We got our first negative feedback, even though we offer 30 day returns

[whiskeyron]

Sooner or later, we expected to get negative feedback.  It comes with business. This was a suprise, as we didn't receive any comments from the buyer that they were not pleased with the item. We offer 30 day returns, and would have worked w her. We sent her a message after receiving the feedback, and so far haven't heard from her.  Is it possible to contact ebay and question this?

[itsmostlikelytrashnottreasure]

Thanks @a*river*runs*through*it!

It might be removed I would at least try for every neg feedback you get that way you might get lucky.

[d-k_treasures]

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@meoxcrosswrote:

Maybe if we had an item rating database like wikipedia, then sellers could avoid a whole lot of negs cause some buyers that leave negs are dissatisfied with the item and not the seller.

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What good would that do on antique/unique items? Who would see them, since they would all be one-off's?

[chrysylys]

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@itsmostlikelytrashnottreasurewrote:

Please tell how I'm wrong.

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There is absolutely NO requirement to do anything (like contacting the seller or using returns) before leaving FB, or to leave it at all.

[chrysylys]

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@itsmostlikelytrashnottreasurewrote:

It might be removed I would at least try for every neg feedback you get that way you might get lucky.

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Sellers should not be permitted to manipulate or attempt to mainipulate FB.

[meoxcross]

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@d-k_treasureswrote:

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@meoxcrosswrote:

Maybe if we had an item rating database like wikipedia, then sellers could avoid a whole lot of negs cause some buyers that leave negs are dissatisfied with the item and not the seller.

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What good would that do on antique/unique items? Who would see them, since they would all be one-off's?

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It's better than getting a neg when you're not the problem no? It will also weed out buyers that are simply leaving negs to damage the sellers reputation.

[livadia]

@whiskeyron

What did you say to the buyer when you contacted her?   Did you reiterate you have a 30-day return policy and gladly will accept the return?

TBH, I doubt eBay will do anything about the feedback.  Though if your buyer does decide to return it and tries to claim SNAD, I think you could make a case for it being a Remorse Return (meaning the buyer would have to pay for return shipping) based on the feedback she left:   "Just wasn't what I expected."

If you already did tell the buyer that you will gladly accept her return, be patient.  It's the weekend and many people have better things to do than hang out on eBay.  If you didn't say that, I'd send another message conveying that information.   Don't mention/request she change her feedback now as that may tick her off.  Do that if/when she does agree to the return and you get your item back.

If she doesn't respond by the end of next week, call eBay about it, making sure they read the message you sent saying you'd gladly accept her return.   As I said, I doubt they will remove the feedback, but at least you'll know where you stand on that score.

If eBay won't help and the seller is non-responsive, then you can always leave a comment about her feedback.   I'd probably say something like:   "Return always possible w/in 30 days.  Buyer never requested."  and leave it at that.

If she decides sometime within the next 30 days she does want to return the item, then you can ask her to revise the feedback once she's returned the item and refunded her in full. 

I had one about a year ago that was similar.   Buyer was shipped a smaller size in error.  I never knew of the mix-up until I got the red donut.   I contacted the buyer, explained I noticed her feedback and apologized for the mix-up.  Reiterated that I work hard to achieve seller satisfaction so was dismayed she hadn't contacted me first so I could address the problem.   Sent her the larger size of the item at my expense and told her to keep both so she didn't have to bother with the return and apologized again for the inadvertent mix-up.

I hoped she would revise her feedback  "once she was made whole" but just in case she didn't, I also added a comment to her original feedback saying something like:  "Replacement sent immediately once seller was made aware" so that anyone who may have looked at the Neg would see I had addressed the problem.

Even though I *didn't* ask, once the buyer received the item, she went in and revised her initial feedback to a "Positive" with a very complimentary comment as well.   Your buyer may or may not be inclined to do so, but at least if you leave a professional/factual response to her comment, anyone looking won't give her rating much credence.

