How to handle bad reviews or Etsy review extortion for handmade entrepreneurs!
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- Опубликовано: 4 авг 2020
- Updated: The ODR score seems to have been eliminated, but no official announcement was ever made about it!
If you've ever been the victim of Etsy review extortion you know that it stinks. And if you wonder how to handle bad reviews professionally, you're not alone.
When you open an Etsy shop you're setting yourself up for reviews, both good and bad. Handmade entrepreneurs put their whole effort into their products, and we tend to take bad reviews personally. You need to remember that everyone will get a bad review at some point. How you respond to them is the important thing.
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This is great advice and is how I handle review issues. (I never respond to the bad reviews though, most of them are about shipping delays or "I guess I didn't read the full description").
Just today I had a customer threaten to open a case against me because the package never arrived (even after being marked delivered in a locked mailbox). If it's marked as delivered Etsy will side with you, so I let her know she is free to open a case, but it will be automatically closed.
I always try to help my customers out, but I don't negotiate with terrorists.
My opinion (which I know people may not agree with) is that I generally don't contact people if they left a bad review unless there was a mention of something wrong with the item. Even then, if it's something that I know isn't true, I don't contact them. When I first started on Etsy there was a "kiss and make up" thing where they encouraged us to contact people and beg them to change their review. I wasn't down with that...I had too long dealing the occasional psycho bride who complained in order to get refunds after the wedding.
I had this review extortion. I looked her name up and found on LinkedIn that she's a lawyer. You'd think lawyers would have better ethics, but then again lawyers aren't known for their ethics.
I’d say it’s ironic but like you said, it’s not.
Yes! I am so happy to have come across this video. I am fairly new to Etsy and find all of your suggestions excellent! 😍Will be sharing !
Welcome!!
I am a new seller on Etsy and find your videos to be so helpful. Thanks so much for the relevant content.
Glad it was helpful!
Your advice is always spot on...thanks!
You are so welcome
I belong to an Etsy sellers group on Facebook, and these people are damn close to tears when they get a one star review! I received a one star review, because the customer was allergic to olive oil (I sell handmade soaps, I list all ingredients), I said, I was sorry about her allergy and moved on!
People have been so trained to do anything to avoid a bad review they don't realize that it's part of selling anything. You can't live in fear of a low review because it's not realistic to expect to never get one.
Good idea about the photo. I include a pack in asking for reviews but didn’t think of that. I also didn’t realize I could report extortion I’ve had that happen a few times.
Oh yeah, Etsy will take care of that. They don't want buyers to be jerks.
I have to say, my jaw has dropped seeing some comments sellers left on their reviews too! I get it! Its very hurtful to have someone come in that really doesn't understand how important your star rating is to you haphazardly leave a review you may or may not deserve. I honestly would be devastated! I can tell you EVEN on some transactions you clearly deserve a low star rating on you DO have some control! Most people feel bad leaving a terrible review in your shop & all you need to do is be nice & talk to them. Honesty is the best policy!
A trick/tip I heard once was to fit 3 apologizes in your response to them. It was some kind of physiology thing. That doesn't mean "I'm Sorry, So SORRY, PLEASE I'm Sorry!" lol How you say Im sorry is more important than apologizing itself. And no Buts allowed! lol Take on the blame, acknowledge their problem, show remorse & offer a resolution. AND if its not your actual fault, but the Post Office dropped the ball in my opinion is you STILL apologize & offer a resolution! It sure aint the buyers fault, & they are trusting you with their money when they buy from you. Not all situations fit all, so take from that what you will. Either way all future buyers are going to look at any past mishaps to see how you handled them. Treat customers how you yourself would want to be treated! :)
It's incredible what people think is okay to post, both on the buyer and seller side!
This is such good information, and it has helped me in a few situations with less then 5 reviews. Today, I had a three star changed to a 5 star review, by using the advice from the groups from Kara. Join the group, there is so much more to learn about running an online shop. Advice from other sellers as well, with honest feedback. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos for others.
