Negative for doing what the buyer asked.
So ebay thinks it's perfectly fine to allow a "buyer" to leave a seller negative feedback for a cancelled transaction (buyer asked to cancel immediately after buying).
This should have been a non-transaction situation. There WAS NO TRANSACTION. They asked to cancel, I cancelled. I immediately block every buyer who cancels a transaction immediately after purchasing if they don't first email me and explain why they want to. I don't do business with people like that. That's my choice as a seller.
This "buyer" leaves a negative for me out of spite on an item they never even laid hands on, was never even processed for shipping and I never communicated to them about it once. They asked to cancel an order seconds after purchasing for "ordered by mistake" which is ridiculous considering how many steps you have to go through to purchase something.
This cancellation should NULLIFY the transaction... Like it never happened in the first place.
I asked ebay to remove it and I got back the standard answer that "They could not remove it because it didn't violate their policy".
Now I'd like to know, why? Why doesn't it "violate policy" to intentionally try to hurt a seller to be vindictive?
They "protect" us from harsh language and direct insults but is not a vindictive person who circumvents the system to harm someone just as bad as a foul mouth if not worse? Is this not HARM? Am I not harmed when my feedback rating drops by .01%? How many of those kinds of people can we weather?
I don't ask for much. I've been a loyal seller, FULL TIME for 20 years. I've bent the knee over and over again. The only thing I've ever asked is for ebay to have my back when it counts.
It counted this time. They left me high and dry. They chose to side with a vindictive "buyer" with 96 feedback over me... A person who actually makes money for them. A person who's made over $1M on ebay over my lifetime.
Where is my protection ebay? If not now, when?
golfingaddict
·2 years agoJust as an FYI
Sellers cannot technically change the terms of a sale or increase the shipping.
On most buy it now items the payment is immediate on the transaction, leaving no room to "change the terms"
eBay can see/will know when there is communication between the buyer and the seller. If the only communication is a request to cancel there really is no reason to allow the feedback to stand.
I understand that some sellers use "buyer requested cancellation" as a reason to get out of a transaction but that can easily be proven wrong if there is not an email from the buyer asking to cancel or the formal request to cancel. Rather than being punitive to all sellers, clearly eBay can see the bad seller behavior of those cancelling for the wrong reason.
I agree with Movieman, people are concentrating so much on whether or not he should have blocked the buyer and his feedback or whatnot or whether or not the seller could have done something wrong.
The crux of the issue here is "should a buyer that cancels a transaction be able to leave negative feedback if the seller approves the cancellation."
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoThe reason we're concentrating on the BBL part of the OP's post is because of his being so quick to block the buyer, he wasn't able to see the subsequent message from the buyer explaining why he requested the cancellation. Had the OP not been so quick to block, he would have received a message from the buyer explaining that he wanted to pay for the multiple-item purchase with a different card.
I get that sellers can block buyers for any reason or for no reason but to then complain about not being told of the reason for the cancellation because of his own block is wrong. Again, it wouldn't have been possible for the buyer to explain the "used wrong payment method" in the cancellation request so he chose the next best option.
movieman630
OP2 years agoNo, it's simple. Email me before you request cancellation explaining why. Communication is key. I wouldn't ever use an automated system to cancel a transaction (read take money away from a seller) without first emailing them explaining the situation. It's just plain polite. To hide behind a dropdown excuse it no excuse. Not one that I would buy anyway. I've had plenty of buyers email me requesting to cancel with good reason, and yes using the wrong card is a good reason, I always oblige. I just ask for courtesy. I'm not Amazon. I'm a sole proprietor who literally feeds his family with the money I make. I work hard to conduct myself to a standard. "Do onto others..." If I bought something then tried to tell the seller I "ordered by mistake" a minute later despite having to click through several prompts to place the order and they blocked me because that "excuse" is ridiculous... I deserve it. But I would never do that. I would email them first.
fern*wood
·2 years agoI'm not good at locating official ebay policies. I found this:
A buyer retracts their bid or doesn't pay
If you cancel a transaction when a buyer retracts their bid, we will remove cancelled transaction defects and remove feedback.
