REVEW BUG

[MaximusForge]

Two customers who were very satisfied with my work left 5-star reviews along with very kind comments.
Unfortunately, due to an internal Etsy bug, only 1 star appears.
This is truly problematic, as it seriously harms both my shop and my work.

I contacted Etsy support, and they told me it was an issue related to outdated versions of the Etsy app on the customers’ mobile phones, and that they need to download the latest version of the app.

Please understand that I cannot ask customers to re-download their app just because there is a bug in the reviews section.
It’s very delicate to make such a request—especially when a customer has taken the time to write a thoughtful review.
I risk upsetting them, and they may not understand the situation.

I am therefore kindly asking you, with all due respect, to fix this display error, which seriously damages my work.
The Etsy technical team should be able to see all these errors in the logs.
They should be able to correct them without sellers having to contact their buyers.

The first customer is in Germany,
the second customer is in France.

Dear Etsy developer, please help us!
Thank you. Maximus

[BagmakerSupply]

@MaximusForge: "Dear Etsy developer, please help us!" Just so you know, even if Etsy Support or the Help Pages sent you here this is a seller peer to peer forum, and should not be considered a way to contact Etsy, if that is your hope (although Etsy moderators do sometimes read and reply to posts).

First, it would probably be illegal for Etsy to edit a review, and how are they to know that the customer meant to give you five stars? We have seen lots of glowing reviews with just four stars. Only the person who left the review can change it. Also, unless something has changed recently, I believe that reviews can only be edited by a buyer using a browser.

[MaximusForge]

Technically, it is entirely possible for Etsy's technical support to verify what a customer did; they just need to check the logs. Only that. All the logs are on there plateform.

What’s really frustrating is doing incredible work and then being unfairly penalized because of an internal bug.

[PrimFun]

@MaximusForge   Etsy cannot legally touch a review.  A review belongs to the buyer.  If the buyer contacts and asks, Etsy can because they give permission but otherwise Etsy cannot touch.  Reviews are protected under law.

And the log would not necessarily show the keystrokes by the buyer.  Chances are it only recorded the one star being clicked on and not the others.

[NanaLetha]

The buyer can edit the review. Contact them via email.

[PrairiePrimitives]

@NanaLetha If I read the OP correctly, it sounds like the buyers did leave 5 star reviews; it's just that they're appearing as 1 star reviews. 

I saw a similar post yesterday although (on my laptop) the worst thing I saw was a 1 star review from last October which brought the shop star score down to about 3.5 stars ... so I wasn't sure what they were talking about. 

And now this. So it's starting to sound like an Etsy glitch ... 

[MaximusForge]

I’ve already done that — my clients are really nice and they did it, but the bug persists. Every time they select 5 stars, the system only records 1 star. I have a screenshot that shows it.
I don’t want to harass my clients. And at the same time, I feel stuck.

[PrimFun]

@MaximusForge   I answered on your other post about this but the buyer can change.  Tell them to click on the 5th star only.  Not to do each star individually.  Some buyers do them individually and only the one is actually selected.  Once they post they can see what happened.  At that time they have the ability to edit their review.

While this problem pops up from time to time, it happens far less now.  And it is important that a buyer have the latest version of the app and that their phone also be up to date.  Background issues with phones can cause problems too,

[PrairiePrimitives]

@MaximusForge I just remembered a glitch that was a huge problem awhile back (maybe 10 years ago??). 

Some phones wouldn't show more than 3 stars, even when the customer left a full 5 stars. This glitch?? lasted quite awhile, but I haven't heard anything about it in years. 

[PieceByNumberQuilts2]

Anyone who’s been on Etsy awhile at least one review like that - a one star with a glowing proclamation of their complete delight.  The one star may be related to the app as Etsy help suggested, or may not be.  If it’s the phone, then asking the buyer to update the app is too much — it’s probably the phone itself that’s old and the newer app versions don’t work on their phone.  They’re obviously going to buy a new phone just for this.

in any case, the 1 star review doesn’t change your 5-star shop average, and anyone reading the review will see that somehow a mistake was made.  No one will decide not to buy from you because of this review. I understand it stings, but overall, this will not affect your shop in any significant way.

I personally no longer contact buyers over positive reviews with less than 5 stars;  life is far too short for that. If they’re happy, then I’m happy

[MaximusForge]

You're right, there are definitely more important things in life. It's important to keep things in perspective. I didn’t know this was even possible. I hope Etsy’s technical staff can resolve it. Thank you for your kind words.
Maximus

[PrairiePrimitives]

Yesterday I replied to this post (before realizing it was a zombie post) - link below. That seller said it looks like they have 151 one-star reviews, rather than just one (at least just one in the last year). Could these two situations be related?

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Providing-Great-Customer-Service/one-1-star-review-out-of-151-reviews-...

[LynnsLittleShop]

No, I don' t think so because that seller didn't have any sales for at least a year, so her rating was only based on the 1 star and then another sale closer to now so she now has a 3.5 star rating.

[KarmaCodeOne]

several weeks ago i posted a question re: etsy reviews. I felt an etsy glitch a coming. I had not had a review for over a month. To the few that responded that sounded about right and seemed average. But not for me. Almost half my sales get reviews and we are talking years. I'm not a huge seller for sure, small but mighty , I've maintained my shop with great customers and gracious reviews. Not a full time business, the connections bring me joy and are what keep me going here in this sometimes vast land of tumbleweeds. So slow lately and with ore questions re: reviews it makes me wonder...

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Providing-Great-Customer-Service/reviews/m-p/148539869#M322737

[PrimFun]

@KarmaCodeOne   Buyers are fatigued with giving reviews.  It is natural and normal for reviews to become less and less important to buyers as they are inundated with requests from everyone, every service they use.

[cutebutton]

If you report the reviews and then in the explanation just say that these were obviously not supposed to be one star reviews because of the glowing words and etsy should remove them.  I've had several circumstances where this happened.  The first time it happened the person said that they 100% did leave a 5 star when I let them know it was accidently a 1 star and then they started getting upset with me saying that it was 5 star on their end and they wouldn't even consider trying to change it.   Since that time basically if this happens I don't even contact the buyer I just automatically report it to etsy and so far 100% of the time they have removed it.  I think I have had this happen maybe 5 times.

[MaximusForge]

Thanks for your reply.

Regards, Maximus

[MaximusForge]

Details about the situation:

Star Rating System Bug

A critical malfunction has been identified in the star rating system. When a user attempts to leave a 5-star review using a recent smartphone and the updated app, the system consistently records only one star. It is only after several repeated attempts (each increasing the rating by one star) that the final 5-star rating is correctly submitted.

Observed Consequences:

• Misrepresentation of actual customer satisfaction.

• Unjust negative impact on sellers’ reputations.

• Risk of eroding trust in the reliability of the review system.

Technical Elements to Verify:

• Presence of an incremental rating behavior in the logs (1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 stars).

• Use of recent devices and updated versions of the Etsy app.

Request:

• In-depth analysis of system logs related to the affected reviews.

PS: I hope that developers working for the platform will be able to analyze this situation and resolve it. I’m available to provide them with additional information if needed.
My goal is to help make this platform even better by contributing to its improvement in a constructive way.


Best regards, Maximus