When leaving feedback for a refund INR how many stars should i rate?

[bajarosie82]

In general i always like to leave positive feedback for sellers when i get a refund when i haven't received an item. I have been giving 5 stars all time time when i have been refunded for the INR. But i feel like i'm not being honest  in my feedback and it turn not leaving an accurate feedback for other potential buyers because i haven't received the item and therefore can't accurately rate it. Tonight while leaving feedback for a seller with 74 feedback that never responded to emails and for which ebay gave me a paid reimbursement because after waiting the 15 days past the last estimated delivery date and repeated attempts to contact the seller over 2 weeks time i had no choice but to open a case. So with this experience in mind i decided to mark the overall transaction as positive because i did receive a refund, but when it came to stars i wanted to rate accurately and fairly so i clicked 1 star for "item as described" and noticed the drop down menu prompting me to check specifically why i was rating 1 star. I clicked item not received.

I don't want to hurt a legit sellers DSR does giving 1 star and checking "item not received" affect their DSR or does ebay factor out the "item not described" area? In terms of this seller im inclined to think they are a scammer as they have nothing for sale now. So i don't feel so bad if i do affect them but i don't want to effect other good sellers in the future.

P.s i haven't submitted this feedback for the seller yet as im wanting to get some community advice/feedback first before i give the death star!!!

[momcqueen]

First of all, thank you for leaving feedback for sellers and also for being consciously aware of the reasons and repercussions of leaving one-star versus five-star feedback for sellers. I think I would very much like you asa  buyer.

Let me start by saying that when you select a positive or neutral or negative dot and then leave text, you are not actually obligated to also leave Detailed Seller Ratings, that is the star-rating associated with feedback.

You're right, one star is worse than zero stars. Five stars is what we all hope for.

BUT ebay changed the way it evaluates sellers and those Detailed Seller Rating one- and two-star ratings are no longer defects.

Nor are cases of Items Not Received if the seller voluntarily steps forward to settle them without the buyer having to ask ebay to step in to do it for them.

The two biggest sins a seller can commit now are to cancel an order for being out-of-stock, or sending an order that is either shipped after the stated handling time, or one that arrives late as marked by the buyer.

If it were me and I was leaving a feedback for an Item Not Received, I probably would skip the DSR on Item Description and Shipping Speed since those really don't apply. Communication can be graded still on how the seller handled the case. Shipping Cost is up to your discretion. It might turn to automatic five-stars anyway after you're refunded.

As to the dot rating (positive, neutral or negative) that would depend entirely on how the seller handled the matter of their Item Not Received case or claim. Were they still pleasant to deal with? Did they treat you well? 

Thank you for being an active ebay Feedback-leaver! 

[musicyouneed · Accepted solution]

I sent out a couple of items in November that did not arrive, I was in constant contact with the buyers, in fact I had initiated the 1st contact as the parcels were going to Australia and they were taking unusually long.  One sent early Nov and did not arrive, I refunded last week and the buyer left me positive feedback.  While another sent Nov 21 made it to Australia via Switzerland(?) on Jan 8.   Look at my 6th feedback that did not arrive and the 2nd feedback that did.  Also one of the parcels I sent to Spain didn't arrive, I refunded and they also left positive feedback.  I was in constant contact with them and I believe that the items did get lost.  They were confident that I was going to refund them if the item never showed up.  Hopefully if the item does show up they will show the same to me and contact me so I can re invoice them.

Now in your case:  The fact that the seller never responded to emails and the fact that ebay paid you not the seller, I wouldn't give positive feedback at all.  I probably wouldn't give any thing.  

If I really needed to leave FB, I would leave a neutral or negative saying:  Never received item, did not respond to emails, ebay stepped in and refunded.  This will warn potential buyers that there is a problem.    

I wouldn't rate the DSR, except for communication and I would rate that 1.

Good luck with what ever you choose to do. 

[momcqueen]

That's very true: a transaction that goes south due to factors beyond our control can still be salvaged by good communication and that lays pretty much in the hands of the seller. If the buyer doesn't feel the need to be fearful they'll be ripped off or face undue stress to fix the problem, it can still be a relatively positive experience for them even though it didn't turn out the way it was supposed to end. Honest and open two-way communication is key to that. 

