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. 

[fluffywhip78]

If your item was scanned within your handling time and was past the delivery date why did you refund them shipping?  with guaranteed delivery as long as the acceptance scan is on time ebay would refund them or give them a voucher.

[turquoisetulips]

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@5ring5ale wrote:

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. 

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I just wouldn't think too much about this although I understand how unfair  this is to you . A few months back I had a buyer  leave positive feedback  but complained she paid too much money  [ 11.75 with free shipping ]  in the comment section .  I thought about leaving a polite  reply  underneath  her feedback   but then  I decided  why draw attention to it ? The chances are most buyers aren't going to read it and the ones who might  are going to  realize it was just her opinion . If most of the rest  of your feedback  is great  then hardly anyone is going to be swayed  by one fussy buyer . Tulips 

[webwanna]

Are you signed up for the Guaranteed Delivery Program?  If so, you are financially responsible if the buyer decides to return/receive voucher because you didn't meet the Guaranteed Delivery Date.  

Check your Ebay Account Preferences.  That buyer will most likely want his $5 voucher if he hasn't requested a return.... Ebay charges the cost to your account each month.  So, if you see your items are arriving late frequently you need to increase your handling time.  If you are signed up for Guaranteed Delivery you are already paying for that voucher.   If you're opted out, it's Ebay that pays for it.

[webwanna]

Sorry, I should have read more carefully.  It looks like you should be able to prove you met your handling time.  Ebay won't charge you for the voucher if you have specified a handling time guarantee.  Anyway, check your settings to be sure.  Here's the policy:  https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/shipping/ebay-guaranteed-delivery.html#m22_tb_a2__1

[mam98031]

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@5ring5ale wrote:

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.

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I'm so glad you and your buyer were able to effectively communicate.  It was very nice of them to put that note on there.  

As for calling Ebay.  While certainly you can do that as it is your choice.  It would just be a complete waste of time.  There is nothing Ebay will do about it and they certainly won't remove it.  The buyer has NOT breached any rule that is for buyers and FB they leave.

[hyperrush]

Feedbsck doesnt violate the terms.

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:

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. 

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BUt in this case if it had been negative it would have been better because it would have been removeable 

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@webwanna wrote:

Are you signed up for the Guaranteed Delivery Program?  If so, you are financially responsible if the buyer decides to return/receive voucher because you didn't meet the Guaranteed Delivery Date.  

Check your Ebay Account Preferences.  That buyer will most likely want his $5 voucher if he hasn't requested a return.... Ebay charges the cost to your account each month.  So, if you see your items are arriving late frequently you need to increase your handling time.  If you are signed up for Guaranteed Delivery you are already paying for that voucher.   If you're opted out, it's Ebay that pays for it.

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This isnt exactly correct incorrect.  There are two  different guaranteed delivery choices.  One the seller agrees to be responsible for delivery...but really what seller would choose that one.   The other seller is only responsible if they don’t meet their handling time.  If the seller meets that eBay covers it.  Then there is the guaranteed delivery that a seller doesn’t choose but is in because of fast n free.  Again as long as the seller meets their handling time here eBay covers the return costs or voucher 

[5ring5ale]

Ascribing, big word, good job.

Let me help you understand since you seem to be struggling in the same way the buyer was.

Beyond him leaving a negative comment as positive feedback, it was completely irrelevant. It was the same as him saying, "I rolled my ankle while grabbing the package, therefore he's a bad seller." It doesn't actually help me or the eBay community in anyway. Kind of like your comment. 

Also, had you read, I sent him a message telling him that I shipped it on time, and in which case any normal person would have responded "oh my bad", he pretty much all but said "I don't care, I just want to leave a negative comment". He wasn't leaving it to be kind, he only offered to reply to the feedback after my second email where I told him I did not want to get eBay involved but would. 

In fact, how about I buy 50 items from you and then I can leave comments like item was fake or broken. And then you can let that sink in. 

[5ring5ale]

Are you the same guy? What's your bone in the fight? You sound exactly like the guy. Just ill intentions.

He didn't follow up and try to help me. It took two emails, his first response was basically just angry nonsense trying to justify why it still applied. This was even after I offered to contact USPS and refund him the cost of shipping. 

It wasn't until that I wrote that I thought he was abusing the system and my next step would be to report him as a buyer. 

Also, the only thing I asked of him was to clarify his feedback. If he's going to leave feedback about USPS, on my page, then at least clarify it. 

I was very specific about it, in both messages. 

He wouldn't even do that. A few words were too hard for him. He just wrote "He did ship on time. Shipping delayed".

He's a troll, the epitome. You should know. 

[lja440]

Simply reply calmly that delivery times are estimates, purchased x/xx, delivered x/xx 

Transit times will show anyone that reads the feedback that it wasn't a unreasonable time frame.

[enzo7117]

let it slide

[5ring5ale]

I did not sign up for anything.

This was one of the buyer's arguments, and he even sent me a link and clearly did not read a word of it. And did not care when I corrected him. 

The guaranteed label is automatically applied to listings that qualify.

eBay takes full responsibility if handling times are met. And their guarantee's are their own calculations. 

[5ring5ale]

Thanks for the comments, the only question that I still am unsure of is the calling. I've read eBay's algorithm, does not like calls for any reason. Is this true? I hope to get my seller limits increased not decreased. 

[city*satins]

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@myangelandmyprincess wrote:

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@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:

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. 

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BUt in this case if it had been negative it would have been better because it would have been removeable 

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Actually it wouldn't have been removable if it had been a negative because the statement wasn't incorrect per the terms of the sale which had a guaranteed delivery date.  The buyer didn't say that the seller didn't send it on time, the buyer said it didn't arrive on time - which being guaranteed, it didn't.  Not removable.