I'm not clear from the wording if they are meaning a completed purchase, but if the "bid" didn't actually buy the item, why would a seller need to cancel the transaction?
I know in the past we were told that a buyer requested cancellation that resulted in a negative would be removed (I thought automatically), but if this has changed, were we informed or does the policy just disappear?
I agree about the block. It shouldn't play into the removal if there is still a policy in place. Blocking is at the discretion of the seller. Heck, on this board sellers have been advised to block over just about anything or everything. I have a block list too, but actually feel they are a waste of time and may be harmful, since buyers can just start another ID and be angry about it from the get go.
OP: Have you asked yet through ebay facebook?
movieman630
OP2 years agoNo, I'm so "old school" I don't use ANY social media. I've called ebay, and the concierge told me they couldn't do that kind of thing on the phone anymore, that I'd have to put in the feedback removal request online. That's what I did. And that's what was rejected. I'm pretty sure it's automated. I highly doubt a human being made that decision. But that's life in 2024. Less personal interaction and more impersonal ruling by machines.
Ironically, it's this "impersonalization" that leads to people using dropdown menus to cancel a transaction with a small business seller, rather then contacting them to explain the situation first.
In 1995 we were all small business sellers, "mom and pop", the internet's "fleamarket" for lack of a better term.
In 2024 we're all Amazon now.
gurlcat
·2 years agoEbay For Business is where we can now get better help from fluent English-speaking American eBay employees who not only understand the nature of our problems better, they can also 'get in' and change more things than any phone CSR ever could. Take it or leave it because it's social media I guess, but writing about what you're upset about here sure isn't going to get this feedback removed.
By the way a Community forum is social media.
broto_64
·2 years agoYou have just explained exactly what the problem is and that you are unwilling to solve it. I do believe we can't help those who don't want to make the changes. There are certain motions required for a solution to take effect, as things stand it is highly unlikely that ebay is going to remove the feedback.
And I will be blunt, it is neither up to us nor ebay to cater to individual methods. It may be our business to run but so long we're using ebay as the venue it is ebay's sandbox we're playing in, even the stores we use aren't ours, we lease the space we sell on from ebay and thus ebay is the landlord and they set the rules. Even more unfortunately ebay loves changing a few rules every year and if we don't keep up with these changes then it should come as no surprise that one day 20 years down the road we're suddenly lost at a crossroads of policies that we're completely unfamiliar with.
However it is still our responsibility as sellers to abide by the policies, no matter how ridiculous (and more than a few are, I'll gladly admit) and to understand that it is never wise policy to turn down potential sales... Blocking buyers isn't a wise choice in that sense, most often it is a simple misunderstanding and just because we don't see eye to eye doesn't make that buyer a bad person; once we block a buyer we're not making that a good experience but you're right, as a seller you can block buyers for any and every reason you wish. That is your choice, I don't however agree that cutting off our nose to spite the face is necessarily a good business practice.
How often do you read up on things here?
I constantly read about slow sales, slow sales.
Well, I am pretty sure the first step to having more sales is to say YES to buyers.
fern*wood
·2 years agoI hear ya, I never used Facebook either until we finally signed up just to be able to sell some things on the marketplace. I also used to contact eBay for a problem and was very pleased with their interaction. I don’t know if they are still so helpful, but I would love to find out if the negative removal policy on buyer requested cancellations is still a thing.
zoda99
·2 years ago@fern*wood Yes. It is. Do you have any other questions we may help with today?
broto_64
·2 years agoOk that may be "simple" to you but it's not ebay policy nor is it what most sellers want their buyers to do, I myself would never have guessed that you wanted a message first since that is quite simply not ebay SOP. Also for buyers who use ebay a lot it is not unusual to click-click-click through the purchase process quickly without much thought until suddenly the realization sinks in that we didn't actually need the item, it takes me I am sure but a few seconds to go from buy now to sale completed because I don't read it all every time... I know you say it would involve thought but I have made so many purchases on ebay that no, it really doesn't require much of me anymore, I know what to click, even where to place the mouse, most of the time after I click for the last time I don't even wait for the confirmation window to appear as I've already closed the browser as soon as the little clock timer whirlything starts.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoI got a neut for cancelling at the request of a buyer - the system is pretty silly.
