eBay

aaamotorizedbikes2016 · ‎09-28-2017

We specialize in motorized bikes and we are sellers here on eBay. We've been active and loyal eBay sellers on and off since 1999 and our current store has been open since 2009. We are customer friendly and we're told that we are easy to talk to.

We maintained a 100% feedback rating for 17 years until last year when one very resentful, puerile buyer found an error in the wording of one of our listings and it took a week for him to receive his item as opposed to 3 days. He said our listing was "intentionally misleading".

It was a new item that we sold through our distributor in China and we had been misinformed (unintentionally) by them about where the item was being shipped from. So our eBay listing unwittingly reflected that misinformation.

We corrected the error in our listing, we refunded the angry buyer's money AND we let him keep the item. We did this with the mutual agreement that he would revise his negative feedback.

We lived up to our end immediately, but he was moving quite slowly on his promise to revise his feedback. Three weeks later I asked him very politely when he was going to be able to fulfill his end of our agreement. Apparently this bothered and/or made him feel rushed so he became irate and angry.

He said he that he never promised to change his feedback and that we needed to leave him alone! So he did not to live up to his promise and he did not change his feedback and it remains the only single negative feedback on our record to date. Because we were just getting started though, our sales were low in quantity, so 1 negative feedback brought our rating from 100% down to 91%.

Since this time, our sales have literally dropped to ZERO. From $15K in one quarter to $0 in the blink of an eye. Who wants to buy from a seller with a 91% feedback rating? There are plenty of sellers with 100% feedback rating who are selling the same thing.

eBay was useless in helping us with this. They said there was no way they could "make him live up to his promise" and that once feedback has been left, there was no way to change it or delete it from their system.

We’ve been loyal sellers on and off since 1999, but that apparently meant nothing to eBay when we needed them.

aaamotorizedbikes2016 · ‎10-03-2017

Well you could be right. I guess one good insult deserves another, so I can't really argue with you for saying this. Dare I say, "Thank you"?

I have to say, this has been a very cathartic experience for me.

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tamaralea · ‎09-29-2017

Do you have a new supplier? Look at your last 4 feedbacks. 3 are not good. That is why people aren't buying.

coolections · ‎09-29-2017

You need to put in your description that your item comes from China. Buyer hate when the see a California seller but find out it is really from China.

dakotasmoke · ‎09-29-2017

@tamaralea wrote:
Do you have a new supplier? Look at your last 4 feedbacks. 3 are not good. That is why people aren't buying.

Plus one that was revised...

dhbookds · ‎09-29-2017

Agree with others.........plus having this as the first thing in your description is a total turnoff, my opinion, to buyers:

Feedback percentage here on eBay is not accurate and should not be used as a determining factor in your purchase. We were at 100% for 17 years until last year when one very resentful, puerile buyer found an error in the wording of one of our listings.

We corrected the error in our listing, refunded his money AND let him keep the item with the mutual agreement that he would revise his negative feedback. We lived up to our end, but he decided not to live up to his promise. Since this time, our sales have dropped to ZERO. Who wants to buy from a seller with a 91% feedback rating? There are plenty of sellers with 100% feedback rating who are selling the same thing.

We’ve been loyal sellers on and off since 1999, but that meant nothing to eBay when we needed them.

You are saying a buyer had a valid point in his complaint, that you corrected to the best of your ability but calling him " resentful, puerile" because he didn't change his feedback. Far better to say........We made a mistake in the listing and corrected immediately......blah, blah........IF you mention it at all.

Personally, I'd start over with another id. Your sales history is doing you no good......because it's too old. I'm not sure but what the instruction manual doen't link to a .com so that may be considered an outside link and the listing may be removed anyway.

phanoto · ‎09-29-2017

If you wrote the response to the negative you received before you asked the buyer to change it to a positive, that is the reason the buyer would not change it. The response was offensive to the buyer.

You would look better to buyers if you not say anything in your listing about the buyer who gave you the negative.

Follow-ups should tell what the seller did wrong, and why. It should not say anything about what the buyer did wrong because that does not look good to other buyers.

southernfriedbelle · ‎09-29-2017

@aaamotorizedbikes2016, not only is your Disclaimer a turnoff, as @dhbookds stated, but it makes you appear unprofessional to potential buyers. I would respectfully suggest removing the disclaimer from your listings, as it is probably not helping you attract buyers and may well be turning them away.

Also, I would be careful in negotiating a refund and making it contingent upon revision of feedback. That could easily be construed as bordering on feedback extortion. I would certainly not be putting that out there for the world to see.

Hope things turn around for you.

Belle

jonathankirkland · ‎09-29-2017

As a buyer here on ebay for years and more recently a seller, I can tell you that the disclaimer is a huge no-no.

Whenever I go into a listing to read the description, if I immediately start reading things that are completely unrelated to the item of interest, it appears to me the seller is unprofessional and I look elsewhere.

That being said, I would suggest simply removing that entire disclaimer. It's entirely unnecessary to bring attention to this incident, especially the way you have it as the "main" attraction in your description.

I would recommend possibly including something AFTER your item description in each listing stating something short and sweet to the effect of:

"Specializing in the motorized bikes since 2009. Active sellers since 1999. We strive for customer satisfaction. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us!"

