Etsy announced sellers can now respond to all reviews left by buyers. The announcement came 2 weeks after sellers first noticed the change, as we reported on the AuctionBytes Blog last month, where sellers weighed inon the change. (Sellers also discussed the change on the Etsy discussion boards.)
On Friday, Etsy said it was making the change because it knew that the ability to respond to a review could help sellers clarify anything a buyer said about a listing. Previously, sellers could only respond to reviews where buyers left three stars or less. Etsy didn’t explain why it chose to make the change now.
Etsy also advised sellers of a few things to keep in mind about the new capability:
- If you receive a review and then respond to it, your buyers will not be able to change their rating without reaching out to Etsy Support first.
- Reviews are public. Both current and future customers will be able to see your reviews and responses.
- Reviews are not counted as messages, and your response to a review will have no impact on your Star Seller response rate criteria.
Etsy told sellers there was action needed on their part – “We just wanted you to know that the option to leave a response to any review is now available to you.”