Great to hear!
Thanks for the pro tip! I will definitely try that. I hesitate to response publicly, but I will try! I had 2 bad reviews last month, all about shipping even though I keep them in the loop regarding shipping update and even offer refund before I sent the order. I contacted one of them and explain the situation and she changes it to 4 star. Sometimes, even after contacted them and gave them refund, they still leave a bad review tho. Can't help it, I am not nutella 😄.
If that means Nutella never gets a bad review, you're right! I would respond about the shipping issues if you gave people a chance to refund before they bought it. If you're in my facebook group post in there to get ideas on how to do it nicely!
Thanks for this video, Kara! 🙂
No problem! It's a hot topic all the time
A buyer left a 2 star review with a picture of the damaged item. The picture was bigger than other pictures from 5 star reviews. What she wrote was inaccurate, but we can't respond calling them liars...😢
You can respond by saying that you would offer help if contacted about it, but that they didn't contact you!
This video is very helpful thank you 🌹
Glad it was helpful
That cover photo is WINNER 🤣
HAHAHAHAHA
Great advice!
Thanks for watching!
If you have resolved an issue and youd like the customer to change their review youre going to have to ask them most of the time because they aren't going to know that they can.
I never ask people to change anything, i just respond and move along.
I didn't know they get reminders to leave a review. So I got one star yesterday and I was devastated lol I couldn't even sleep. I actually did ask her to change her nasty review on a message. Sometimes some of these customers are just rude. That's so true I went back and responded to her review but I was actually talking to the next person. Very smart move......
Go back and read all your 5 star reviews, there’s always going to be a lot one here and there, and we tend to fixate on those, but try not to! I know it’s hard, it’s taken me years to be able to move on quickly and not spend all day being mad about the low ones!
Thank you.
You're welcome!
I am a buyer here. Spent thousands of Euros these last 2 years but NEVER AGAIN! I baught this faux fur shawl and tracking stopped updating for a long time such that we thought item was lost. Seller first said not to worry as they are insured, then they suggested I reorder (and repay) but choose USPS, then said to open a claim with Etsy for refund. So I made the claim but Etsy refused to refund (reasons not supplied and appeal from decision not possible), so seller kept insisting that I leave a 5 star review and only then will they issue a refund themselves. I obviously did not rate the transaction (how can you leave 5 STAR review when you have not received the item you paid for?) but they kept pestering me so I then left a 1 star review stating the truth, that I was still awaiting item, way later than expected delivery date. They then answered the review stating very "sweetly" that they will help me claim a refund on Etsy. Obviously they are lying as they can see that item was delivered but answered my review to lock it and prevent me saying the truth about the pestering. Etsy does not help prevent this kind of abuse from sellers.
You seem to have found one of the "gems" on Etsy, which is basically a scammer. They should refund your order themselves, but I'd go ahead and do a chargeback on your credit card or whatever payment method you used. You can report the shop to Etsy because they do try to monitor this kind of thing, but you have to tell them about it because they don't know about it unless people tell them.
@@KaraBuntin i did report but Irene from Etsy refuses to take action.
Worth noting that if they change the review later, apparently the ODR is still affecting by the original review score? Also, do we know if the buyer gets notified of a review response? Thanks Kara!
I don't know if the buyer gets notified, I assume they do. At that point it's done, though, nothing can be changed about it.
Buyer bought a box of bath bombs from me as a gift to her sister. Her sister sends her a picture of the box with all of the decorative packing paper and thank you card removed and the bath bombs thrown in the corner of the box. It looks horrible and isn’t at all how I sent the item. She accused me of calling her sister a lair and posted a review with the picture along with how disappointed she was. Then during messaging she tells me she was actually upset that the labels were on the box and not stuck to each bath bomb like the pictures on the websites and that her sister actually loved the gift and is excited to use it but since I accused them of ‘lying’ they won’t shop with me again. I don’t add the labels to the bath bombs they are always on the box. So because she assumed they would be a certain way she just kind of made up anything she could. She also admitted her sister had since told her she removed the packing material and card so I have no idea how to respond to the review. Etsy won’t remove it. It’s my first bad review and I’ve been open for 3 years. Worked really hard this holiday season and I am so sad over this.
