Beginner seller....advice to recover from first time negative feedback on seller account

[djgear316]

Greetings eBay community. Received unwarranted negative feedback from a buyer with no previous buying or selling history at the time of sell. Worst mistake ever on my end. I own it. Never again. Buyer complained about damaged goods on arrival with no proof and didn't request refund. Provided undamaged product pictures at the time of shipping to buyer and eBay to resolve issue. No such luck. I've yet to reply to negative feedback on account. Any advice on how to proceed forward with this situation and also as a seller moving forward? Thanks in advance for any and all info.

[nocoolnamejane]

Not much you can do, especially if the feedback is over 90 days old.

The good news is that feedback doesn’t count in your seller evaluation. As you sell and buy, it will roll off the page and won’t be counted in your feedback percentage after a year has passed.

[stainlessenginecovers]

Your ONLY response should be short and sweet and state 'we offer full returns for damaged products'.

On a side note; what you SENT and what they RECEIVED, as you learned- is 2 different things. Your 'pictures' mean nothing. 

Customer is unhappy- take care of that customer. Period. Offer full refund for return, after 'apologizing' for the item coming 'damaged'. You can also offer to 'send a new one' when they return this one. You CAN explain, in your apology, that you 'take care of our customers and although we don't personally deliver or have the ability to monitor how the shipment is treated on its way to our customers, we stand behind it. 

Something of that nature. It's business. Nothing personal. De-escalate (apology) 

[albertabrightalberta]

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@djgear316 wrote:

Greetings eBay community. Received unwarranted negative feedback from a buyer with no previous buying or selling history at the time of sell. Worst mistake ever on my end. I own it. Never again. Buyer complained about damaged goods on arrival with no proof and didn't request refund. Provided undamaged product pictures at the time of shipping to buyer and eBay to resolve issue. No such luck. I've yet to reply to negative feedback on account. Any advice on how to proceed forward with this situation and also as a seller moving forward? Thanks in advance for any and all info.

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You won't be able to reply to the feedback because it's over 6 months old.

At the time of the buyer's claim, buyers weren't required to show proof of damage in order to file their claim. You say that the buyer didn't request a refund but if they filed a return request claiming the type of damage described in the feedback, you should have accepted the return.

The condition of the product at the time of shipping is irrelevant if damage happened during the trip to the buyer. It sounds as if you didn't package and pad it securely enough. 

[lamber9347]

@djgear316 I highly suggest you do not reply to that feedback. There is too much of a tendency to try to explain which ultimately ends up making the seller look worse. Best to not pick at it and leave it alone. Concentrate on selling lower priced items just to get this to move to your second page. Lower priced items sell more quickly and for the moment you could use more feedback. Also make some purchases because you will receive feedback for doing so and that will help move this. You can do this, just will take a bit of effort on your part. Best of luck to you....

[onefootflipper]

This is your reply.

"Customer refused all my offers of help."

[house*of*paws]

Hi @djgear316 

The feedback is over 6 months old ... so there is nothing you can do about it now.  Had you worked with the buyer when the feedback was first left ... you may have been able to satisfy the buyer to the point they were willing to revise the feedback.

It appears that the feedback was warranted if you responded to the buyer by sending photos.   Sellers are always responsible for packaging their items in a way that can withstand rough handling.

You may be able to redeem yourself to future buyers by leaving a Reply such as:

>>  I am so sorry the items arrived damaged.  I completely messed up and have learned from my mistake.  It won't happen again.  <<

[BTW, there's no time limit to leave a Reply to feedback.  Same with a Follow up.]

[djgear316]

Copy that. Thanks.

[djgear316]

Understood. Thanks.

[djgear316]

Thanks for the feedback.

[allen1853]

First. Never leave feedback until you receive positive feedback and know buyer is satisfied. Do always REPLY to Negative, Neutral or even sketchy/back handed "Positive" feedback. You can give your side of the story and explain buyer was unreasonable or even a fraud even if you cannot leave Negative feedback. You can TRY to have what you consider unwarranted feedback removed either using the automated system or by calling customer service but lately both are a waste of time. Only if a dispute is resolved in your favor will the feedback go away and disputes are rarely if ever resolved in seller's favor anymore. 

[albertabrightalberta]

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@house*of*paws wrote:

[BTW, there's no time limit to leave a Reply to feedback.  Same with a Follow up.]

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Thank you for that info. I didn't know! 

[johnrj1226]

1.  Sellers are responsible  to have their sold items delivered in teh same conditions as described in their listing.

2.  The seller  packs the item, in most cases picks the carrier,  carrier service.

3.  The buyer  does not  have to prove and item  was damaged or send the seller pictures.

4.  The seller is responsible for    providing any lost or damage insurance and handling filing claims.

5.The buyer is protected  by  eBays Moneyback Guarantee - do matter what you listing might state.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...

Neg  feedback does not affect your seller rating.  Your red hickey will go away in 365(6) days.