Good morning everyone;
I would like to bring something to light that's been brought up before. But maybe someone can relate more to this situation.
Although I've been selling a mix of things, when I sell video game consoles, they're always in pristine/mint condition. In this particular case, I threw in a free game that I had purchased from another well-known retailer because originally, I was planning on trading it in to that retailer and I needed that particular game to complete the sale (I sold the original one). Since that didn't work out, I decided to sell the system on eBay.
In the description, I stated that because I was not able to test the game, that upon purchasing, it should be considered non-working. (The listing was priced according to other PS3s listings without extras).
I figured all would be well and good!
Upon receiving feedback, although it was positive (thankfully), the buyer specifically stated that the game did not work very well but everything else was okay. In response, as puzzled as I was, I respectfully asked why there seemed to be some surprise when I stated in the listing the game should be considered non-working. I also added that had he contacted me, I would have did whatever he needed me to do to make him happy, even if I had to go in my pocket despite the game being free (it was work like $4).
He e-mailed back saying that he understood that the game may not work just as I mentioned, gave it a try, the game didn't work, said he wasn't complaining about anything, apologized for the way I felt, and said he wasn't able to type in more detail on the rest of the order being just fine. He ended his statement saying that he was ok with the purchase because he was not going to use it to primarily play games. This also confused me because the console was in perfection working order and once again, I already stated the game was non-working.
My confusion is here: Why comment on the part of the order that was known to be non-working for all to see when the most significant part would have been to let everyone know that the portion of the order I did describe to be perfect was just that and everything was just as I described? At first glance, the way it was written, when you begin to read, the buyer made it seem like the game was supposed to be working.
Honestly, I ALMOST think the comment section should be removed for positive ratings. Don't get me wrong, after speaking with him and giving him a chance to express what happened, I honestly felt that he did not have a clear understanding of the feedback system. I'm definitely not blaming the customer or anything, and I am grateful for the positive feedback, but I believe E-bay should be doing more to make these buyers reach out to sellers before they rate (instead of using dialog boxes and asterisks that nobody seems to read). Kind of like how e-bay doesn't allow buyers to give negative feedback to power sellers for 7 days. Seriously, give us a chance to make things right or clear up confusion before rating.
I knew something like this would happen eventually, and this is obviously something we sellers shouldn't have to worry about, but I guess that's the way the world works.
Are we even able to respond to positive feedback when the content of that feedback is questionable? If so, should I respond to it or should I just leave it be? I definitely empathize with those sellers who I buy from that type up a page thrown in a package I buy saying to PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES BEFORE RATING OR COMMENTING. Lol.