It's also my experience, that not that many people actually take the time to comb through feedback comments especially if it requires scrolling through several pages.  So it won't take long as you get more feedback for the red donut to fall off your first page and most won't even know it's there.

But yes, people may see that your overall feedback score isn't 100%, but in 12 months your buyer's negative will not be counted toward your overall score and you'll be back up to 100% if there are no others in the meantime.

Stinks when a buyer does something like this  But you never know, maybe she didn't think she could return the item and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[city*satins]

It might be removed I would at least try for every neg feedback you get that way you might get lucky.

A feller I knew had the reddest cheeks I ever did see.  He'd go up to women in the bar and whisper in their ear.  They'd haul back and slap him.

I said to him, why do you do that when you know you're just going to get slapped?

Well, he said,  said every 100 times or so, I don't get slapped and I get lucky.  So it's worth at least trying.

[itsmostlikelytrashnottreasure]

Hi @chrysylys...

It is not manipulation of feedback if the feedback is wrong... 

What I did forget to say is:

Only when your asking id justified (not just when you want the feedback removed)

If the buyer never gave you a chance you should try to get the feedback removed.

And if the try for removal doesn't work? Reply like the others say.

[itsmostlikelytrashnottreasure]

@city*satins... Thanks. But you don't get too many negative feedback so a a little bit of your time for the possibility of removal?

[city*satins]

But you don't get too many negative feedback so a a little bit of your time for the possibility of removal?

The other posters have answered you correctly when saying not removable, sorry.  Buyer can leave negatives like that with no recourse for the seller.

Best hope is to have the buyer revise, but you can't make anything you might the buyer (return, refund, partial refund etc etc) contingent on the revision.  You have to make the offer of remedy/return and only after that is done and dusted, bring up the question of revising feedback.  

Wish I could give you good news.

By the way - if you'll excuse my going off topic -you have a couple issues with your dolls listings - I only looked at 2 Madame Alexander dolls, no others.  

1. It doesn't make sense to say that the dolls appear never to have been taken out of the box when you've photographed them taken out of the box. 

2. Your shipping terms are contradictory and problematic:

   1. Listing shows s/h to me is $6  but text in description says $7

   2. Text in description says you might charge more to some locations.   This is not allowed.  If you want to charge variable shipping rates you have to set up your shipping as variable based on weight and zip code  not FIXED as you have.

[city*satins]

It is not manipulation of feedback if the feedback is wrong

Wrong only covers a short list of types of wrong - e.g. if the buyer says that the seller raised the price of shipping, or didn't reply to messages.   i.e.  provable based on eBay's records of invoice/payment/shipping/Contact Member messages/listing itself.

But wrong doesn't cover the buyer's fantasy life. If the buyer fantasized that he was getting something that looked like A but actually looked like B, and says so in a neg - that's allowed.

[itsmostlikelytrashnottreasure]

I have no listings. @city*satins. 

Thanks for everybody's help. I learned something new on eBay today 😉

[city*satins]

Right - I'll direct my comments to the OP, who seems to have got lost in the shuffle.

[turquoisetulips]

 Is it possible to contact ebay and question this? whiskeyron -op - unquote ----------------------------

I'm sorry this happened  especially after all the years you've been selling . I agree the buyer should have contacted  you if they were unhappy with their purchase  before leaving negative feedback . Sometimes solutions to problems  like this aren't always about returns . You could have offered a partial refund or a discount on the next purchase  to try and make amends . At least the buyer should have given you a chance to do so , even e bay recommends this tactic   to buyers I do believe . It's worth a try to contact e bay to get the negative removed based on the circumstances ,, but sorry to say ,,don't count on it . E bay considers feedback one persons opinion ,, so they don't consider it to be  very serious matter . Good luck - Tulips 

[turquoisetulips]

What situation?  What reason would you use for removal? fernwood - unquote ------

I'd say the reason would be ,, the buyer didn't follow  the standard procedure that e bay recommends  to contact the seller first to work on a solution  before leaving negative feedback.  I realize its not mandatory  but it would have been the proper thing to do.  Tulips