When, as a seller, I have found that I messed up something, I have been immediately honestly apologetic and conscientious about rectifying whatever has gone wrong. I might not have been able to turn back the hands of time to fix the mistake I had made, but I could still affect the future and the resolution of that matter. If the buyer can feel confident that their seller will fix it, the experience for them is not a total loss. No buyer wants a fight on their hands to get a refund for an Item Not Received, or one that didn't match its description. And, really, they shouldn't ever have a fight on their hands over that. 

[bajarosie82]

Thanks for your reply

Wow i did not know that you could just leave the stars blank. I usually leave 5 for shipping time basing it on who fast it was shipped after payment, maybe im misunderstanding the meaning of this as i thought checking off yes or no on the "did this item arrive before the estimated date of 01/01/2017 took care actual shipping to my door time.

In regards to this specific feedback that prompted my topic the seller never responded to communications so with 2 weeks left till my MBG ran out i opened a case and waited another week (as it was over xmas and new years )and after still not getting a response i asked ebay to step in and help and of course was given a "paid reimbursement" which i understand to mean that ebay paid me back not the seller and ebay will recoup from the buyer what is owed. 

So what would you grade this seller who has zero communication and never sent the item in the first place im guessing. It ended positively because i got a refund, but i wanna give 1 star for zero lack of communication because its the truth.

[bajarosie82]

Thank you your reply answered my 2nd post question specifically

[robbwell]

Firstly, an item not received is a NEGATIVE experience with that seller ... and you should let the community know that. The seller has nothing to worry about unless it happens too often.

Secondly, after decades of receiving mail in Canada the only items of any kind of mail that never arrived have been eBay items from China.

Thirdly, I claimed a refund last week for item not received and currently have three more, at 55, 52 and 51 days, that seem to be heading into that category. I too hate to give negative but will do so even though that might hurt me. (A refund mandated by eBay does not make the experience positive.)

Fourthly, the item now late at 55 days has a posted expected delivery time of 63 days. If you wait 63 days to leave feedback, you won't be able to (after 60 days).

[momcqueen]

I hate to correct you but sellers don't deliver your items. The postal system does. If your item doesn't arrive, the seller loses more than you did. You lost money. They lost an item. If the seller voluntarily refunds you, it's unfair to punish that seller with negative feedback. If it goes to eBay for resolution, that's another matter.

[momcqueen]

You may legitimately feel you've had a negative experience but it's not necessarily the fault of the seller if you don't receive your item.

[robbwell]

---

@mjwl2006 wrote:

You may legitimately feel you've had a negative experience but it's not necessarily the fault of the seller if you don't receive your item.

---

You are assuming that the fault is with the delivery system rather than the seller not shipping. That's what we don't know. The negative rating will identify the seller if it happens too often. Only habitual non-delivery seller will be punished.

Otherwise, what's to stop a seller from a distant land from pocketing the sale price and not shipping. Many buyers will miss the opportunity to get the refund and the seller makes 100% profit rater than the usual skinny margin.

[momcqueen]

The negative rating will identify the seller for something that may or may not be their fault.

But it really doesn't matter, that negative feedback dot doesn't count as punishable by ebay, those negative ratings only serve only serve to damage a seller's online reputation and not their ability to conduct business.

What you choose to do for INRs is really your own decision. I have a different opinion of the matter as both a buyer and seller here with a decade of experience but I won't tell you what to do.

Feedback Left For Others is your own choice. What you leave is a permanent reflection of the type of buyer (or seller) that you are. Some members would say it is the most useful aspect of feedback above all. 

When paypal extended their buyer protection to 180 days (six months) form purchase date, it virtually eliminated the please-wait-and-see-scams to which your refer. I would be surprised to see any buyers being ripped off after waiting SIX MONTHS for an item to arrive. Even from the far east. Day 157 is my standing advice for filing a claim. 

[i.am.vivian]

Why 157?  Why not a round 160?  It still leaves 20 more on the end.  

[momcqueen]

It's the randomness that makes it great. Plus, the buyer still has time to dicker with the seller if that type of thing floats your boat. If you leave it until the last day, there's always the danger of a miscounted second in time invalidating it.

[i.am.vivian]

Oh I agree, I wouldn't recommend leaving it till the last.  But on 180 days I'd just wondered why 157.  Still a good  long time though.  Not like those that only wait 48 hours and don't even give the seller time to get it in the mail.  That's another policy that needs work, imo.   😠