asset_liquidators
·2 years agoLooks like ebay agreed with you and removed the negative feedback.
movieman630
OP2 years agoIf you're talking to me, how come I can still see it on my profile. It's the 3rd one from the top. Big RED -
fern*wood
·2 years agoHave you tried contacting ebay through facebook? I would quote the policy, unless it is gone now.
iamalwaysright
·2 years agoYou need to switch your sorting view in the feedback page from the new default and awesome “most relevant†setting to the “most recentâ€. Ugh.
dhbookds
·2 years agoGive me one GOOD reason why someone should be able to leave a negative feedback on a transaction that was cancelled due to their request immediately after? Just one good reason why that's a good policy.
Seller could have tried to add terms/charge more for shipping after the sale........
movieman630
OP2 years agoOk... So are you telling me that ebay's programmers have no way to differentiate between sales that have had communication and ones that don't?
I'm talking about transactions that were asked to be cancelled by the purchaser IMMEDIATELY after they purchase it without ANY communication between the parties. A TOTAL reversal of the entire action of purchase.
gurlcat
·2 years agoBUT YOU'RE THE ONE WHO BLOCKED COMMUNICATION. How do you not get that? You immediately blocked her from explaining the situation, all because you have this special rule that you think everyone should agree with, where a buyer should have to type an email to you in addition to using the pull-down menu that eBay provides. -For all you know, this buyer would have preferred to write but thought she better do it the "official" way with the prompt that eBay offers. She might have thought it would annoy you if she did both! And it sounds like that wouldn't be too far off the mark, considering you "despise" people who claim they made a mistake.
movieman630
OP2 years agoI didn't block communication when they purchased. Communication is blocked when you're added to the BBL. AFTER THE CANCELLATION.
You said if a seller tries to get more money out of a buyer after the buyer purchases something. That's communication is it not? That could go back and forth several times before a buyer wants to cancel the order.
I'm saying. BUYER INITIATES PURCHASE - BUYER INITIATES CANCELLATION IMMEDIATELY (Seconds or a few minutes later) - SELLERS ONLY ACTION IS TO CANCEL THE ORDER AS PER THE REQUEST. Not a single email between the two. BUY-CANCEL-TRANSACTION OVER.
Why should that person be able to leave feedback? Why can't ebay restrict that function as a result of a no contact cancellation?
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoSometimes when a buyer ask to cancel an order and the seller cancels it, they'll leave positive feedback thanking the seller for canceling.
The buyer might have left positive feedback for that transaction if you hadn't blocked them.
movieman630
OP2 years agoI don't need their feedback either way in this case. It's indefensible their ability to leave ANY FB. There's WAY more defense for a seller to be able to leave a negative FB then there is for this in any case.
dhbookds
·2 years agoWhy can't ebay restrict that function as a result of a no contact cancellation?
Buyer did contact you, via the cancellation request.......and did chose a reason from the dropdown.....they had no reason to think that contact wouldn't be sufficient to cancel the current transaction and no reason to think they would not be able to rebuy the item if they wanted to........
Why should that person be able to leave feedback
As said, sellers can try to change the terms of the sale after the sale.......which would force a buyer to request a cancel...... Surely that buyer should have the opportunity to post feedback in that situation?..... Who would want to "communicate".......go back and forth with a seller who did that?
iamalwaysright
·2 years agoHow so? As a buyer I’ve had sellers try to tell me they didn’t have the item in stock or tried to ask for more money. Neither of those situations forced me to file a cancellation request. Those guys either got INRs, cancelled due to out of stock, or got reported by me for lying about their reason for cancelling their sale with me. Never did I have to file a buyer cancellation.
broto_64
·2 years agoWould it be better if buyers didn't cancel, waited for the item to arrive, then opened a request for return using reason "Not As Described," making you pay shipping both ways?
