First Negative feedback in 18 years over shipping cost

[nes_webpage]

I sold an iPhone 12 mini case, brand new. This case still retails for $79 (before tax) from Apple. The buyer paid a total of $55.72 ($19.32 includes for shipping). The shipping cost was listed in the listing, so they knew what it cost going in. Also, I paid $17.31 for shipping (this does not include packaging materials or gas going to the post office). 

So I check my account today, and I noticed I got negative feedback from the buyer with this comment "$20 for shipping something that could've been sent lettermail lol. greedy." For the record, that was the cheapest cost I could find for shipping; besides, it was not like I was pocketing a huge profit; if anything, I lost with shipping.

This buyer never contacted me at all about shipping costs or anything. They knew how much it was going to cost even before purchasing the item. Even for argument's sake, if they did not know the shipping cost, they should have contacted me first before leaving the negative feedback. Also, their feedback was false since they paid $19.32 for shipping, and they claimed it was $20.

I have contacted the buyer about this but have not heard back yet. What are my options for getting this corrected? I have no way of proving this, but I think they are just doing this so they can get a full refund and get to keep the item since feedback can now be revised.

Thanks for your help!

[femmefan1946]

Youdo have the option to post a Response, although this is not usually a good idea.

"Charged $19.32Cdn for Tracked parcel * as advertised. Shipped July 10/22. Arrived safely July 18/22. Letter Mail cannot be over 2cm thick or 500 gr."

Don't use words like "lie". Don't even refer to his claims.

Remember the only one who will ever read the Response is YOUR future customer. Not eBay. Not other sellers.

* Or Tracked Expedited --but put the "tracked" in there.

[maximus7001]

We have had stupid feedback liked this removed by ebay many times already. It might take a few or more tries but be persistant about it.

[nes_webpage]

eBay denied my request, even though the feedback was a defamation of character and had false statements. I would have thought it was against policy to use slander in feedback, I guess not. I sent a refund back in the amount of my total profit. So they got the full shipping amount back and some extra. Hopefully, the seller will be courteous and revise the feedback since they have zero to complain about now. 

[zee-chan]

Why did you refund? Did they actually asked for a refund or were you hopeing they'd remove the negative feedback with a refund? If they didn't ask for a refund I would have just responded with "shipped with tracked packet for $19.XX, Canada Post rate, as advertised in listing." and left it as is.

[marnotom!]

I don’t get how charging for and using parcel post makes you “greedy”. What did you get out of using parcel post instead of lettermail besides having more in FVF to pay?

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

eBay will remove feedback if it violates eBay's policies. You have to contact eBay directly.

Don't bother with feedback revision. Feedback revision is for when something goes wrong with the transaction that the seller can fix for the buyer. Then because the seller fixed it, the buyer decides their negative feedback is no longer accurate. Feedback revision isn't really for situations like the one you described, because nothing went wrong with the transaction that you could fix. The buyer misused the feedback to complain about you not including a service.

https://www.ebay.ca/help/selling/selling/seller-levels-performance-standards/appeal-defect?id=4871

Click the button at the bottom of that page to e-mail eBay.

Include the item number, the buyer username, and the quoted feedback. Explain that you believe the buyer's feedback qualifies for removal because their negative feedback was asking for a service that was never advertised as being included in the listing (cheaper untracked lettermail shipping). Buyers aren't allowed to leave negative feedback because as a seller you refuse to give them something extra, or different than what was advertised. Additionally, the buyer called you names (greedy). While not vulgar, eBay buyers and sellers aren't supposed to insult each other in feedback. It is supposed to be used as a subjective account of the transaction. 

You also have to be straight forward that you are asking eBay to remove feedback that you believe violates their feedback policy, and that you aren't asking for them to inform you about their feedback policy. Sometimes, you will get people who see the word feedback removal, and instantly copy and paste in their script about contacting the buyer to ask the buyer to revise the feedback. 

You might have to e-mail a few times, as someone might not understand you are asking for feedback removal. I would be very surprised if you couldn't get it removed. You can't just get any bad feedback removed, eBay is reasonably strict. They usually rightly expect you to try and correct your mistake with the buyer, so that you can ask for a feedback revision. The thing is, the buyer is clearly upset that you didn't use a service that you never advertised as being available, they also called you names in the feedback. Both of those things should make it easy to get removed. 

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

You shouldn't have refunded. You did nothing wrong. 

I am surprised that they would not remove it. How did you contact eBay? Their customer service can be very hit or miss if you get the wrong department.

https://www.ebay.ca/help/selling/selling/seller-levels-performance-standards/appeal-defect?id=4871

Try e-mailing them through that link. 

