Leaving Negative Feedback and then being blocked from buying/selling

[gi101010]

I bought 64 items from a seller recently, I wasn't satisfied with some of the items.

Also, seller refused to refund me for shipping charges that were calculated by ebay's automatic calculating system - I was overcharged maybe $6-$7 on a $400+ transaction so I asked them for a refund for the difference. They just ignored me.

Previous dealings with the seller in question had already made me wary of their customer service so I just kind of gave up on trying to resolve issues with them.

I must have bought well over 300 items from them and always left positive feedback even when their response to issues was borderline mediocre. This time I gave up on the hassle of trying to get them to give me back their usual $0.50 per item in response to defects that weren't described and I decided I won't shop from them anymore. 

Lo and behold, I left 4 or 5 negative feedback among 50+ positive ones and ebay has blocked me from shopping for 7 days. How is that fair? I left positive feedback for the items that were described, gave them a star rating corresponding to the accuracy of the description - in most cases 4 or 5 stars. For the items that had unreported holes, pilling or were described as new but stank of BO, I left negative.

Isn't the feedback system in place to make sure buyers know what to expect?

I was told by ebay that the volume of negative feedback was too high, regardless of the number of items in the transaction. They also told me I shop more than the average ebayer - seeing that I pay for everything in a timely manner you would think they'd love having me around.

That makes me feel like I am supposed to put up with bad service, bad items and just leave positive for everything. Or maybe save the negative feedback and sprinkle one here and anther there once every so many days?

Is this normal? I rarely leave bad feedback so I never knew they could do this and I am furious.  It makes me rethink everything I tell everyone about how great ebay is.

They told me nothing can be done but to wait for this thing to expire. 

Has anyone dealt with this? Can they remove this shopping ban?

Thank you in advance for your help.

[pierrelebel]

Let me ask you a different question: over the last three months how often have you changed your originally posted negative feedback to positive feedback for a transaction?

[gi101010]

I never did that actually. Whatever feedback I left, is what is on my profile.

So much for feedback extortion from sellers when I feel ebay is punishing me for leaving negative feedback. If that's the way things are, I might as well not leave any feedback.

As a matter of fact, I am so not impressed with their "policies", ebay will see a whole lot less activity from my end from here on.  

[reallynicestamps]

feedback extortion from sellers

Sellers cannot leave negative feedback.

when I feel ebay is punishing me for leaving negative feedback.

EBay is not blocking you. The sellers you neg'd have blocked you.

Many auction sellers will look at bidders' feedback and cancel bids if they feel the buyer is overly demanding.

Most sellers have an automatic Block on bidders who have Strikes for non-payment.

You may be running into those blocks.

[gi101010]

I am not buying from the seller in question ever again after my latest experience with them so honestly I would not care if they blocked me. Out of well over 2000 feedback I have left maybe a dozen of negative/neutral over the years. The great percentage is positive, even when the items aren't quite well described - I am very handy so, if I can fix the item, I usually don't bother to complain.

I am not being blocked from buying from THAT seller. I am blocked from buying or selling altogether, so it is ebay.

The ebay guy I spoke told me the item numbers related to the block ebay imposed on me and they are the ones I left negative feedback on.

The subject of their email to me: eBay Registration Suspension- Unwelcome Buyer- Intent to Disrupt a Listing

"At this time, you're not allowed to buy any items or create any new listings. Any current listings will remain on the site and can still be purchased by buyers. You can complete any recent transactions."

Ebay's explanation is that they reviewed the feedback I left and decided I had malicious intent. So yes, I feel like ebay is trying to create a utopia, where all buyers seem perfectly happy, even when they aren't. Why risk saying anything if your buying/selling rights get revoked?

Either way, that's fine with me. I tend to try to find things on ebay because it's convenient to have it delivered at home but not if they get to dictate when I can or cannot shop based on honest feedback. I am going to keep my account open in case I need the occasional item I can't find elsewhere or make it myself but I will definitely be cutting back my ebay shopping by 99%.

[gi101010]

Just to clarify - this has everything to do with feedback and nothing with to do with non-payment. 

I bought the items mostly as gifts for my nephews and was not impressed with sellers response to issues such as being overcharged for shipping and or items being clearly used even though they were listed as new. They simply ignored me so I left negative feedback for the items that were in bad shape, positive for the others. 

I gave the seller 1 star for communication, seeing that whenever I called them they were kind of rude and unhelpful and whenever I email, they don't even try reading my message before replying. I only get a proper response after the 2nd or 3rd email and even then, all they offer is to refund the item cost if I pay for return shipping - which costs way more than the item in some cases OR take $0.50 refund instead. 

This time I tried talking about the shipping charges twice and no real response, so I didn't bother trying to get $2 back for the problem items and left them bad feedback. Now ebay suspends my registration because "As a buyer, you're not allowed to bid on or buy an item in order to harm a listing or to leave negative or neutral Feedback or low detailed seller ratings for the seller."

It is not like I bought the items and paid over CAN$500 just because I wanted to have a chance to give them bad feedback. Believe me, I really hoped they would all be as described, well packaged and clean enough. They were for the most part but some were not so I do not regret the feedback I left. In my opinion, it was fair. I find it amusing that someone at ebay gets to decide I bought all that stuff just to mess with someone I don't even know. I have better things to do with my time and money. 

I appreciate your responses but there isn't anything I can do apparently. I guess this is not usual seeing that it has never happened to me before and no one that replied actually had the same issue. I am just going to wait for this thing to expire and use ebay as little as possible from now on. 

Thanks everyone

[arlene_v]

I'm just a casual buyer here on eBay but looking at this it does look  a bit odd. 

You've done a lot of business with this particular seller, over a long period, and not so much with others ....maybe this ratio is the clue to your 7 day suspension. 

I'm only guessing here, but suspect that  the seller contacted eBay once you left negative feedback, and discussed this case with them, resulting in your 7 day shopping suspension. eBay looked at the numbers, possibly read some old correspondence you had with this seller,  and saw something amiss.

 I don't think eBay is against buyers leaving negative feedback, but a red flag was raised in this case, and triggered a warning and suspension.