I've always seen a request for cancelling a sale as a bonus, meaning I have an honest buyer who doesn't want to abuse me by making me pay for shipping, and it doesn't even matter to me the reason the buyer gives, they could say they saw clouds in the sky for all I care.
gurlcat
·2 years agoEXACTLY. Someone has to make me pretty mad or pretty nervous for me to add them to my BBL. If someone cancels a nice-money sale that I was excited to get, sure I feel disappointed for a moment but that's the fullest extent of it, no anger or sense that they don't deserve to do business with me ever again. They literally didn't DO anything TO me; I still have the item to sell, didn't lose any money, anything at all. And if it was a $10 item like this, pffff.
And now he's saying his BBL policy isn't the point. But it is to this buyer which is exactly what her feedback is about! -The experience she had with this seller for simply requesting a cancellation, even admitting it was because of her own mistake!
siamjane8
·2 years agoAnother oversight in the policy is that a buyer should ONLY be able to leave positive feedback after the return policy expires.... we have had buyers use an item, then want to return it after 50 days!. Our return policy is 30 days. Ebay states in the message that we do not have to accept the return but if we do not- the buyer can leave negative!! So we follow ebay policy and the buyer does not have to abide by the agreed upon contractual terms of the sale.......then ebay lets them leave negative stating seller would not accept return! ridiculous.
Protections are one sided here at ebay. A few years ago they did offer some updates with protections but with each new "improvement" to the site- they are removing common sense protections again.
What is completely stupid is that the only way to protect yourself from bad feedback is to accept the return-deduct the 50% which automatically will remove feedback, and let ebay give the buyer the other 50% when they call and complain..... Great move ebay- so this costs the seller 1/2 and costs ebay 1/2 to satisfy an abusive buyer- what a goofy way to do business.......over feedback lol. Whatever you do - dont expect the buyer to honor their agreement. This is what is wrong with the world today- nobody is expected to be responsible for their own actions.
dhbookds
·2 years agoHow is the buyer supposed to know what YOUR rules are? She chose a reason from the drop down for the cancellation........which you apparently don't accept.....and YOU expect more explanation. From the feedback, from a repeat buyer, she tried to contact you after she realized the block.......but YOUR rules deny that......so she left feedback detailing her experience. Vindictive? trying to ruin your reputation? More of a why did you block me? reaction.......
movieman630
OP2 years agoThat doesn't change the fact that they shouldn't have had the ability to leave feedback for a transaction that was cancelled. What incentive is there for a seller to CANCEL a transaction if the other party can still use the feedback?
It's not about weather or not you think my personal policy to use my BBL is justified. It's weather or not the ABILITY to leave ANY feedback is FAIR on a transaction that was CANCELLED due to buyer request.
That's it.
golfingaddict
·2 years agoI agree with you Movieman, a buyer should not be able to leave negative feedback if they request to cancel the transaction AND the seller cancels.
It makes no sense to allow negative or neutral feedback because they have no basis of anything to rate.
movieman630
OP2 years agoThank you. It really is that simple. That was my only complaint. I have no problem having negative FB on my profile. I'm a realist. You will never be able to please everyone, it's just a part of this type of business. I've accepted the fact that the bigger the volume of sales the more you will get. They NEVER roll off. You will never have 100% if you reach a certain level of sales.
I just think that ebay should fortify the policies a little better. If there's no reason for a function to be available it shouldn't be.
In my opinion we, the sellers, are ebay's investment. (Especially veteran sellers who make them a lot of money) Without us, they are non-existent. They should do more to protect their investments.
fern*wood
·2 years agoI actually thought the official policy was that feedback was removable if the buyer asked to cancel. I've seen reps respond that it is still possible to receive feedback, but it would qualify for removal, since they requested the cancellation.
movieman630
OP2 years agoI thought so too. I guess that was "back in the day" when you could call your ebay concierge and they would be able to hear you over the phone, human to human. They could use their own judgement, weigh the facts based on your given reputation on file with them and make the decision to remove right then and there. Those days are over. I have no doubt that not a single human being made the decision to refuse to remove this. It was AI.
luckythewinner
·2 years agoAre you suggesting that any seller should be able to avoid negative feedback by cancelling with the reason "Buyer Requested"?
