This situation has destroyed my store.
I recently had a buyer leave me a negative feedback. I did everything I was supposed to. I fully refunded the buyer including shipping and sent him a replacement of free of charge and payed for a much faster shipping option so the buyer would get it quickly. The buyer eventually responded agreeing to revise the feedback. However a day passed and nothing. I contacted the buyer again and the buyer replied saying eBay wont let him revise it. My sales have been down more than 60% since I received that feedback and traffic down more than 30%. One negative feedback has destroyed my business. My thousands of positives mean nothing. I am on the verge of leaving eBay and my business I've been working on for years over this. I work 7 days a week doing everything I can to make my customers happy. I rarely get negative feedbacks but when I do I do everything possible to make it right. And eBay has recognized that. Until now. Even after going above and beyond to correct the issue and the buyer saying he'd revise the feedback and then saying eBay wont let him, eBay refuses to step in. I have called eBay several times. Is this how eBay treats us now?
brightlightbookseller
·2 years agoTrust me, we just received a negative review (totally deserved, though I wish the customer had been more willing to work with us to resolve the issue, we tried, but they were just angry and unwilling to work with us). It didn't destroy our sales one bit. In fact, we're busier than ever.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoI am not sure what your sales looked like before this issue took place but you have sold 1,700 items in the last 90 days alone and currently have about 9,700 active listings. I am not sure how you feel this one incident has "destroyed your business".
When I purchase on eBay, which is seldom these days, I never look at feedback since I know that I am pretty much covered under the money back guarantee and by my credit card company.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoLooking at your sales, don't look like it destroyed your store.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoReply factually to that feedback to show what a good seller you were and how you treated the buyer with the utmost respect and fantastic customer service. NOBODY is going to give a real hoot about what they posted. Ebay is getting really wild over NOT removing ANY feedback ANYMORE unless the customer uses foul lanquage or threats at you and maybe not even that.
stainlessenginecovers
·2 years agoWeather is reaking HAVOC in MULTIPLE parts of the country so people have MUCH MORE to worry about than 'buying things online'.
Basically, it's January in April.
It will pick up. This country is in for a VERY late Spring.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoTAX TIME. EVERYBODY IS BROKE AGAIN.
ten_o_nine
·2 years agoRegarding the impact on your business, I understand that one negative feedback can have a disproportionate effect. However, it's essential to remember that your thousands of positives still carry weight.
mam98031
·2 years agoI respect your opinion, I just completely disagree. One negative FB on a seller like the OP will have close to zero if not zero affect on sales or anything else regarding their account.
I'm seeing LOTS of activity on their Sold pages.
I have a negative on my account. It has not affected my sales or anything else that I'm aware of and it has been on my account for awhile. But I have thousands of other transactions, like the OP has, that buyers were very happy.
mam98031
·2 years ago@thefossildepot
When you have a clear mind and are relaxed, write a response to the negative feedback you received. Stay completely calm, professional and polite. Only state facts, not how this situation made you feel. Don't respond as if you are responding to the buyer that wrote the feedback, but all those buyers out there that will view your response. You want them to feel safe and comfortable in buying from you. And they should. You appear to be a fantastic and responsible seller. Show them that. Don't vent or call the other buyer names, don't even hint at it.
Be the responsible and the Top Rated seller that you ARE because you EARNED it !!
inhawaii
·2 years agoHe's saying he agrees with most of us that the one negative feedback should not discourage buyers.
He's saying that he thinks ebay is punishing him by "throttling" his sales.
Anyone who believes this, I don't think there is any way to convince them otherwise.
fern*wood
·2 years agoYour feedback numbers are amazing and I know you’ve sold far more than they show, so there is no way I’d think one neg feedback would matter to anyone. If you made a mistake, then I understand refunding, but not because of a feedback.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoCan you give details of how one negative FB could have destroyed your store?
You are still TRS. Your FB percentage is 99.9%.
All you had to do was to send that buyer a Feedback Revision Request Form.
You are on the verge of leaving eBay because of one transaction?
gloryglorygifts
·2 years agoIt most certainly hasn't destroyed your reputation on here. I had a feedback a few years back that was resolved and the customer couldn't alter the neg left. In my response I said that it was resolved and even quoted what the customer said to me in our last correspondence, which was that they were very happy. That's all you can do is be professional and upbeat in your response.