Just write this as a response and move on. Everyone gets a bad review and an unreasonable customer every now and then: “Unfortunately, this review doesn’t tell the whole story, and the customer did let me know later that the person the gift was for loved the bath bombs and is excited to use them, which is my main concern. The recipient had removed the packaging material before sending the photos, so it doesn’t show how they were wrapped when the box was opened.”
@@KaraBuntinThank you so much!
What are some of the actions that you recommend that sellers do to make things right?
Also…what about customers who say they didn’t receive their package when tracking said it was delivered? I had a customer ask if I ever sent the package weeks AFTER it was stated delivered by the post office. She would have also gotten the shipping email from Etsy! Very strange! Thanks for your input.
It will depend on the situation. If the package was marked delivered then you have to assume that it was delivered. The customer would need to check with the post office, but the longer they wait the less likely the post office will be able to help with it.
What if the review is not related to the product? I sell digital product and i was given a one star review because the buyer apparently didn't know how to download the file.
Just handle them on an individual basis, for that you can contact the buyer to offer help in downloading.
I got a bad review today, 3 stars, and I am devastated. I make unique and one of a kind art pieces. Customer stated it was not even worth half the price $28. I messaged customer and I apologized and advised that she could return the item for a refund. I package item very well with thank you note, plus business card that also states thank you for your support! I’m give a free hanger and make sure item is secured to box for shipping. I also provide faster shipping then ground for free. I don’t know where I went wrong. I’m very confused and doubting myself now!
Three stars is a neutral review, not a bad one, but the rude comment was just rude. Don't write to the customer again unless they answer you back, you did what you could. Sometimes people are fishing for a discount or a partial refund, but there's no reason why you should give them a refund unless they return the item. As artists we tend to take all criticism very personally, but you have to learn to not get emotional about it. You're not going to get 100% happy customers all the time, that's just a fact of life. Maybe I'll do a Live about handling bad reviews...
@@KaraBuntin Please do and you can used me as an example! I did refund the money and I gave her the piece as a Christmas gift 🎁 I tried reach Etsy and didn’t get no where! So, my heart told me to give her the money back and give her the one of kind piece as a Christmas gift 🎁
@@strongwoman3153 That was very nice of you and not something that you needed to do. I'll talk about this topic today during my Live at 2pm Eastern.
Yeah 3 is not bad. I got one star and I was devastated lol I couldn't even sleep....
ahh in pandemic situation issues are only late deliveries.... it's very difficult to stay professional all the time, but I would suggest to anyone if you don't know how to respond on some angry letter from the customer who can't wait for order wanna open case or says I will put one star and when I will receive it I will change feedback, contact always Etsy and ask them advice..don't rush with angry messages. Sometimes is better to overthink the right answer.
Absolutely...Never write anything when you're emotional about it.
customers who extort me say item not as described and take pictures in the dark or real bad close ups , items arrived damaged they pull one petal out and take a real bad picture , one not as fluffy is another scam, they crunch one stem and fluff the other , parcel not delivered because it was left in the doorstep . and etsy customer service must be run by 15 year olds with no common sense who keep saying federal law allows extortion , what do we do ????????
If this happens to you a lot you could start sending packaging videos to people that show you packing the box and putting the label on it, that way they can’t say that things weren’t what they ordered.
How do you report extortion? I've searched all over the Etsy help center and it is unclear how to get into contact with a real person.
You could start a chat with someone or request a call back. The call is probably better because you'll be talking to a person, not a bot. You should be able to find the option for a call back during business hours Eastern time, but you can sometimes get one other times, too.
You can also block someone from your store but I don’t know how Etsy views that so I wouldn’t.
