eBay

treasure.hunter.d · ‎02-08-2014

Sold an item recently (item # is 191037026366 as I know someone will probably ask) and it is delivered on the 3rd of February 2014. Today buyer posts negative feedback saying that the contents of the package were incomplete, very specifically that one of 2 Jasper Ware plates that were sold to him was not in the box. I packed the parcel myself and both plates were most definitely in the parcel, wrapped very carefully in tissue and bubble-wrap. At no time previous to the negative feedback being posted does the buyer attempt to contact me, nor does he open a claim. So to be clear, absolutely no contact from the buyer at all, nada, nothing looking for a refund, full or partial, or to return the item or asking if there had been some mistake.

I send the buyer a message asking "What the heck is going on," that I packaged the parcel myself and it was most definitely complete. Why hadn't he contacted me in the 5 days since it was delivered and even going so far as to ask if the packaging was perhaps damaged thinking maybe the post /customs opened it and neglected to put everything back in the box. That was at 18:34 EST and as of yet no response.

I contact Ebay and am transferred by the first rep I spoke with to Trust and Safety where I am told too bad but they won't remove the negative feedback as they have no way of knowing if I am telling the truth and also the rep says that she thinks I'm worrying too much about 1 negative feedback. What nerve telling me they have no way of knowing if I am being truthful. I would think that my 200+ previous positive feedback, some of which were for items costing hundreds of dollars, and a recent one stating how I stayed completely on top of the status of a package that had temporarily been lost by the post would count for something. Right, I've suddenly lost my mind and am ripping people off on $20 items! The Ebay rep from Trust and Safety, I have to say, was completely unhelpful and her attitude was not only callous but also insulting to my integrity.

I ask to speak to a Supervisor and of course none is available and I am told I will get a call back within 2 hours. 2 hours that just expired a few seconds ago with no call. Surprise, surprise.

I am so absolutely furious about this. My previously perfect feedback is now ruined by a person that couldn't even be bothered to contact me to see if some honest mistake had been made or worse is trying to screw me over for who knows what reason. I had to send a message to the buyer 2 days after close of auction reminding him to pay however the message was very polite and even offered to try my best to accommodate him if there was some issue that was going to prevent him from paying for any further length of time. No response to that message or any other correspondence from this buyer at any time.

Thank you Ebay for giving me absolutely no credit for all of my hard work trying to follow the rules and offer super service to my customers. Thank you for employing reps that feel they can be so insulting to sellers as to insinuate that even though they had a previously unblemished record and nothing but happy customers, , they might be lying over a $20 item.

I have no idea what will happen if/when I get a supervisor on the phone but I really hope that they will remove this negative feedback as I truly do not deserve it and it's a serious kick in the teeth to have to put up with treatment like this!

thd

denki2012 · ‎02-08-2014

Dear Seller.

I post a negative feedback received a minute ago. It is regret to read it! I negotiated with eBay Rep too much. Usually they could do nothing about feedback, even buyers told a lie. The situation I met is almost the same as yours. Buyer never communicate with seller in advance, leave NF to seller directly at first, then write " what are you going to do". They wouldn't like to return for refund. I met another case which buyer wrote, "refund me $50, give you better feedback". I don't think eBay can protect sellers well.

It is very simple, ask him how much money costs for solving it if he is so shy.

Good luck!

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-09-2014

I met another case which buyer wrote, "refund me $50, give you better feedback

If a buyer gave you negative feedback and then wrote that in your ebay messages, chances are very good that ebay would remove the feedback. It's called feedback extortion.

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-09-2014

treasure hunter, It is unlikely that ebay will remove the negative because there is no way for you to prove what the buyer received. Don't take it personally but they cannot remove every negative feedback that a seller says is wrong. Your best bet is to wait to hear back from the buyer to find out his side of the story. Perhaps they left feedback for the wrong person or maybe there is another reason why they left it. If you can work with them, they might be willing to change the feedback.

treasure.hunter.d · ‎02-09-2014

Finally managed to get a supervisor on the phone and received the same story about them not being able to do anything. I lost my stuff on the supervisor and received a lovely email from someone at the President's office.

This whole situation is a joke. I still have not received any correspondence from the buyer. Next up is calling the telephone number he gave Ebay I guess.

What a huge crock of !

brandeentertainment · ‎02-09-2014

To ease the pain .. Review what will allow you to have feedback removed that way in the future you know there is nothing you can do about it fair or not ..

The way I see is exactly what happen ..

Your first message seem like your a little bummed ..

Last one you seem angry bummer totally frustrated ..

Just look at the removal requirements then when it happens if it happens next time you know whether or not you need to jus accept it and move on ...