You have some really awesome things for sale, so your buyers will be back. No worries.
inhawaii
·2 years agoI would have absolutely not hesitation buying from you, but i'm not your average buyer. I'm kinda weird.
714ricki
·2 years agoYou're putting way too much value in the feedback. Just keep listing, shipping, & providing good customer service. Positive feedback will eventually offset the one negative. You can't satisfy everyone!!! Don't forget that the economy is a bit bad right now & the buyers are shying away from spending on non-essentials.
Hang in there & don't stress too much about the one negative feedback!
redlinear
·2 years ago@thefossildepot
I'll bite and take the road less travelled.
One bad feedback never hurt anybody...Until recently.
The great eBay thing that spits out search results. When confronted with showing 10,000 results? It's going to show a few thousand of those and weed out a few thousand and sort them however it wants.
Some thing happens with just a few results.
What factors weigh in how it decides what to show, and when, and what order? Some factors are obvious, some are not.
We all say feedback really doesn't mean much.
However, it SURE means something to eBay! A company doesn't spend that much revamping something that means nothing.
Me thinks the thing in charge of spitting out search results uses feedback, more-so than we realize
eburtonlab
·2 years agoThe great eBay thing that spits out search results. When confronted with showing 10,000 results? It's going to show a few thousand of those and weed out a few thousand and sort them however it wants.
Some thing happens with just a few results.
What factors weigh in how it decides what to show, and when, and what order?
In most cases, the sort order and what is shown depends entirely on the buyer's chosen search and sort preference.
Only when "Price plus shipping: lowest first" is the chosen sort order does eBay filter the results and leave out some results that are seen in other sorts.
If "Best match" is used, eBay may actually expand the search and provide additional results that may not appear in other sorts.
All other sort orders should show the same number of results in the exact order specified by the buyer searching, aside from promoted listings that can appear in preferred spots regardless of the sort order chosen.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoIT’S QUITE POSSIBLE, I agree.
luckythewinner
·2 years agoOne negative feedback has destroyed my business.
Coincidence is not causation.
Even after going above and beyond to correct the issue and the buyer saying he'd revise the feedback and then saying eBay wont let him, eBay refuses to step in.
eBay does not remove feedback because the seller does not like it.
eBay does not remove feedback because the seller refunds.
eBay does not remove feedback because the seller sends a replacement.
eBay does not remove feedback because the seller uses faster shipping.
Not sure who is at fault
Then why do you think eBay should remove the feedback?
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoBuyer only gets 30 days to revise a feedback. I have had the same problem. Calling customer service doesn't do anything. It's only one feedback and it won't affect your selling. This is tax time where sales will be down. The one feedback has no affect on your sales.
You can respond to the feedback very politely and businesslike "refund sent...buyer happy"....and the buyer can respond in same feedback "yes I was refunded and happy".
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoThis sale on Mar 22 appears to be within the time frame for a revision request to be sent ,(which the seller did) and then the buyer gets a 10 day time frame to revise after the request is sent to them.
Looks like a PBCAK on the buyer end, or they don't actually want to do it.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoI guess sometimes we don't get both sides of the story.
spark-chaser1
·2 years agoAs a buyer I will check feedbacks. I am careful to note the “ tone†of negatives, and will read any reply the seller has made to them.
To me, a seller can have a 92 percent feedback rating, and I will still buy from them. If the effective negative feedbacks read like rants by people prone to having a nutty over anything, or are product reviews rather than a record of the actual transaction, and the seller replied to them with a non- emotional and factual reply, I completely ignore the feedback.
if your buyer is wrong in their feedback, post a reply to it that prospective buyers will see and it will serve to cancel the negative feedback by SHOWING you did the right thing.
winterpalace25
·2 years agoWhen I am buying, I don't look at feedback unless it is less than 99%. Then I do check the negatives. But I often find that negatives just show clueless buyers, not bad sellers. If you can't get enough cooperation to get it removed, just make a thoughtful reply to it and move on. Certainly don't sacrifice your store over this. And also, it may be entirely coincidental as ups and downs on eBay are common.
mam98031
·2 years agoI agree.
