Ebay staff not following their own policy on Negative feedback removal eligibility

[sochinet]

Shipped out an item on time with my tracking number details stating "usps in possession" after I handed the item off. Due to the holidays USPS delivery took too long and my buyer rushed to give me a negative. I appealed to have the negative removed because I am eligible for feedback removal based on "seller protection" & "top rated seller" Policy. I received a response from the offline staff later saying "We understand how important positive feedback is, but giving everyone a chance to share their experiences helps keep our marketplace trusted and fair. This won’t affect your rating as a seller." Also they closed the case with "Ineligible for removal"

Why do I have to have my account suffer due to ebay staff working around their own policy and not wanting to follow there own policy?

"Events outside your control" - Ebay "Seller protection for all sellers"

"An item arrived late but tracking shows that you shipped on time" - Ebay "Seller protection for all sellers"

I appreciate the time spent by ebay staff to figuring out my situation however I don't understand how offline staff can just enforce their opinion that goes against ebay policy.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

[bashort]

yes this is not fair but just make a professional response like "bought xx/12/23, shipped xx/12/23 finally delivered xx/12/23, USPS was very slow.

No one will think anything of it.

[bashort]

I read the fb policy and it says that bad fb for late deliveries will be removed when the item has a ontime first scan and a systemic delivery delay issue. The ebay rep you talked to is not your problem, ebay policy is

It looks to me that bad FB for late delivery  should be removed if the tracking shows that the item was scanned on time, why would they not do it this way.

Below is the policy

We can determine through valid tracking that the defect, feedback, or late shipment was the direct result of systemic delays in shipping or communication. Examples include wide-scale shipping carrier delays, items stuck in customs, or power outages due to extreme weather. Actual qualifying events are listed on our announcement board

[inhawaii]

Was the package in fact late?

Can you giver us a timeline?

[buyselljack2016]

"An item arrived late but tracking shows that you shipped on time" - Ebay "Seller protection for all sellers"

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@sochinet 

That is seller protection policy is to keep us from getting a ding on our seller metrics for shipping. It is not a seller protection for feedback.

Unfair as it may seem, there is nothing in the buyer's feedback that clarifies that the problem was not caused by the seller. eBay goes by what they see in the feedback. Carrier delays ? eBay thought is............ you chose the carrier. The results are on you.

You might try reaching out to the buyer to politely explain the issue showing that you did all that you could by shipping in a timely manner and ask them if they would consider revising the feedback.  Again politely let them know that you are sorry for the carrier delay but that the delay was beyond your control, and that the negative hurts your account.

You can send a "revision request".  Buyer has 10 days to revise.

[m60driver]

The option that has worked for me a few times is to politely ask the buyer to change the neg to a neutral.

[sapphire_studio]

If the buyer refuses to revise it then just put in a professional reply to the feedback like someone above suggested and it really won't hurt you. If you are upbeat and professional without an attitude, it can actually help future buyers like you more. This feedback will in fact hurt the buyer that left it much more than you. Anyone that reads their feedback they leave for others (like if they're considering taking an offer from them) will probably not want to sell to them.

[bashort]

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@sapphire_studio wrote:

If the buyer refuses to revise it then just put in a professional reply to the feedback like someone above suggested and it really won't hurt you. If you are upbeat and professional without an attitude, it can actually help future buyers like you more. This feedback will in fact hurt the buyer that left it much more than you. Anyone that reads their feedback they leave for others (like if they're considering taking an offer from them) will probably not want to sell to them.

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I think that bad feedback in some cases can actually be used to the sellers advantage, no one looks at green feedback but many look at red feedback, this is a chance for a prospective buyer to see how you handle things when that go bad which will happen from time to time.

[retro_entertainment_collectibles]

Whats the tracking scan show?  Was the label printed ahead of the day it actually shipped?  What form of mail service was used?  Media Mail can be notoriously slow at times especially this time of season as it takes "back seat" to literally every other type of parcel mail with the USPS.

[retro_entertainment_collectibles]

Any seller printing a day or days in advance the shipping label just as a point of discussion should never do that.  The buyer is getting a communication "You're item has shipped."  They go look at the tracking and it says "USPS expecting the parcel."  They look four hours later, still says it, they look next day still says it, on and on.  Just making for potential buyer anxiety that doesnt need take place.

[sapphire_studio]

I don't agree with this. As sellers we should be able to print the label as early as we want to. The buyer should educate themselves about the process if it gives them anxiety.

[reallynicestamps]

and a systemic delivery delay issue.

I suspect this is related to large scale delays like hurricanes or floods.

Not a single package that got caught up in the normal Christmas rush.

[rugerskick]

Another concrete example of ebay deliberately choosing to be unnecessarily adversarial and punitive towards sellers, even to the point of not following their own policies involving removing negative seller feedback.

This is whzt I am talking about people.  This kind of active negative attitude towards sellers.  This is the direction ebay is going, and they are increasing speed in this direction.

[sochinet]

The package delivery was in fact late however my shipment was on TIME.

Buyer paid - December 4th

USPS IN POSSESSION OF PACKAGE - December 5th

BUYER RECIEVED - DECEMBER 15th

Package size 4x4x4

I used standard usps service, never had an issue until the years Christmas.

[chapeau-noir]

I would think that neg is removable.  You can always try eBay for Business on Facebook - as long as your handling and shipping were on time you should NOT have this neg. Sometimes it takes a little persistence.