You have no grounds for removal but because you felt it to be unfair you Contacted ebay and wasted a ton of your time which lead you to go from frustrated with buyer to mad at buyer ebay and ready to kick can so to speak ...

Thing might be unfair for buyers and sellers sometimes but there are rules to help people avoid more frustration then need be ..

The last time I called ebay for help I said I never would again and that was 2 years ago and now I bug guys on here instead

rose-dee · ‎02-09-2014

I looked at the item you sold, and it's clear that it would be hard for you to not put both plates in the box when you shipped it. There would be a glaring empty spot in the box!

However, given that the buyer was so eager to leave negative FB, I think it's doubtful that he/she was deliberately trying to defraud you. I would think that someone wanting to scam a seller by falsely claiming that an item wasn't received actually wants money (and to keep the item), not to get his "day in the eBay court" so to speak. Leaving negative FB puts him out in the open, which I really think most scammers want to avoid.

As I see it, there is another possible explanation that would mean both you and the buyer are right -- the 1 plate really was missing, but it got lifted somewhere in transit.

Here are a couple of questions that might illuminate this: 1) Was this sale to the U.S. or overseas? 2) If overseas, to what country? 3) If to the US or overseas, how were the contents described on the customs form? Did you use the name Wedgewood? Or describe it as collector's porcelain, etc.?

My point is that if the item went outside Canada, and the customs form contained a description attractive to thieves, it's possible the plate may have gone missing at some point before it reached the buyer. This is even more likely if it was sent outside the US.

EBay is no help in these situations where a dissatisfied buyer jumps the gun, leaves negative FB without contacting the seller first, and where there is no question of FB extortion. You've done the best you can do in this situation by leaving a very professional-sounding response to your buyer's FB. And it doesn't seem that the buyer has done any serious damage to your DSRs - you still have at least 4.9 across the board. This FB will drop off page 1 soon enough.

If this ever happens to you again (buyer leaving unfair neg FB without contacting you first), here's a suggestion -- assuming the FB is more important to you than a few dollars. Ask if the buyer would agree to revise his negative FB if you gave an immediate partial refund. In this case, $10 might get the FB removed, it might not. However, if you approach it by being very sympathetic, explaining that you know you shipped two plates, so one must have been stolen in transit, and explaining that your FB and seller reputation is extremely important to you, it might just get you what you want. Suggest to the buyer that he simply leave a general comment such as "Transaction concluded satisfactorily", so that he doesn't feel he's being coerced into leaving a glowing remark.

I've had to do exactly this (for a different situation of unfair FB), and got the buyer to revise his comment to a generically satisfactory one. By the way, if the buyer revises his FB, he may also be permitted to revise his DSRs - something to consider for better or worse, and to keep your attitude friendly and helpful when "negotiating" with the buyer about FB revision.

In this case I would not have hesitated to make the offer of a partial refund where a $20 item was concerned. I imagine most people will respond pretty quickly to that kind of email.

treasure.hunter.d · ‎02-09-2014

I considered that US customs may have opened the parcel while it was on its way to the buyer and even said that may have happened in a message to the buyer. What astounds me is that the buyer can be such a complete douche as to post negative feedback without even contacting me. My previous feedback should have been more than enough evidence that I am a reputable seller and would not intentionally bone someone and especially not over a $20 item. If you look at the feedback 2 below the negative it is praise from a buyer whose package was temporarily misplaced my US Post, telling everyone I stayed completely on top of the situation until the parcel was found and delivered. That is not the type of seller that is going to rip someone off over a $20 item.

Not only all of that but the package was delivered 5 days before the negative was posted. It took him 5 days to figure out one plate was missing? Give me a break! Personally I think that someone else opened the package, like a kid or a spouse, mistakenly broke one plate and then passed the package on to the buyer saying it was missing. To me that is the most likely scenario even if it is pure conjecture. I highly doubt the US customs opened the box, removed the items and then forgot to replace one item!

My biggest problem in all of this, aside from the displayed by the buyer is the completely callous and insulting way i was dealt with by Ebay representatives. It was absolutely appalling how these people spoke to me on the phone. Is it any wonder I lost my stuff on them finally!

Anyway, lesson learned I guess. Ebay will take your money, give you no help and spit in your face every chance they get if you are a seller. If you're a buyer they will kiss your behind and allow you to screw over reputable sellers. Again, lesson learned.

EBAY YOU SHOULD BE VERY PROUD OF YOURSELVES!

rose-dee · ‎02-10-2014

@treasure.hunter.d wrote:
I considered that US customs may have opened the parcel while it was on its way to the buyer and even said that may have happened in a message to the buyer.

