eBay

platinumsells · ‎09-22-2016

Hi, I don't understand something. I thought it was impossible to leave a feedback when listings are removed.

All my listings for sunglasses have been removed. I called eBay and they said that I don't put enough pictures on my listings and they cannot confirm that my sunglasses are authentic. I need to remake my listings. My sells have also been removed but I sent all the sunglasses I sold with tracking number on paypal. I'm working on remaking my listings and all is ok at that point.

Now I got a negative feedback from someone who only have 8 feedbacks on ebay.. member since 2011.. to say that my sunglasses are not as pictured. But the pictures I got is completely the sunglasses I ship to my customers.

The problem is that I really don't understand how he can leave this feedback as the listing has been removed. I'm completely out with this feedback and doesn't understand nothing.

Someone knows what is happening with this guy?

Thanks.

ypdc_dennis · ‎09-22-2016

Feedback can always be left for a purchase (up to 60 days) -- even if your listing is removed from display.

In this case I suspect your listing was removed by the Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) program.

femmefan1946 · ‎09-22-2016

First, feedback, negative or positive is no longer counted against you by eBay.

Of course, it is still important as public relations, especially for new sellers like yourself . That 94.4% is going to hurt sales. Can you do some buying from sellers who leave instant feedback to repair it?

(Most buyers only look at the %, not at the actual FB. This is a sneaky ploy, but needs must.)

eBay ... said that I don't put enough pictures on my listings

That's a crock.

You only need one photo, although you can have up to 12 and that is always a good idea.

Customer Service screws up again.

and they cannot confirm that my sunglasses are authentic.

Now this is where you have to be careful.

When you redo your listings, only put one up.

If it stays, okay, go ahead with more.

But relisting a removed item, especially if there is a question about authenticity, can get you booted right off the site.

Look at your sunglasses again.

Did you buy them from an authorized retailer?

Did you buy them from China?

Have you compared your sunglasses with the same brand in the store (not online) of an authorized retailer?

And remember those carts in the shopping mall are not necessarily authorized retailers.

And no, just because the authentic glasses are made in China, does not mean that your Chinese purchased glasses are authentic.

It doesn't work that way.

The authentic ones are all, every single pair, bought by the brand. There are no authentic glasses (or purses, or bracelets, or iPhones) that the factory is allowed to sell at a discount online.

I thought it was impossible to leave a feedback when listings are removed.

Nope.

You sold, you were paid, you shipped.

You can expect FB from other buyers.

If your buyers are unhappy with what they get, they might complain to you first.

DO NOT ARGUE!

Tell them to return the glasses for a complete refund -- and here's the hard part-- including their return shipping cost.

You do NOT want them to go to eBay for that refund. That does hit your selling account hard.

You did not mention VERO. This is a program set up by eBay and various brands as protection against sales of counterfeits. Do not try to get around any VERO problems. It won't work.

Selling is not easy

Selling designer brands is not easy.

Sourcing designer brands is not easy.

By the way, selling and shipping counterfeits is not only frowned on by eBay, it is actually illegal and sellers do get prosecuted.

I'm not saying your glasses are fake, or that you are dishonest.

I am saying that it is easy to get sucked in by scammers and crooks who palm off offal as steak.

platinumsells · ‎09-22-2016

First, no, my listings have not beed removed by VERO.. Here is the proof :

Hello platinumsells,

After reviewing your account, we've had to take the following action:
- Some or all of your listings may have been removed. A list of any removed items will be listed further down in this email.
- We have credited any associated fees to your account.

The listing(s) removed from your account showed similarities to listings that have resulted in bad buying experiences, such as complaints from buyers that the item is of poor quality or inauthentic.

I got my selling fees back in my pocket and I don't get restricted for that.

Second, the buyer don't ask for a return.. It looks that for now he wants to keep the sunglasses. Only leave a negative feedback.

On his feedback (4 sellings on 8 feedbacks) we can see that he sells rayban too. That's why I think it's really weird but what can I do. Nothing.

Thanks for answering my questions, I thought it was impossible to leave feedback if transaction are removed but now I have my answer.

platinumsells · ‎09-22-2016

And for the information of everyone, we have a business and take our sunglasses from Ray Ban in USA. They have all the serial number and we sell them on ebay for over 3 months and never had a problem. Now, as we want to become bigger and sells more on ebay problems are happening. That's very sad.

mr.elmwood · ‎09-22-2016

Well, then, you need to do things differently as eBay is telling you that your listings are too similar to the counterfeit listings.

