Negative Feedback Boondoggle
I purchased an item from a eBay Seller who used a screenshot of my messaging to him that I had unresolved questions and wanted to cancel the order as his support he had communicated with me yet choose not to respond. He ignored my questions when he committed after my negative review for poor communications that I asked him no questions.
He left a negative Buyers review based on this lie and eBay does nothing.
He sent me a message to rescind my negative review or he would negatively review me. That was a threat and according to an eBay Chat rep that broke eBay policies.
WHAT ARE THE eBAY Policies?
Can a Buyer write a negative experience from a Seller? Without being threatened?
It seems that if a Buyer experiences anything negative with a transaction with a buyer eBay does not properly moderate.
In two instances with recent eBay purchases the Sellers used such language as "clean" and "working" with no details. One device had a screen protector on it and the Seller said don't remove for a protective case. Do you know why? The screen was cracked. The second is a iPad I bought that was clean and I had sent a message to the Seller that he says he didn't receive and then when the confirming purchase email came from eBay it said there would be a delay in shipping (I paid $7.99 for 2 day shipping so I purchased on Dec 20 and did not receive it till January 6th). On January 2nd I got an email from the seller that he was shipping the iPad but I did not see the email till the 3rd and I responded with two questions about the battery health and can I cancel the order due to the delay in shipping and no response from the Seller. I only received a response (with a snapshot by him of our emails and my questions that he did not answer) and I wrote a negative review based on poor communications from the Seller and he next sent me an email threatening me to rescind.
eBay has done nothing and I have a negative review from this liar saying beware selling to me.
Why does eBay allow a buyer to submit negative feedback, when the proof of poor communications is provided by the lying Seller, and bullying by the Seller.
ps The iPad has a dying battery and if I had known would not of purchased. Hence the Feedback Boondoggle.
house*of*paws
·8 months agoHi @zbw88
It sounds like you want to preserve your right to trash a seller with negative feedback … but expect eBay to prevent a seller from defending themselves from what they believe to be an unjust attack.
The seller’s feedback of you will likely be removed by eBay upon request. It comes across as more explanatory than negative … but you shouldn’t have difficulty getting it removed. Try contacting eBay on social media.
BTW, I think it would be to YOUR benefit to remove the negative you left as well, as I believe it will make you look troublesome to most sellers. Other sellers will understand that a seller in ‘Vacation mode’ will not be sent a buyer’s messages.
bonanza125
·8 months ago@zbw88
You don't get it. When you say "It is the Sellers responsibility." The seller was responsible by putting there account on vacation mode. Just because you answer emails during your vacation doesn't mean that all other sellers do. You can think it's whatever you want but yes you are responsible to understand that when you make a purchase with a seller on vacation mode there will be a delay.
"The eBay policy should be updated to instruct the Seller to communicate with the Buyer "If they still want the item" after the delay which is common business practice."
That's not happening. Ebay already has sent you the instructions. Unfortunately for you it's all on you as the buyer. Now would I contact the buyer after vacation just to make confirmation sure especially if a buyer asked a question or comments sure I would but not required.
"eBay has not responded to my complaint to the FACT the Seller threatened me and followed through with negative feedback on my account and has not removed that negative feedback by the Seller for the item he was paid for. This is a CLEAR violation of eBay policies."
They aren't going to respond to you as far as any threats. They handle the situation in house. Don't expect punishment to happen. If you filed a complaint about the feedback through Ebay system you should have received an email message stating the decision they made. They don't just not get back to you. If you filed the complaint through customer service there is a chance that a representative will not get back to you.
Here is my suggestion to you. Let the process play out and move on from this. The sellers threat was about negative review so I am unsure exactly what you are expecting. Ebay will not ban the seller. I am just telling you like it is right now. You are wasting your time. Move on!!
zbw88
OP8 months agoHe gave me a negative review in my profile and tried to get me to rescind my negative feedback by threat.
have you read the new updated ebay user agreement?
bonanza125
·8 months ago"He gave me a negative review in my profile and tried to get me to rescind my negative feedback by threat.
have you read the new updated ebay user agreement?"
