How would you respond to negative Etsy feedback...

[Mummyfinally2019]

Cut a long story short, buyer ordered 6 handmade peices from me but queen she received them she asked for a refund and said there's nothing wrong with them she just thought they'd be heavier!

I've told her I can't just make orders then refund when there's nothing wrong. She's left me very poor feedback and says she will remove it if I refund her! I've reported it to Etsy but they aren't interested.

How shall I respond to her feedback so other potential buyers can see she was trying to bribe me 😩

Do you have wording anywhere on your site or order form that no refunds are available unless there is a problem with the manufacture of the item? If so you have more of a leg to stand on, though of course you are right morally anyway. I know it would seem highly unfair but I suppose you have to decide whether it would be less hassle to just give in - but I don’t blame you if you don’t want to. I don’t know how much money is involved and whether you might be able to sell the items to someone else.

You could just respond by saying what you have told us here, i.e. "This buyer changed their mind when they received the items although there was nothing wrong with them. They then tried to blackmail me into giving a refund by saying they would write a bad review here if I didn’t. I am not giving in to blackmail."

Can you respond to the feedback?

What do the public comments say? Are they specific or generic? Do you have lots of other comments/ a high enough existing rating that they don’t affect your overall scores much and will slip down the page pretty quickly?

I’d be tempted to go for something super bland ‘Thank you for letting me know’ but then when I read feedback to decide whether or not to buy from someone I get put off if they only ever respond to the negative comments and/or write out giant essays about how wrong the customer is.

Maybe list the weight of items in grams in future, just to cover your arse?

(I’m not much of an Etsy person but I’ve been using eBay since 2002 and have 10,000 plus feedback over there, mostly selling and buying secondhand/vintage items)

Yes I can respond to Etsy feedback. I have over 4000 sales and I'm a star seller so my feedback is usually really good. There's just the odd one that pops up and tries it on. I'll be honest when I've made a mistake I always fox straight away but I'm a small business and can't afford to just give £40 refund out because she wants her money back.
In the feedback she's said all sorts of untrue things about her order and said I've been awful to deal with but it's not true.

Just be factual don't get into a back and forth.
Something along the lines of unfortunately I am not able to issue a refund as you found the items lighter than you expected. The items were made to the specifications requested at time of order. Your request to remove negative feedback for refund will not be processed.

Etsy have rules about this. Extortion. You need to contact them again and quote their own rules.

If the items are not personalized I would offer that she can return them at her cost. There are laws about online selling. She is allowed to return unpersonalized items.

This is spot on

with 4000 other feedbacks I’d be tempted to say nothing/very little and wait for it to fall off the top page.

Anyone who sees 4000 positives and then multiple negatives from a single buyer will likely conclude that the negative nelly is the problem, not you.

Perhaps something like ‘Thank you for your feedback. I acknowledge your frustration but Sellers are obligated to adhere to Etsy policies. I am unable to accommodate your requested resolution at this time’

Professionally vague but with a strong implication that the buyer has been making unreasonable demands!

Excellent wording.

Exactly. Do not give up. Contact Etsy until they remove the feedback. Also report the buyer for trying to blackmail you.

eBay are great for removing unfair feedback.