Etsy's anti-shilling policy strictly prohibits offering any incentive — a discount, freebie, upgrade, or refund — in exchange for a review, and the FTC's Consumer Reviews Rule backs this with real penalties of up to $53,088 per violation. Never ask for a "5-star" or "positive" review specifically. Every template above asks only for honest feedback — that's not a style choice, it's the only compliant version.
To get reviews on Etsy, deliver exactly what the listing promised, then send one short, polite message through Etsy Messages about a week after delivery or download asking for honest feedback. Never offer a discount, freebie or refund for a review, and never ask for five stars specifically.
Why reviews matter on Etsy
Reviews do two jobs. They persuade the next buyer — a listing with a few honest reviews converts better than one with none — and they feed into your shop's record, which Etsy weighs when ranking listings. Etsy's Star Seller badge also looks at reviews alongside messaging and delivery.
Most buyers never leave a review unprompted. That is not a reason to pressure them; it is a reason to make leaving one easy and to ask at the right moment.
Etsy's review rules in one table
| Rule | What it means for sellers | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 100-day window | Buyers can review for 100 days from delivery, or from first download for digital items | Etsy Help |
| No incentives | No discount, freebie, upgrade or refund in exchange for a review | Etsy policy; FTC Consumer Review Rule |
| No rating requests | Ask for honest feedback, never for "5 stars" or "a positive review" | Etsy policy; FTC rule |
| Keep it on Etsy | Ask through Etsy Messages, not by email or social media | Etsy messaging policy |
| Public replies | You may respond to reviews; replies are visible to every shopper | Etsy Help |
| Recency weighting | Recent reviews count more; each year a review's weight halves | Etsy Help |
Checked against Etsy's Help Centre in October 2026. The FTC penalty figure is the 2026 maximum per violation.
Insight: Because digital reviews open only after the buyer downloads the file, a delivery problem hides reviews you would otherwise get. If buyers message that they cannot find the file, send them to Etsy's Purchases page — the download link lives there — and the review button appears once they use it.
When to send each message
The generator writes five messages. Timing matters more than wording:
| Message | When | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Thank-you note | Right after purchase | Goodwill and practical help — where to download, how to print. No request. |
| Review request | About a week after download or a few days after delivery | One polite ask for honest feedback |
| Gentle follow-up | 10–14 days after the request, only if no review | Once only. Then stop. |
| Reply to a positive review | Within a few days of the review | Thanks, in your voice, visible to future buyers |
| Reply to a critical review | After you have tried to fix the problem | Calm, factual, solution-focused |
What makes buyers actually leave reviews
- A product that matches the listing. Most negative reviews of digital products are surprises: wrong size, fewer pages than expected, a Canva template when the buyer wanted a PDF. Say exactly what is included.
- An easy first use. Include a one-page "start here" file with print settings or setup steps. A buyer who succeeds in five minutes is a buyer who reviews.
- A personal thank-you. A short note inside the download — a page at the end of the PDF — reminds buyers who made it, at the moment they are using it.
- One well-timed request. Not three. One message a week after download, asking for honest feedback, outperforms repeated nudges.
- Fast replies to problems. A buyer whose question was answered within a day is far more likely to review kindly than one who waited.
Digital and physical orders need different timing
A physical buyer's review window opens on the delivery date, so the request should follow delivery by a few days — long enough to unpack and use the item. A digital buyer's window opens when they download, which may be minutes after purchase or weeks later. For digital orders, the thank-you note should make the download easy to find; the review request should wait until about a week after the purchase, when most buyers have downloaded and tried the file.
An example review request
For a printable planner, a week after download:
Hi Sam — thank you again for ordering the Budget Planner. I hope the first month's pages printed well. If you have a moment, an honest review on your Purchases page helps other buyers decide whether it suits them, and it tells me what to improve. If anything didn't work as expected, reply here and I'll sort it out. — Priya
It works because it is short, mentions the actual product, points to where reviews are left, asks for honesty rather than a rating, and offers help first. The generator above writes variations of this for your product.
What not to do
- No "review for a discount" offers, even framed as a thank-you. The incentive is the problem, not the wording.
- No asking only happy buyers. Selecting who gets a request based on how you expect them to review is review manipulation under the FTC rule.
- No moving the conversation off Etsy to ask by email or Instagram.
- No arguing in public replies. A defensive reply costs more future sales than the review itself.
- No messages to people who have not bought asking them to review.
Replying to a critical review
A good reply has three parts and stays under about 60 words:
- Thank them for taking the time to write.
- Acknowledge the specific problem without blaming — "the A5 pages printed small on US Letter paper".
- State the fix — "I've added a US Letter version to the download and messaged you the link."
Then fix the listing so the next buyer does not hit the same problem. A critical review that leads to a clearer listing is worth more than it costs.
When a review breaks the rules
Some reviews are not really about your product — a review meant for another shop, one that shares private information, or abusive language. Etsy staff can remove reviews that violate its policies; use Report this Review under the review and explain which rule it breaks. Removed reviews cannot be restored, and Etsy does not remove a review simply because it is negative or you disagree with it. For anything else, a calm public reply is the better tool.
Build a listing that earns good reviews
Reviews follow accurate listings. Write a clear title with the Etsy title generator, a description that states files, sizes and page counts with the Etsy description generator, and check the whole listing with the Etsy listing optimization checklist. Shop policies and privacy wording come from the Etsy privacy policy generator, and the full setup is in how to sell digital products on Etsy.
Etsy Reviews: Frequently Asked Questions
100 days. For physical items the window starts on the delivery date or estimated delivery date; for digital items it starts when the buyer downloads the file. A buyer who never downloads a digital file cannot review it.
No. Offering anything of value — a discount, a freebie, an upgrade or a refund — in exchange for a review breaks Etsy's rules, and the US FTC's Consumer Review Rule allows civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation for incentives tied to review sentiment.
Yes, if you ask for honest feedback, keep it to the order, and send it through Etsy Messages. One request and at most one follow-up is the polite limit; repeated messages read as pressure and can lead to complaints.
After the buyer has used the product. For a printable or planner, about a week after download; for a physical item, a few days after delivery. Asking on the day of purchase gets ignored because there is nothing to review yet.
Your shop rating is a recency-weighted average of all your star ratings. Recent reviews count more, and each year a review's weight is halved, so a run of good recent orders lifts a rating faster than an old bad review drags it down.
Briefly and calmly, yes. Thank the buyer, acknowledge the problem without arguing, and say what you did or will do to fix it. Future buyers read the reply more closely than the review.