I understand that however if you officially filed a case through the system and haven't heard anything back as far as feedback removal then I wouldn't worry too much about it. I am kind of surprised that Ebay hasn't sent you a message about its decision. You are a buyer. Continue to buy and move forward with other transactions. Just so you know you really haven't clarified what exactly was said as far as a threat. If the threat is "I will leave a negative review" as in leaving a negative review if you don't rescind then all Ebay would do is remove the review. They haven't done it so there isn't much you can do. Remember this just because you file a case appeal for removal doesn't guarantee a removal will happen.
krazzykats
·8 months agoeBay Returns
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bonanza125
·8 months agoAs far as the seller leaving a bad review to you as a buyer just file an appeal and that can be subject for removal being that sellers can't leave bad feedback. When you submit a cancellation request the seller doesn't have to honor that. You need to understand that. It is the right thing to do to honor it cause you have rights. You could just file a return case and just return the item. No questions asked. Ebay allows the return. Can that be a hassle well sure it can but when you purchase an item you are entering into a contract. When you make a purchase make sure you have all questions you have be answered before making that purchase.
zbw88
OP8 months agoI tried to send the Seller questions about the iPad on December 20th 2025 and the response I got from eBay was a header message that the Seller was on vacation. No message from the Seller.
The discourtesy of this seller is appalling. He sent me a message on January 2nd that he was then shipping the iPad and I resounded with my questions about battery health and cancelling the order.
I waited for a response and did not receive any. When you ask questions you expect a response. His "proof" he contacted me included my message asking questions.
My negative feedback was for poor communications and unresponsiveness.
He sent me a message demanding I rescind my negative feedback or he would leave me negative feedback. WHICH HE DID.
I filed a complaint with eBay and have heard nothing back from eBay,
I have documented proof he threatened me and he received my questions.
I do not trust eBay or the Seller to resolve this issue which is appalling customer service that takes a miracle to get in touch with eBay and because of this I decided to replace the battery in the iPad myself. Luckily the replacement works.
Buying any sort of technology on eBay is very hit or miss with eBay not protecting the buyer and not following up with the Seller. I say this because the eBay chat live person (a miracle to be able to contact) reviewed the messages between me and the seller and the rep said (and I have the transcript) that the Seller violated eBay policies by threatening me with negative feedback after he was paid and I called him out for poor communication which was and is the primary issue and my concern was justified since I had to replace the iPad battery.
Rule based disorder.
stainlessenginecovers
·8 months ago@zbw88 It was NOT a 'discourtesy' of the seller.
When a seller is 'on vacation' it shows that RIGHT ACROSS THE TOP of any listing; and you should then expect that
1.) seller will NOT see my message
2.) I should NOT buy from a seller on vacation if I have ANY reservations.
Another thing that happens when a seller returns from vacation and has allowed sales to continue while they were gone, is there could be 100's of 'packages' they need to prepare, label and get shipped out BEFORE reading, what could be 1000's of 'messages' from buyers.
So, you need to do 1 and 2 as I stated above in the future.
This one is on you.
zbw88
OP8 months agoYou missed the point he threatened me to leave negative feedback if I did not remove my negative feedback. This was and is a violation of eBay policies. eBay has done nothing.
Second my point was proven when he did not respond to my 2 questions on January 3rd. Even if the sale was final he should of communicated that the sale was final and answered my question about the battery health. I take that a being deceptive and hence a poor communicator. I have had very deceptive descriptions of of Apple products from two sellers so far and I see that there was a complaint in this forum about sellers selling fake Apple products. When I purchased other tech products the sellers used language that clearly described the items condition according to eBay policies. This seller used "clean" and all buyers should beware sellers that use a description of condition that superficially meet eBay policies.
Fun fact eBay just redid their User Agreement for their benefit only.
Extreme care has to be taken by buyers on eBay.
soh.maryl
·8 months agoDid you know that, no matter what, a seller cannot leave negative FB for buyers?
