Buyer left negative feedback immediately after purchasing and then canceled order without cause

[tiltedtimecompany]

I had a buyer yesterday that purchased an item (a pocket watch) from me for $80. The description was spot on and it had photos of the item from every angle. The item was exactly as described.

Immediately after the buyer made the purchase (no more than 5 minutes later) they left negative feedback stating "Way to go. Your a dishonest scammer. It's getting sent right back." They then requested to cancel the order; all within 10 minutes of the original purchase.

I requested a feedback revision from eBay and it was declined saying it didn't violate any of eBay's policies. I contacted eBay for Business on Facebook and they suggested I contact the buyer, and request a revision from the buyer. I messaged the buyer politely asking what we could do to improve, and why they left the feedback they did. The buyer never responded. 

I had eBay call me back so I could speak to a live person about this, and was informed that they would submit an appeal for the eBay feedback revision request that did not end in my favor. 

I am extremely disheartened and frustrated by this experience. Why would eBay allow buyers to abuse sellers like this for no reason? What can I do beyond this to remove the false, defamatory feedback? What's stopping other sellers from doing this to their competition to tank their feedback ratings, and as a result; their sales? Why is it okay for a buyer to buy an item just to leave negative feedback to hurt a business? 

[simba6]

Your feedback is well into the danger zone.  I suggest you not list anything that might have the slightest chance of getting poor feedback.  You are in real danger of a lifetime selling ban.  You need to let it age off.  Too many poor feedbacks in a short time will get you in trouble.

[slyders_finds]

Says plated in the description. 

[slyders_finds]

Unless it has changed a buyer can't leave bad feedback til they receive the item. And even then Ebay suggests you try to talk it out with the seller. 

[slyders_finds]

Ebay is taking a stance now they will no longer be removing feedbacks. Joe DeMarco has a youtube channel and did a recent video about it. And he has Ebay concierge(special Ebay service for bigger sellers) and deals with Ebay for Business. 

[slyders_finds]

I guess it depends on the situation. If the seller was nice about it and apologized for being out of stock, maybe a neutral is in order or dont leave feedback at all. If the seller is snarky and rude, maybe they should get a negative. 

[gurlcat]

The buyer left the feedback, THEN requested the cancellation.   Seems like the whole transaction was about getting that big blue 'Leave Feedback' button. 

This was most likely a previous buyer that got mad about that prior transaction for some reason, and decided to take revenge by using another account.  There is NO reason to call the seller a scammer for an item you JUST purchased.  Like if you thought the item was a scam, why purchase it?  And the language sounded like a response to behavior too, "Way to go." 

What way did the OP go?  When?  Doing what?  

@tiltedtimecompany Have you had any sour interactions with any buyers (or even interested shoppers who emailed you) in the past month or two?  Have you added any names to your Blocked Buyers List?  Have you had any other negative feedbacks removed recently?  

[albertabrightalberta]

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@slyders_finds wrote:

I guess it depends on the situation. If the seller was nice about it and apologized for being out of stock, maybe a neutral is in order or dont leave feedback at all. If the seller is snarky and rude, maybe they should get a negative. 

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This isn't about an OOS item.

[slyders_finds]

The buyer having 8 stars shows the are inexperienced. Alot of buyers don't even click on the description or look at the pictures. They just see the price and think they are getting a steal of a Deal. I will  say though you are being a tad sneaky that you didn't put Plated in the title and you made sure in the description to put all the way at the bottom that it is Plated. Sure the buyer should be a better shopper, but with Ebay buyers that "cleverness" is going to bite you back. 

[crazystuff4sale]

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@slyders_finds wrote:

Unless it has changed a buyer can't leave bad feedback til they receive the item. And even then Ebay suggests you try to talk it out with the seller. 

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A buyer doesn't need to wait until they receive it to leave neg or neutral feedback.

If it's a Top Rated Seller they have to wait 7 days from purchase date.

[reallynicestamps]

It is an abuse of feedback.

And that is what @tiltedtimecompany  should be telling customer services is the problem.

That the buyer paid, then requested cancellation and was refunded... Oh, wait a minute. 

The customer would see the payment go through... but the refund takes longer.

I can see a (terminally clueless) customer deciding that the seller was scamming on this.

Sigh.

Still, "abuse of feedback" would be the reason for removal of the FB.

[gurlcat]

I bet it was this guy.  His negative comments got removed  (whether by seller request or automatic, IDK) maybe put on the seller's BBL also, so he figured he would do another purchase with another account and immediately neg the seller.  

[vintagecraze50]

I agree. I think they are getting really ridiculous with this situation. The purchaser even sounds like a competitor trying to make this seller look bad. It looks very malicious.

[crazystuff4sale]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

It is an abuse of feedback.

And that is what @tiltedtimecompany  should be telling customer services is the problem.

That the buyer paid, then requested cancellation and was refunded... Oh, wait a minute. 

The customer would see the payment go through... but the refund takes longer.

I can see a (terminally clueless) customer deciding that the seller was scamming on this.

Sigh.

Still, "abuse of feedback" would be the reason for removal of the FB.

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Arguing abuse of feedback is probably what got the first removal requests denied.

I would concentrate on the fact the buyer requested a cancellation that was quickly granted.

[gamersbaystore]

Actually, I had a buyer leave feedback last week the same day I shipped their item. In another case, I had a buyer purchase 6 items and leave 6 negative feedbacks right after their purchase. ebay allowed me to cancel the transactions without hurting my account and they removed the feedback, which they should have.

They need to remove the OP's negative and suspend the buyer. Calling someone a scammer and leaving negative feedback for something they purchased 5 seconds ago is ridiculous. The listing makes it clear what is being sold and what to expect.

The reason this crap is a problem all of a sudden is because ebay decided to lay off a ton of their support staff and rely on AI to make decisions. Its pure greed.

[vintagecraze50]

Yes the seller does clearly say plated in the description.