Recently, I’ve been seeing an increase in Etsy forum postings regarding neutral feedback. These posts are generally from those who have received neutral feedback with no descriptive text associated with it. These posters are also generally upset that they have been given neutral feedback without having been contacted by the seller to resolve an issue first. While I have never left neutral feedback for a seller either on Etsy nor anyplace else, I find it mildly perplexing that sellers seem to get so bent out of shape over this. As such, I thought I’d put forth my views and see if there are others who see it like I do.

In the online world of feedback, I’ve always looked at the three tiers like this:

Positive - The experience was slightly above what I expected to fantastically above what I expected.

Neutral - The experience was exactly what I expected. Seller did as seller set an expectation for.

Negative - Seller failed to meet the expectation that they set in some way.

If I promise that an item is put into bubble wrap and sent priority mail and that’s what happens and nothing else then I would expect a neutral response (unless the buyer is conditioned to negative experiences) because the buyer expected nothing more nor less and got exactly what was promised. There is no issue but there’s nothing necessarily to praise either. That’s what we are expected to do as sellers: deliver on what we promise. If we expect everyone to praise us for doing that, then we are living with a very self-indulgent, pampered worldview.

Look at your own experiences as a buyer. When I walk into my local grocery store because they have a coupon for fifty cents off of a package of boneless chicken breasts and they honor the coupon, I don’t go to the local press (or even my friends) and go “Wow! Fantastic store! Honored their coupon just as expected!” and give them a huge thumbs up. I pay for my purchase and leave without giving it a second thought. The grocery store also doesn’t expect to have feedback on my feelings for every purchase. Now, if I were to walk in with my coupon and they didn’t honor it, or they had raised the price of the item or didn’t have it in stock or somesuch, then I’d be upset and complain at some level, most likely to the poor cashier who had no say in the matter anyway but who gets the abuse! Neutral feedback is just that, neither positive nor negative, and as such, what comments do the sellers expect? “I got just what I expected” is exactly what neutral is!

As online sellers though, whether it be on Etsy, eBay or anywhere else, the sellers automatically adopt this need for continual positive feedback and get upset if they do not receive it. My attitude is this: if you want positive feedback, you have to work for it, just like a brick and mortar shop. You have to set expectations appropriately and then EXCEED them. If I promise that I’m going to ship priority mail within two days, I strive to ship within one day and send them a friendly shipping notice highlighting in a polite way that I have put forth the extra effort to exceed the expectation I’ve set (don’t use that wording though - it’s very offputting!). If I am using a tracking number, I provide it. I don’t mention thank you notes in my items, but I usually put one in. Again, set the appropriate expectation then exceed it. Do NOT, however, set the expectation low in order to easily exceed it or you’ll likely cost yourself the sale in the first place!

So that’s my view on neutral feedback and how to get to more positive feedback. I would like to have nothing but consistent positive feedback as well and work hard to try and ensure it, and it IS disheartening if you get a neutral, but it’s not something to be upset about. If you really want to practice what you preach, next time you make a brick and mortar purchase at a grocery store, go and give them feedback on delivering on the expectation they set. If you aren’t willing to do that, then you need to think about what you’re expecting as a seller!