eBay

jt-libra · ‎01-06-2020

I've learned my lesson. I won't be selling next Christmas, if at all in late 2020.

The past two years, I've sold about 20% of what I usually sold over the years, so I was happy to have some nice sales in early to mid-December. Large items I shipped with tracking and smaller, less expensive items were shipped untracked, both within Canada and to the U.S. I let the buyers know whether or not their items would arrive by Christmas and they were fine with that. But now, it's been close to three weeks since some of my U.S. buyers have made purchases, and that's unacceptable to me, even in light of the holidays. I'm in the process of sending refunds to them .... not because I have to but because I feel bad that they've been so patient and understanding. It has never taken this long in previous years.

Even within Canada, I've waited several days longer than usual for parcels from big companies, like the Bay, Costco, etc., who are usually very speedy. I guess the Post Offices and other shipping companies were not prepared or were not willing to hire additional staff.

This is terrible! I feel it is a stain on my reputation as a seller.

teenytrinkets · ‎01-09-2020

As long as Small Packet Air is noted as the shipping method in the listing, there will be a note saying it's not trackable.

Incidentally, ALL packages shipping USPS come with a tracking number, but aren't insured (that's a couple bucks extra, so's a signature). The only thing not trackable is letter mail. Letter mail needs to be sent registered to be tracked, which is an extra $4, but includes signature.

teenytrinkets · ‎01-09-2020

I have a buyer that opened a case and asked for a refund at exactly the 10 business day mark. Shipped Small Packet Air just before Xmas. Oh yeah, that doesn't smell fishy....sigh.....

I've updated the case with the "UR" tracking number. It's showing the tracking number doesn't exist. Buyer didn't even bother to look up that number - she's insisting on a refund - now.

I sent a photo of the package (along with the $11.75 postage I paid) and said, "This is what it looks like - please keep an eye out for it. It's coming from Canada and could be stuck at customs because of holiday volume. If it doesn't arrive by next week, please let me know! Thank you!"

If she still insists on a refund now, and I don't comply promptly, I fear negative feedback. I wish there was a way of classifying this as feedback extortion- as we all know it's implied every single time a buyer demands a refund for an untracked item. Ah well, all part of selling....

travis7s · ‎01-09-2020

Yeah, thats a tough one when you have an impatient buyer. I tend to lean towards risking the feedback because if it eventually shows as delivered you can probably get the feedback removed if you call in.

In the future it may be better to just use the generic Economy or Standard Intl shipping option because that gives you a longer time before they can open an INR case. (but still ship with Small Packet)

jt-libra · ‎01-10-2020

I sold something recently on my other selling account and, as I noted above, I entered the shipping date in the tracking area .... after I had already sent my standard detailed e-mail about shipping and delivery times. I quickly got a message back from him ... he was quite upset. I don't understand, he said, there's no tracking number, just a shipping date. What's going on???? eBay says that all parcels have to have a tracking number. I replied that this wasn't true and that he needn't worry. He said, well then I'm going to have to cancel, which I was happy to do.

============================

I mentioned the above in an earlier post. Today I saw that the buyer had left me the following negative feedback .... my first one.

A real smart a doesn't provide tracking number which is required liar about ship

Boy oh boy, oh boy ... there are some nasty people out there. All this about a $9.95 item.

jt-libra · ‎01-11-2020

One thing I learned and perhaps most of you know this:

I thought that a person who cancels a transaction could not leave negative feedback. I talked to an eBay CSR who said this is true only if the buyer changes his mind and requests a cancellation. This transaction did not qualify because it pertained to an "issue" -- the buyer had every right to receive assurance that his package would arrive. Without obtaining a tracking number, he did not have that assurance.

That makes me a liar and a crook in his eyes .... sigh!!

pjcdn2005 · ‎01-11-2020

I would try and talk to another car. Ebay doesn’t require tracking numbers so a buyer cancelling because there is no tracking has just changed their mind....there was no issue. It’s one thing to cancel because they are uncomfortable about no tracking but it’s just ignorant to leave a negative about it.

jt-libra · ‎01-11-2020

The first person I talked to thought that feedback should not have been allowed, but she wasn't sure and passed me on to her supervisor. He was polite but not sympathetic in the least (didn't acknowledge that the feedback was harsh) and said that, yes, it is not mandatory to ship with tracking, but a buyer is well within his rights to expect it .... no ifs, ands or buts.

goldnideas · ‎01-11-2020

Agreed! I shipped with tracking on Dec 19th to BC, it is still in transit ... unbelievable. Canada post was not able to provide any information.

femmefan1946 · ‎01-11-2020

@zee-chan

Yes, demographics certainly come into it. Look at the shrieking and hysterics over all those cancelled sneaker orders last fall.

For those who missed it, a company (Reebok?) accidentally uploaded pairs of $100+ sneakers at $1.
The sneakerheads (young and male) rushed in, the company noticed -- we're talking about thousands of orders in a few hours-- cancelled all the orders and persuaded eBay to remove the again shrieking and hysterical feedback about being unable to buy what was pretty obviously an error by some fat-fingered clerk.

I suspect women would have been more polite, disappointed but not suffering to the point of PTSD.

@teenytrinkets

If she still insists on a refund now, and I don't comply promptly, I fear negative feedback.

Meh.

Feedback is not used by eBay to measure your account. Nor are DSRs.

They look ugly, but most buyers never look at feedback only at the percentage, and apparently, from the number of big-box sellers with low FB scores, are perfectly happy with a 95% score.

And you will still be well above that.

