# Ecommerce Reviews and User-Generated Content > Request honest reviews after customers can evaluate the product and disclose incentives without requiring positive sentiment. - Type: Merchant guide - Level: Intermediate - Reading time: About 6 minutes - Audience: Written for store owners, builders, and designers refining high-performance ecommerce stores. - Last updated: 2026-11-04 - Canonical page: https://academy.getzenbasket.com/merchant-questions/ecommerce-reviews-and-user-generated-content/ - Part of: [Merchant Questions](https://academy.getzenbasket.com/merchant-questions/) on ZenBasket Academy --- ## What you need to know ### When should customers be asked for reviews? Ask after the customer has received and had enough time to evaluate the product. Timing should vary for immediately usable goods, durable products, gifts and services. ### Should merchants reward customers for reviews? A merchant may reward an honest review only where permitted, without requiring positive sentiment, and with clear disclosure of the incentive. Review-platform rules may be stricter. ### Should customers be asked to upload photos or videos? Invite photos or videos when they help customers, and the upload is easy, optional, and covered by clear usage permission. Do not make media a condition for an ordinary review. ### How should review requests differ by product type? Time and phrase requests around how the product is evaluated. A consumable, fitted product, gift and durable item requires different experience periods and prompts. ### Should review requests stop after a return or refund? Usually, yes. Stop or adapt the request when the item was returned, cancelled or fully refunded, so the message does not ignore the customer's actual experience. ### How can reviews support repeat purchases? Reviews can build confidence, answer product questions, and reveal complementary needs, but follow-up recommendations should use the customer's own purchase and permission context. ### A quick store check Submit positive, negative, photo, incentivized, returned-item and employee-review cases through the moderation process. --- ## Frequently asked questions ### Should negative reviews be published? Publish genuine negative feedback unless it violates a clear moderation rule; removing criticism simply because it is unfavorable undermines trust. ### Who owns customer photos submitted with reviews? The customer retains applicable rights unless terms say otherwise; obtain clear permission for how the store may display or reuse the media. --- ## Related learning path - **Building an Ecommerce Referral Program** - **Ecommerce Win-Back Campaigns** - [ZenBasket Build Guide](https://help.getzenbasket.com/zenbasket-builder/)