When you block someone it just prevents them from seeing your personal activity, it doesn’t block them from your store. You can refund someone’s purchases and refuse to ship to them but you have to do it manually, and they can just create a new account. It’s better to get Etsy involved if your being harassed because they’ll block the person on their end.
Has anyone ever had etsy remove a bad review? I was considering asking them, as i feel my recent negative review was over the top ..... A lot less people review on etsy , compared to ebay , ebay are quite pushy about me leaving feedback about items I buy in the uk. really good advice to ask em to post a pic,i`ve had a few do that without asking,
Etsy will VERY RARELY remove a review, but they're not legally allowed to do it too often. Ot has to be within only very specific conditions, and in general there are usually things that make it illegal for them to remove it because of consumer laws. It doesn't hurt to request a removal, but don't count on it actually happening.
What if they actually did lie in their review?
That happens occasionally, so you can always respond to it if Etsy won't remove the review. They can't remove most reviews because ot FTC laws.
I sell digital download art. Just got my 1st 1 star review. No DM was sent before hand. That really upsets me... But I reached out to the person professionally and calmly asking what the issue was and what can I do to make it right. They just simply responded "it wasn't what I expected" All of my listings clearly state what everything is in full detail with lots of photos and even mockup examples in use.. Sigh. Now radio silence. I'll give it a but before replying to the review. Just sucks.. 1 star.. if it wasn't what they expected 3-4 sounds a bit better. Wish people would contact shops 1st before leaving such a harsh rating. I know this probably wont be my final 1 star review in my shop. I'm pushing 8,000 sales currently with all positive review ratings. So gonna try and not to let this get me down... people suck sometime
I got a doozy of a one star this week too, something is in the air.
I rather not have etsy remind customers to leave a review..why bother them..they might be having a bad day. I rather not get a review then to bother the customer..as long as no returns or refunds are demanded I'm ok..I think it's a bad idea to remind customers about reviews..reviews suck people have to much power over your hard work!
I agree, to be honest. And now that Etsy is harassing people to leave reviews they’re leaving bad reviews about being pestered to leave a review!
@@KaraBuntin @KaraBuntin I appreciate your reply, They remind to leave a review. But if it's a bad review, you are on your own .. they are not helping the situation. There should be an option to opt out of that reminder.
What if the person doesn't state what the problem is, i have had 2 buyers who gave me 1 and 2 stars without comment. I even sent a private message to know what the issue was in order to improve, not like i have had anyone complain of the same product. The buyer never responded.
It sucks sometimes when some buyers give you 1 or 2 stars without writing down anything. I believe most of them do it intensional even when you have delivered good product to them and even on time.
All you can do is respond to the review and say that you contacted the customer to see what the problem was but they didn’t respond. You want people who are looking at the low reviews to see that you tried to help.
@@KaraBuntin Thank you. I would do that
I had the exact same thing happen to me, so frustrating as I have no idea why despite reaching out to try & resolve it
I just got my first 2 star review. Should I wait for the buyer to respond to my message (it’s only been one day) before I respond to the review or should I just respond to the review and move along?
Wait until they respond in case you can help them. I personally just respond and move on, but it's up to you.
@@KaraBuntin Thank you! I just noticed that they favorited one of my listings today yet they haven’t responded to my message. Hmnnn…
I’ll wait till tomorrow and if not I’ll have to just reply and move on.
Can someone leave a bad review when the order has been refunded
They have 48 hours to leave a review after a cancellation if i remember correctly.
If the review is older than 100 days, you can still contact etsy about if if the buyr agrees to have their review removed after you remedy the situation.
Have you done that before?
@@KaraBuntin yes, the buyer had to actually end up contacting etsy support to do it
@@alchemykitchen777 That's really good to know that it's an option!
@@KaraBuntin yes, it took quite some time, and I don't know of that was due to the buyer or etsy, but it worked.
No. I was never the victim of review extortion and I've never felt the need to try to extort a seller.