I never suggest calling eBay, but in this case, they do have a protocol for verifying genuine merchandise.

Forget the negative as it does not count. Buyer is not asking for a refund, so, just move on.

.
.
.

femmefan1946 · ‎09-22-2016

Good to know.

It looks like you are taking your own photos too. If you are using stock photos though, mix them up with a few of your own.

And if you are using the words from the catalogue, again, add a few of your own. Or even just put the important points in a different order to sooth the bots.

This is a good point to add some information about your Real Life business. If you are a member of the BBB (for what it's worth) add their logo to your descriptions. If you have a photo of your B&M store, put it in the Gallery.

But do something quickly to repair your feedback. Buying stuff (envelopes? earrings?) is one easy way.

I also think you might be able to get that FB removed by showing Customer Service that the buyer is selling the same product, especially if he has done the same thing to others.

mr.elmwood · ‎09-22-2016

Your reply to the neg is completely unprofessional. Does not matter what the situation is, eith do not reply, or only reply in a professional manner.

.
.
.

platinumsells · ‎09-22-2016

Yes I know, I was very frustrated at the moment. I really thought that this ebayer simply wants to harm my business and this feedback kills me. Will be more profesionnal in the future.

And yes, I will make some purchases to replace the feedbacks.

Thank you for all the advice. I see that it's not always easy to sell on ebay.

rose-dee · ‎09-22-2016

@platinumsells wrote:
And for the information of everyone, we have a business and take our sunglasses from Ray Ban in USA. They have all the serial number and we sell them on ebay for over 3 months and never had a problem. Now, as we want to become bigger and sells more on ebay problems are happening. That's very sad.

Yes, it sounds to me as if the problem is not a VeRO complaint, but the fact that you are selling the genuine article which looks too much like the fakes that have been causing problems! It's ridiculous, I know, but the purveyors of fake merchandise have actually made it more difficult for people who want to sell authentically-branded merchandise. I think what eBay is getting at is that your listings need to provide enough detail (both pictures and text) to establish that these items are in fact authentic.

Although I don't usually suggest calling Customer Service, this is one situation where it might be a good idea to call and get them on record, for what it's worth, telling you specifically what you need to do. You want to make sure that if you re-list these items they are not taken down again by eBay, because that could be the end of your ability to sell here.

When you call Customer Service, print out and have your email notification in hand with eBay's explanations about why your listings were removed. Focus on the fact that you were told eBay cannot confirm that your sunglasses are authentic. Tell them you have been sourcing your products from the manufacturer directly, and ask them exactly what you need to do to show they are authentic.

Is it simply a matter of more pictures, with more detail (such as the serial # or Ray-Ban product # that is shown on the inside of the temple piece)? I think that is what eBay meant when they said you need more pictures. In other words, it had nothing to do with rules about pictures (you are only obligated to have one photo), but about providing more photographic detail about the product itself.

If you are an authorized Ray-Ban dealer, ask whether mentioning this fact in your listings will help to establish authenticity. If you have a dealer number, give it to eBay.

Prepare a listing based on the answers you get. Take pictures of the item from front, back, sides, and a couple from the inside. Use a camera with good, high definition. If the sunglasses have any identifying marks, such as Ray-Ban name or logo, or serial #, product #, etc., take a couple of close-up pictures showing these details. Double-check that all your pictures are sharp and clear, and re-take any that seem out of focus.

Write a detailed listing description, and make sure you include things like serial #, product #, etc. (if you have them) in the description text, as well as in the Item Specifics section.

Then upload the listing to eBay and leave it for 2 or 3 days. If the listing is not removed by eBay, you are probably safe to prepare and upload the rest of your items in a similar way. The reason I say to wait 2 or 3 days is that you have likely now been red-flagged by eBay due to the removal of your listings. They will be watching for further issues. The last thing you want is to have another whole lot of listings taken down, which could lead to being kicked off eBay completely.

I think this problem is completely solvable. I've been through a similar issue with branded items that were taken down because eBay couldn't verify they were authentic. Once you get the right combination of photo detail and item description detail, you will probably never encounter this issue again.

By the way, I would just forget about the negative feedback comment and move forward. Feedback is no longer used by eBay to measure seller status, so once you've sold a few more items, that comment will drop below the bottom of the viewing screen on the Feedback page. If you feel you must, you can leave a brief, professional and reasonable comment in response to the Feedback, such as: "Buyer did receive exact item pictured", or something to that effect.