The very few who read the FB, can see you have many happy customers, and she is an outlier. If the FB also gives a weird reason (like the "tracking is mandatory") you may even go up in the estimation of smart buyers.

You are allowed to leave a Response to FB.

Don't.

teenytrinkets · ‎01-12-2020

But don't you list your shipping as Small Packet Air or Lettermail - which is identified as Not Trackable? Therefore, why should a buyer expect it (according to that supervisor) when it's clearly spelled out that it's not provided in the listing? That's the buyer's fault for not reading properly, then their decision to cancel based on their own mistake and therefore feedback should be removed.

I have plenty of US buyers that are flabbergasted that Canada ships without tracking. I explain that it's still very expensive, and yet still the cheapest option. I usually send a copy of the receipt and a picture of the Parcel and that usually shuts them up. Only once have I been accused of lying and graciously took that jab and refunded. Had I known about the "UR" number back then, it would've been golden....

pjcdn2005 · ‎01-12-2020

I’m so sorry! That doesn’t make sense to me. I realize that neither life nor business is always fair but this is definitely not fair. The buyer asked to cancel and you complied. He wasn’t cancelling because you changed the shipping cost or because you told him the description was wrong ...I can see eBay allowing a negative for that. He wanted to cancel for something that is nor required by eBay or promised in the listing. In the past ebay has removed negatives because the buyer was unhappy that the seller hadn’t left feedback. Since feedback is voluntary, like tracking, the feedback was removed.

tyler@ebay Sorry to bother you but in a situation like this would it be worthwhile for a seller to ask cs on Facebook or twitter to look into removing the feedback?

pjcdn2005 · ‎01-12-2020

Buyers in another country don’t know what comes with the different services. Heck, some sellers and buyers in this country don’t even know. I sent an item from Alberta to Ontario recently...postage was $2.79 via lettermail and the buyer asked for the tracking number.

Americans are used to everything having tracking so I can understand why they assume that there will be one but generally when it was explained why there isn’t one, they understand. If their item is not received within ebays specified eta they are within their rights to open a claim although I would hope that they would wait a bit longer first.

jt-libra · ‎01-12-2020

But don't you list your shipping as Small Packet Air or Lettermail - which is identified as Not Trackable? Therefore, why should a buyer expect it (according to that supervisor) when it's clearly spelled out that it's not provided in the listing?

I do, yes, but evidently that doesn't make a difference. There were many messages back and forth with the buyer about tracking numbers. I told him how expensive it was to ship with tracking from Canada and that a 9.95 DVD did not warrant a $13.00 shipping charge. He said that he didn't realize the item was located in Canada. I have Canadian in my user name and asked him if he hadn't noticed that. Throughout this messaging, however, he remained civil, but then turned around and called me a liar and and said I didn't follow eBay policy. I can live with the negative feedback, even though it wasn't warranted, and it isn't the end of the world, but the nastiness was very disheartening.

zee-chan · ‎01-12-2020

I'll probably add a follow up to that negative saying something like: Shipment shipped with small packet air as noted in listing. Buyer did not request for trackable shipping upon payment.

tyler@ebay · ‎01-13-2020

@pjcdn2005 wrote:

I’m so sorry! That doesn’t make sense to me. I realize that neither life nor business is always fair but this is definitely not fair. The buyer asked to cancel and you complied. He wasn’t cancelling because you changed the shipping cost or because you told him the description was wrong ...I can see eBay allowing a negative for that. He wanted to cancel for something that is nor required by eBay or promised in the listing. In the past ebay has removed negatives because the buyer was unhappy that the seller hadn’t left feedback. Since feedback is voluntary, like tracking, the feedback was removed.

tyler@ebay Sorry to bother you but in a situation like this would it be worthwhile for a seller to ask cs on Facebook or twitter to look into removing the feedback?

Thanks for the tag @pjcdn2005 - in this particular instance I don't think that it's worthwhile asking CS to review again**. While the buyer definitely seemed confused about the shipping service being used, and incorrect about the requirements of tracking, the feedback forum itself isn't something we fact-check.

Not sure if this helps or just adds salt to the wound, but our Help Pages on .com do mention that some items aren't shipped with tracking (link here). I'm not sure if that would help with a buyer like this in the future, but wanted to give you as much ammunition as possible!

**There's a chance the feedback left violates the profanity policy, but that applies to comment only, not the rating itself. If it was a violation the comment would be removed but the negative would stay. Not sure if it's worth the effort, but wanted to put it out there.

Tyler,

teenytrinkets · ‎01-13-2020

If the feedback a buyer leaves for a seller isn't fact- checked when a seller calls in to to report it unwarranted, then it's an effin free-for-all. While I understand there's strict criterion to follow for CSRs and feedback removal, each complaint should be dealt with via a FACT CHECK.

This is a very disappointing statement, indeed...

jt-libra · ‎01-13-2020

Thanks pj for reaching out to Tyler on my behalf. I appreciate it. And thank you tyler@ebay for your comments. A few days have passed, so I've been able to put it behind me!

needsmorerobots · ‎02-28-2020

I would've done the same thing in your place. It's just the way I feel about my customers. I don't have to refund them but I would if it came down to it. My solution to you is do what I did this past Christmas (if you have the time), add a notice to each one of your listings informing the buyers about possible delays due to the holiday rush.

And over the holidays I received my packages fine (both from in and outside North America) but when I shipped them off, there were two packages that made me sweat (one to the US and one to Canada). I'm from Vancouver Island, someone mentioned earlier the news of an employee from the PO who was on vacation and had no replacement. This could've been the why for me.