IMHO there are plenty of valid reasons why a seller might deserve a negative for a canceled transaction, and gifting then a A universal "get out of jail free" card is a terrible idea.
iamalwaysright
·2 years agoNo. But I think the OPs situation is when a buyer initiated a cancellation request within the first hour of sale and all the seller has to do to cancel it is click “accept cancellation request.†There is no cancellation reason for a seller to choose in those instances as it all originated purely from the buyer.
In instances where the seller might try shady stuff after the sale and before shipping it, the buyer would most definitely never choose to file the cancellation request. I think the OP is only referring to not allowing a buyer to leave a feedback if they opted to file a cancellation request within the first hour of sale. I agree with that logic. I may not agree with his BBL standards, but I respect that it is his decision and right to conduct it any way he pleases as long as it follows policy.
On that note, it would be nice for eBay to include an open text field for the buyer to optionally fill out when choosing the reason for filing a cancellation request within the first hour of sale. It’s kind of like the text field we sellers get when we issue a refund for a return.
luckythewinner
·2 years agoIn the post I responded to, the OP did not seem to restrict his opinion to just his situation. He seemed to state that buyers should never be able to leave feedback for ANY canceled transaction:
"they shouldn't be able to leave ANY feedback for a transaction that never happened"
I even quoted his statement to give my response context.
iamalwaysright
·2 years agoYes. But I was referring to the OPs exact situation in his first post. I came to that conclusion from his first sentence.
"So ebay thinks it's perfectly fine to allow a "buyer" to leave a seller negative feedback for a cancelled transaction (buyer asked to cancel immediately after buying)."
I do realize though he used the word "asked" to cancel instead of "filed", maybe because formally it's a cancellation request. He also said immediately after buying. Not many sellers are that quick to initiate a cancellation without any prior communication of the buyer asking to cancel within messages. That's why I assumed most likely it was the formal buyer initiated cancellation request. @movieman630 Can you confirm this since some of us aren't clear? Did the buyer file a cancellation request and you just accepted it, or did you initiate your own cancellation and were required to choose a reason for it?
movieman630
OP2 years agoBuyer asks or files to cancel however you want to put it IMMEDIATELY after buying.
I accepted their cancellation request and they were fully refunded.
Transaction neutralized.
In my opinion... Along with that total neutralization of the transaction should come a TOTAL neutralization of all fringe benefits associated with any transactions.
In simpler terms... The buyer and seller should part ways as strangers once again. No harm, no foul. NO FEEDBACK CAPABILITY!
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoYou are contradicting yourself, @movieman630 . First you claim the transaction never happened. Next you claim that the transaction was cancelled.
There WAS a transaction and there would have been another had YOU not jumped the gun in blocking the buyer.
By blocking him, you didn't give him the opportunity to rebuy the items with the correct card. It's not as if you couldn't have blocked him afterward had he not followed through on his claim of using the wrong card.
And the fact that there WAS a transaction is evidenced by the fact that the buyer was able to express his disappointment by leaving feedback. If there'd been "no transaction," it would have been because he didn't pay and he wouldn't have been able to leave feedback.
I'm sorry you aren't getting the suppport you'd hoped for but my opinion is that you were wrong in blocking him before giving him a chance to rebuy.
movieman630
OP2 years agoYou're focused on the wrong thing. You're letting your emotions block your judgement.
Stop focusing on my BBL.
When I say "there was NO transaction" I'm being hyperbolic. Yes, there was a transaction... BUT it was CANCELLED. In my opinion in that case there was NO transaction. Nothing ever changed hands. Hence the use of the word "CANCELLED" instead of "RETURN" or "REFUND". Look up the word "Cancelled".
It's irrelevant how I chose to use the BBL. My argument is simple. They should not have the option to use feedback in this case POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE. The transaction was CANCELLED! How can I do anything wrong if I do what they asked. My Blocking them against ALL FUTURE transactions is my prerogative. Period.
It's indefensible if you TRULY understand the issue.
broto_64
·2 years agoIt depends on the reason, or at least it used to.
Buyers always could leave feedback for sales cancelled for reason "out of stock / item damaged."