I will say that the customer service some sellers offer is much higher quality than others.
That's 100% true. Making sure you provide good customer service will head off a lot of complaints, too.
Have you ever been the victim of review extortion? Tell me how you handled it!
I guess we’re 2 years late for the live, but how do you handle a customer stating not as described but wanting to keep it anyway or refund some of the price because they thought it was expensive?
@@znonemper5519 Tell them no. I would tell them they can return it if they want to do that and you'll refund it when you get it back. But BEFORE you do that, have them send photos of what wasn't as described, because that way you'll be able to show Etsy that it WAS as described if they decide to try to file a case.
@@KaraBuntin She send a photo of it inscribed with a lady’s name (when it wasn’t sent that way; wasn’t in our photos or video clip) Said if was thin inscription and difficult to see in my photos. Said she wants a refund of some of the price because she felt it was priced high. Does that happen? What to do?
@@znonemper5519 If you didn't do the inscribing then you can just say that you can't take refunds on items that have been altered, and that it wasn't what you sent her. Don't give in to people trying to scam you.
@@KaraBuntin Thank you so much!
Hey ! If I am doing full refund to my customer is there anywhere I can control over the review from customer . If I refund fully there is no transaction and customer can’t give review right ? I don’t want any review from customer because anyway I am doing full refund .any help pls .
They’ll still be able to leave a review if you refund and cancel the order, they have 48 hours to do that.
@@KaraBuntin for me delivered date and hours has been passed 48 hours . After 48 hours they won’t be able to review ?
@@KaraBuntin 48 hours is after the delivered date or refund date .
@@tanchamalimbu refund/cancellation
I wrote a bad review because it has been 4 months and I have never received my product and the seller started harassing's me, cussing at me, and sending nasty messages relentlessly. Now she is buying crazy amounts of stuff from my shop in order to write a bad review. i contacted Etsy and they are not responding. I ended up closing my shop because i couldnt take the harassment. I thought i could reopen after that girl might cool off? what would you recommend?
You can cancel the orders and report her to Etsy for harassment. If they didn't respond to you you're probably sending the complaint to the wrong people. They do help people with crazy customers, and if it's a seller they would take that pretty seriously.
so sorry this happened to you ): but normaly etsy should step in to help with situations like this! I would not give up trying to contact them
Sold this guy 2500$ worth of onyx lamps and he says it wasn’t delivered .. wtf do I do
If you don't have tracking on it there's not a lot you can do, unfortunately. Was it tracked so that it's marked delivered?
@@KaraBuntin yes! It was tracked and delivered!
@@KaraBuntin another thing you should know : it was sent to a business address
Then they don't have a leg to stand on as far as non-delivery goes. They can check with the post office or the delivery service to see where it was left, they all have GPS scanners if it's in the US. IF it was delivered to him but he doesn't have it he needs to check to see if someone else in the household accepted the package, and if not he needs to file a stolen mail report with the post office and the police. You're not responsible for sending more of anything if it was marked delivered, but you can help him try to navigate dealing with the post office.
@@vilonasculpture3698 That has nothing to do with it. If it was marked delivered then you've done your part. Chances are someone in the building has it but he'll have to figure that out.
Etsy promised me a reading..I paid for it and never got it..so I put a 1 star rating on review..owner Ashley contacted me and told me she would refund my money if I took review off..that's bad business..just awful..how do u keep someone's money when u never delivered the product
That suns like an issue between you and the seller, not Etsy. You can open a case if you didn’t get your product if it’s within the 100 days of the purchase to get the money back, and you don’t have to change your review.
you talked alot but never gave example of things to say in response
You have to think that up on your own depending on what the situation is.
@@KaraBuntin Yeah I did that in a corporate kind of way.. as in a few lines about my superior process of handcrafted table construction..short & sweet..in the 3rd person style...which makes that unjustified bad review look like a joke, especially when it's surrounded by my non-stop 5 star Etsy reviews.