It's short and sweet and let's them know that you are open to fielding questions about anything, which would include possible inquiries about the negative, at which point you could THEN copy/paste your concern over this unreasonable buyer. But even in a private inquiry I would try not to be insulting about that person since that could be a further turn off. In this case I would recommend simply sticking to the facts and stating what happened and thanking them for their inquiry.

*madison · ‎09-29-2017

Since this time, our sales have literally dropped to ZERO.

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Probably because of that ridiculous statement you have put in your listings about the buyers neg.

You have even said in the statement.. "Who wants to buy from a seller with a 91% feedback rating? There are plenty of sellers with 100% feedback rating who are selling the same thing."

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So, potential buyers ( including me ) would think, yeah, this seller is right, I will look for a 100% feedback seller.

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Also, the rest of the statement is a big turn off for potential buyers, it shows your bitterness towards the buyer and ebay, and experienced buyers who know policy, will also know you attempted feedback extortion, but it didn't work.

You are doing yourself no favours with that statement at all, you are killing your sales yourself, the buyers neg isn't doing it. Most buyers are not turned off just because of one neg.

penguins_dont_fly · ‎09-29-2017

So I went to dinner at this restaurant the other night. They had a few bad yelp reviews, but nothing too concerning.

Sat down at the table and the waiter immediately starts ranting about the lousy customers that just left, calling them names and telling me that they were liars up to no good. Instead of telling me the specials, he went off on another rant and pointed out the big bold letter disclaimer in the menu about how the restaurant reviews were not to be trusted.

I got up and left.

penguins_dont_fly is a Volunteer Community Mentor
Buying and Selling since 2013

aproudparent2010 · ‎09-29-2017

That disclaimer makes you look very childish and would make me stay away from your stuff.

If you want to have a disclaimer you need one that says your stuff comes from China

getitright1234 · ‎09-29-2017

OP, listen to what others have told you.

1. It realy should not matter where you get your product, unless your buyer specifically declares, they only want a USA manufactured product. You need to make sure you can deliver your product within the time line disclosed in your listing.

2. End this selling ID and start a new one .........learn from the issues/problems associated with your current selling account.

baantiques · ‎09-29-2017

It's not surprising you aren't selling anything.

We all have bad buyers and get negatives. It's part of doing business on Ebay. Get over it and move on. - if you carry that resentment with you it's going to continue to kill your business.

NEVER let any resentment you have spill over into your dealings with other buyers. Your descriptions reflect that this is happening. Revise your description, and get rid of your rant. Now.

It seems you have a problem with buyers thinking your item is coming from the US when it's actually coming from China. You need to be up front about this in your listings. Will it turn off potential buyers? Probably, but that is the much better alternative to a negative. You are already in a precarious position WRT to your account, don't make it worse.

It's unfortunate that one negative has dropped you down so low, percentage wise. But that illustrates the importance of not pissing off your buyers by doing things like not being up front about where the item they just purchased ships from.

The only thing you can do now is get back to basics - be on your best bahavior, make sure your items are described properly and there are no surprises for the buyer, ship within your handling time, etc etc. The buyers will come back eventually, but it's going to take time. Good luck.

dakotasmoke · ‎09-29-2017

@dhbookds wrote:
Agree with others.........plus having this as the first thing in your description is a total turnoff, my opinion, to buyers:

Feedback percentage here on eBay is not accurate and should not be used as a determining factor in your purchase. We were at 100% for 17 years until last year when one very resentful, puerile buyer found an error in the wording of one of our listings.
We corrected the error in our listing, refunded his money AND let him keep the item with the mutual agreement that he would revise his negative feedback. We lived up to our end, but he decided not to live up to his promise. Since this time, our sales have dropped to ZERO. Who wants to buy from a seller with a 91% feedback rating? There are plenty of sellers with 100% feedback rating who are selling the same thing.
We’ve been loyal sellers on and off since 1999, but that meant nothing to eBay when we needed them.

You are saying a buyer had a valid point in his complaint, that you corrected to the best of your ability but calling him " resentful, puerile" because he didn't change his feedback. Far better to say........We made a mistake in the listing and corrected immediately......blah, blah........IF you mention it at all.

Personally, I'd start over with another id. Your sales history is doing you no good......because it's too old. I'm not sure but what the instruction manual doen't link to a .com so that may be considered an outside link and the listing may be removed anyway.

I think we know who the puerile one is, and its not the buyer...

itsjustasprain · ‎09-29-2017

@aaamotorizedbikes2016 wrote:

Since this time, our sales have literally dropped to ZERO. From $15K in one quarter to $0 in the blink of an eye. Who wants to buy from a seller with a 91% feedback rating? There are plenty of sellers with 100% feedback rating who are selling the same thing.

I cant believe that you have actually announced in your listing description for the one i just looked at that you are telling people right there that your sales have dropped to zero. But you did - which is not the way to give future buyers confidence in buying from you.

I also see that you are charging $6.95 Economey shipping but then saying in the descriptoin that AK-HI-PR buyers must pay you an extra $50 which I dont think is enforceable the way you have it set up. Besides - if its shipping from China anyway then does it actually matter which port it comes into?