So I am curious, did you cancel for reason "buyer asked / problem with buyer's address?"
gurlcat
·2 years agoEXCELLENT QUESTION.
luckythewinner
·2 years agoNegative for doing what the buyer asked
You post title is fundamentally misleading. The buyer stated he left a negative because you blocked him. The buyer did not ask to be blocked.
That's my choice as a seller.
Just as it was his choice as a buyer.
The buyer probably found out he was blocked because he tried to buy from you again, which IMHO supports his claim that he purchased by accident and was attempting to buy the correct item.
asset_liquidators
·2 years agoI normally agree with most of your posts but I gotta disagree with you on this one.
In my opinion, the block would not be part of a transaction. The transaction ended when they asked to cancel and the seller agreed to cancel. The seller then decided to Block the person, who found out by attempting a new transaction so the feedback can't possibly be related to, or part of, the original transaction as their negative comment is in response to something that took place after the original transaction was completely over with.
luckythewinner
·2 years agoI believe that the buyer purchased the wrong item, and wanted to cancel and repurchase the correct item.
If that is the case, IMHO the seller's response to the cancellation is fair game for feedback.
IMHO to say that the blocked repurchase transaction was unrelated to the original canceled transaction is nonsense. Especially if the block was done "immediately" (as the OP stated) which would not even give the buyer time to repurchase.
momtoabeautifuldaughter
·2 years agoTo me this was a deserved feedback. The buyer admits they made a mistake on which card they used and asked to cancel.
They sound like a repeat buyer that has bought form you and made a mistake and out of spite you blocked them.
After looking at your feedback it seems you have quite a few problems sending junk and packaging it in a bad way
movieman630
OP2 years agoDo you have any idea how offensive your post was? I've been selling for over 20 years. I have over 15K feedback. 7 negatives against 1572 in a 12 month period. Over 100K sales in that 12 months. And you say I sell "junk" packed in a "bad way".
I could really care less about your post. It means nothing to me. I just like to point out when someone is being extremely insensitive and rude just for the sheer opportunity to do so.
Thanks for your "thoughtful" insight. You're a real asset to this community.
momtoabeautifuldaughter
·2 years agoAww thanks...LOL
I have nearly 50,000 feedback and 6 neutrals.
Maybe work on your selling a little...
movieman630
OP2 years agoFunny, I only see 63. But then again maybe I need to get my eye prescription updated.
momtoabeautifuldaughter
·2 years agoThis is called buying ID. Meaning this is the ID I use for buying.
I have a separate ID for selling. Which means it is an ID I use for selling.
movieman630
OP2 years agoIf that's true, you should treat your fellow sellers better. Shame.
momtoabeautifuldaughter
·2 years agoI'm just saying if a buyer ask me to cancel then I do it no questions asked but I don't block them unless I have a really good reason.
This buyer accidentally used wrong card which to me is a good reason.
asset_liquidators
·2 years agoWhere did they say they made a mistake on which card they used? They only chose "ordered by mistake".
If a buyer asks to cancel an order then they should not be able to leave feedback at all. If they tried to purchase again, found out they were blocked, got mad and left negative feedback then that feedback doesn't even apply to the canceled transaction. It would apply to the newly attempted transaction so the feedback should be a violation since they are leaving feedback for something not related to the transaction in which feedback was left.
iamalwaysright
·2 years agoI actually think this is true, despite some might think it’s over analyzing. Leaving a comment about being blocked from a future purchase attempt is not part of the previous transaction the buyer made with the seller. Since eBay feedback removal system has gone haywire lately, I’m sure they wouldn’t agree with this and just say “feedback doesn’t violate policy†without any further detail.
bashort
·2 years agoSo the "verified purchase" label is not verified at all.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoIt doesn't violate any policy.
Maybe if you hadn't blocked them, everything would have been fine.
movieman630
OP2 years agoThat's one way to look at it. Another way to look at it is, they could have emailed me first and told me why they wanted to cancel. Yet another way to look at it is, "buyers" who try to tell you they "bought by mistake" despite having to pass through several prompts to purchase something is a load of horse hockey. And that kind of "buyer" is going to be nothing but a nightmare. The kind of person you'd politely ask to "leave your store" if you were a B&M.