Best of luck with this!

mr.elmwood · ‎09-22-2016

@platinumsells wrote:
Yes I know, I was very frustrated at the moment. I really thought that this ebayer simply wants to harm my business and this feedback kills me. Will be more profesionnal in the future.

And yes, I will make some purchases to replace the feedbacks.

Thank you for all the advice. I see that it's not always easy to sell on ebay.

I disagree. I find it very easy. A lot of it is simply, mindset. Plus? Greater sales volume.

Your 36 FB for sales is "fresh out of the wrapper" territory. Nothing like experience to change the way you handle things to "yep, what ever".

Why you got a neg with no request for refund is a stumper. Had that happen a couple years ago. Part showed up broken, $20, buyer slammed me with a neg and no request for any sort of compensation. Really? He spent $20 to leave a neg? Works for me.

When you get ready to list again, let us know. We can squgee up to the monitor and look things over with our aged jaundiced eyes.

.
.
.

fashionoutletdeal · ‎09-22-2016

Do not sell to competitors.Add your own pictures plus give some more information about your business .Not much .This will bring you customers.The serial number its very important.This will tell to your customer that your product its authentic. We had the same problem last year when we start the competition put us down for two days .Call customer support and just asked them to remove the bad feedback because simple he is your competitor.Feel free to check our store we set it up simple.We are family own company.Your proof for removing the bad feedback is that he never asked for refund .Remember that and good luck

ricarmic · ‎09-22-2016

@platinumsells wrote:
And for the information of everyone, we have a business and take our sunglasses from Ray Ban in USA. They have all the serial number and we sell them on ebay for over 3 months and never had a problem. Now, as we want to become bigger and sells more on ebay problems are happening. That's very sad.

Hi Platinum!

I think from your pictures that you are actually taking a picture of the serial number of the glasses (I didn't know before today that they actually had serial numbers!). The ones I looked at the serial numbers are hard to see, I suggest taking a close up picture of the serial number of the glasses in each lot, it makes certain that way that everyone knows it is a legitimate item.

I suggest changing the title to advise the serial numbers are in the pictures like:

NEW Ray Ban (see serial#) Wayfarer Sunglasses Bl/Wh Green Mirror Lens RB2140 50 mm 956

(I have no idea the right words to drop/shrink so I just guessed but you get the idea)

That helps distinguish you too.....

I also think that when you make the call back to the CSR you can advise that these are authentic and the serial numbers are in the listings ..............that may help

fashionoutletdeal · ‎09-22-2016

Saying that is authentic will not help him,could make it worse .I was in situation like this .Simple accept what ebay told you for the listing,more pictures, serial number its very important ,UPC ext.

rose-dee · ‎09-23-2016

@mr.elmwood wrote:
Why you got a neg with no request for refund is a stumper. Had that happen a couple years ago. Part showed up broken, $20, buyer slammed me with a neg and no request for any sort of compensation. Really? He spent $20 to leave a neg? Works for me.

Re-reading the OP's initial post, I think the point he was making was that the negative was left by a competitor, which no doubt explains why no refund was requested. The opportunity to leave negative FB to beat down a new seller/competitor was worth the purchase price.

It is possible the OP could get the neg removed if he wants to spend time on the phone with CS, and if he can show the buyer who left the negative FB was in fact a direct competitor.

momcqueen · ‎09-23-2016

Is it possible that someone is using the OP's photos without permission to sell their counterfeits?

I suspect that in at least one instance my very detailed photos of certain rare Cars characters have only helped the bootleggers running fakes out the backdoor.

platinumsells · ‎09-26-2016

I finally see that I got a return.

He received the sunglasses on September 17th.

He started a return on September 19th.

He puts his feedback on September 22nd.

I didn't see that return until yesterday as Ebay doesn't send me message when he started the return as the listing has been removed.

I only get a message to ''remind'' me that a return has been opened and that I need to take action.

He buys 4 pairs (same color, same sizing). I honestly was sure that there will be a problem with this transaction because of his selling feedbacks and that's what happened. I hope that he will send me back all my four sunglasses and that I will not be scammed at this point.

platinumsells · ‎09-26-2016

Here is his ray ban selling listing on his feedback :

No serial number, no sizing, selling price super LOW. This guy is clearly selling counterfeit sunglasses but ebay allows him to sell them anyway. Probably sells now on another account as he only haves 8 feedbacks on this account since 2011.

decal-fx · ‎09-26-2016

The Guy might be sell legit raybans... Yours! and the return he is sending you will probably be his counterfeits 😞
I hope I am just jumping to the wrong conclusions.