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FidosFlowers
Community Manager
Community Manager

Updated 8/30 - Updates to reviews on Etsy

We recently reached out to tell you that we’d be testing video reviews on Etsy. We’re excited to follow up and share that all buyers officially have the ability to leave video reviews from the Etsy app on iOS devices.

These reviews can be up to 30 seconds in length and include audio. Fellow buyers visiting your shop from an iOS device can now also watch them to help get an up-close look of your listings. Video reviews can help highlight details that might be missed in photos, and could help give buyers the extra boost of confidence they need to make a purchase. We’re still working on making video reviews accessible on the Android Etsy app, so stay tuned there!

We’re excited for this new feature. It’s one of the many improvements we’ve been working on that we hope helps sellers get discovered and grow.

Here are a few examples of video reviews we've seen buyers share:

Also, when we originally announced we were testing video reviews, we saw a few different questions come up across the community and wanted to answer those below.:

What about inappropriate video content? 

Some sellers have expressed concerns about inappropriate video content. As a reminder: video, photo, and text reviews are subject to our reviews policy, which states that reviews that contain graphic, mature, or harassing language or imagery are against our policy.

How do I remove an inappropriate review? 

If you receive an inappropriate video, photo, or text review, click “Report this review” to flag it to our agents. Our agents will evaluate and remove any inappropriate reviews in violation of our reviews policy.

How long does it take to remove an inappropriate review? 

If you report a review and we find it violates our policies, it will be removed within 7-10 business days. However, the majority of reported reviews that violate our policies are removed sooner. 

Can I hide photo or video reviews? 

Reviews are an important, transparent representation of buyers’ experiences and we want buyers on Etsy to shop confidently knowing that we’re a trusted marketplace. In order to ensure we’re being transparent with buyers while continuing to meet industry-wide legal standards, we are removing the ability for sellers to hide photo or video reviews. If you find that a review is inappropriate or violates our policies, you can report it to our team for removal. You will also continue to have the option to respond to reviews if you feel you need to. 

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FidosFlowers
Community Manager
Community Manager

Re: Updates to reviews on Etsy

Hi everyone! 

Since we announced a few updates to reviews on August 17, we’ve gotten a lot of valuable feedback and questions from our seller community. We wanted to share some additional information to clarify some of these changes:

Etsy shared that if I report a review that violates review policies, it will be removed within 7-10 days. This is too long for a review to be taken down. 

Thank you for raising this concern - we are committed to maintaining the integrity and safety of the Etsy marketplace and agree that it’s important to respond in a timely manner. While our policy states that a flagged photo or video will be reviewed within 7-10 days, our priority is to review reports as quickly as possible - typically, agents review reports within 24 hours. In January - August 2022, less than one in every 500 video reviews have been flagged for review - about 0.18%. 

Why is Etsy removing the ability for me to self-moderate video and photo reviews? 

We are updating our policies and process for how sellers flag video and photo reviews to increase review transparency for buyers. We will continue to remove reported reviews that violate our policies, but will not otherwise remove or hide reviews. This is not only the trend across the industry, but we think it will increase transparency and trust in both the Etsy marketplace and your shop. If you have concerns that particular reviews violate Etsy's policies, please report them for our review.

I’m worried that buyers will use reviews to retaliate against my shop. What tools do I have to combat that? 

Our reviews policy prohibits reviews that:

  • Contain graphic, obscene, or vulgar language or imagery
  • Are abusive, threatening, defamatory, harassing, or discriminatory
  • Violates a seller’s privacy
  • Are false, deceptive, or misleading
  • Depicts harmful or dangerous acts
  • Does not relate to the item being sold
  • Infringe on a seller’s intellectual property 

If you receive a review that violates our reviews policy, please report it for agent review.

If you receive a review that does not violate our reviews policy, but you disagree with its representation of your item or shop, you will continue to have the option to respond to reviews if you wish to clarify anything a buyer may have said or written about your product. Please keep in mind that once you respond to a review the buyer can no longer edit their review. 

For more information on what to do if you receive a negative review, read more here.

What is the value of buyer video reviews, when I believe that my listing videos are more brand-aligned and representative of my items?

In our testing with adding video reviews, we have found that they may increase buyer conversion. Additionally, in recent US buyer interviews conducted in February 2022, we’ve found that US buyers appreciate how video reviews highlight less obvious details and show your items in context. 

We believe that both listing videos and buyer video reviews are valuable representations of your items. Your listing videos are guided by your expert perspective as a creator, knowing the best environments to represent your item and brand - this is incredibly valuable to buyers, as the content you create to represent your brand is typically what a buyer first sees when they look at your item. Other buyers’ video reviews can then help supplement your content with their experience as a user - seeing how they use your products in their natural environment and their own lives can help other buyers visualize it for themselves. Together, listing videos and video reviews can work together to help a buyer make an informed decision on purchasing your item.

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