Etsy provided more information about a feature it began testing in June and that rolled out sitewide earlier this month: video reviews posted by buyers. When it announced the feature, Etsy said it could help give shoppers more confidence when deciding to make a purchase from a seller.
In mid-August, Etsy explained that all buyers had the ability to leave video reviews for their purchases 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.”
This week, Etsy posted an update to answer some frequently asked questions. One concern was how long it would take Etsy to remove an inappropriate video once reported by the seller.
“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,” Etsy explained. “In January – August 2022, less than one in every 500 video reviews have been flagged for review – about 0.18%.”
One seller who publishes a site called the Sewing Report left a video review of Etsy’s video reviews feature – on YouTube! She was unhappy that Etsy took away sellers’ ability to “hide” photos (and now videos) that they don’t like or feel are unflattering or inappropriate. She added that she felt Etsy was introducing features that sellers weren’t asking for:
In Tuesday’s FAQs, the company answered the question, “Why is Etsy removing the ability for me to self-moderate video and photo reviews?” by responding:
“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.”
You can read the full FAQs in Tuesday’s post – and let us know if you like the idea of buyer reviews in video format.
Free Advertising for me :o)
This could be pretty funny. Just think of the video reviews for adult items.