Etsy changed my materials and I received a negative review for this.

[koolstuff2]

I have a listing, https://www.etsy.com/listing/708297372, where Etsy has changed the materials.

The listing says that the materials are silver.

I entered, and my listing STILL says under edit, that the materials are: silver plated band bracelet, silver plated charm, silver plated lobster clasp closure.

I received a review where the buyer is saying that the item is not 925 sterling silver.

I contacted Etsy customer service and the rep, Kenny disconnected with me and refused to help me. 

This is after 30 minutes.

So, I received a negative review and am being accused of selling fraudulent items because Etsy changed my materials.

[PlatypusDream]

That listing title says SILVER.  No where in there does it actually say SILVER PLATE.

Customers sometimes don't read the description, so you need to make it clear in the title.  Most may never notice the "materials" list anyway... not sure how you are sure this is Etsy's fault?

Take this as a learning opportunity and clarify your listings.

[koolstuff2]

@PlatypusDream 

They did change the materials.

My listing description DOES say silver plated. 

And materials of silver can have the meaning that it is sterling silver.

And I did enter the materials correctly. I said this in my original post.

[PlatypusDream]

@koolstuff2 

"That listing title says SILVER.  No where in there does it actually say SILVER PLATE."

Your TITLE needs to be honest and call it silver TONE or silver PLATE.

To not mention that fact is misleading.

[catfluff]

etsy will not engage with you when they know its not possible its  there fault, they have lots of faults , but they do not just change materials  on lisitngs

[koolstuff2]

@catfluff 

yes, they did change the materials.

I entered the materials as:

 silver plated band bracelet, silver plated charm, silver plated lobster clasp

And this is what it SHOULD show, NOT silver

[hopeandjoystudios]

ooohh not so fast there.. have read Oneeycat say repeatedly they change her aqua howlite to turquoise.

[nineteen27]

@koolstuff2 

etsy does not change it but!

if you look at your listing page...

under the category where you list the item...

it says materials... optional...

if you choose silver there.

it will over-ride the materials that you wrote in under the tags.

do you see it?

yes there are two places to choose materials... one where you click it and one where you write it in.

i think most sellers do not realize that the top one over-rides the bottom one.

so just un-click the top one under categories and your written ones will appear on your listing.

[Amaradorn]

Yeah, this ^^^ The materials attribute will override the materials tags. That's probably what happened. Etsy probably need to make that clearer in the listing set up.

[nineteen27]

@Amaradorn 

yes that is what happened.

i saw the listing and the materials said silver and not what the op had written in the other area.

[EnergyPeace]

You should state "silver plated" in your title. Not silver. People won't read descriptions. You are lucky if they read the whole title so keep the "plated" close to the start.

[ArtDollsbyJD]

You altered the listing since you posted?  I see no mention of silver in title and I see silver plated in materials.  

The buyer made a mistake.  If it did say silver plated as I see in materials and description then the buyer did not read correctly.  She said it is beginning to tarnish.  Maybe she thought it was 925 silver and did not recall that it wasn't.  Perhaps not Etsy's fault. 

I would be asking the buyer about rather than worrying about the review.  If the plating is so thin or if her skin is reacting to it, it may be something to be aware of. 

[nineteen27]

@ArtDollsbyJD 

the op fixed it after my explanation of why it was happening with the materials.

and the word silver was removed from the title because of the other comments in this thread.

[Girlfriendnecklace]

Maybe Etsy should had more material mix like Solid Gold, Gold Filled, Gold Plated, 14k gold, 18k gold, 24k gold... idem for silver 925 silver, silver plated etc... to avoid this issue and many don't read the description or even the title.

[Amaradorn]

We can't see where 'silver' was added to your materials because you changed it so I would question whether that really happened or whether your customer was just mistaken. I would offer them a refund upon return. Silver can and is used as a colour as well as a material. It's advisable to state 'silver plated' or 'silver tone' in the materials section but often buyers don't read that far. It's also advisable to mention the base metal content for people who might have a reaction to the lesser metal. If using the 'materials' attribute you should always select the base metal. 

Also note that sterling silver will also tarnish unless coated with platinum or a sealant.

[Girlfriendnecklace]

Also just the price suggest it's plated. No way at this price is solid silver but people don't know, the best like others commentators suggested is to specify it in the title. 

[TickleYourWitch]

I think Etsy HAS been known to change materials. Isn’t @OneEyeCatStudio often unhappy turquoise howlite gets changed to turquoise? 

[artbyjocelyn]

It happened to me too in my other shop. I make clay things, had turquoise in a description for colour, and when attributes first came out, Turquoise was auto selected as Gemstone in several of my listings.

When I learned this was happening, thanks to the Forum, that's when I checked and found it in several listings' attributes and fixed them all. TG none of them had sold! I still look when renewing any that I saw it on.

[nineteen27]

for all the people just coming in to this thread.

the word *silver* was in the title twice.. without plating or anything else... just silver.

the materials said *silver*

when i explained why what the op thought was there and what was actually shown was there and how to fix it... the op did it.

and also removed the word *silver* from the title because of the comments in this thread and that i absolutely agree with.

so it was a combination of the seller not being specific in the title and etsy making it confusing when listing materials.

[koolstuff2]

@nineteen27 

You sure are making a lot of assumptions without discussing this with me.

I liked your comment because it was one of the few that actually offered a constructive suggestion and could possibly help others.

[nineteen27]

@koolstuff2 

what assumptions did i make?

i saw your title.

i saw you change it.

i saw your materials.

i saw you change it.

and i had no idea you liked my comment or which one it was.

oh... wait... you figured it out on your own?

that is great news!

you just keep insisting over and over that etsy changed your materials which they did not.

seriously most sellers have no idea that is how the materials work and i actually learned it from someone in the forum a long time ago!

you should have come back and told the people who were trying to help and/or confused about why they were not seeing what others were seeing anymore... that the issue was solved and chosen your post as the resolution.

[koolstuff2]

@nineteen27  Your comment " i saw you change it." 

You saw me change it?  Funny, I never saw you. You must have super powers. 

[nineteen27]

i have lots of superpowers.

one of them is disappearing from certain threads.

*poof*

[AudaciousAttire]

Lots of reselling. be glad you are still open. 

[koolstuff2 · Accepted solution]

Update:  I contacted Etsy again earlier today, via telephone and was able to speak with someone. 

It is being addressed.

I would also like to add:

I never asked to have my listing critiqued, nor my shop or the items that I sell. 

I never asked how to address the negative review and I especially did not ask for anyone to address the validity of the review. 

I stated that my listing was changed by Etsy, and as others have posted in the forums, this has happened to others too. 

I WAS trying to make others aware of the problem so that they could check their listings. 

I will not address this again until I have something final from Etsy.