Followed eBay Customer Service's cancellation instructions, received negative feedback, removal denied
Summary: qnthanthien contacted eBay Customer Service for guidance on canceling an order due to concerns about a past problematic buyer. They were instructed to use the cancellation reason 'issue with buyer's shipping address,' despite no issue with the address. Negative feedback resulted, and eBay declined to remove it. Respondents shared similar experiences of getting incorrect advice from eBay reps and suggested alternative strategies for dealing with blocked buyers. There were discussions about handling cancellations and the effectiveness of eBay's customer service.
I'm trying to understand how eBay's feedback-removal policy applies when a seller follows instructions given directly by eBay Customer Service.
I had an order that I did not want to proceed with because of circumstances specific to that transaction. None of the available cancellation reasons accurately described the situation, so BEFORE canceling anything, I contacted eBay Customer Service and explained the circumstances.
The representative specifically instructed me to select "Issue with buyer's shipping address."
I pointed out that there was actually nothing wrong with the buyer's address and specifically asked what would happen if the buyer left negative feedback because of that cancellation reason. I was told that if negative feedback resulted from following the representative's instructions, I could contact eBay and have it removed.
I followed those instructions.
The buyer then left negative feedback saying that I canceled the order by claiming their address was invalid and accused me of acting dishonestly — exactly the consequence I had asked Customer Service about beforehand.
I requested removal, but eBay declined because I canceled the transaction without first working with the buyer.
What I still cannot get answered is this:
If eBay Customer Service specifically instructed me to use that cancellation reason after I fully explained the situation, why am I responsible for negative feedback resulting from following those instructions?
I'm not arguing that buyers shouldn't be allowed to leave negative feedback. I'm asking whether sellers should be able to rely on specific instructions given by eBay Customer Service.
Has anyone had a similar situation where you followed Customer Service's instructions but were later told those instructions didn't protect you?
bbcardzman
·1 month agoWAIT you actually did what eBay customer service rep told you to do?
Did you realize these people have NO IDEA what to actually do for problems?
All they have is a few different things to say about any of the problems they get.
That's why they tell you the same thing over and over, because they cannot and will not do anything.
ALL they are trying to do is get you to hang up the phone and go away - That's eBay customer service now.
dbmm-media
·1 month agoyou earned the red donut for believing what csr said
albertabrightalberta
·1 month ago@qnthanthien
I get that you didn't want to do business with someone with whom you'd already had a problem. But "having reason to believe" someone may be associated with another member's account is merely suspicion. You didn't know for sure that they're the same person.
Too many sellers lie about their reason for cancelling and sellers who do that make not only make themselves appear to be dishonest but they reflect poorly on all the good sellers who follow through on their obligations.
I did have a similar situation and handled it in a way that had there been a problem, I had my own preventive actions to show ebay.
I had a problem wannabe buyer who had been blocked. Their several messages, offers and feedback raised red flags. I reported the threats and messages and blocked them.
A few hours later, another buyer from the same city and state did a BIN on the same item, presumably circumventing the block.
I had no legitimate reason to cancel - the item was bought and paid for so I packed the item for shipment.
But prior to packing and shipping, I proactively reported the second ID pointing out my suspicions that they're the same buyer circumventing being blocked. I got it on record before even shipping that should there be an issue, it was caught ahead of time.
As it turned out, the whole transaction was smooth, the second buyer received the item and I never heard a thing from them. Their actions were still on their permanent ebay record and if they did it again, ebay would see my previous report.
fullers_uk
·1 month agoThats ebay............
christworks
·1 month ago@qnthanthien I'm sorry to tell you but I think you were a victim of "I'll tell them anything to get them off the phone-ism."
Without more details, it is difficult to provide you with any answer that will satisify you. First, the buyer you had issues with that you blocked, did you report that buyer to eBay or did you only block them? Reporting a buyer for certain policy violations does protect you from negative feedback, even if that buyer uses another account to get around a block. That in itself is a policy violation. The problem is that the report buyer form does not have an option to report a buyer for going around a block, so it makes it challenging to get protection for this action.
My concern here is that you don't seem to know 100% that the buyer was one in the same. Did the addresses match? If not, did you provide the rep with the problem buyer's information? They could have looked at the information on the account of the order you were concerned about and confirmed whether it was the same person. It doesn't sound to me like this happened, and instead the rep told you cancel on an assumption. That was poor advice if that's what happened.
Reading the negative feedback your buyer left, it does not sound like someone you had a previous issue with. Their feedback sounds reasonable based on a buyer who had their order cancelled at no fault of their own, yet were blamed for it by you. They don't sound crazy or that they were out for some kind of revenge. Their feedback is factual. It does not violate the eBay feedback policy. I mean from their perspective you were dishonest and I agree with them.
