5 Reasons Etsy Customers Leave a Bad Review

Bad reviews hurt. Not only are they a punch to the gut as a small business owner, they can also harm your Etsy shop.

Shoppers may let a bad review sway them away from buying, and Etsy may eventually lower your listings in search results if you get too many bad ratings.

Here are the 5 most common reasons buyers leave a bad review on an Etsy shop and some tips on avoiding them.

 

1 – Lack of communication

In general, when you place an order online, the vast majority of e-commerce stores immediately send a message letting you know basic information about your order.

When I don’t receive confirmation or information, I get a little nervous.

          Are they going to send an email when it ships?

          How long does it typically take to ship out?

Remember, your customers are EXCITED about what they just purchased. Try to keep that excitement going.

Send a message to customers immediately after they place their order.

This can even be automated (at the time of writing this). Here’s how: Message to buyers.

Set expectations and reiterate important information that was in your listing’s description, that they probably didn’t read.

Keep it short and easy to read. You may want to include:

• A thank you for their purchase
• How long it takes you to package orders and get them to a courier
• Shipping information (e.g. average shipping times, if it can be tracked, any delays to expect, etc.)
• How to get in touch

It’s important your customers know they can reach out if they have a question or issue and how to do that. You should also stress that you want them to be happy and will do everything you can to correct issues (and earn a 5-star review).

It’s also best to underpromise and overdeliver.

If it typically takes you 2 days to process orders, tell them 3 days. They’ll be pleasantly surprised when they get a shipping notification early. (Just be sure you don’t underpromise to the point it may deter sales)

 

2 – Slow shipping/lost packages

This is obviously out of your control, but how you handle it can make a huge difference.

A “Sorry, not my problem” mentality will provoke more bad reviews than being apologetic and sympathetic about the situation.

This is again, something you can put in your message to buyers. Something along the lines of:

“Shipping is out of my control, but I will do everything I can to help resolve issues. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns about shipping.”

Simply taking the time to contact the shipper on their behalf can change a customer’s opinion about their experience.

 

3 – Product doesn’t meet their perceived value

There are a lot of ways online sellers can make a product look more expensive than it is. And you do want to take photos, write descriptions, etc., that increase the perceived value of your products.

However, you can’t stop there.

How you communicate with customers after an order is placed, how you package orders, how quickly you ship them, etc. will continue to support their perceived value (i.e. it’s worth the money paid), or it will start to chip away at it (i.e. it’s not worth the money paid).

If a seller makes a necklace look high-value online through beautiful photography and a branded shop, but that necklace arrives tangled in a plastic bag with no branded tags, marketing material, or care put into shipping materials, that necklace no longer seems like it’s worth the money the customer paid.

 

4 – Product is different than photos

Increasing the perceived value of your products is one thing. Misrepresenting what you’re selling is another.

It’s important to photograph your products in good lighting and edit them so they’re eye-catching and professional.

However, you don’t want to go overboard to the point that it hides small imperfections or alters the colors.

Unfortunately, most shoppers don’t take the time to read full descriptions and product details. So the more you can (properly) communicate through photos, the better.

• Show perspective by adding props that give shoppers a better idea of size.
• Photograph the item in different lighting and next to different objects so they get a better idea of color.
• Add text overlay to photos if needed (e.g. if you find customers often say it’s smaller than they expected, add a text overlay sharing the exact dimensions)

 

5 – Unhappy and no refund issued

Chances are, you’ll come across a customer who cannot be pleased, no matter how hard you try.

Not always, but many times, these people are trying to get free products by complaining enough to get a refund.

Follow your gut when it comes to refunds.

Often, small business owners will give in to ridiculous requests to avoid a bad review, but that person ends up leaving a 1-star review anyway.

If they’re being unreasonable when communicating with you about their issue, chances are they’ll continue to be unreasonable after they get a refund.

You have to decide if a refund is worth the chance that they might not leave a bad review and consider how you’ll feel if you refund them and they do leave a bad review.

Chances are, you’ve already lost time and money dealing with this customer. Is it worth losing the revenue from that order too?

 

Respond to bad reviews

I don’t know about others, but I look for bad reviews before buying. And I can tell the difference between a legitimate bad experience and someone embellishing to ruin someone’s day.

If and how the seller responds helps me decide whether or not I want to buy from a business.

If the seller responds to a negative review in a less-than-professional way, it makes me question if I want to purchase from their shop.

Your response gives consumers a glimpse of how you deal with customer service issues.

Although the review may be unreasonable and they’re complaining about not getting a package on time for Christmas (but are leaving out the fact that they placed their order 2 days before the holiday), if you respond unprofessionally, it makes shoppers wonder how you’ll deal with concerns they may have.

As hard as it may be, try to respond to negative reviews with sympathy and understanding. Feel free to explain your side (e.g. you placed your order on Dec 22, and I explained that it wouldn’t get there on time), but do so in a professional manner.

A 1-star review hurts. But if your shop is full of 5-star reviews, shoppers will be able to see past the odd low review.