Hypothetical situation & Feedback

[q5e]

I have been listening to all regarding New feedback system.
To some feedback is more important than to others.

My feelings are...that Feedback is critical especially for higher priced items.
Customers want to feel comfort for the purchase they are about to embark in.
Many sellers have worked hard to establish a solid reputation, receive endorsements and referrals.
Many have stated, that lower than 99% rating is unacceptable.

Hypothetical situation ...

Good Day,

Just received my item.
Although I like what I received, I am not altogether thrilled with it.
I feel it's not quite worth what I paid.
I'm not sure if I wish to keep it or send item back, as there is a cost to ship back.
Before I make a decision and place my feedback, I thought I would contact you first in an effort to resolve this dilemma.

best regards,
BUYER

As you can see there is no threat implied and buyer can defend themselves by stating simply that they are attempting to come to a settlement.
Under normal circumstances sellers would try and work out the issue.

But what happens if this course of action becomes the norm?

So you wanna hold your ground and say ...
Sorry to hear, our terms are clearly outlined feel free to return as stated.
Then get Neg'd or maybe a positive with low DSR rating?

or do you give in?
And say ... what's wrong and how much less to satisfy you?

OK ALL ...How would you handle this?

[weedsellit4u]

Hi g5e,
Since the dilemma is really his, I would put it back in his lap by telling him something like "As stated in our listings that upon receiving his returned item in its original condition we will issue a full refund less the shipping charges. The choice is your of course, thanks and come again."

By doing so it is reminding him of what he agreed too in the first place from your TOS in your listing and you have also responded in a professional manner leaving the options open to him. And your have documentation if things escalate.

You can't worry about feedback or DSR's as in reality they are now meaningless within the new system IMHO.

I would also forward the buyers request to eBay as bad buyer behavior as it is filled with innuendo and threats. eBay says they will be more aggressive with bad buyer behavior so we need to hold them to their word.

Gehres

[recped]

OK ALL ...How would you handle this?

I'm sorry to hear you are disappointed, I can accept a return under the following conditions:

Widget must be returned in the original condition (unopened if applicable). Once the widget is returned and examined a refund of the purchase price less eBay fees will be given. Shipping charges will not be refunded.

Regards
xxxxxx

would also forward the buyers request to eBay as bad buyer behavior as it is filled with innuendo and threats. eBay says they will be more aggressive with bad buyer behavior so we need to hold them to their word.

This is a hypothetical situation but you're a little over the top.

[comics-rock]

eBay says they will be more aggressive with bad buyer behavior so we need to hold them to their word.

lol, your full of it...if you really do believe that you really must be pulling a paystub from ebay!!!

[comics-rock]

...this is getting silly and is causing a lot of upset...for those of you who think these changes will make for a better ebay need to think again!!!

[futuretech_liquidations]

The whole look at our terms and conditions section has no meaning at all - both eBaY and especially PP will do what they want. eBaY's view is that as a seller you should be prepared to accept returns no matter what the reason - similiar to brick and mortar stores that offer 30days unconditional satisfaction guarantee.

No obviously these retail outlets will not accept back something that has obviously been damaged and/or misused /warranty seals broken. Otherwise for the most part they will take the item back.

Sears Canada will even take an item back without a receipt but they limit the refund to 30% of then current pricing for the item.

Anyhow, this whole new era that we are entering into (whether we like it or not) will force alot of sellers to change their business practices. The part-time casual seller will have some much tougher rules to follow and that is good to hear.

Those of us sellers that are truly trying to build a business on eBaY will have to make some hard changes to the way we deal with our customers - both good and bad ones.

Complaining and whining about the changes will do nothing but fill your head with negative thoughts which inturn will distract you from thinking about how to adapt and what changes you need to make to survive and grow your business.

I for one have stopped reading the negative comments and have focused on thinking about what changes we need to make and what we can do to distract buyers from leaving negative feedbacks. More importantly, how to improve our shipping / delivery timeframes which are very low despite buyers stating fast shipment.

MY one main worry is that I do not trust eBaY. I think they have way to much control over what we see and what we do not see - the whole DSR rating is questionable.

How many positives does it take to get your score to rise a half-percentage?

How many positives does it take to make up for one negative?

Why is it that you can have pages and pages and pages of positive yet your score never changes?

It's about time eBaY puts it in writing that for example 100 positives and your score increases 1/2 percentage or 1 percent and that 1 negative will cost you 1 or 100 positives - whatever the numbers are - just post the freaken numbers so we know and we can measure it ourselves.

Just my thoughts, now back to figuring out our shipping time/deliver dilemma.

Cheers,

Tim @ FTL

[nxtdriver]

Considering it was bought at an auction, buyers have to take into account the max $$ they are willing to spend on an item before they place a bid. Its easy to get carried away in the final 30 seconds of an auction where the price rises rapidly. If this person wants a refund because they feel they paid too much, I'd say "tough luck for you pal, you bid on an item you obviously felt like you had to have" and leave it at that. Since this is not a retail store, why should we be accomodating to people who probably do this daily at the retail stores??

[coxengines]

Tim,

I believe that you are on the right track with your thoughts.

Lots of whining going on recently. I, for one, focus on what I have and what I can do to build on such. The past and what I don't have are a complete moot point.

As for the numbers, that's nothing that eBay controls. The results are purely a mathematical equation and based entirely on the principles of mathematics.

I'll see if I can find you a program for calculating this.

Xena

[margeo29]

I had a buyer just the other day threatening me with a negative because he felt I charged too much for shipping. So I paid $10.50 refund on shipping to avoid a negative. The ironic part is that he is a seller. I do have a 100% refund policy which includes shipping both ways and I have only had to refund a buyer once.
I have two negatives that; one retaliatory negative from non payer and from a buyer who Canada post lost the item, they received the item 60 days later and would not answer emails to have negative removed and eBay would do nothing about it. THE FEEDBACK SYSTEM IS NOT A FAIR SYSTEM FOR HONEST LONG TERM SELLERS. SELLERS ARE TREATED LIKE SECOND CLASS CITIZENS ON EBAY EVEN IF YOU ARE A POWER SELLER. The crooks couldn't care less they grab as much money as they can and run and those of us who support eBay for years are no appreciated by eBay.

[westernstargifts]

Why is it that you can have pages and pages and pages of positive yet your score never changes?

As for the numbers, that's nothing that eBay controls. The results are purely a mathematical equation and based entirely on the principles of mathematics.

Why did my FB show 99.8 with my id while for a month or more it showed 99.9 every time I logged into this board?

I just logged in now and it shows 100 here but not with my user id. I don't get it.