Customers who get a Refund should NOT be allowed to leave NEGATIVE Feedback. It's just UNFAIR

[nss_media]

I think Ebay should change it's policy.  A while back, they changed it so that Buyers could NEver receive a negative feedback rating.  I think Sellers should be protected from Negative Feedback in the case where a refund was issued.  I think it's unfair that if a buyer gets their money back, the seller is still vulnerable to a negative comment just because someone wants to be nasty.  It's not fair for sellers. 

[pierrelebel]

A seller offers an item for $10.00 (appears to be worth much more)

Buyer buys item and pays immediately

A month later, item is not received and no communication from seller.

Buyer files with PayPal and gets a full refund. Still no word from seller.

Buyer correctly post negative feedback for seller.

Are you suggesting that this buyer should not be allowed to post negative feedback because the purchase price was refunded?

I hope not. 

The system may not be perfect but eBay should not remove buyer's ability to leave negative feedback when deserved.

[Anonymous]

Whatever for reasons for refund, the buyers should be able to leave negative feedback to their sellers if need.

Sometimes I have some problems with sellers, like never received the items and the sellers were willing to resolve in replacing items or refunds, I usually gave them positive feedback.  However, if any sellers are not willing to resolve and I had to restore by opening a dispute, then they deserved to receive the negative feedback.

It should not say "should not give negative feedback if give refund".  It depends on what situation.

If the buyers were not happy for not receiving any items or for receiving damage items due to poor packaging (it happen too often when the sellers didn't pack them well when they should have), then the buyers should give them negative feedback.  That way we can see how the sellers deal with their buyers, like poor packaging, that is when I avoid them like plague and would appreciate knowing so I don't have the similar problems.  Sorry.

[razal355]

This literally happened to me. In July - 2013

 

I bought item @ great deal (Mini-itx MB). Asked seller if item came with a least a I/O Plate as description was vague. No response.

 

Received item.  Huge dent on the side of MB.  4 bent pins.  DOA on arrival. After extensive trouble shooting.

 
Then I contacted the seller. Seller apologized for the inconvenience. Said to return item 4 a full refund. Okay so far so good right ?

 
The item roughly costed me $40.00USD & $13.00USD for shipping.  I returned @ my expense with tracking and signature @ $38.55.

 
The item is being held by USPS currently,  and guess what, its still @ USPS to this day. The seller won't bother to pick up because

 
he knew it's was DOA even before he sent it out! Also my gut tells me that he purposely gave me the wrong return address.

 
Googled map the area, all apt no single home residential homes in street view!

 

gave this individual the benefit of a the doubt. But he new he had ripped me off from the get-go and had the BALLS! To ask for  "a

 

seller requests that you revise the original Feedback you left."   ........ NOooo! You've earned the NEGATIVE FB PAL ! Lucky I can't

 
beat that person through my PC!

 
WTF? Nerve of some people after all that crap!

 
pierrelebel Was right! Its not perfect in some situations, but when this type of  happens. I for one, feel some kinda justice has

been made! Other than knocking @ his/her door!

[tassja17]

what about the people who actually didnt like it and got a refund. sure they got their money back, but they should warn others that the item might of been bad. my sister got a skirt off ebay the other week and it was dirty...

[femmefan1946]

tassja-- That is "Item Not As Described" and your sister could start a Dispute.

Her first step should be to ask the seller how he suggests resolving the problem. Be prepared to send pictures.

If the seller is not helpful, she should go to eBay and file a Dispute in the Resolution Centre.

Now here is where the problem comes in, if the seller does not refund or partially refund, eBay will tell her that she should return the item to the seller and eBay/Paypal will refund her, then go after him for the money.

However, she will be required to return the skirt to the seller with Confirmation of Delivery /tracking. Basically, within Canada that is Regular Parcel, but to the USA she is looking at Expedited USA. Neither is cheap and the seller is not required to refund her postage.

So there is a procedure in place to protect buyers (and sellers, because not all buyers are being honest either) but it may not be worth the money to complete the dispute.

Which is where negative feedback comes in. It is a tool for the unhappy buyer.

[nuvistors]

There are also the sellers who start an item at much less than they want to get and when the auction ends simply refund the buyer.

These sellers deserve a negative.

[vikki437]

It's true. ebay won't work if sellers get to decide after an item ends whether or not they are going to honor the selling price. If a seller could get off the hook simply by giving a refund, well, that obviously would create all sorts of problems.

However, having said that, the feedback system is not good. When it works well it does what it should do, warning buyers about chronically dishonest or unreliable sellers.

