How to remove negative reviews on Etsy? What are the reviews that violate Etsy policy? Read on for the details you are wondering about.

Customer satisfaction is perhaps one of the most sensitive points that online businesses should approach. Today, although virtual stores are vital for brands, customers can practically share the quality of the products and services they buy with other users. Marketplaces that bring buyers and sellers together also approach this issue carefully in order to protect both parties and the quality of the service they offer. At the end of the day, customers or sellers develop various policies in order not to be victims.

Knowing that any negative review or low rating will damage their business, virtual store owners try to keep customer satisfaction high and compensate for the negative feedback they receive. When the reviews they receive from time to time do not reflect the truth, they can work to remove the relevant review in accordance with the policies of the marketplaces.

In this article, we will talk about the policy created by Etsy, one of the most popular marketplaces today, against customer reviews. How to remove negative reviews on Etsy? What are the reviews that violate Etsy policy? Read on for the details you are wondering about.

✅ What Are Reviews That Violate Etsy Policy?

If you believe a review violates Etsy policy, you can report it. Reviews you receive can be negative, but unless they conflict with Etsy's rules, no action is taken.

Reviews and behaviors that violate Etsy policy:

• Containing obscene, racist, or harassing expressions

• Violating Etsy's Anti-Discrimination Policy

• Containing spam or advertisements

• Containing only circumstances outside the seller's control (shipping-customs points, etc.)

• Containing threats and bullying

✅ How Can Customers Rate on Etsy?

In order to empathize with the customer, it is useful to know the steps they follow. Customers who purchase products or services from Etsy can make an evaluation by following the steps below:

• After going to their Etsy account, they click on the "Purchases and reviews" button to see the products they purchased.

• Here, your customers can comment by rating the product or service they bought from you. Optionally, they can add images to their reviews to strengthen their explanations about the product and subject.

When buyers purchase more than one product from the exact same store, they have the right to comment on each product.

✅ How Do You Send a Private Response to a Review on Etsy?

In the face of the reviews you receive, you may feel the need to talk to your customer, and you may want to take action to make an explanation or compensate. You can have a bilateral conversation by sending a message to your customer regarding the review you received:

• Go to the Shop Manager tab from the Etsy home page.

• Click on the Orders & Shipping option.

• Once you find your shipment containing the relevant review, click on the mail icon.

• Write your message and send it to your customer.

As we mentioned above, if you can make deductions from your customer's review, you can suggest a solution to them and direct them based on your compromise to increase your store score.

However, you may also not have understood the reason for the negative review. In such a scenario, it is useful to maintain your professional and level-headed attitude. Establishing healthy communication with your customer can return to you as useful feedback. Your customer may prefer the way of compromise due to your approach at that moment, or if there is a misunderstanding or confusion, this can be resolved. You can easily compensate for the process with an agile approach focused on the problem conveyed at that moment.

✅ How Do You Give a Public Response to a Review on Etsy?

Here, you may not be able to speak privately with your customer or you may not be able to solve the problem. However, to protect your store reputation, you may naturally want to use your right to defend yourself. In cases where it is not possible to speak with your customer in private, just as your customer conveyed their review in the area where everyone can see, you can also answer them from the same area. Since this reply will be visible to your other customers and visitors, you have the right to reply to each review only once. In this respect, it is useful to act cautiously in this matter.

Making a public response is quite easy, just like the previous method:

• Go to the Shop Manager tab from the Etsy home page.

• Click on your store name under the Sales Channels section.

• Click on the Reviews button to see the reviews.

• After finding the relevant review, click on the "post public reply" option and send the response you have prepared.

Etsy also shares your concerns about your store's rating. Since low-rated stores will also indirectly affect overall performance, the Etsy team offers you some advice for reviews of 3 stars and below:

• Keep your reply short, simple, and understandable.

• Maintaining your positive and professional attitude will reflect positively on you.

• Based on the review, convey the corrections you have made or can make to your customer; it is important to make them feel how important the issue is to you.

• Do not shift your focus away from the product or service, try not to dwell on other factors.

• Finally, make sure that you do not act contrary to the review policy, otherwise your reply will be removed. Let's underline that you cannot share personal information and tracking numbers.

You can publish your response within 100 days of receiving the relevant review. You have the right to delete your reply at any time, but once you reply, your buyer cannot edit or delete their original review. Since extending a potential argument here will not paint a good picture, you have only one right to reply and your buyer cannot post an additional review.

✅ How Do You Report a Review on Etsy?

If you think that the negative review you received does not reflect the truth and was written with bad intentions, you can report it to the Etsy team and request support. By clicking on the "Report this review" option under the review you received, you can state that the review in question violates the guidelines specified in the Etsy Seller Policy.

• We would like to remind you that you have 100 days from the estimated delivery date of your product to report a review.

✅ How Does the Process Work After Reporting a Review on Etsy?

When you object by declaring that the negative review you received violates Etsy's policy, the Etsy team starts to investigate the issue and evaluates whether the review complies with their own rules.

Although Etsy conducts this investigation confidentially, it does not provide a personal response to your notification.

As a result of the investigation process, if Etsy finds your report justified and decides that the review violates its policies, it will take appropriate action to remedy the situation. Otherwise, if Etsy concludes that the review is compliant with the Seller Policy, it will not take any action.

Since the investigation process is conducted confidentially, the details of the complaint are not shared with the reviewer at the end of the process. The person who wrote the review will not know who reported the complaint. However, we can also mention that in some cases, it is not a very difficult guess for them to make.

✅ What Is Etsy's Intellectual Property Policy?

Since Etsy hosts many artists and crafters who do original work, it naturally takes the issue of intellectual property very seriously. Underlining that they have important responsibilities towards their sellers as well as their customers, the Etsy team explains in detail on this page how they deal with copyright protection.

As having a brand or product that you own copyrighted sold in another store independently of you will harm your business, just like negative reviews, you can report these stores or product listings to Etsy to ensure they take action.