Buyer left inaccurate negative comment as positive feedback

[5ring5ale]

Hi, I sold an item. Shipped it on time but, I guess, USPS had a delay and it ended up being delivered Monday not Saturday. The buyer left positive feedback but left a negative comment in typical troll fashion "Did not arrive in time. Delivered two days past due." I'm assuming he intentionally left the feedback as positive to circumvent it from being removed.

This seems to be against eBay policy "or by leaving negative comments with a positive rating. "

I contacted him, asked him to look at the tracking info and see that I delivered the item to USPS on time. That his issue is with USPS, which I'd gladly help him recoup the shipping costs if it weren't for the fact that he chose First-Class, which they do not guarantee. (btw, why is ebay guaranteeing first-class shipments in the first place?)

His response pretty much ignored everything I had written and it's clear he's just looking to mess with someone. 

Should I contact eBay or let it slide? My understanding is that eBay hates when any drama is created, justified or not, that requires human interaction instead of a bot. I don't want to harm my account any further as I also just became top rated. However, I work my butt off to get items out and this just irks me to no end. 

[bigdeals.etc]

I believe the feedback rules on "false positives" is one sided. It's only if it's on a feedback left for a buyer, and not left for a seller. Talk about another buyer-friendly policy huh.

There's no way that comment can be removed or edited... since it's a positive feedback. Even if the buyer wanted to, they can't. Take it as most people only focus on the color of the feedback... as long as it's green most people won't bother to read the comment. I wouldn't even draw more attention to it by replying to it. Just leave it be and it'll hopefully get pushed down and lost among your other greens.

[castlemagicmemories]

I know the comment stings, but take heart, it is a green positive.  Buyer seems to have left it and moved on, not much you can do about that.

Let it slide off like water off a duck's back.

[castlemagicmemories]

Double posted for some reason.

[mam98031]

That rule is only a one way street.  Sellers are not allowed to leave negative comments of any kind in the FB for a buyer.  But the same does not hold true for the FB a buyer may leave a seller.

You did a great job responding to their FB left for you.  It looks very good.  You will be just fine.

[5ring5ale]

Thanks guys, I figured as much.

He already replied to it  "Seller did ship on-time. Shipping delayed." Thanks for drawing even more attention to it with another vague comment. Unbelievable. Then he wrote me back a nasty email about taking responsibility for joining for a guarantee program, that I never signed up for, and blah blah. He's been a real joy to deal with. 

I'm still considering contacting ebay to have it completely removed. It's irrelevant, it's my account not USPS he's leaving feedback for. Buyers can't discern that. It was also caused by their guarantee tag that they say they take full responsibility for if handling times are met.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Can see this really got to you.

As others have said, no one will notice the comment since it is a positive feedback. As long as you don't call attention to it with a follow-up comment, you will be fine. In a short time it will travel down the list and be even more obscured by your other positives. I say, let it go. I wouldn't have contacted the buyer over this, unless to express my concern for their “issue.”

Although it may seem unfair, eBay does hold sellers responsible for the actions of the carrier they contract with. Unless the shipping delay has to do with an act of God, a delay is considered to be the seller’s problem, and it can hurt a seller’s shipping metrics even if the services option was chosen

by the buyer, as in your case.

I think you may be reading more into the circumstances because this really got under your skin. It isn't worth all your time and energy to pursue it any further because there isn't anything that can be gained. I know you feel wronged, and i am so sorry their comment caused you grief. I would urge you to pick your battles. Just don’t think this one is worth any more effort.

[5ring5ale]

Yeah it's definitely a way to circumvent their feedback system, I don't sell a lot. So this definitely affects me and will sit on my first page for a while. By his emails, I wouldn't be surprised if he intentionally did this so I could not retract it. 

[5ring5ale]

I understand, but also, I don't sell a lot so this comment will sit there for a good while. And he already replied to it, and it didn't even help things. I replied back and I think I cleaned it up. But I'm also worried about my dsr's. As I'm a top seller, but only sell a few things a week. 

Also, in this case eBay says they take responsibility:

"We cover the liability for Fast 'N Free listings because we're confident in our ability to calculate your delivery time. If your delivery is late even though you met your handling time, we'll make it right for your customers."

USPS does not provide guarantees on First-Class mail. The guys beef has to do with the guarantee eBay provided. 

[bigdeals.etc]

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@5ring5ale wrote:

Yeah it's definitely a way to circumvent their feedback system, I don't sell a lot. So this definitely affects me and will sit on my first page for a while. By his emails, I wouldn't be surprised if he intentionally did this so I could not retract it. 

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I see. Well if you value your account and don't want to open up a new one to continue selling (I personally don't think you need to get a new acct), there are some ways to get more feedbacks that don't violate policy.

One way is just to sell certain items you get from dollar stores. There are some items that many buyers won't know you got the item from there. Find a good item to sell and not lose any money. Make sure to treat these buyers like kings and ship out same day to ensure you won't get any negatives. Give them positive feedbacks immediately after they win (even before they pay). Within time, you'll get enough feedbacks to push this one down.

You gotta ask yourself, is it worth the effort?

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

Stop ascribing negative reasons to this. Buyers don’t leave negatives as a positive because they’re trying to get around the rules. There are no such rules for buyers.

Most I’ve ever seen on the boards do it to be KIND to the seller because they think negs still hurt AND stick out to warn future buyers.

Let that sink in for a minute. They were unhappy about something, could have made it stand out but didn’t.

Feedback and DSRs are no longer used for eBay punishment. 

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

BTW if you hadn’t contacted him about it, it would have been buried as just another green dot on a page of green dots. 

He he followed up and tried to help you yet here you are calling a paying customer a troll.

[extrememobility]

Saw the item in question the feedback and your reply" I cannot believe this will hurt you! Good Luck!

[remote_controls_and_more]

USPS doesn't guarantee delivery on Priority mail either, only Priority Express which is very expensive

[*madison]

When the buyer left a positive feedback rating it would have been better just to let it go,  follow ups and replies make the feedback stand out. I think most buyers don't even read positive feedback comments, I never read them. The buyer could have left you a neg that wouldn't qualify for removal, but he didn't do that. Your feedback rating is still 100%, you should be happy with that..