The BBL is there for a reason. I block people who cancel immediately after purchasing without an email explaining why. And I block people who return without good reason. I just choose not to do business with that kind of person.
The kind of person who has 96 FB and has only left 3 FB for others, 2 of the 3 are Negative. The kind of person who just to be spiteful will seek out to destroy someones reputation and livelihood without any remorse or empathy.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoHi @kyle@ebay . Another BBL / message block use case.
Buyer places order, asks to cancel. Seller cancels then adds buyer to their BBL.
Buyer messages seller because they want to repurchase with a diff payment method. Seller does not get the message because the buyer is on their BBL.
Due to block and lack of response from seller, buyer leaves seller neg FB. eBay won't remove the neg FB on the transaction the buyer asked to cancel.
I don't know what this seller's settings are, but if they're like me and they don't block messages from blocked bidders, this is yet another example where eBay automatically blocking messages from buyers on the BBL has contributed to a negative situation for both parties. Buyer is not notified their message will not go through to the seller and they think they are being ignored.
movieman630
OP2 years agoI always block messages from people on the BBL. As a courtesy it might be a good idea for ebay to make buyers email the seller and ask for a cancellation with a reason other than a drop down menu selection. Have a good reason, I'm a reasonable person but I despise people who buy and then try to tell me they did it by mistake. There's too many prompts for checkout for it to be a "mistake". I've seen buyers do this, then cancel because they find it cheaper from another seller. I choose not to do business with people like this.
gurlcat
·2 years agoI've accidentally paid with the wrong card numerous times, both online and in BAM stores. -You "despise" such people and assume they're lying? And you already said they cancelled "seconds after purchasing." So how did they find your patches cheaper from someone else so fast?
You talk about how you "choose to" do this and that. Well this buyer chose to neg you for blocking them for an innocent mistake that didn't even do you the slightest bit of harm.
movieman630
OP2 years agoIt doesn't change the fact that they shouldn't be able to leave ANY feedback for a transaction that never happened. When you CANCEL a transaction it should CANCEL out all aspects of said transaction. INCLUDING the ability to leave feedback of ANY kind.
Give me one GOOD reason why someone should be able to leave a negative feedback on a transaction that was cancelled due to their request immediately after? Just one good reason why that's a good policy.
broto_64
·2 years ago1. Dropshipper seller has found out their "supplier" doesn't have what the buyer just purchased.
2. Seller then messages buyer with a story and asks buyer if it would be a better idea to just cancel, buyer agrees.
3. Seller uses reason "buyer asked" for cancellation.
The problem here is seller was out of stock and should have used reason "out of stock" for cancelling.
By using reason "buyer asked" seller just avoided a defect that they should have received.
The above clever little strategy is well used among those sellers.
Also buyer could not leave feedback (actually they could, but it would be auto-removed within 24 hours).
Have you waited 24 hours since the feedback was left, did you use reason "buyer asked" to cancel?
If so it would appear ebay has changed that and now allows buyers to leave feedback on sales cancelled for reason "buyer asked / problem with buyer's address." And yes I agree this opens the door to all sorts of abuse from buyers, the original problem of sellers abusing the system hasn't been properly solved. Instead ebay patched the problem and I'm not sure the ability to leave feedback on transaction cancelled for reason "buyer asked" is a great solution at all but all we can do is thank those who abused (and continue to abuse) this system for that.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoI was of the understanding that a buyer who is BBLed can still contact the seller through a message that is part of the transaction, no? (Buyer would be blocked from further future contact but not the transaction that was completed, paid for then cancelled.)
iamalwaysright
·2 years agoThat setting is currently broken. Right now any buyer in your BBL is able to send you a message, but the message never arrives to the seller. The buyer is never notified that the message didn’t get thru, and the seller is never notified they ever received a message from the buyer. This creates numerous significant misunderstandings between buyer and seller.