The buyer:

-Complained about something that was not your fault. (The current price of Canada Post Regular Parcel shipping, which was clearly advertised in your listing and was not at an inflated cost)

-Left feedback requesting something not advertised in the listing. (Lettermail shipping)

-Used feedback to call you names and insult you rather than as a tool to give their subjective opinion of the job you did as a seller.

Depending on your communication with the buyer, you might have a more difficult time getting it removed now that you refunded them. eBay might wonder why you would have refunded them if you didn't overcharge on shipping. 

Refunding them would have been the right thing to do if you made a mistake (regardless of whether they left you a negative feedback, just from the standpoint of doing the right thing). You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't make a mistake though. The buyer saw that you only offered Regular Parcel shipping, chose to buy the item, and then complained.

You can't change that you refunded them, but you might still be able to have the feedback removed. I would try to contact eBay through the defect removal link, if you haven't done so already. Like most people in this thread, I am pretty surprised they wouldn't remove a feedback like the one you received.

[nes_webpage]

I contacted eBay through the customer support chat. They put a request and about an hour later I got this e-mail from them;

Hello,

Thank you for contacting us about the negative feedback you've received from **** for listing ****. I understand that  this  transaction  did not  go as expected and you’d like the feedback removed. Allow me to help.

I've looked at the details of the transaction,  my suggestion would be to contact your buyer and attempt to resolve their issue as I could see you are communicating with them. The buyer may be persuaded to revise the feedback as a result of this.

Once you're sure the buyer is satisfied with the resolution, you can ask if they would consider revising their feedback. You may also add comment on the negative feedback left if they are not cooperating. I suggest also that you reply to the negative feedback with a professional comment as this will help create trust with future customers that way  it will show case your good customer service. State what you have done. This will make other buyers more comfortable and confident when purchasing items from you..

I assure you, this negative feedback left does not define you as a seller. I could see that this is your first negative feedback and will not give a dent on your account. An array of negative feedback will.

To learn more and to send a feedback revision request, visit:

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/leaving-feedback-buyers/replying-feedback-received-item-sold?id=41...

You can find more about situations when we'll remove feedback here: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/feedback-removal.html.

In the future, if you would like to appeal defects or feedback that meet our criteria for removal, you can also visit  the Seller Help tool: https://www.ebay.com/help/home

I know that this wasn’t the response you were hoping for but I hope I've provided some information to explain the situation. I wish you all the best trading on eBay in the future

Kind Regards,

eBay Customer Service

I will submit an e-mail with the link that you provided.

I refunded the complete profit that I made from the sale, probably in retrospect not the greatest idea after reading the comments. I keep track of the profit from all of my sales in a spreadsheet, so I know how much I actually made. In this case the following;

The buyer paid $55.72;

Item Price: $29.99

Shipping: $19.32

Sales Tax: $6.41

Fees I paid $25.77

Final Value Fee: $7.19

Per order fixed amount: $0.30

HST: $0.97

Shipping: $17.31

Profit = What Buyer Paid me ($55.72) - Fees ($25.77) - Sales Tax ($6.41)

Profit = $23.54

So, I refunded them $23.54. Anything more than that I would be going negative. Probably not the best idea, but with the stress this has caused me I figured it was worth that amount. They will probably not fix the feedback anyway. They are abusing the feedback system. They really should have at least contacted me first.

[nes_webpage]

I sent eBay an e-mail with the following;

Remove Negative Feedback

Item number: ******

Buyer username: *******

Quoted Feedback: “$20 for shipping something that could've been sent lettermail lol. greedy.”

I would like to get this feedback removed since the buyer never contacted me about shipping costs, the shipping cost was already in the listing, so they knew the amount. In the feedback they were requested a service that it not possible according to Canada Post Standard Letter Mail cannot be over 5mm thick or 50 grams. Therefore, the buyer was using the feedback system incorrectly. Also calling me 'greedy' is a defamation of character, which I feel harms my reputation, this attitude should not be tolerated on eBay.

I did everything I was supposed to do, and as an eBay user of almost 18 years I feel that this was a complete abuse of the feedback system. This will make the feedback system inaccurate if people can get away with this. It will misinform potential buyers.

[joels-retrocade]

My personal advice is to call them directly.  I think if you talk to someone on the phone they will help you out (speaking from experience lol).  They have the ability to remove feedback.  Just explain your situation calmy.  

Cheers,

Joel

[byto253]

 If they do not revise it, and Ebay won't change it, I would respond to the feedback with the facts as femmefan1946 outlined. "Charged $19.32Cdn for Tracked parcel * as advertised. Shipped July 10/22. Arrived safely July 18/22. Letter Mail cannot be over 2cm thick or 500 gr."  Perhaps add, therefore the option the buyer indicated was not possible and shipping charges are due to actual shipping costs.    Or whatever version you are ok with.

