Handling Negative Reviews

“I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day….” Judith Viorst

I woke up one morning to find that I had received a negative review for an item I had recently sold. Thankfully that rarely happens but when it does it typically occurs when a buyer hasn’t looked at all the photos or read all the details. Vintage and antique items usually have some wear and patina.

But I was confused by this recent 3-star review: “Not as described or pictured.” How can that be?? So I reached out to the buyer for clarification and got a response I didn’t expect. The buyer thinks the item is “brand new” and it wasn’t in the colors she expected. Hmmmm. None of my photos depict the colors she expected and the item is conservatively from the 1930s. So I’m still scratching my head.

But the bottom line is that she didn’t like it so my go-to response was that she is welcome to return it for a refund, less shipping costs. In fact that’s my published policy. And has been my policy for 12 years. I accept returns.

And in this case it sounds like the buyer may return it, but she also indicated that she loves my shop (!) and has several things currently in her cart and wanted store credit in the amount of her to/from shipping costs for the item she is returning. What??! Well, that’s a no. And frankly I’m surprised she still wants to buy from me considering she felt I was deceptive.

The biggest issue for me in this case is that she left a public review that besmirches my reputation as a seller. It calls my integrity into question. It’s out there for all the world to see. I never ask buyers to remove or change negative reviews, but I will leave a response. It will be courteous and professional but also clear that I stand by my listings:

Emily I’m sorry you are disappointed in this textile.
You are welcome to return it for a refund, less shipping costs.
As a long-time Etsy seller, I stand behind my photos and descriptions.

I don’t offer disappointed buyers any sort of financial inducement (partial refund) to keep the item or a coupon to buy from me again. Essentially that’s rewarding folks who give negative feedback.

For me the most difficult aspect of a negative review is moving on from it. I tend to obsess and wonder what I could have done differently. And the answer is almost always nothing. My photos were spot on, including closeups. My description was accurate. The wild card is the customer and what they were expecting. So I’m working at shaking this off.

RECAP of my negative-review process:

• Reach out to the buyer for clarification.
• Remind them I accept returns.
• Publicly respond to their review if needed.
• See if there is anything to be learned from this transaction.
• Shake it off.

Oddly, on the same day she left the negative review, she bought two pieces of jewelry from me. I thought for a hard minute and canceled the order. I don’t need that tsuris in my life!

Karen