Correct me if I am wrong, but is this a case where you were scared and it got in your head and you panicked? That is what it sounds like. I think you were looking for affirmation to cancel. It also sounds like you would not have cancelled if you knew the buyer could still leave negative feedback. That's interesting, because if I had genuine concern one of the nutcase buyers I've blocked was trying to buy from me, I could care less about any feedback they left. If I've blocked them, they've shown themselves to be unhinged and if they leave feedback, it will be feedback that violates policy and I'll be able to get it removed. That didn't happen here. Again, your buyer sounds normal and factual.
I hope you come back and say I'm wrong and that the rep confirmed to you it was the same buyer.
qnthanthien
OP1 month agoThanks for the detailed response. I should clarify what I meant by having strong reason to believe the accounts were connected.
The accounts were located very close to each other, both were sellers offering the same type of merchandise, and I found listings using the same images and the same or very similar description. This happened shortly after my previous dispute and negative feedback. Taken together, those similarities were enough to make me seriously concerned that the accounts were connected, although I never claimed I could prove that with 100% certainty.
That's precisely why I contacted eBay Customer Service before taking any action. I explained the situation and the information I had and asked eBay how I should proceed. I wasn't looking for someone to simply tell me to cancel.
The representative did not tell me to report the suspected block circumvention first, investigate further, or proceed with the sale. Instead, I was specifically instructed to cancel using “Issue with buyer's shipping address”, and that negative feedback could be removed.
In hindsight, reporting the suspected use of another account to circumvent the block first may have been the proper procedure, as others here have pointed out. But that is exactly the guidance I was trying to get from eBay before I did anything. Had Customer Service told me to report the buyer first instead of canceling, I would have followed that instruction.
albertabrightalberta
·1 month ago"The representative did not tell me to report the suspected block circumvention first, investigate further, or proceed with the sale. Instead, I was specifically instructed to cancel using “Issue with buyer's shipping address”, and that negative feedback could be removed."
@qnthanthien
This is a common problem with CS. Most of them probably aren't ebay sellers, may not even be experienced buyers, aren't familiar policy and they read from a script.
If a caller has an issue that is "out of the ordinary," they don't know what to do, don't know how to handle it and don't seem to know how to admit to not knowing the answer to the caller's question.
As such, they tell you what you want to hear without regard for the accuracy of such advice.
Unfortunately, even though you tried to get advice on what to do, you handled it incorrectly and even if the buyer is the same person as the previous one who'd given you trouble, you earned the feedback you got for this transaction.
Side note: Although the price of items is generally irrelevant since no one should be scammed or abused, for an $8 sale, I would have let it go through. I wouldn't consider $8 worth risking my account, reputation and ding for lying about the reason for a cancellation.
qnthanthien
OP1 month agoThe $8 value wasn’t relevant to my concern. I wasn’t worried about losing $8; I was concerned that this might be a previously blocked buyer using another account, which could expose me to another problematic transaction and negative feedback. That’s why I contacted eBay for guidance before taking any action.
christworks
·1 month ago@qnthanthien Thank you for clarifying. I'm sorry you ended up in this situation. As I said, it is a policy violation for buyers to use another account to buy if they've been blocked. But, eBay's buyer report form does not list that as a reportable reason, even though it is. You have to pick the best reason, and it isn't even close to what you are trying to report.
Here is what I do. When I block someone, I let them know. I also tell them it is a policy violation to go around the block, and should they make another account and buy from me I will be able to detect it, their order will be cancelled, and their account will be reported to eBay where it and any other accounts they have or create may be permanently banned.
There is a lot of hot air and some lying in that, but to my knowledge I've never had anybody go around my block. The one time I was concerned, I talked to an eBay rep and asked them to pull up both accounts. They were under different names, 9 states away, so I knew I was good with sending out the order.
I've got a nutcase buyer I'm dealing with now. The dude messaged me like 8 times over the span of about 4 hours early this morning. The answer to his question is in the listing. I block these people and let the know, but I was out sourcing this morning and didn't have a free moment to do it. Before I could get back to the house, this fool had purchased. I look at his feedback and he likes to leave negatives if sellers don't respond right away. I'm debating now whether I'm going to cancel or send the order and risk an INAD because he didn't read the listing. If I do cancel, I'll cancel due to an OOS. The last one I had was last November, so it will fall off soon.
qnthanthien
OP2 weeks agoThank you for sharing your experience. I wonder how you handled this case eventually? If you cancel due to OOS, that dude will still be able to give you the red donut.
janet9988
·1 month agoWhy did the transaction need to be cancelled in the first place?
qnthanthien
OP1 month agoI had reason to believe this order was connected to a person with whom I had recently had a problematic transaction on another eBay account, and I did not feel comfortable proceeding with another transaction with them. I had already blocked the accounts I knew about.