Or that, per the MBG, a buyer has 30 days after receipt to open an item not as described case for the defective item?
stainlessenginecovers
·8 months agoWriting an Essay 101; state the REAL issue at the beginning of a novel.
Then, when I see it's a novel, I will still ignore it as I'd rather wait till the movie comes out, but I will 'comment' on the MAIN topic.
soh.maryl
·8 months agoSorry to hear you've had an issue. The majority of eBay transactions, I believe, go smoothly.
The time to pose any questions you may have about an item is prior to committing to the purchase.
If/when you receive an item that's not as described, you have the protection of eBay's Money Back Guarantee for buyers. In order to use it correctly, you need to read it and understand it.
It appears that this whole issue might have had a different outcome for you if you had read the MBG.
bonanza125
·8 months ago@zbw88
You may not understand that when a seller is on vacation and the account is on vacation mode they will not have access to Ebay right away so you would have to wait. You were notified of this upfront and through message. You put yourself into this situation by buying from a seller who was on vacation. That's your fault. It's not appalling.
zbw88
OP8 months agoAgain you miss the point he threatened me if I did not rescind my negative feedback which is a CLEAR violation of eBay policies. This deserves negative feedback.
When I am on vacation I check my email and as a former textile seller I would personally respond to a customer when on vacation if they ordered something and I was away since I had the courtesy of sending them an email that I was away and if there were any questions it would have to wait. After confirmation of purchase I was informed by eBay the shipment would be delayed because the seller was on vacation (no indication of how long).
It is bull**bleep** to say I have to dig through eBay policies when I was the buyer. It is the Sellers responsibility.
The eBay policy should be updated to instruct the Seller to communicate with the Buyer "If they still want the item" after the delay which is common business practice. That would cover the inability to ask a question of the Seller while on vacation and provide a way to avoid what I ran into instead of an ostrich suddenly picking its' head out of its' hole and then threatening the buyer with negative feedback for negative feedback because he did not answer my questions.
eBay has not responded to my complaint to the FACT the Seller threatened me and followed through with negative feedback on my account and has not removed that negative feedback by the Seller for the item he was paid for. This is a CLEAR violation of eBay policies.
bonjourami
·8 months agoPerhaps the seller did not have access to a computer while on vacation. He did the right thing by applying vacation mode on his listings. You, however, did not.
12345jamesstamps
·8 months agowas in 'away mode'...I assume seller means he was in 'Time away' which a seller puts out a banner stating when item will be shipped when they return from a vacation which is on the item for sale before making a purchase. So a delay in shipping and no response to emails because seller is on 'time away'...quite normal.
'January 3rd'...sent 2 questions...sounds like you knew seller was on vacation...bought it on December 20th.
Why wait until January 3rd to ask questions?...and not any days before?
There's always two sides to a story.
'Time away' means seller is on vacation : there will be a delay shipping and no responses to emails since seller is on vacation.
Although you should not have gotten such a feedback from the seller you should not have been so hasty to leave feedback for the seller as such also.
You can return an item not as described or whatever...in the 30 days.
There is a money back guarantee of the item sold.
kibble-net
·8 months agoIt sounds to be like the seller's not interested in working with you as you've already left your scarlet mark on their profile.
Just open a return and stop trying to communicate with them. Ebay will get you a refund if they won't. Item not as advertised is the reason you're looking for.
In the future, if you have a problem, just open a return right away instead of waiting for a response.
mamacassidy
·8 months agoThe seller is not supposed to leave "negative-positive" feedback for a buyer.
However, it looks like you've left 2 negative feedbacks for sellers who did not accept a cancellation request after you ordered. You can only REQUEST a cancellation after you've placed an order, but a seller is not required to accept it. If I were that seller, I'd contact ebay to have that negative you left removed.
Your bigger problem here is that you need to ask questions about the item BEFORE you purchase.
As far as the ipad goes, if you believe it doesn't work correctly, you can open a return. Ebay offers a money back guarantee for 30 days. Even if the seller doesn't "accept" returns, if the item you buy is Not As Described or Damaged, the seller is forced to take the return.