Buyer had an item that was not able to be delivered then left negative feedback
We recently had a buyer purchase an item from us that was not able to be delivered. Since we check tracking fairly often, once we saw that the package was not able to be delivered, we contacted the buyer. The buyer was actually contacted 3 times via ebay messages and we also attempted to call the buyer and left a voice mail. The package was returned to us and still no contact from the buyer. We were waiting to hear from the buyer, since this was our last of this item and wanted to give them a chance to provide us with a correct address or at least verify the address that they have on ebay. Maybe we should have just refunded them, but we were just trying to be nice. Well, we finally heard from the buyer via negative feedback. Duh. We noticed the same issue on the buyers left feedback for other sellers. The buyer was also leaving negative feedback for packages not received.
Would you at least think the buyer would answer the messages if us a sellers are trying to reach out?
Any advice would be helpful. We just chalk up the negative feedback as buyer must really not know what they are doing or what is going on.
It is just sad that they can leave negative feedback like this and we do not have any way to fix it.
sextons-sweet-deals
·1 year agoDid you ship with signature required? That may be the issue of the buyer not wanting to sign for it.
Did you Google map the address? What did it look like?
notredamemom2013
OP1 year agoWe only require a signature on items that are of a certain value. The location was googled and it was a condo type development. It is interesting that the buyer also left negative feedback for 2 other sellers saying that they did not receive their items, which tells me the address may be an issue. We did try for sure to contact the buyer multiple times and never received any response. Just interesting that some people are so quick to hand out a negative feedback without even thinking, hey, maybe there is a problem and I should check my ebay messages or my voice mail. Haha
momtoabeautifuldaughter
·1 year agoIf you use Facebook then contact eBay through their Facebook page and politely and professionally explain what happened and tell them you would like the feedback removed.
soh.maryl
·1 year agoWhy was the package unable to be delivered?
notredamemom2013
OP1 year agoThe USPS said the address was vacant. We checked it on google maps and it was a condo like home. That is what prompted us to message the buyer at once to confirm the address when we saw on the tracking and it was going to be returned to us. Still trying to understand after 3 messages and a phone call why the buyer could not have messaged us back. We also left a message yesterday asking very professionally about the feedback and crickets for a response.
momtoabeautifuldaughter
·1 year agoIf you use Facebook then contact eBay through their Facebook page and politely and professionally explain what happened and tell them you would like the feedback removed.
glorybells
·1 year agoYour reply to the feedback was very professional; I don’t think the negative is going to deter anyone from buying from you. But, I would try to get it removed.
notredamemom2013
OP1 year agoThank you!
soh.maryl
·1 year agoYou know you can reply to FB, right, but be very careful.
coastaltechsolution
·1 year ago@soh.maryl
Looks like the OP has responded to the Neg FB, if it is the correct FB.
If so then I say it was a professional reply.
notredamemom2013
OP1 year agoThank you. We did try to reply the best we could. I feel we did everything right.
soh.maryl
·1 year agoDid I somehow imply that the feedback was incorrect?
If so, did not mean to do that.
And did we ever actually find out why the package couldn't be delivered?
coastaltechsolution
·1 year ago@soh.maryl
No you did not imply that the FB was incorrect.
I was just stating that the OP had left a FB reply ðŸ˜
soh.maryl
·1 year agoThank you.
kalyoth
·1 year agoShould you end up refunding them, process said refund with the shipping costs deducted, including any return service fees. The failure on delivery does invalidate their seller protection & does count as fulfillment of the buyers obligations. Ebay does not require a refund. However, good sellers do weigh the refund vs. the buyer melting down & the results of said meltdown.
evelyb30
·1 year agoRefunds also make a chargeback less likely. Since the OP got their merch back, I'd refund purchase price only, and subtract any return postage charged by the USPS. I'd also request feedback removal from eBay on the grounds of bad buyer address. If the Bots get shirty, take it to one of the social media sites (X, Insta, Facebook) and send a Message.
notredamemom2013
OP1 year agoThank you. We did refund the seller minus the shipping costs. I agree with the meltdown for sure.
35 years in retail management has taught us well, but sometimes ebay customers can be a whole different animal than dealing with a customer face to face. Thank you so much for your response.
albertabrightalberta
·1 year agoIf this ever happens again, don't keep bugging the buyer. Once the item is returned, just issue a refund to the buyer after deducting any costs you incurred. Include an explanation for the refund to the effect of, "item returned to seller after buyer provided invalid/nondeliverable address. Non-reimbursed costs deducted from refund."
notredamemom2013
OP1 year agoWe will for sure and thank you so much for your help.
bonjourami
·1 year agohttps://www.ebay.com/sellerhelp/feedback
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year agoCould not help but notice that this was a buyer who made an offer and had you accept it.
I find the buyers who make an offer more likely to suffer from buyer's remorse, and handle it poorly.
bonjourami
·1 year agoHave you contacted Ebay about removing that fb? Since his item coud not be delivered and was returned to you, he lost all buyer protection.
notredamemom2013
OP1 year agoThank you. I actually could not find a direct way to contact them. Most of the places sent me to a prompt and I could not find anything that applied to this. Any contact help would be wonderful. Thank you so much!