Feedback System for Sellers Is Flawed and unfair (They need a new system)
Let me start by saying i’ve been with ebay for over 13 years. Recently I had a buyer message me after I sold at item demanding the item should be delivered. (It had been 48 hrs) He was fuming mad and used all caps locks. WHY ARE YOU BACKING OUT OF OUR DEAL? This is after I refunded him after he was upset it wasn’t delivered. I do everything I can to make my customers happy , but some buyers are unreasonable and are not willing to work with you no matter what. In this case based off of how he was acting I knew he would leave poor feedback. The shipping for USPS mail is an estimate and not a guarantee. Anyways I contacted customer service, and they told me the feedback would be removed. I then get an email stating our decision for removal of feedback is denied. E bay doesn’t listen to you as a human and doesn’t care even if you prove facts to them. They side with the buyer every time and are dishonest as well. My feedback score is down to 88% now and I have over 975 positive ratings. How does 2 bad/ 975 good equal 88%? This system is a failure and needs to change.
busters-trains
·11 months agoEbays feedback system is nothing more than a JOKE .. Its all ONE SIDED in favor of the buyer !! sold an item to a buyer after item was delivered. Without first contacting me with a message. The buyer left a Negative Feedback left for the transaction. Claiming the item he received was broken and damaged ??? The item was securely wrapped and packed for shipping. I asked the buyer to send pictures . Buyer replies " I dont own a camera or a cell phone " What ! Unbelievable ! does this buyer live in a cave with No electric or running water ?? I informed the buyer that the damage was done with the shipping and careless handling with the postal service . I am Not responsible . Due to once the item is taken to the post office it is -out of my hands- As far as I am concerned is that " the issues that led to this Negative Feedback was beyond my control" I sent a Feedback Removal to Ebay and was -Denied- Does anyone read the removal requests . I dont think so. What a Joke.
gurlcat
·11 months agoYou absolutely ARE responsible for how your item arrives to the buyer. You packed it, and you chose which carrier to use. Don't tell us you would just accept Amazon or Target or whatever telling you "Too bad, looks like your item was destroyed in transit, not our problem!" 🤣
gurlcat
·11 months agoI have never seen a seller give so many ALL CAPS angry "positives" to buyers. You know those are all policy violations, right?
busters-trains
·11 months agohey gurlcat just to let you know the buyer in the negative feedback left me the negative feedback in all Caps - the feedback left is ALL THE MIRRORS -WORK LIGHTS ON TOP WERE BROKEN . YOU SHOULD OF USED BUBBLE WRAP . like I stated the buyer did not send me any pictures for the proof of the damage. buyer claims No camera or cell phone to send pictures. as for the bubble wrap comment I do not use bubble wrap anymore - due to the last time I used bubble wrap the buyer sent me a "sarcastic message" that the use of bubble wrap is no good for the land fills it is pollution also it is being dumped in the oceans.
mam98031
·11 months agoThat doesn't mean you should be giving your customers feedback in all caps. In the written words, that is yelling at them. You'd likely do better just talking to them in a normal tone IMHO. As well as stop posting negative remarks on your buyer's feedback as that is a policy violation for sellers. You are risking the health of your account over this. One day you may find it simply wasn't worth it.
gurlcat
·11 months agoThe ALL-CAPS thing was the least important part of anything I said to you, but if you think you should use all caps because the buyer did, that's pretty much how a 6-year-old thinks. 🤣
As for bubble wrap, there are all kinds of alternatives to keep an item from breaking during transit, even if the shipping workers drop-kick the box or throw it across the room (which they do, all the time, and YOU ARE STILL RESPONSIBLE for the item's condition when it reaches the buyer).
So whatever you used wasn't good enough, or you just didn't use enough of it. You're lucky the buyer only gave you a negative feedback and hasn't done a credit card chargeback ....yet.
mam98031
·11 months ago@busters-trains
You should update yourself on the changes coming. Some start this month with more to follow next month.
And you should know that they type of feedback you often leave for buyers is against the rules. If Ebay catches up to you, you will likely get sanctioned.
fern*wood
·1 year agoAre you familiar with your dashboard and the metrics ebay rates your selling account with? Are you showing any defects on your dashboard?
chevymontecarlo88
·1 year agoMoving forward.
