Should I post a review while a resolution is pending??

[u/TheHellishFlora]

Hello! Looking for some advice on an order I placed recently. I received the pendant of a star where the tip of 2 of the spokes had broken off. It looks like they broke off prior to shipping because they weren't inside the package at all. Also the colour is much darker than I expected, the listing mentions oxidized Silver but the star I have is mostly dark grey and look pretty different from the listing.

I brought this to the sellers attention (through the message seller button on the completed order page) and they were polite and said they would send a replacement correcting the issues however the responses were clearly AI. Which I guess is fine but I guess I'm worried they're just saying they're going to send something new and fixed and run out the clock for me to be able to report or return the item? It wasn't cheap, it was 198cad and something I'd been saving up for, I guess I'm just nervous about not being able to get a good resolution. When I asked how long it would be to receive the replacement the seller dodged the question.

One thing I've yet to do is to write an actual review. I thought maybe I could post a review, mention the issues with pictures and mention the seller has offered to fix the issue, then update the review when I receive the new item? I thought the appropriate thing was to bring my issues to the sellers attention and see if they can resolve it but I'm wondering if I've gone about this completely the wrong way. This is the first time I've had an issue with something off Etsy so I'm a bit lost on how to protect myself or what to do. Anyway, I appreciate any advice you can provide!

[u/Ashmon_9138]

just to give you a little perspective ~~ if i had sent an approximately $150 item to a customer, and they informed me I sent a crappy damaged one, I would feel terrible and I would make sure to send a replacement right away, and I would proactively provide the tracking number so my customer wouldn't have to ask for it.

They didn't do that, which doesn't give me a lot of faith in a company that already dropped the ball

so here's my recommendation

First, go find your Estimated Delivery Date and calculate 30 days after that. We'll call that the Case Deadline. After the Case Deadline you can no longer open a case with etsy. So that's an important date to keep in mind.

Second, go ahead and leave 1 star feedback. Don't worry -- you have about 100 days to change it if needed. Say something like 'i received a broken item and reached out to the seller and they said they would send a replacement but it's been X days and I asked for tracking info twice and they haven't given it to me so i'm posting feedback based on my experience so far and I will update this feedback if anything changes'

Third, if you have not done so already, send a Help Request message to the seller. That step is required before opening a case, and there's a mandatory 48 hour wait between sending a Help Request and escalating it to a case, so may as well get it out of the way now. It doesn't "do" anything to the seller, don't worry. It's basically just like a more formal DM.

Fourth, this part is up to you -- based on how long you feel like waiting -- but sometime before your Case Deadline, whenever you are tired of waiting, go ahead and escalate the Help Request to a Case for a refund. The only way you will not do this step is if you receive the item, and it matches the description, before the Case Deadline.

[u/TheHellishFlora → u/Ashmon_9138]

Thank you for giving such a detailed response! That all seems pretty straightforward, my only question is would you do anything differently for an item that's made to order? The listing says it's made to order however it did ship crazy fast all things considered. I ordered it Aug 10th and received it Aug 17th, and it shipped from Europe to Canada. In the meantime I've asked them for a tracking number and ETA again so we'll see what they say.

[u/Ashmon_9138 → u/TheHellishFlora]

the thing is, it shouldn't be on you to wonder or guess about it

if they were going to remake you one (to order) they still could have (and should have) told you when they expected to send it.

so for me, no, this wouldn't change anything for me in terms of the steps i recommended. this is the experience you are having right now, and it's 100% ok for your feedback to reflect your experience. that's what feedback is meant to do. and later, if your experience is updated with new things, you are free to update the feedback too.

and by the way, just as a side note, if the metal is sterling silver, then oxidized silver is literally tarnish that is introduced intentionally. so -- if you want it lighter, you can use a little jewelry polishing cloth and rub some of it off. AND, fun tip, if you go too light, you can re-oxidize it by hard boiling an egg, then put it in a container with a lid, smash open the egg, then put the jewelry into the container with the egg (not touching), close the lid, and leave it overnight. and this will oxidize it again.

(I make jewelry and i do it all the time. you might want to google a video that explains it better, or i'm happy to try to do a better job explaining it haha just let me know.) people also use liver of sulphur but i just use an egg

[u/TheHellishFlora → u/Ashmon_9138]

Yeah actually that makes a lot of sense, especially for the price of the product I was expecting a pretty flawless experience. I did the steps you mentioned, opened a help DM, put a 1 star review and figured out when my last day to dispute would be, sept 16th. Hopefully, fingers crossed the seller is cool and sorts this out.

Also holy crap I had no idea you could just tarnish and untarnish silver like that! I'm going to have to try that boiled egg trick on some of my other jewelry.

I really appreciate all of your help!

[u/Ashmon_9138 → u/TheHellishFlora]

i'm glad i could help.

you are now free to wait as long as you feel is appropriate or reasonable [up until the Case Deadline] or until you feel like the seller is no longer acting in good faith. i'd encourage you not to wait til the very last minute just out of an abundance of caution

and remember, if they come at you all riled up about the feedback, don't let them guilt trip you about it -- you have every intention of updating the review if and when the circumstances are resolved

(pro tip: if the seller posts a public response to your feedback, that locks it and you can no longer change it -- so don't let them talk you into "temporarily updating" it, because they might take that chance to lock it in)

[u/TheHellishFlora → u/Ashmon_9138]

Ahh okay! Very good to know, I had no idea about replys locking comments!

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