Unfortnately that's not all it does. 

I've been selling on ebay for more than 10 years. I have received thousands of positive feedback comments and have never received a single negative. I think I received a neutral comment once.

What bothers me is the realization that if I ever do receive a negative comment, for any reason, it will almost certainly have an undesirable inpact on my sales results. Because of this I sometimes find myself going to extraordinary and unreasonable lengths to satisfy problem customers because I'm afraid of the consequences if I don't. That's not right. I'm a good, honest, reliable seller. I shouldn't have to be afraid of what a few problem customers could do to my business.

Over the years I have seen some pretty bizarre negative comments left for other sellers. One buyer left a seller a negative comment because his package was delivered while he wasn't at home. True story. He blamed the seller for that, and ruined that seller's perfect feedback rating.

My point is, the consequences to sellers of a single, or a few, negative feedback comments can be far out of proportion with the causes for the feedback. And feedback can sometimes be left for very silly reasons. It can also be used as a tool of spite, or even manipulation.   

Sellers should also have some protection against problem buyers, especially non-paying bidders. There is none. All you can do is block them after the fact. That's not right.

Getting back to the subject of feedback, there are plenty of things that ebay could do to protect sellers. One would be to automatically remove one negative comment for every 100 positive seller comments received. I mean, really, anyone who satisfies 99% of his customers is doing a pretty good job and should be recognized as such.

[lady.stark]

---

@femmefan1946 wrote:

However, she will be required to return the skirt to the seller with Confirmation of Delivery /tracking. Basically, within Canada that is Regular Parcel, but to the USA she is looking at Expedited USA. 

---

There is also the new Tracked Packet. If the buyer use PayPal to create her return label, she will have a discount. Not much, but better than shipping it directly from Post Office.

[duskdeals]

I completely agree!!!!!  I just had a buyer get a full refund then turn around and leave me negative feedback.  My sales have pretty much stopped and I am now dealing with all kinds of ridicules cases and complaints.  It's basically ruined my eBay business (which is how I make a living right now) and as an eBay Seller I feel completely unprotected in this respect. It's definitely not fair. 😞  

[pierrelebel]

The buyer purchased the item June 22

Nearly five weeks later (July 24) he posted negative feedback claiming non receipt and no response from seller.

Is he right?  Was the refund given promptly once he claimed non-receipt?

"It's basically ruined my eBay business"

That was only a week ago.  How could it have ruined your business?

[73rhc]

I have been saying the exact same thing on another post. Please don't expect any sympathy, nor solidarity from most of the "regulars" here. They are like sheep in a herd. Keep following blindly. They buy into the eBay nonsense. They bow to the mighty ebay and buyer. Just my two cents.

[pierrelebel]

"They are like sheep in a herd. Keep following blindly.... They bow to the mighty ebay and buyer."

What is your point?

Why the need to insult everyone - including those with a lot more eBay experience than you - who does not agree with your point-of-view?

Can't you just discuss the issues instead of insulting other posters?

[73rhc]

My point is in my post. You can reread it if you like. I have discussed this in other posts and have been attacked and insulted. Because I don't share the herd mentality.

P.s. what's with the Yoda deal?

[73rhc]

Deleted

[legolovedarlene]

Thank you for posting this, it gave me the idea to contact Paypal about return shipping for a defective item.

[mikal3141]

73rhc has an anger issue. counseling will help that if he attends

[lorac_doll]

I am in the process of shipping back an item I received broken because of the sellers inept packaging. It cost me $34.00 to receive the item and the same to ship it back. So $64.00 to unwrap and ship a broken item which cost me $98.00, due to the sellers carelessness in following his own stated guideline for shipping, you bet the seller is going to get a NEGATIVE ratjng from me! Also going to be looking at local sellers from now on, lesson learned!

[reallynicestamps]

lorac-doll

Be sure to use a Delivery Confirmed service. The seller should be refunding your entire original payment including the shipping. If he does not, start a Paypal dispute to get the rest of your original payment refunded. When you give PP your DC number, the clerk checks for delivery (not shipping) and then sends your refund from PP's pockets.

Then they go after the seller for their money.

PP will not refund you the return postage. But the seller can, if she accepts that the damage was due to her error. For this reason, it is always a good idea to be polite and pleasant in discussing your disappointment. Catch more flies with honey.... as they say.

And if your seller is not in Canada, be sure to call the CBSA and ask for your sales tax and duty back on the $98.oo. You will have to show that the item has been returned to the foreign seller. They only require proof of shipping, however.

[lorac_doll]

Thank you for the tip!