Can I appeal a negative feedback

[rasportcards]

A little background: I had a buyer purchase an item and opened a did not receive case. He never sent a message, only opened a case to tell me to send the item to a different address (apparently he never updated his address on ebay). I responded with okay once I receive item, I will ship it back to new address. He never responded. I sent another 2 messages after (one of which asked if he wanted refund or shipped back). Never responded. The day the case needed to be close, I called ebay and asked what to do since I did not have item in my possession. The buyer didnt have a forwarding address so it was being returned back to me. Ebay said do not refund while in transit and extended the case deadline. When that date came, i called again and told them it is still en route. They then closed the case and told me to keep item when it finally does arrive and they ruled in my favor and released the funds. I thought this was strange but okay? It took about a month to finally get back to me. Ebay said the reason to rule in  my favor was that he never responded to any of my messages/solutions. Well today (almost 2 months later) the buyer left negative feedback for not receiving item and refund. I called eBay to try to get it taken down and they said it doesn't qualify? I tried to resolve the issue with the buyer but he never responded and they stepped in and told me to keep item and not refund so why is this my fault? I would've gave him the refund/replacement had he responded to any of my messages. 

[slippinjimmy]

Let me get this straight, the package was returned to you but you kept the buyers entire payment?

If that's the case I can see why eBay won't remove the neg.

The buyer shouldn't have to ask for a refund when they have already informed you that it is coming back and the reason why.

You are TRS, you could have refunded the buyer after deducting the original shipping you paid. Seems clear the buyer was expecting a refund and when it didn't come they gave you a neg. If you had given a refund eBay would likely have removed the feedback.

[iart]

This is a little late, but when you talk to CS about these things you should ask about the probability of negative feedback so you can base your decision on that as well. If they are sympathetic,and suggest that you should not get a negative,  ask them to put a note in the file.

I'm not sure what you can do now. I would try CS again. When trying to get CS to remove a negative you have to be able to note the ebay rules they violated. Perhaps the address confusion is a possibility. Buyers aren't, and shouldn't be, responsible for much but providing a correct address is one obvious problem here. If they had given you another address, you would have sent it again, right? You asked several times but they didn't so you couldn't.

[rebell45]

Not much that you can do if he won't respond, but it's not right to keep his money.  That he never sent or responded to a message makes me wonder if he knows how to use eBay. I'd try sending a letter to the last address that you have for him and ask him to contact you. If you can manage to get his money back to him, then you could request that he the revise the feedback. Although, there may be a time limit of that option.

[maxine*j]

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@rasportcards wrote:

...  why is this my fault? I would've gave him the refund/replacement had he responded to any of my messages. 

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Not your fault, but you can understand why the buyer is unhappy, as he spent $65+ and has nothing to show for it and may not understand his own role in that.

Maybe reply to the negative feedback with something like:

Cannot refund/replace without needed info, but no response to msgs.

[vintage-car-magazines]

You got $62 for a card, had the card returned to you (slow but you got it), gave no refund and now have that same card listed for sale? It's not too late to do the right thing.

[rasportcards]

Ive already reached out and tried making it right. No, its not the same one listed now ( I have several). It wasnt an issue with refunding or replacing. I tried messaging him to figure out a solution to this when ebay said I didnt have to do anything. Thats why i was upset at the negative feedback. Ebay even assured me at the time they closed the case that he couldnt leave a neg feedback. Ive appealed their decision since it was notated in the account that he couldnt so hopefully ill get good news soon. 

[vintage-car-magazines]

You don't need to involve anyone or get an ok from the buyer to refund their money.  You got bad advice from CS. It's always best to do what seems right, regardless of what someone tells you you're allowed to do.

"No, its not the same one listed now ( I have several)"

It's the same serial number on the graded card. 

[m60driver]

Your feedback is fine.  You might be able to appeal the neg but it would be a real crapshoot depending on the particular CS agent you get.  I would not waste any time on getting it removed.  On the other hand, I would refund less all my expenses including postage and all fees.

[futuremarine2011]

i was told by ebay once that a  a neg  wouldnt be taken down because it was the buyers opinion and hes entitled to leave it.

[lamber9347]

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@rasportcards wrote:

A little background: I had a buyer purchase an item and opened a did not receive case. He never sent a message, only opened a case to tell me to send the item to a different address (apparently he never updated his address on ebay). I responded with okay once I receive item, I will ship it back to new address. He never responded. I sent another 2 messages after (one of which asked if he wanted refund or shipped back). Never responded. The day the case needed to be close, I called ebay and asked what to do since I did not have item in my possession. The buyer didnt have a forwarding address so it was being returned back to me. Ebay said do not refund while in transit and extended the case deadline. When that date came, i called again and told them it is still en route. They then closed the case and told me to keep item when it finally does arrive and they ruled in my favor and released the funds. I thought this was strange but okay? It took about a month to finally get back to me. Ebay said the reason to rule in  my favor was that he never responded to any of my messages/solutions. Well today (almost 2 months later) the buyer left negative feedback for not receiving item and refund. I called eBay to try to get it taken down and they said it doesn't qualify? I tried to resolve the issue with the buyer but he never responded and they stepped in and told me to keep item and not refund so why is this my fault? I would've gave him the refund/replacement had he responded to any of my messages. 

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I'm sorry you received your first negative but I'm also sorry that you can't see your own role in this. What this buyer wrote is absolutely correct- they didn't receive their item nor their money back. That is the truth, even you must be able to see that now. I understand they weren't responding to your messages but what they wrote is in fact the truth to what happened to them. That's why it doesn't deserve to be removed....

[outdatedrecreated]

Now that the buyer has left you negative, I wouldn't refund them, that's for sure. The best thing to do is respond to the negative feedback and move on if eBay isn't going to exercise any common sense. This is why I record every phone call and request a reference number for EVERY call with eBay. You still have a great reputation on eBay even with the negative feedback. No sense in stressing about it. 

[futuremarine2011]

i think this buyer is probably feeling like a lot of sellers are about right now about the $65+ part

[outdatedrecreated]

The buyer is the one who doesn't know their own address. The seller clearly stated to the buyer that when they received the item back they would either replace it or refund. eBay then told the seller to keep the item and the money because the buyer never responded to the case and it was ruled in the seller's favor. So please explain to me what the seller did wrong. Sure, the seller can refund the buyer now, but will still be left with negative feedback anyway. In this instance, I'd let the eBay deal with the angry phone call from the buyer and stay out of it. The seller did EXACTLY what eBay told them to do. 

[donsdetour]

well if the purchaser asked on the community about this:

the response would be:

Since no refund through eBay try your payment method (PayPal or credit card) for relief.

You are very luck they do not know to do that.

It is such no mater what eBay say: you owe for the item since it was returned to you..

It is true it is not your fault if the address was not correct: if that is even true (we users can not see any of that information).  It might have been reasonable to refund with out the shipping cost and fees for this if the address was in truth the problem.

 Just good business and ethics.

As for the feedback you got what happened to the purchaser and it is correct feedback for you.

They have had a very negative experience.

Happens to the best of sellers.