slati_2013
·2 years agoBased on the feedback the buyer seemed to be a repeat buyer who has bought several items from you. I think in this case maybe you could have made an exception for the buyer. I certainly would not block a repeat buyer who asked me to cancel one sale. Of course you have every right to have your own policy on cancellation, but maybe you might want to reconsider blocking everyone who asks you to cancel without telling you why first.
movieman630
OP2 years agoNo, they only bought and cancelled once. They were saying they bought multiple items in the transaction they asked to cancel. Again, if you have a legit problem, email a seller first.
gurlcat
·2 years agoWhat good would emailing you have done, if you don't believe the "mistake" claim and think they're lying anyway?
movieman630
OP2 years agoWell in this case, if they said I used the wrong card and would like to repurchase using a different payment method. I would have accepted that excuse and they would not have been blocked. It's that simple.
luckythewinner
·2 years agoSo the "simple" solution is for the buyer to read your mind and understand your unspoken "rules" about the only proper way to cancel and repurchase?
siamjane8
·2 years ago@luckythewinner
I think the other person's "policy " perhaps is a bit strict and probably did not help this situation but also the feedback policies at ebay are ridiculously one sided. There is no reason at all that a buyer requested cancellation should allow any feedback - except positive. Ebay knows if the the buyer requested it! We are not talking about a seller initiated cancellation with the "buyer requested" reason selected.
Lucky- if you actually sold here, maybe you would understand the challenges that we sellers face.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoI'm surprised you weren't aware and I don't know about @luckythewinner but many of us who are sellers post here use posting IDs. You have no idea who "understands the challenges that sellers face."
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoThat wasn't one of the options they could have chosen when requesting the cancellation! There is no "I want to rebuy using a different payment method."
iamalwaysright
·2 years agoMaybe there should be. Or rather an open optional text field area like I mentioned in my previous reply. I don’t see any disadvantage to that. eBay has something like that already for when buyers file a return. They choose a general reason, then fill in the field for any specifics they want to add. Simple.
movieman630
OP2 years agoI would have been just fine in this case. Again, you're focusing on the wrong thing.
It's not about weather or not I use my BBL.
It's simply about WHY should they be able to leave ANY FB for a case like this?
Anyone arguing for the buyer in this case is basically arguing for the ability to leave FB for someone even if you're not a customer. They were NOT my customer. There was NO SALE. NO MAILING. NO EMAILS. NOTHING. Why does that person get to leave me FB? And I still can't leave them a Negative as a seller.
The person is being vindictive. It's that simple. They're leaving me FB because I won't sell to them. Their ability to leave me this negative is only on the CANCELLATION item.
ANYONE FOR ANY REASON COULD DO THE SAME TO ANY ONE OF YOU. Say you have a nightmare customer, and even those of you who are arguing because you don't like my BBL policy actually use yours for this person. Lets say this person leaves you a negative on a legitimate transaction that you both had a problem with.
What's to stop this person from using a new account or another account to buy another one of your items, request cancellation and then leave you ANOTHER negative FB just to hurt you.
Then... What's to stop them from doing it over and over and over again?
See the problem with this "glitch" yet?
buzzapparel
·2 years agoRepeat buyers can be amongst the worse.
movieman630
OP2 years agoOne more thought. And this is a serious problem they should address. This opens a whole new loophole for feedback.
So now, if you encounter a terrible "buyer" they can circumvent the system, buy something else from you, maybe even using a different account, then seconds after, ask to cancel. You oblige. And then they leave you a negative feedback just to harm you for something in the past. Something not related to the "cancellation".
This is awful policy. It's feedback for feedback's sake. NO attached transactional record to speak of. It's a loophole to destroy someones reputation over and over again.
Perhaps next "update" you might want to re-code the system so that if there is a cancellation the only FB a "buyer", who asked to cancel a transaction, can leave is positive. If a seller can be blocked from leaving negatives to a buyer surely you can protect a seller from negatives on CANCELLATIONS!
Of course I mean when the buyer initiates the cancellation. That should block them from leaving anything other then Positive... Or none at all.
If the seller cancels something, the buyer could be mad about that. That would be a legitimate reason to leave a negative, not cool, but legitimate none the less.