Etsy categorized a review with the word "disappointed" in it as a "recommended" review

[oiseaux]

I've never had this issue before, so I'm reaching out to see if anyone else has.

I received a 5-star review recently, and the person wrote: "I was a little disappointed that the gold was just pigment and not gold leaf." (This is a case of folks not reading the listing, but that's beside the point) Etsy has placed this review in my "recommended" reviews, and now this review -- with the word  "disappointed" -- appears under each listing in my shop!

I realize this isn't the end of the world, but can this be changed? Has anyone else had this happen? Ugh.

[NanaLetha]

Just from my perspective as an Etsy buyer, I never read 5 star review comments. 

[PillowDetails]

That can serve as a heads-up to others who may think it's not metallic gold.  Take the 5 stars, try to move past it.  If you respond to the review, it will stay at the top even longer, so I wouldn't recommend that.

[KanimaCo]

It likely will show amongst your other five-star reviews based on the rating, rather than the feedback.

[BagmakerSupply · Accepted solution]

@oiseaux  :  There is some *ill-informed* algorithm that makes these decisions and there is nothing you can do about it, much like how reviews are chosen for listings which to not have a review yet and you cannot fathom why that review was chosen for that product.

[oiseaux]

That's what I thought, thank you!

[ArtDollsbyJD]

It's not ill informed.  It's the choice made to how to show and that is the stars.  All five star reviews are shown.  The content is never reviewed.   Hence this is a 5 star review so it gets included.

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

Etsy sees it as a 5-star review. 

[ArtDollsbyJD]

It's a 5 star review which counts for the algorithm.  The buyer is satisfied with her product hence the 5 star but she did give an opinion which is her right to do so.  She expected something that she didn't realize was not the case. You can respond if you want to.    The buyer probably did not read far enough into the description.  I had to look for the information myself which may mean it is a little hard for buyers to find.   The more involved the description, the more likely it won't be fully read.  

[OmasFabricStash]

I don’t read 5 star reviews but I do change it to the most recent so I would see on top anyway. If customers aren’t reading the titles and description I have to wonder how many even look at the reviews. 

[DiegoBeachBooks]

This also happens with terrible reviews, where Etsy highlights a one or two star review as recommended and puts it on every listing in your shop.  Been going on in my shop for many, many months.  There's nothing you can do and they have no solution or recommendations for us.  

[AnniebelloPaper]

If Etsy ONLY put the 5-star reviews in 'recommended' order and 'hid' the less stars, people would be questioning those ethics. As a buyer, I always resort reviews to 'most recent' because a shop might have had problems in the past but have improved, or might be having major issues now.

Etsy also put reviews for a particular product on that listing's page so buyers can see relevant reviews for the item they are looking at. If there's no reviews for that listing, you get a mix. 

Personally, I don't respond to 5-star reviews unless I've got to clarify something. In this case, you could respond to the review. Just do it professionally - thanks for the feedback, I'll revisit the description to make things more clear. 

[BootifulLabels]

Etsy shows relevant reviews based on the search terms/browsing habits that caused the prospective buyer to land in the shop or listing.  That is all the AI looks for, it doesn't read the reviews to determine if the prospective buyer was happy, it just displays those reviews that are in some way similar to what they were searching for.  

[ClairDeLunePixelArt]

Things could always be worse. At least it’s a 5-star review, not 1-star. You are lucky. Don’t bother contacting Etsy. Waste of time. Nothing will be done. You will receive an email containing pre-written sentences arranged into paragraphs by AI. Reviews that violate Etsy policies will not be removed, and reviews left by accident for the wrong product will not be removed.

[CuriosAnCollectibles]

It would have been much worse if it was a 1* review.

I suspect many buyers will only read those.