shop. For the seller, the request for the removal of a review can only be processed if it meets the following criteria:
- It is racist, obscene, or offensive;
- A violation of privacy;
- When the reviews are about a third party or Etsy and not about the product or services rendered;
- It is spam or an advertising bid.
As such, the rules on reviewing are clear, and Etsy states that a review is an opinion that the seller cannot simply request or expect a review to be removed. This means a negative review about their product or service.
The system is designed to achieve amicable solutions rather than negative back and forth responses between sellers and their buyers.
Buyers feel seen and heard when they leave a review and the seller cannot flag it simply because they do not like it. This allows for transparency not just with the current customers but also with the future or potential buyers.
The system also protect its sellers from any violation. It provides them with some tools to combat such reviews. They can remove inappropriate photos and report reviews that do not reflect the product purchased.
These reviews also ensure that the seller does not lead on blindly. It is a chance to improve on their services more so, if they got off on the wrong foot such as late delivery. Good customer service warrants good reviews and eliminates bad ones. This helps to attract potential buyers.
Such transparency and safety for both parties show how secure Etsy is, and how keen it is to protect all the involved parties and their interests.
Negative Reviews & Complaints
With reviews, there may or may not be a balance between positive and negative reviews. Some products may be backed up by hundreds of negative reviews and complaints.
These negatives aren’t just about the product, they are also about the entire Etsy marketplace. Sellers on this platform often find that their positive reviews have been drowned by the negative ones.
In some cases, the sellers themselves could have negative reviews. This can be caused by:
- Lack of Support from Etsy. Followed by the notion that the customer is always right, sellers on Etsy often complain that the Etsy support team often sides with the customer giving little or no consideration to the seller. This is the case with most disputes.
- Account Suspension and Deactivation. The commonly raised complaint from Etsy sellers is the rate at which Etsy suspends and closes sellers’ accounts with little or no warning. However, it is safe to read and understand all Etsy’s Terms of Service and the Seller's Handbook. These will help ensure as a seller one meets the entire requirement and understand the grounds on which their account could be suspended or deactivated.
- Lack of Customer Service. As much as sellers on Etsy are expected and encouraged to offer extemporarily customer services, they do not get the same from the Etsy term. Most term it as difficult to reach and unhelpful.
Positive Reviews & Testimonials
From the negatives there are also positive reviews from the Etsy sellers. Often they highlight certain benefits such as:
- Low Service Fee. According to Etsy sellers, when they compare the fees charged by Etsy with that of other marketplaces, Etsy's fee is low and more affordable. As such, selling on this marketplace costs less, which would not be the case if they decided to run their store.
- Simplicity. Etsy has gone a mile further and simplified the payment term and purchasing of shipping labels, an act that most sellers appreciate. This allows the sellers to turn a simple hobby into an income.
- Large Consumer Base. One of the reasons 2.1 million buyers flock to Etsy is its large consumer base of about 3.9 billion. As such a seller has the opportunity to target a large audience not just in their State or locality, but globally. This also means that the sellers do not stretch too far in their marketing. However, in some cases, running your campaign is the best option.
Etsy Security
Etsy ensures the marketplace is safe and secure for both sellers and buyers. It has taken comprehensive security measures such as Transport Layer Security technology (TLS) to encrypt credit card information.
There is also the two-factor authentication plus a sign-in notification for every new sign-in into your account from a different device or browser. From this notification, you can also view when and from where this sign-in was done.
How Etsy Reviews Can Benefit Your Online Store
Etsy aims at making the marketplace a safe and secure environment for sellers and buyers by promoting open communication through reviews from different communication channels.
With positive and Negative Esty reviews, buyers can know what to expect when they transact with a seller. The seller on the other hand can improve on their customer services as they grow their reputation with good reviews.