Often what tells a buyer far more than a negative or neutral feedback is how the seller responded to it. I find that far more interesting. Are they factual and professional or more concerned with blaming the buyer and unprofessional.
mam98031
·2 years ago@thefossildepot
Did you send your buyer a Feedback Revision Form? Once your buyer said they would revise the FB, you should have sent this form and told your buyer they would be getting an email from Ebay regarding this and in the email is a link so they can easily change the FB.
https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/leaving-feedback-sellers/viewing-changing-feedback?id=4031
If you do it now, make sure you tell your buyer the email is coming from Ebay. You can only send it once and it only is good for a few days. So make sure your buyer is aware.
This one negative did NOT "destroy" your store or you sales. The FB just doesn't have that kind of power.
You can fix this issue, you always could have. Sorry none of the CSRs you chatted with told you.
thefossildepot
OP2 years agoI did send the buyer a revision request. He acknowledged that he received it but has said it wont let him revise it.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoAs I told you. Ebay is getting really more strict these days about feedback removal. They might not let them do it.
chapeau-noir
·2 years ago@thefossildepot One negative feedback will not "destroy" your store, or a lot of us would be out of business. Dumping a thriving store over something many have suffered (right or wrong) is premature - slowing sales can be anything - there are all kinds of ups and downs that probably just coincided with this, and look at all the positive feedback that has piled up since then!
Compose a good response to your neg - don't argue with the buyer, that's been and done, but showing future buyers of your care in customer service and that you stand behind what you sell. I can imagine it's frustrating (I was disgruntled at my neg) - but just shake this off and keep going.
Take a long range view of your sales and you may find that the ups and downs even out.
thefossildepot
OP2 years agoJust strange that a dip occurs every time I've received a negative and resumes to normal once its removed. Maybe in my category buyers are more hesitant to buy from someone with a negative. Who knows. But its not just sales and page views that go down immediately any time I receive a negative. Its impressions too which makes me more inclined to believe eBay's algorithm prioritizes 100% positive sellers instead of buyers choosing to no longer purchase. I do hope your right and sales resume to normal. As if sales and traffic stay at this rate for a year until the negative falls off I wont have a business left afterwards.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoAs others have advised, the feedback isn't what's slowing down your sales.
When you asked the buyer to revise the feedback, did you ask in a message or did you send an official feedback revision request? Without the request, the buyer isn't able to revise it themselves.
thefossildepot
OP2 years agoI did send the buyer a revision request. He acknowledged that he received it but is claiming it wont let him revise it. And despite explaining this to eBay they wont do anything.
theteamsetguy
·2 years ago@thefossildepot ,
With your track record as a seller one negative feedback comments is going to affect your sales one iota. I have purchased many items on eBay and can’t remember the last time I checked the sellers feedback before I made the purchase.
thefossildepot
OP2 years agoYes I realize its not gonna make too much of a difference in the eyes of a prospective buyer. Its one negative compared to thousands of good reviews. But it seems eBay is limiting how many buyers will even see my items after this negative.
solidguitar1961
·2 years agoA lot of sellers are slow right now. I highly doubt 1 negative would make your sales tank.
thefossildepot
OP2 years agoSales were great for weeks up until the hour I received the negative. It was like a switch flipped. I've noticed a large dip every time I've gotten a negative in the past just for things to go back to normal once it was gone. Once could maybe be a coincidence. But this is a pattern.
thefossildepot
OP2 years agoHave also noticed the sales I am having are now only coming from repeat buyers who already buy from me frequently. No new buyers whatsoever. Usually have like 5 or 10 new buyers a day. Seems like eBay doesn't want to show anyone new my store after the negative.
stevescho
·2 years agoI read feedback on every item I buy. Your situation is why I never leave negative feedback. I don't want to adversely affect sellers, seller fees, or overall inventory of items for sale. If I have an issue, which does happen, I know eBay will take care of it if the seller doesn't. Always has. To ding a seller for occasional mistakes, including NADs, serves me no purpose. My negative feedback is this: no feedback.