Look at your handling time (1 day to 30 days) and increase it to what you think will cover the time to ship it. For the couches, i would extend the handling longer to give you time packing it.
If you are presented with another unhappy buyer, feel free to make a quick post on these boards. Many times, you can get quick help that may steer you in the right direction.
I would not stress too much on the feedback because you don't have that much (now) and if you sell a few more items, it will go up quickly. (Percentage - assuming happy buyer) If you can't let it go, try contacting the eBay Facebook customer service to plead your case. Good luck
It is not a perfect system and not every buyer is patient/reasonable, but you do need to understand your shipping policies (handling time) especially if you plan on shipping larger items like you have listed and sold in the past.
Learn from the experience (regardless of who was wrong) and make the necessary changes to prevent it from happening again.
Good luck
gurlcat
·1 year agoThe other neg was also from a disappointed refunded buyer. What reason did you choose from the menu for issuing these refunds?
Not only is it a really bad look to buyers considering a purchase, but backing out of paid sales is the #1 least tolerated behavior as far as eBay is concerned. You get very few of these excused per year, for unavoidable mistakes. I guarantee eBay would not consider fearing a negative a reasonable excuse. And look, you got one anyway, and if there were any more who just didn't leave feedback, eBay would still count those as defects to your account. Before you know it, you could be in 'Below Standard' status, paying higher fees and having various restrictions to your account. And it can take a long time to dig out of that.
mam98031
·1 year ago@jysales
I think you misunderstood what one day shipping meant. If someone buys on Thursday, you ship on Friday.
Calmly talking to your buyer would have likely been the best thing to do. Don't match their anger, be the exact opposite. The voice of reason. Let them know they may have you confused with some other seller. They purchased on Thursday and you were shipping the very next day. Offering a refund as the resolution to their angry email likely made them more upset.
albertabrightalberta
·1 year ago@jysales
The listing for the Oakley glasses ended on Thursday, May 15 and had 1 day shipping. So you would have had to ship on Friday, May 16.
"(It had been 48 hrs)"
If it was 48 hours post sale, you were late in shipping.
This isn't to say the buyer wasn't impatient.
gurlcat
·1 year agoThe score isn't based on your entire selling career. You may not like that, but you would if you had a lot of negative feedbacks last year and they magically vanished from your score this year.
jysales
OP1 year agoI didn’t realize this. Can you send a screenshot of my full score ? I’m not sure how to locate it.
gurlcat
·1 year agoYou mean the percent positive out of all the sales you've ever gotten feedback for? That is not visible anywhere, to anyone.
ten_o_nine
·1 year ago@jysales
This is after I refunded him after he was upset it wasn’t delivered.
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Why wasn't it delivered? Why did you refund?
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In this case based off of how he was acting I knew he would leave poor feedback.
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So, you can read a customer mind?
jysales
OP1 year agoHe was very upset, and so I offered to refund him. It had been one day handling time and was ready to be shipped out the next day. I did all I could. I could tell by the all caps lock that he wasn’t willing to work with me.
ten_o_nine
·1 year ago@jysales
Probably was offended by the refund offer, I wouldn't worry about negative feedback, it's part of doing business, I get them all the time.😃
jysales
OP1 year agoThe order had an *estimated* delivery date of 2 to 4 days. I was preparing to ship out within 24 hours with a one business day handling time and he demanded it should be delivered in 48 hours. This just affects sellers ratings negatively and I feel like we lose out on potential sales because of the rating system. It is an easy decision for removal on customer services part. If it’s unjustified , I feel they should have more empathy with loyal sellers who try and follow policy the best they can.
gurlcat
·1 year agoIn your original post you said "it had been 48 hours" at the time when the buyer contacted you.
So now I suspect the buyer was actually mad that you had not yet SHIPPED in 48 hours, not that the item wasn't delivered yet.
I would love to be wrong, and will happily admit it, if you would show a screenshot of the buyer's message. Just be sure to blur or cross out the buyer's username, as that is not allowed in the forums.
ten_o_nine
·1 year agoIf a buyer wants an item you have, they will buy it no matter what, unless they find it cheaper elsewhere.