Actually I wasn't thinking of US Customs when I suggested the 2nd plate got lifted (or destroyed) somewhere along the line. I was referring to possible theft by either USPS or -- who knows? -- you may be right that a family member/wife broke it, then lied to the buyer telling him was missing from the parcel. He gets angry and then realizes 4 or 5 days later that he can retaliate with FB.

It does seem unfair to the seller, but on the other hand, there isn't any way either of you can prove to eBay that you are right, or that the other one is wrong. As mentioned earlier, eBay won't be any help in these situations (unless there is a clear attempt at FB extortion by the buyer).

There isn't much we sellers can do about buyers who don't want to communicate before leaving negative FB. You see sellers pleading everywhere in their eBay listings asking buyers to contact them first if there is a problem -- I doubt many do. EBay has compounded the problem by discouraging direct communication between buyers and sellers (or at least making it less simple -- remember the "Contact Seller" link at the top of all listings, now gone?).

Unfortunately a lot of being a seller on eBay involves being able to just take a deep breath and move on. You did the right thing in leaving a calm and factual response to this buyer's FB. Your DSRs are still good. That negative will disappear off your main page soon enough, and eventually drop off the back end completely (in 12 months).

As I said earlier, my response to a negative like this without prior warning from the buyer would have been immediate damage control (via a very friendly offer of refund), rather than involving eBay. I know eBay's policy on FB removal wouldn't apply in such a case and that I'd be on my own to deal with it.

In my view there's no use wasting time and energy arguing with eBay over something like this, or expecting the buyer to see reason. What does it matter anyway? He was angry enough to leave negative FB -- so what would make him happier? Another identical item, or his money back. On a $20 item, you bet I'd bite my tongue and bend over backwards to try and get the buyer to revise that negative, even if I suspected the buyer was lying or was mistaken.

I would take this approach because I don't have the volume to easily absorb much negative FB -- and particularly not bad DSRs, which I'm much more concerned about. My reputation is worth more than the price of an inexpensive item.

The one thing I can say is that it would be good if eBay would automatically remove FB for all transactions where a refund is given, for whatever reason. I know that's unlikely to happen, but it's on my "wish list".

treasure.hunter.d · ‎02-10-2014

Thank-you. Your input and sympathetic ear are sincerely appreciated.

All the best.

thd

denki2012 · ‎02-10-2014

Yes, you are totally right. The NF removed by eBay, I took more than 60 days to negotiate with customer Rep. No abuse words in feedback, it was so difficult to remove it. Most of buyers are good and kind except several one. Some experienced buyers use this way to get much candy from sellers, recently I met one buyer who left NF first, then wrote“ what are you going to do" in message. We have no way to complain about it. Thank you.

rose-dee · ‎02-11-2014

@denki2012 wrote:
...recently I met one buyer who left NF first, then wrote“ what are you going to do" in message. We have no way to complain about it.

If a buyer did that to me (and assuming the FB was unjustified in the circumstances of the transaction), I might be inclined to report the buyer to eBay, including forwarding his nasty message to eBay.

You never know how many other sellers such a buyer might have targeted with this sort of thing, and eBay does keep track of badly behaved buyers. At the very least, block him/her from buying from you again.

I do agree though that 99% of buyers are decent, honest, and really a pleasure to deal with, and I generally work from that assumption.

rainbow71113 · ‎03-11-2014

I know exactly how you feel. I got a negative from a buyer in India who bought ONE book on a variation listing and thought she was getting all of them for $16 shipping. Even after pointing out that she CHOSE the one book, and that shipping would have cost over $65 for all the books she said she left the negative because she was frustrated that SHE couldn't figure out the variation listing....

so after many calls to ebay I get the response that I'm sure you all have heard....."you can always put a followup feedback and other buyers will see that" they do not seem to get the fact that if buyers suddenly decide to wreck your reputation you are going to be kicked off ebay and for those of us who depend on it for their only source of income this is a serious problem. ALL the reps agreed I should not have been penalized for a buyer not being able to read the listing properly and I pointed out that I can hardly go to India or phone to help them figure it out. It's not like we can stand over the buyer and talk them through the process....although I have phoned other buyers who have left negatives and had them read my description to me...and low and behold it says exactly what they faulted me for.....go figure...needless to say they agreed to remove it. Had another buyer in Italy give me negative because she got charged customs and duty but because she didn't put that in the feedback only in an email, I still wasn't able to get that removed. And how many times am I going to see a negative mentioning...."thought I was buying a finished item (like a sweater) and got a pattern" when it clearly says pattern in the title!! I think these should be automatically removed- especially since one of ebay's policies is stated that the buyer is responsible for reading and understanding the listing...so if they can't or don't how is that the seller's fault?