A Review of Etsy

Most internet users are now into online shopping. Individuals have their reasons for engaging in this online activity.

Several platforms come to mind when it comes to  online shopping. One of the familiar sites is eBay. Another well-known online shopping platform is Etsy.

Countless people have only heard of the name “Etsy” but do not know what the platform is all about — how it works, how legit and safe it is to shop there.

With this review, I’m going to show you all that Etsy entails. I’ll show you how legit and comfortable it is to use the Esty online marketplace.
With this review of Etsy, you stand to know the benefits you gain by using Etsy.com; its features that entice users who have chosen it as their preferred marketplace.

You might have come across reviews that contain Etsy’s scam (in the area of payment) and some other shortcomings; I will also analyze these in detail.

I came up with this review to give answers to questions you might have in mind about Etsy. Are you scared you might get scammed using Etsy.com? Are you not sure how legit it is to use Etsy? This review has detailed answers to your questions about Etsy.

Let’s get started…

What is Etsy?

Etsy is a type of marketplace for tradition and crafted items, which promote the coming together of buyers and sellers. Etsy is an online marketplace that deals with classic goods and items. Jewelry, clothing, home decor and many others are items you will find on Etsy.

The company’s aim is to help talented sellers showcase their skills of creativity and make these skills become successful businesses. Etsy serves as a home for outstanding items.

On Etsy, you’ll find a number of categories of items that are not sold elsewhere.

Popular categories of items on Etsy are:

• Jewelry and Accessories
• Clothing and Shoes
• Home and Living
• Wedding and Party
• Toys and Entertainment
• Art and Collectibles
• Craft Supplies
• Vintage

One of the numerous questions going on right in your mind is, if Etsy is safe and legit. This particular question is prompted by the fact that Etsy is a platform where individuals come to present their goods for sales and not a large company that has its items to sell out.

Since 2005, Etsy has come on the web, and it now has more than 2.3 million sellers and more than 47 million buyers. The number of items available on Etsy for sale is more than 60 million.

It has its headquarters located in Brooklyn, New York and some other offices in eight locations around the globe. These locations include San Francisco, Dublin, Paris, London, New Delhi and others.

Coming back to your question, “Is Etsy legit?” The answer is yes. The more important question to ask is if it is safe to use Etsy. This is because you are doing business with invisible sellers.

Worry no more, as this review revolves around sellers who are the main initiators of Etsy scam.

Who Sells on Etsy?

Many sellers have come out with complaints. And most of these complaints are based on the scam report that some of the products delivered are different from the ones presented by the sellers in photos and descriptions.

Many other users also complain that the items are not delivered within the agreed time frame. Some other complaints are, items are not delivered as promised and that some sellers lack refund policy, which makes it impossible to return an item.

The reason Etsy’s sellers are the center of these complaints could be attributed to the fact that anyone can sell on the platform.

If you build unique furniture pieces, create handmade items, you will love to consider Etsy. The platform is made for artisans to turn their skills into a deep source of income.

On Etsy, many sellers are the manufacturers of what they sell, while others only sell as a hobby to make money. Most of these sellers are extraordinary craftsmen that consider an online market as an opportunity to reach out to the buyers.

Some other sellers are the ones found at the centre of Etsy’s scam. They are the reasons buyers have negative reviews on Etsy.

Many complain that Etsy does not screen its members before they start selling. They only register as members of the platform and are free to sell. This is true.

Etsy, in response to this, has blocked some sellers after it’s received many complaints about them. This shows how serious Etsy takes customers’ reviews.

Etsy Review System

The Etsy review system makes it possible to see what review other buyers have on a particular seller. To know who is safe to buy from, go through what previous buyers have to say about the seller. This serves as a guide and helps both buyers and sellers.

How a Buyer Leaves a Review on Etsy

As a buyer, with the aid of the review system, you are to rate your traction with a seller you have had transactions with based on the following criteria:

• Does the product quality match the expected one?
• Was the item delivered within the agreed time frame?
• Would you love to transact with the seller again?

Based on these, a buyer can do well to leave a star rating between 1 and 5 for a seller by making use of the Etsy 5-star rating system. Alongside this, you can leave a comment with the picture of the purchased item.

After Purchasing an Item, For How Long Can a Buyer Leave/Edit a Review?

You can leave a review after your order has been marked delivered or it has reached the expected delivery date. You can edit this review within the next 100 days of delivery date as many times as you want.

The average Etsy review of a customer is the average rating a seller has from the past 12 months. The average rating is what will be displayed to buyers to consider a seller for a business transaction.

With the help of this review system, a seller is able to build his reputation with reviews from previous buyers to aid new buyers to trust him.

On the buyers’ side, a buyer finds it easy to know who to buy from, knowing well that someone has bought what he is about to buy and that the buyer did not make a negative edit within the 100 days he was given to. The excess of the 100 days to edit a review is that some items may not stand the test of time after they have been received by the buyer. In response to this, a buyer can edit his review of an item.

What about Reviews from the Seller’s Side?

