When One Star Feels Like a Thousand Bricks

The hidden cost of a single star!

Every review is a piece of the pattern.

Running a small business is hard. Really hard.

Mine is so small that at times I joke it hardly qualifies as a side hustle, except it’s not a side hustle at all. It’s a primary source of income.

I teach longarm quilting, design computerized quilting patterns and more recently I’ve dipped my toes into surface designs for fabric and stationery. Most of my sales come from across the Atlantic. I live in the UK but my customers are primarily in the U.S so I’m a small fish in a very big pond, on the other side of the pond.

I sell digital download patterns - pantographs - via Etsy. And if you’ve ever tried selling on Etsy, you know it’s… well, strange.

Sometimes sales trickle in steadily. Other times it’s crickets for days, followed by a single sale here and there. The platform feels needy, as if it rewards you only when you give it constant attention. Ignore it and you vanish. Feed it and you get a little visibility. I’ve learned to dance with the algorithm over the last couple of years and my sales have grown because of it.

And with sales, of course, come reviews.

Recently, I hit a milestone: my 100th review. I should have celebrated. But instead, it nearly broke me - because that 100th review was a one-star rating.

A Star That Stings

I’ll pause here for a note to self: don’t read reviews before your morning coffee.

Because the moment I saw that “1,” it felt like a thousand bricks landed on my chest.

As a consumer, I completely understand the power of reviews. I rely on them when making my own purchases. Buyers have every right to share their experience, it’s part of how online shopping works. But here’s the difference: I don’t sell mass-produced goods. I sell designs I’ve created myself. Each pattern represents hours of thought, testing, tweaking, and refining.

I want my patterns to make life easier for longarmers, more efficient, more beautiful. They’re personal to me.

So when a review is negative, it’s not just about the product. It feels like it’s about me.

And it stings even more when the criticism isn’t actually about the product but about a buyer misunderstanding what they purchased. I do my best to write clear descriptions. I provide advice, links, and alternatives when available. And yet sometimes, no matter how carefully I word things, a buyer skims, or skips the description.

That’s what happened with my 100th review. The buyer left a comment that made it clear they hadn’t chosen the product that fit their needs. And so the question lingers: is that my fault? Their fault? Nobody’s fault?

I don’t blame them. Instead, I find myself rethinking how I can make my descriptions even clearer. Reviews are supposed to help buyers make better decisions and help sellers improve their offerings. But when that review also damages your livelihood, it’s a much heavier burden.

When Stars Decide Sales

Etsy pays a lot of attention to reviews. Too much attention, really.

If your average star rating dips below a certain point, sales can plummet. Etsy hides your work from potential buyers. It doesn’t matter how good your designs are, it’s about that average.

For over three years, my shop had only five-star reviews. Then this year, starting in January, I received two two-star ratings and another around Spring. They dragged my average down and my sales with it. It took nearly five months of clawing my way back before Etsy finally rewarded me with “Star Seller” status again on August 1st.

I thought I could breathe again.

In the first 16 days of August, I made more sales than in June and July combined. Proof that the badge and the algorithm really do matter.

And then, this morning, came the one-star review.

I already know what it means: next month, I’ll lose Star Seller status again. My visibility will shrink. My sales will dry up. All the work of the past five months gone in a single click.

It’s exhausting. And it makes me wonder: do I have the energy to keep fighting?

Not Dead, Just Defeated

I try to stay positive. Truly, I do.

I respond to every review, good or bad. I reach out with help, suggestions, or troubleshooting but so far, not one of those negative buyers has responded. They’ve moved on. They’ve found someone else to buy from and that’s ok.

What hurt the most this time is that my one-star reviewer wasn’t just a customer, they’re also an Etsy seller, running a small business just like me. I truly hope they continue to receive five-star ratings. Because I know how fragile this ecosystem is.

The Reality of Negative Reviews

Here’s the truth I’ve learned: negative reviews don’t just bruise your ego. They hurt your bottom line.

They change how platforms treat you. They shift your visibility, your sales, your sense of worth. And they remind you that when you’re a small business owner, you’re never just selling a product, you’re putting a piece of yourself out into the world.

A single star can feel like a thousand bricks.

And yet here I am, still standing. Bruised, yes. Defeated, sometimes. But not dead.

And that, I think, is the real story.

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