Buyer leaves negative feedback after demanding refund for items that did not come from me

[hifivearch0]

Well I recieved my first negative feedback from a buyer who demanded a partial refund for items that did not come from me! The buyer purchased a lot of sterling silver items (all tested by the way) the buyer then messages me requesting a partial refund for the lot claiming that half of the lot is not sterling, the photos sent by the buyer of the items she claims are not sterling, did not come from me, as evidenced by comparing to listing photos which clearly shows those items were not in the lot she purchased from me. I was very polite in my response, and I simply pointed this out in all fairness (believing she made an honest mistake) and asked her to please send me photos of the items I sent her that were not sterling, so I could refund her for those items. She did not respond to my request and instead, left me nasty negative feedback. What can I do? Is there a way to get this feedback removed? 

Note: The feedback photos are not the items that buyer sent to me requesting refund for. 

[caldreamer]

EBAY rarely, if ever, removes negative feedback (EBAY believes this is just customer's opinion and does not have to be factual).    You can write a rebuttal to their feedback and add them to your "block list".

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

That feedback isn't going to get removed, sorry.

I'm curious now ... so this is what you're saying?

-Buyer sends message saying items arent sterling and includes pics ... but you say pics are of items you didnt ship.

-You ask them for pics of the items you shipped that "aren't sterling"

-They dont respond, they post neg feedback, and now include pics of items you actually shipped them.

Do I have that right? 

Did you address your concern that the included image(s) in message were of items other than you sent?

[hifivearch0]

Yes exactly. Buyer reached out and expressed her dissappointment, claiming that some of the items I sent her were not sterling (all items I sent her were professionally tested) I kindly responded telling her that her satisfaction is very important to me, and I offered her to return the lot for a full refund, I also offered to give her partial refund for the items that did not meet her expectations. She declined to return the lot, but said she would prefer a partial refund. I then asked her to please send photos of items that she would like refunded and she then proceeded to send me photos of items I've never seen before, demanding a half refund. I assumed this may have been an honest mistake, so I politely responded pointing out that the items in the photos she sent were not mine, and could she please only include items that came from me  (items shown in my listing photos) and I would gladly issue refund for them. She never responded back to me, she instead  decided to leave the negative feedback, leaving me utterly confused. Its important to note, that I even included 3 extra ounces of sterling items as a free gift. Whenever there is an issue, I will do whatever it takes to make it right. But in all fairness, I now realize that this buyer deliberately wanted me to refund her for items that were not mine. This is blatant dishonesty on her part. Despite this, I still messaged her very politely, saying that I was confused by her feedback and that I would still like to make it right. I again requested her to please send me photos of the items I sent to her that she would like refunded. I have yet to recieve a response.

[mam98031]

I am sorry this has happened to you.  Clearly your buyer is confused or is very upset that the chaos she created didn't net her a partial refund.  She likely was trying to bully you into that partial refund and when it wasn't working, she got mad that you wouldn't take what she was dishing out.

Ebay in the past few months have significantly changed how they remove negative feedback.  They are trying to make the removal of any feedback to be approved 100% by AI.  It is a horrible thing and it often leaves a seller with feedback on their account that breaks a rule or rules but Ebay won't honor that and simply won't remove it if the AI made the determination it wasn't removable.

I would suggest to you to get all your evidence and even make notes for yourself so you don't miss any of the important details.  Then contact Ebay and try to get this removed.  Don't use the automated removal request as it will certainly return a no as it does not consider email communications and that is a very important part of why this buyer's fb should be removed.

Another thing, before you go and contact Ebay.  Take a look at your Buyer's Feedback page.  Specifically their Feedback Left For Others.  Does she do this kind of thing to other sellers, maybe even on a regular basis.  That would be FB abuse and that is yet another breach of the Ebay rules that should allow you to get the FB removed.

I hope you will come back and let us know what you find out.

***********************************************************

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I would suggest that you contact Ebay for Business on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for the better trained CSRs.