Then move on.  Weird stuff will happen and it is unfortunate but at the end of the day the explanation is clear and buyer's will see that.  You have no pattern of negatives because you are not a good seller.  It is irritating of course but at the end of the day will not affect you sales. 

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

Even if a seller feels a buyer is being unreasonable, it is always good to respond professionally to feedback, and not emotionally. Other buyers see a sellers response. Even if a seller is right, tone is very important. If they appear to be attacking the buyer, they might come off as volatile or uneasy to work with. If a seller responds professionally, they can turn a negative into a positive so to speak.

I regret to hear that you are upset with the shipping cost. Your item was shipped quickly and safely. I do not profit off of shipping charges. The amount you were charged reflected the real cost of Regular Parcel shipping. The cost of shipping was displayed at the time you chose to purchase the item. Unfortunately, this item was too thick to qualify for lettermail, which is why it was not advertised as an available shipping method. I appreciate your purchase, and I hope this clears up your misconception about the shipping cost. If you have any other questions about the shipping price, or your item, feel free to message me anytime. I always do my best to quickly answer questions or resolve any issues. Have a great day.

If a future buyer wanted to buy something from the seller, but sees a 95 feedback, and decides to check out, why the have a lower rating (which is rare, most buyers ignore feedback), they will see this and if anything it will turn the negative into a positive. They will likely figure that the buyer was misinformed, and the seller is polite and reasonable. 

Here is an example of a bad emotional response. Where the seller is technically right, but they come off as crazy:

WOW. Idiot buyer. YOU SAW THE PRICE AT CHECKOUT. It cost me just as much to ship your item as I charged you. I never offered lettermail. This is too thick, you dingus. Learn to use eBay. I will report you to the FBI CIA and RCMP for misusing eBay's feedback system. I am already googling for President Obama's phone number so that he can get to the bottom of this. Idiot alert, do not buyscammer 0/10 buyer.

While the seller is technically right in their response, they come off as unstable. I get that was a bit of an exaggeration, but it isn't far off some of the responses I have seen. I would say a good policy is to never respond to feedback when you're emotional, wait a day or two.

[teenytrinkets]

I would've been more persistent about the feedback removal. I've had stuff like this removed before.

Refunding because of shipping is never the way to go - unless you've overcharged.

In the future, registered mail is your friend, as is a small, bubble Xpresspost envelope, for tracking and insuring small/flat items, or smaller items going regionally. $12-$15. And they're FAST! 🙂

[nes_webpage]

Can sellers not leave negative feedback anymore? I know when I first started on eBay they could.

[recped]

---

@nes_webpage wrote:

Can sellers not leave negative feedback anymore? I know when I first started on eBay they could.

---

Negative feedback for buyers ended in 2008, 14 years ago!

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

Sellers cannot leave negative feedback for buyers. Some sellers leave positive feedback with negative comments. Although, if I recall, that is technically against eBay's policies. I could be wrong, but I think you can leave something like "Buyer was easy to work with when they reported their untracked item didn't arrive. Thanks for being so understanding", but you cannot leave "Scammer!!!! I sent the item, and they reported it didn't arrive! BEWARE!!!!11!!!". People still leave the latter, and most buyers don't attempt to get it removed.

Ironically, the 'feedback left for others' on the profile of buyers is how sellers can see if a buyer is negative. If a buyer who made a comment like the one in the OP made an offer on an item, a seller might look at their profile before deciding whether to accept. If they see the buyer left a bunch of negatives like the one in the OP, they might decide that the liability of dealing with the buyer is too great and decline the offer/block. Most full time sellers leave auto positive feedback, so the feedback left for others is really where you can scout if there are a lot of potential issues with a buyer. 

[nes_webpage]

I noticed that they just revised it, which makes me very happy. I agree that when a buyer leaves negative feedback with a bad comment, it also goes on their profile, making them look bad. I guess I should consider myself lucky that I have only had this happen once in 18 years (I joined in August 2004). Back then, if I am not mistaken, if someone left negative feedback, it would hurt the feedback percentage permanently. I guess now it is for 12 months.

[nes_webpage]

I still think the biggest mystery to me during this whole event is how they managed to leave negative feedback in under 7 days. I was about to leave positive feedback to a seller that I purchased something from, and I noticed that it says, "You need to wait 7 days before you can leave neutral or negative feedback for this seller." Both negative and neutral are greyed out. Is this a feature that I can enable?

[2nd-time-around-jewelry]

There is no way I would have refunded the money for shipping just to get the negative changed by the buyer.  Other buyers would have seen your track record as being great & the one negative wouldn't have mattered to most of them.