In a business community, there are two sides, the seller and the buyer. Etsy thereby provides sellers with the option to add their response to the buyers’ review. Sellers achieve this through the following methods.

• They can, with this, hide photos that they think do not accurately analyze the product.
• Report photos that are against the policy of Etsy
• Respond by chatting with the buyer to know what the issue is
• Respond openly to a review less than 4 stars
• Ask for the removal of reviews that violate Etsy’s policy.

When a seller responds publicly to a buyer’s review, the buyer is no longer enabled to edit his review.

The reviews that are on a seller’s page are a combination of reviews from the past 12 months. Even if a seller has bad reviews, he can wipe them off with time by improving his customers’ experience with him.

Responding to Etsy Review

With the Etsy review system, a seller can dispute a review of 3 stars or less. He can go further to block the buyer from editing his review. This sounds bad, but it is not. It is just an avenue for the seller to respond to negative buyers’ experience.

Sellers are allowed to only respond to a buyer’s review once. After this, any other communication will be moved to their private messaging system. This is aimed at solving the buyer’s problem.

Flagging Etsy Reviews

Both Etsy buyers and sellers can flag a review, photograph or seller’s shop. A seller can also request the removal of a buyer’s review. To do this, the review must fall under any of these:

• It tarnishes the seller’s privacy
• It contains abusive or harassing content
• It contains adverts or spam
• It is not about the transaction between the seller and the buyer, but third party content

Etsy believes that these reviews are opinions and no seller should, without a tangible reason, ask for the removal of a review.

The review system of Etsy is a medium to provide solutions to buyers’ problems rather than to provide negative reviews and comments from both ends. Each side is given the opportunity to speak their minds.

For the buyers, they are well assured that sellers do not have the ability to delete negative reviews. If in a comment, someone mentions that a photo has been deleted, it shows that the photo was deleted for tangible reasons.

On the sellers’ side, they are equipped with the ability to report reviews that violate Etsy’s policy and to report photos that do not analyze their products.

Responding to Photographs in Etsy Reviews

For buyers, they consider the ability of a seller to remove a photograph and a shortcoming which enables sellers to appear more trustworthy than they are.

The fact that a buyer is allowed to only post a photo on a picture of 5 stars sounds dubious, as this makes one believe that this is the overall review.

Hiding Photos

It is important to notice Etsy’s seller policy as regards viewing photos.

If a buyer decides to add a photo to a review, which must be a 5-star review, you can decide to hide the photo if it does not reflect the item that was transacted between you and the buyer. If you decide to leave it, it is visible to anyone that views your review.

That Etsy only gives buyers the ability to add photos to a 5-star review, it is considered to be a bias in favor of sellers. This is so, considering the fact that buyers should be given the ability to add photos to review below 5 stars, as this will give buyers the ability to display items they receive in place of the ordered items.

Is Etsy Safe and Secure for Payments?

No buyer wants to be caught up in Etsy scam. Having this in mind, we will take a look at the security of buying through Etsy.

There are several ways by which a buyer can pay for an item to be bought through Etsy. The challenge is that in most cases, the seller is in a position to decide which method of payment to be used. Few of the common methods of payment are PayPal, credit/debit card, and Etsy gift cards.

Below are the few methods of payment that a seller can adopt in Etsy shop.

• Credit cards
• Debit/bank cards
• Etsy Gift Cards and Etsy Credits
• PayPal
• Apple Pay
• Google Pay

Is Etsy Safe to Rely Upon with Your Money?

Etsy considers it one of its duties to make sure that you buy safely through their platform. Therefore, they provide tips for buyers to buy safely. Among these tips are:

You can check through a seller review and seller shop policies before you decide to buy.

You can call the attention of Etsy through verification@etsy.com if you notice any extra card charge

You are advised to make sure you pay on Etsy interface or PayPal. They do not have any help to render if you pay outside their interface should in case scam occurs.

So, we advise that you make your payment through PayPal whenever you decide to buy from Etsy.

Etsy’s Return Policy and Buyer Protection

Since Etsy does not have a blanket return policy of its own, the return policy is left to the individual shop owner’s discretion.

Therefore, most shop owners have these conditions attached to their return policy.

• The period of time to return the item
• Whether a full or partial repayment is available
• The circumstance at which the item must be returned
• If there will be any extra charge for the refund

Most individual Etsy shop owners will want to make their buyers happy by providing either partial or full refund if a customer is not satisfied with the item in question.

Be watchful of Etsy sellers who do not provide any refund option, and sellers that plead with you not leaving a negative review even if you are not satisfied with the item you bought from them.

Conclusion

While you are considering selling online through Etsy, it would be more profitable for you selling items you own on Etsy by directing visitors from your own site. And to build a traffic-driving website, you need a platform where you can access the most integrated resources and features with the best of managed hosting package.

If you’re ready to get started today, don’t hesitate to read my review about Wealthy Affiliate. This is an online business community with over 1.4 million entrepreneurs from all walks of life. It has the best website builder platform in the industry and a state-of-the-art community where members are always willing to help one another succeed online.