Buyer left weird, negative feedback without contacting me first- didn't ask for refund!

[vanpatrick2005]

     I sold and shipped a book to a buyer who did not have recent feedback in a long while, like she hadn't bought on eBay for a long time (my radar was up, but the buyer had a verified address and has been a member for years). This buyer just left me weird, off-the-wall NEGATIVE feedback which I frankly don't understand... stating something about a workbook and prison or whatever, the negative feedback was written like the person was drunk!

     This buyer did not try to contact me first, nor did she request a refund or issue an INAD... so here is my question: should I can send a feedback revision request first (which is usually ignored or the buyer will demand this and that), or do I respond reasonably to the negative feedback (where you leave replies next to the buyers FB) by saying 'Buyer did not reach out to me prior to leaving this feedback, as returns are available upon request for any issue that the buyer may have.'  

---Then maybe I could go to eBay Facebook customer service to 'beg' eBay to remove this strange, untruthful neg feedback?--

     I DO NOT want to refund this person if I don't have to, but of course I will if I must... my dander is up and I am feeling pretty gnarly about this foolishness.

    However, I am NOT going to let this just slide- 'the only thing necessary for the triumph of unfair eBay buyers is for good sellers to do nothing'-, because I have been selling on eBay for 20 years and will fight for TRUTH, JUSTICE, and the American way Ha! Ha! Any suggestions or ideas from you, my fellow eBay selling compatriots? Any advice is certainly welcome, and also I just need a collective forum hug- I feel violated1

[vanpatrick2005]

The buyer did not put anything in the notes, so the rambling feedback is totally incomprehensible...

[mtgraves7984]

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@vanpatrick2005 wrote:

Ha ha the feedback is unintelligible... can't make heads or tails of it!

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@vanpatrick2005 

I don't know where you shipped it, but they won't allow hardbacks in prison anyway. 😐

[vanpatrick2005]

The buyer never left any alternate address to ship the book, neither in eBay messages sent by buyers or in 'view order details'.  In any event, you CANNOT send anything but letters to inmates in prison, so the feedback is totally ridiculous... that is why I am so irritated and perplexed!

[chapeau-noir]

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@vanpatrick2005 wrote:

Yeah, I agree that eBay customer service won't probably do anything. Though you would think it would be in their best interests to do so- if that dumb negative feedback somehow affects my sales, then it affects their money too!

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It won't. And eBay makes most of its money from ads, anyway.

Your response was fine, and dealing with the public can be frustrating - you need good nerves. If you can't get the FB removed on a technicality, I'd just go outside for a while, take a walk or whatever, and move on.

[vanpatrick2005]

Its a one in a million chance, but I will have to take it! I like my 100%!

[vanpatrick2005]

Feedback was over a year old- so as a buyer you haven't bought something for over a year? A little strange to me as I buy at least once a month off eBAY

[vanpatrick2005]

No, the buyer didn't request ANY different shipping address, and inmates CANNOT receive anything but letters when incarcerated. So that is why this feedback is incoherent and needs to be removed!

[vanpatrick2005]

Thank you for your response, I agree with you- and maybe I can get an eBay rep who realizes 1: the buyer did not request a different shipping address and 2: you can't ship anything other than letters to prison because its considered contraband and it will be confiscated!

[fern*wood]

Since you take pride in your feedback, I'm curious as to why you make your listings private?  When I buy, I rarely look at feedback, but if I do I want to see the feedback for items similar to what I'm looking to buy, so having them all private makes that not as helpful. 

[chapeau-noir]

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@vanpatrick2005 wrote:

Feedback was over a year old- so as a buyer you haven't bought something for over a year? A little strange to me as I buy at least once a month off eBAY

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Your buying habits have nothing to do with anyone else's. I finally purchased something on eBay the other day, first time in probably two years.

[reallynicestamps]

I have been told that prisoners are not allowed to receive hardcover books, only softcover.
I have also been told that one of the most popular book genres among prisoners is crime/detective fiction.

Good response. You sound calm, buyer sounds odd.

[mam98031]

I think I can decipher what the buyer is saying in their feedback but I need to confirm something. I know sellers have a character limit in the address field when creating postage thru ebay. Do buyers have this limit when they enter their shipping address?

I don't think they have the same limitations, however sellers have two lines they can use for the buyer's physical address, so if the address is too long for one field, just split it where a logical break may be, with the second field.  This does NOT change the address, it simply allows you to get their entire address on the shipping label.                          

[mam98031]

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@fern*wood wrote:

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@fbusoni wrote:

Seller are obligated to ship only to the address that the buyer has registered with their account on eBay.

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Maybe I'm just reading this wrong, but we are obligated to ship to whatever ship to address comes with their payment.  I do this all the time for my dad and his address is not my ebay registered address.   You are correct that notes asking to change the address do not count.

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You are correct.  During the payment process a buyer can enter any ship to address they want.  Kid at college, a friend across the country, etc.  We as sellers are just required to ship to the address given at payment time as part of qualifying for Seller Protection.

[mam98031 · Accepted solution]

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@vanpatrick2005 wrote:

Yeah, I agree that eBay customer service won't probably do anything. Though you would think it would be in their best interests to do so- if that dumb negative feedback somehow affects my sales, then it affects their money too!

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IDK, I think it is worth a try to get it removed.  The worst thing they can tell you is no.  Seems that the buyer provided you a problematic ship to address per part of what they said in the feedback, which is a them problem, not a you problem.

If it were mine, I'd try the automated version of getting it removed, link below.  If they tell you no, I would then contact Ebay directly and ask.

Go to the Seller Help page. Towards the bottom of the screen you will see a place to click on to submit the feedback for removal.

https://www.ebay.com/sellerhelp/feedback?id=5566

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

On each Ebay page there is a link to contact Customer Service at the top of the page and again at the bottom of the page.

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

Here are your options for contacting Ebay Customer Service. Please be aware that for social media CS, you send them a Private Message and briefly explain what your problem or issue is. Feel free to leave your Name, address, phone number and/or your email address in this message. It is private and secure and it may help to speed up the response for you.

https://twitter.com/askebay

https://www.facebook.com/ebay

https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/

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.

If you use a cell phone or other mobile device, you may need to turn off your Spam filter so that Ebay can call you.

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

[mam98031]

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@vanpatrick2005 wrote:

The buyer never left any alternate address to ship the book, neither in eBay messages sent by buyers or in 'view order details'.  In any event, you CANNOT send anything but letters to inmates in prison, so the feedback is totally ridiculous... that is why I am so irritated and perplexed!

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You would not be able to tell if the buyer gave you an "alternate" address to ship to.  Sellers don't have access to see what address or addresses another member has set up as their ship to address in Site Preferences.  All we can see is the address they give us at the time of payment as the ship to address.