what if feedback is more than 30 days old and you want to request a revision from a buyer?

[swimmer8425]

I have a buyer who posted negative feedback when he did not receive an item within 2 weeks of shipping, even though shipping was overseas from Canada to Italy.  The buyer did not contact me prior to leaving the negative feedback, so I contacted him and asked that he wait a bit longer for the item to arrive.  The buyer has now filed a dispute with paypal and the feedback is more than 30 days old so I cannot ask for a revision, which I would like to do if I am to provide a full refund.  Is there anything I can do?

[femmefan1946 · Accepted solution]

The buyer (or you) can add a Response to any feedback, indefinitely. Don't do this until the entire transaction, including the Dispute, is completed.

You can't make feedback revision or removal a part of the negotiation on refunds.

And sigh. Italy.

The people are fine, but the customs and postal services are infamous.

If the item was sent without tracking, you cannot win the Dispute.

If you also used Surface Shipping, just refund and move on. You can't win.

It would take two to three months to arrive even if the customer were in Norway. Then add on the abovementioned infamy. shudder.

Give the refund. Ask the buyer to refund the refund when the item is delivered. Sellers are often surprised that most people are honest about this. Let him know that he can refund through Paypal's Send Money service.

Apologize. Use Google Translate to apologize in Italian.

If you are shipping overseas, only allow tracked Air Mail shipping. If the buyer objects, too bad, Some sales (like apparently this one) are not worth having.

[swimmer8425]

Hello femmefan 1946,
Thank you for your informative advice. I'm afraid I already asked the buyer via the Paypal resolution process to remove the negative feedback and I will provide a full refund. The buyer has not bothered to reply to this, and it has been almost two weeks since I messaged the request (I did use Google translate in all my communications). I shipped the item by airmail, not surface, but did not include tracking as the cost was double, and I doubted the buyer would pay that much for shipping. I will obviously insist on tracked air mail shipping in the future. I contacted eBay's customer service line, and they advised the buyer can remove the negative feedback after the 30 day limit, but only by calling them directly to do so, which I'm sure will not happen. I think I will take your advice and refund the buyer, apologize and ask that he refund the refund if the item is delivered.
Thank you so much for your reply, it was very helpful!