Review Guidelines and Eligibility

 

1. PURPOSE & SCOPE

These Customer Review Guidelines explain how reviews are collected, moderated, stored, and displayed across all Archies Footwear websites and sales channels globally.

They apply to customers in all regions where Archies Footwear operates, including but not limited to  Australia, New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Canada.

Our goal is to ensure that customer reviews are handled in a transparent, fair, and consistent way worldwide, while helping customers make informed purchasing decisions, complying with applicable consumer protection laws, and maintaining trust in our review platform.

2. WHO CAN LEAVE A REVIEW

  • All customers who make a purchase from Archies Footwear are invited to leave a review.

  • Review invitations are sent without pre-screening or filtering based on predicted sentiment, prior ratings, or customer profile data.

  • Reviews may be labelled as "Verified Buyer" when the reviewer's order number or purchase email can be matched to a confirmed Archies order in our system.

  • Only reviews that can be matched to a confirmed purchase will be published. Reviews that cannot be verified against an order will not be displayed.

3. AUTHENTICITY & FAKE REVIEWS

  • Reviews published on our sites are intended to reflect genuine customer experiences.

  • We do not create, solicit, purchase, or publish fake, fabricated, or AI-generated reviews or testimonials that present themselves as real customer feedback.

  • Reviews submitted by employees, contractors, or their immediate family members must clearly disclose their relationship to Archies Footwear.

  • We reserve the right to remove or withhold reviews that are reasonably believed to be fake, generated by bots, submitted by competitors, or posted by individuals without a genuine customer experience.

4. REVIEW MODERATION STANDARDS

Archies Footwear is committed to fair, transparent, and consistent review practices. Reviews are not hidden, suppressed, delayed, or removed based on star rating, sentiment, or commercial impact.

4.1 Grounds for Moderation or Removal

A review may be edited, redacted, or not published only where it contains one or more of the following:

  • Offensive, abusive, hateful, threatening, or otherwise unlawful content

  • Personal or sensitive information (including phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses, or financial details).

  • Spam, promotional material, or content unrelated to the product or customer experience

  • Content that is demonstrably false, fabricated, misleading, or submitted without a genuine customer experience.

  • Reviews that contain content primarily relating to other brands, products, or businesses, where such content is not reasonably necessary to describe the customer’s direct experience with the Archies product.

  • Reviews that include promotional, advertising, referral, or comparative marketing statements relating to other brands, including discount codes, links, or calls to action.

4.2 Medical and Therapeutic Claims

Archies Footwear does not make medical or therapeutic claims. Customer reviews reflect individual experiences only.

Reviews may be published where customers describe personal comfort, relief, or wellbeing, including references to health professional recommendations expressed as the customer’s own experience.

Reviews may be redacted or escalated where they state or imply that the product:

  • Diagnoses, treats, cures, or prevents a medical condition

  • Has clinical or therapeutic effectiveness

  • Is medically approved or clinically proven

  • Provides guaranteed health outcomes

4.3 Examples of Medical and Therapeutic Claims

Permitted (Published):

  • “These are really comfortable and supportive.”

  • “My feet feel much better wearing these.”

  • “Helped with my foot pain after long days.”

  • “I can walk longer without discomfort.”

  • “My physio recommended I try these and they’ve been great.”

  • “My podiatrist suggested Archies and I find them very comfortable.”

  • “My doctor mentioned these as an option and they work well for me.”

Not Permitted (Not Published):

  • “These cure plantar fasciitis.”

  • “These treat foot conditions.”

  • “Clinically proven to reduce pain.”

  • “Medically approved footwear.”

  • “Doctors recommend Archies to fix foot problems.”

  • “Guaranteed relief for foot pain.”

  • “These shoes prevent injuries.”

4.4 Incentivised Reviews

Archies Footwear may invite customers to leave a review in exchange for an incentive, such as a discount code or loyalty points. Incentives are never conditional on a positive rating or a particular sentiment, and are offered equally regardless of the review submitted. Where a review is known to be incentivised, this will be disclosed alongside the review where technically possible.

5. FAIR PUBLICATION & DISPLAY

  • Positive and negative reviews are treated equally.

  • Reviews are processed and published within the same general timeframe regardless of rating or sentiment.

  • Our default review sorting is based on objective criteria such as “Most Recent” or “Most Helpful.”

  • We do not artificially promote positive reviews or suppress negative ones.

  • We do not manipulate star ratings, helpful votes, or engagement metrics.

  • Product pages are designed to show a representative mix of customer experiences related to the product. 

6. TRANSLATION & LOCALISATION

  • Some reviews may be translated for display using automated tools.

  • Translated reviews are clearly labelled as such.

  • Moderation decisions are based on the original-language content.

  • Translations are intended to reflect the original meaning and sentiment of the review and must not materially alter its substance.

7. AI TOOLS & AUTOMATION

  • We may use automated tools to assist with review moderation, summarising review sentiment, or generating draft responses.

  • Where AI-generated summaries or replies are shown publicly, this will be clearly disclosed.

  • All AI-assisted moderation and response tools operate under human oversight.

  • We do not use customer reviews to train external AI models without explicit customer consent.

8. RESPONDING TO REVIEWS

When we reply to reviews, we aim to be professional, empathetic, and helpful.

Our responses will not:

  • Make misleading promises or guarantees

  • Confirm medical diagnoses or therapeutic outcomes

  • Pressure customers to change or remove a review

Where appropriate, we may invite customers to contact our support team for further assistance.

9. QUESTIONS, APPEALS & REPORTING

  • If you believe your review was not published or was edited in error, you are welcome to contact our Customer Support team.

  • We will review moderation decisions upon request.

  • Customers may also report reviews they believe are fake, misleading, or non-compliant with these guidelines.

10. PRIVACY & DATA HANDLING

  • When you submit a review, we collect and process personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

  • Reviews may be displayed publicly and may be visible to other customers globally.

  • Your use of our review platform is subject to our Website Terms of services.

For more information about how we handle personal data, your rights, and how our services are governed, please refer to:

  • Privacy Policy

  • Website Terms of service.

11. UPDATES TO THESE GUIDELINES

These guidelines may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in our processes, technology, or legal requirements. The latest version will always be available on our website.

12. DISCLAIMER

Customer reviews reflect individual opinions and experiences. While we do not verify every factual claim within reviews, we are committed to presenting feedback fairly and without manipulation.