Negative feedback
Summary: normanchas discussed receiving their first negative feedback after 20 years and over 5,000 positive ones, expressing frustration with eBay's refusal to remove it. They refunded the buyer and sought assistance from eBay, but the feedback remained as it didn't violate any policies. inhawaii and others suggested different approaches to handling such situations, noting that buying a buyer's happiness through refunds may not always work. mam98031 provided detailed advice on how to potentially argue for feedback removal by pointing out policy violations. tobaccocardyahoo shared a similar experience and accepted their negative feedback stoically, highlighting the buyer's history of negative feedback without communication.
I recently got a negative feedback. It was the first one in 20+ years and over 5,000 positive ones. I knew nothing about a problem until the feedback was posted:
Seller blocks all messaging. Couldn’t contact him when I wanted to inquire about another item and combining shipping, couldn’t contact him to discuss a problem with my order (stamp was stuck to the tape he used to tape the stock card to cardboard backing. Customers should be able to contact the seller for things like this, therefore I do not recommend this seller.
# 184E5i Essay VF. CV $ 20.00 (#257632868438)
Buyer: westcoaststamp (971)
US $9.00
I sent this reply:
Reply from: normanchas. Left within past month.
This is unfortunate. I do NOT block messages from anyone. I send and receive messages to members constantly. I do not know why I didn't get your message. I will send you a complete refund for the stamp and you can keep it also. It's rather extreme to give a negative rating like that. I have NEVER received one in 20 years. PLEASE consider retracting the negative. I've been active for 50 years as a dealer. Norman Hinds
I immediattely refunded him his $9.00 !!! and told him to keep the stamp. I also asked him in private to retract the negative. I never heard from him. I also wrote to Ebay and this was their decision:Hello normanchas,
We reviewed your request to remove the feedback received for this transaction:
Item name: # 184E5i Essay VF. CV $ 20.00
Order number: 24-14945-01948
Item ID: 257632868438
Buyer: westcoaststamp
Our decision
After carefully reviewing the feedback, we didn't find any violations of our policies and guidelines.
For this reason, the feedback was not removed. Just so you know, this feedback will not impact your seller performance level.
We understand this may not be the response you hoped for, however, maintaining consistent standards for all sellers helps keep our marketplace trusted and fair.
Here are some next steps we hope you'll find helpful:
Consider replying to the buyer's feedback. Doing so is a great way to show other shoppers how you handle issues. Learn more
Promptly address any questions from the buyer if they come up
Ask the buyer to revise their feedback, if possible
Take a look at our feedback policy for more tips to provide great customer experiences and earn positive feedback
If you have any questions or concerns, just get in touch. We're here to help.
We're glad you're part of our community.
Thanks,
eBay
I had already done the suggested things. I just feel that ebay is not being fair to sellers. I was proud of a 100% positive rating and feel this negative was a sham.
Norman Hinds
gurlcat
·1 month ago · EditedIf this were me, the neg would be minuscule compared to why one of my buyers was blocked from contacting me. Were you not even curious what they meant by "couldn't contact him"? Could they find no button to contact you? Did they see something saying you cannot be contacted? Could they write a message but have it bounce back? Or WHAT?
This one buyer may be the canary in the coal mine of a problem that is only starting with your account, but all you care about is having a (barely) less than perfect feedback score? You realize it could get a lot lower than it is now, if this keeps happening?
luckythewinner
·1 month ago · EditedBuyers are not obligated to respond to sellers, or to retract feedback.
eBay's decision was correct. There was no violation and the feedback does not qualify for removal.
Your buyer apparently does not think he got what he was expect, and apparently your refund did not magically turn that negative experience into a positive one. eBay is not going to remove your buyer's feedback about his experieince just because you wish they would.
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 month agoI have one negative FB from a buyer during the current 12 month period.
Similar to your buyer, FB was left without requesting a return or communicating with me.
My response to the FB was to tell him to request a return.
I still have that negative. and a slight drop in my FB ratio. The buyer appears to have a history of leaving negatives and removing after the seller refund. Never appears to leave a positive.
I can live with the neg.
grann-4629
·1 month agoI have read both ideas here and wonder which is the correct one:
Contact eBay before contacting the seller,
Contact the seller before contacting eBay.
mam98031
·1 month agoHow long you have been a member nor how many positive feedback you have will have anything to do with a negative feedback or potentially getting it removed. It HAS TO violate policy in order to get it removed. Not our opinions or how it makes us feel as a seller, but actually violating policy.
So the most effective way to get Ebay to remove the feedback is to review the policy and QUOTE EXACTLY what the feedback says that is in Violation of the policy.
When do we remove feedback?
Harmful, inappropriate or irrelevant comments and images
We remove all feedback that contains any:
Content promoting hatred, violence or discrimination
Profane, obscene, adult, illegal, or explicit content
Opinions on any political, religious, or social issues
Any implied or explicit threats or intimidation
Personally identifiable information
Links, URLs, or other content encouraging sales outside of eBay
Infringement of third-party rights
Meaningless content or images that aren’t of the item purchased
Comments intended for a different item or seller
Negative comments with positive ratings, or positive comments with negative ratings
Personal attacks that could harm the reputation of the seller or their business and could not reasonably be viewed as constructive criticism
Any pictures left in feedback should accurately represent the item purchased and follow our policies, including the Images, videos and text policy, the Offensive materials policy, the Restricted adult items policy, and the Illegal explicit content policy.
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/feedback-policies/feedback-policies?id=4208#section2
For me, when I review the feedback they left for you, I see a couple things that should allow this feedback to be removed or at the very least revised substantially. "Seller blocks all messaging. Couldn’t contact him..." Per what you said, this is not truthful and the buyer never tried to contact you. Ebay can easily verify this. "...when I wanted to inquire about another item and combining shipping..." Feedback is suppose to be transaction SPECIFIC, ONLY about this one transaction. This statement infers that they are mad because there were OTHER items they wanted to purchase but in the end did not. "...couldn’t contact him to discuss a problem with my order (stamp was stuck to the tape he used to tape the stock card to cardboard backing." Buyer NEVER opened a Return Request, instead attacked your feedback. Then you in turn fully refunded the buyer and they still were not satisfied.
Contact Ebay and try those points. Be VERY polite and professional, do NOT let your emotions get in your way. Remember, you want them to WANT to work for you. I wish you the best of luck.
normanchas
OP1 month agomam98031
thanks SO much for your comments and taking time to understand what happened. I will do as suggested.
Norman Hinds
mam98031
·1 month agoI wish you NOTHING but the BEST. I really understand why you feel the way you do.
Just for the record. I agree with @inhawaii , I would not have refunded that buyer for their bad behavior. Which is actually what you did. They have no incentive to do right by you at this point, so unfortunately it is now all up to Ebay.
normanchas
OP1 month agoi see what you both mean. I just try to be nice. And all over a $9.00 stamp!
inhawaii
·1 month agoI would have never done what you did.
If a buyer is unhappy and leaves you a negative, you can't "buy" their happiness and expect them to revise it.
Oh well, lesson learned.
P.S.
Just curious, what does their "feedback left for others" look like?
normanchas
OP1 month agoInhawaii.. he has 950 pos feedback. seems like he is controlled and writes norman feedback
dirk12955
·1 month agoOnce a buyer leaves a neg, The transaction is over, IMO
No refund, No discussion, No do-over IMO