Because I wasn't sure how to properly cancel under those circumstances, I contacted eBay Customer Service before taking any action, explained the situation, and specifically asked what I should do. That's when I was instructed to use “Issue with buyer's shipping address.”
fullers_uk
·1 month agoPleased your human instincts kicked in, no AI or algae rhythm can protect you more.
carlmarxx
·1 month agoI read the Negative USPS had a issue with the shipping address ?
mrpaultr
·1 month ago · EditedThanks for clarifying.
qnthanthien
OP1 month agoNo, there was no issue with the shipping address. That is exactly the problem. Before canceling, I explained the situation to eBay Customer Service and told them none of the available cancellation reasons applied. The representative specifically instructed me to select “Issue with buyer's shipping address.” I even pointed out that the address was not actually the issue and asked about possible negative feedback. I was told to use that reason anyway and that resulting negative feedback could be removed.
carlmarxx
·1 month agoThanks for information. I would have asked for the supervisor . if you do another call back request.
stainlessenginecovers
·1 month agoFunniest thing I've read this month.
You DO know that 'supervisor' in the CSR 3rd Party Hired Help world simply means:
"the person sitting next to me in this Call Center that has NO authority nor ability to know much of anything on this site"??
carlmarxx
·1 month agoI have dealt with with eBay Management in couple special departments and escalations . I have been on eBay with my other ID since 1996 .
mamacassidy
·1 month agoYes, there are frequent complaints on this forum saying that they were given incorrect information from the customer service reps.
qnthanthien
OP1 month agoUnfortunately, that seems to be exactly what happened here. What concerns me most is that I contacted Customer Service before taking any action specifically because I wanted to do the right thing. If the advice was incorrect, I don't think the seller should bear the consequence for following it.
mamacassidy
·1 month agoIn the future, you should come to this forum to ask questions. However, you might not receive the responses that you like.
For instance, many people here are not very sympathetic to sellers who cancel sales. So, unless there was an abusive buyer who you didn't want to send an item to, most people here will say the cancellation was your fault and that you should have used "out of stock".
But since you haven't said what the real reason for the cancellation is, we can't really know...
qnthanthien
OP1 month agoThanks. I just explained the reason for the cancellation in my reply to Janet above. I understand why people would normally criticize a seller for canceling a sale. That's actually why I contacted eBay Customer Service before canceling. I wasn't sure what the proper procedure was for my situation and wanted to follow eBay's guidance rather than simply choose a cancellation reason myself. Unfortunately, the reason they instructed me to use is now the basis of the negative feedback.
mamacassidy
·1 month agoOk, I read that.
It is my understanding that if you had Reported the buyer before the cancellation then they would have been unable to leave negative feedback. (But I'm not 100% sure on that)
If you haven't already, I would report the buyer, write a brief statement that this was a customer that you have already blocked using another account, and copy/ paste the policy that he's violating:
Using multiple accounts: Registering new accounts or using other existing accounts to avoid buying restrictions, limits, or other policy consequences is not allowed. See our Multiple accounts policy for more information.
Once you do that, you can try to contact a rep via Instagram and tell them your situation. Those reps are usually better trained than the phone reps. They may be able to remove the feedback.
soh.maryl
·1 month agoWouldn't predict a positive result from the OP's taking your suggestion. Sorry.
qnthanthien
OP1 month agoThis is very helpful and much more directly related to the reason I canceled the transaction. I had already blocked the account I previously dealt with, and I had strong reason to believe this purchase was made through another account associated with the same person.
I wish the Customer Service representative I contacted before canceling had pointed me to this policy instead of instructing me to select “Issue with buyer's shipping address.” I specifically contacted eBay because I didn't know the proper way to handle the situation.
I will look into reporting it under the multiple-accounts policy as you suggested. Thank you.
quadcitypickers
·1 month agoeBay hires the cheapest people from the cheapest call centers who treat their employees like they are disposable and the turnover is so bad 99% of the time the person you talk to has been there two weeks, tops. They turn what should be a 5-10 minute call into 30-45 minutes because they constantly have to "check their sources" aka put the phone down and ask their colleagues (many of whom also don't know anything).
Most companies also train their employees to never give out info unless they know that answer to be 100% true.
eBay has pretty much stated they don't care, because I took the advice of their phone call rep which sent my account below standard and I got charged over $400 in extra fees.
It took 2 weeks of daily phone calls and emails to get that sorted out, but I wasn't going to just let $400 go.
This is what happens when you train business leaders to always expect constant growth, anything beneficial to the customer, like decent customer service is almost always the first thing on the chopping block.