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Your options will be on the left. If you use the link below you can only get to the Automated Assistant or Chat box type AGENT in the box and hit enter. You will then get more options. Not all options are available 24/7. It will depend on staffing available. So sometimes you can request a call back and sometimes you can't. Sometimes you have the Chat option available and other times it won't me. If it is important to you to use one of those options, just try back later.

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If you are a seller outside of the US or Canada, you will need to use the Chat Option.

https://www.ebay.com/help/eua?id=5275&mkevt=1&mkpid

https://www.ebay.com/help/home

[matchboxdenmark]

This buyer is trying to scam you by demanding a partial refund. The fact that they sent you the wrong photos and then they did not respond after you asked for the correct photos, is a major red flag. You did everything right in my opinion. I would try and fight the negative feedback, most likely this buyer does this to other sellers. I used to try and see the best in people when it comes to things like this, but I’ve seen this type of scenario or ones similar to this countless times on eBay. They’re PO’d  because you did not take the bait. 

[soh.maryl]

Seems like eBay would agree to remove that FB if you explain to them that the buyer is apparently confused about what was from you and what was from another seller.

If you can't get it removed, what about a rational, professional reply? "Buyer is apparently confused.  The pictures sent to support her claim are of items that were not sold by me." 

[dhbookds]

Did you send a revise feedback request?  If not, I would do that before contacting ebay.  I think they will expect you to "try to resolve the issue with buyer" before they do anything..........a simple message probably won't get you too far.......

[ckimodog]

@hifivearch0 

Sorry for your situation. I would communicate with the buyer and see if they perhaps can change their mind and feedback, given on what you've posted here.  Sounds like they were a bit confused. 

Good luck!

[dhbookds]

@ckimodog 

Did you understand that the picture posted in the feedback does not show the items the seller sold?

[ckimodog]

@dhbookds 

Yes,  I did.  Hopefully the OP will get this person to change their mind. 

Happy Selling

[m60driver]

You are unlikely to get the feedback removed.  But say hey, they haven't files for an INAD so currently you get to keep the money and be happy.  Do not stir up the hornet's nest by responding to the neg.  Let your positive feedback speak for you.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

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@dhbookds wrote:

@ckimodog 

Did you understand that the picture posted in the feedback does not show the items the seller sold?

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Pic in the feedback is items seller sold, pics in messages are allegedly different pics and of items seller didnt sell

[mam98031]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

Seems like eBay would agree to remove that FB if you explain to them that the buyer is apparently confused about what was from you and what was from another seller.

If you can't get it removed, what about a rational, professional reply? "Buyer is apparently confused.  The pictures sent to support her claim are of items that were not sold by me." 

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If things were operating on this site as they use to before they decided to become so dependent upon AI ruling if a FB is to be removed or not, I'd agree with you.  But things did change and FB is extremely difficult to get it removed even if it breaks several of the rules for feedback.

[mam98031]

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@dhbookds wrote:

Did you send a revise feedback request?  If not, I would do that before contacting ebay.  I think they will expect you to "try to resolve the issue with buyer" before they do anything..........a simple message probably won't get you too far.......

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@dhbookds 

That is something a seller should never do cold.  There are a few reasons why this is not a good idea.

1.  Seller has a limited number of these revision forms available each year.

2. Without prior communication with the buyer and an agreement that they are willing to change the FB, they aren't likely to pay any attention to the email.  The buyer would also need to be told that the Revision form comes in an Ebay email, not an email from the seller.

3.  The Revision form has a 10 day life.  So if the buyer doesn't know it is coming and doesn't know it will be in the form of an email from Ebay, it is unlikely that they buyer will pay any attention to the email.  Possibly assume it is junk and just delete it.

4.  If after this you do communicate with the buyer and they want to change their FB, you can't send another revision form on the same transaction.

It is in the seller's best interest to ALWAYS be in communication with the buyer before sending a feedback revision form.