Defect removal requests

[electro_55]

Hi everyone! A batch of twelve items we sold and shipped a few weeks ago, were subsequently lost by our carrier. When we were notified of this situation a few days later, I contacted each buyer via Ebay messaging, text message, and phone to notify them of the situation and offer them a new order at a reduced price, and, in parallel, I canceled the twelve concerned orders (by now, I know that this last action was a huge mistake in the eyes of Ebay. I wish I had known at the time!) 

So, unaware that the reason for the cancellation was a very important matter in the eyes of eBay, I absentmindedly checked "out of stock" as the reason for these cancellations, even though these items were not out of stock, but lost. As a result, we were granted with twelve defects at once. Therefore, our seller performance level will be reduced to Above Average for a full year+, given the number of defects at issue in this case. This is an absolutely disproportionate punishment. We will now lose the advantages of the Top Rated badge. Which means less sales, more fees, etc, for more than a year.

I tried to have the defects removed via https://www.ebay.com/sellerhelp/defect/action, only to receive twelve refusals, with the usual automated copy-paste out of toutch explanations many of us sellers are so used to.

Then I tried to appeal the decisions via customer service and via askEbay on X (Twitter), but no matter what I say or do, I always receive the same scripted irrelevant answers, promises that some "offline team" will write back but they never do, etc etc. In short, an exasperating and infuriating experience, into which I lost hours of my time.

This is extremely frustrating, as I I work very hard on a daily basis to earn and preserve our Top Rated Seller badge, always going extra lengths to give maximum satisfaction to our customers. And now I get more than a year of harsh punishment for something totally out of my control.

Has anyone here been able to have a situation like this fixed by Ebay? Is it only possible to go beyond Ebay's robotic, vague and irrelevant "customer service" that feels more like a firewall than anything else, and actually get an unfair situation really addressed?

[electro_55]

*Sorry, the bold characters are from Ebay, not from me!

[mam98031]

That is good news.  It gives you more time to resolve this issue.

Remember.  We are all Eval'd on the 20th of each month for the period ending the previous month.  The results of that eval is effected the 1st of the following month.  So the March 20th Eval will be for the period ending February 28th.  The results of that Eval will be effective April 1st.

You really shouldn't cancel orders that you have shipped.  It isn't necessary.  Just because a shipment is late doesn't mean you should be refunding.

ALWAYS follow these steps.

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If a buyer contacts you with a delivery issue or if the buyer opens an INR, IMHO these are the steps to take.

If an INR was opened, make sure you upload the tracking number to the INR right away.

Go to USPS website and review the detail tracking info.

On this tracking screen there is a place to file for email updates as there is movement on the tracking. Sign up for that so you get informed right away when something gets entered to the tracking.

Go and file for a TRACE, I don't recommend filing for Missing Mail just yet. The two are completely different actions. The Trace usually gets the job done quicker.
https://usps.my.site.com/emailus/s/package-inquiry

Contact your buyer. Keep all contact inside the INR filed so everything is recorded on the claim. Let your buyer know you are working with USPS to get their package delivered. Apologize for the delay. And let them know you filed a trace which takes between 48-72 hours for USPS to respond. As you get any information you will update the buyer right away. Assure your buyer that you are working this problem and will continue to do so until a proper resolution.

If there is movement on the tracking within the last 7 days, Ebay will keep the INR open. Do not voluntarily issue the refund yet. It is highly likely the package is going to get delivered, it is just late. Annoying for the buyer for sure. Just stay in touch with them and assure them you are working on a resolution.

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I respect you wanting to keep certain things to yourself.  If you want to send me a private message, I am really curious as to why you use a different carrier.

It is the Below Standard rating you want to do everything you can to NOT acquire that rating.

How are the other numbers on your Dashboard.  Does any area show concern?

[mam98031]

No apology needed.

[electro_55]

"You really shouldn't cancel orders that you have shipped.  It isn't necessary.  Just because a shipment is late doesn't mean you should be refunding." I know that by now, beleive me!

Actually, the reason why I cancelled the orders instead of letting things go, is that lately, to my total surprise, I was refused many defect removals for defects that were, however, clearly unfair, and for which I had all the necessary evidence to prove I respected all of my obligations. For example, a package that I shipped on time (really, physically shipped and scanned by the carrier), for which I used the advertised shipping method, that was delivered late by the carrier. Go figure. That scared me enough to want to avoid late shipment defects at all costs.

The numbers on my dashboard are all stellar. Except, of course, my transaction defect rate that went from unsignificant fractions to a horrible 1.7% due to these twelve cancellations. It is just impossible to bring this back below 0.5% (the treshold for Top Rated) before one full one-year cycle of evaluation. What a mess.

[mam98031]

I'm so sorry.  Of course you have learned this after all this.  So sorry.

The defect you describe for shipping and late delivery should not have happened if you had an acceptance scan within your stated handling time.

Sometimes they do make mistakes.  Each section on the Dashboard you can click on the arrow to the right and get a detailed report for what transactions caused the Defects.

I think you should plead your case to the CSRs on Facebook.  Be detailed, you will likely need to explain to them why you use two carriers, but these are all confidential contacts with them, so it shouldn't be an issue.  Take your time and write your story.  Stay on point and as factual as you can be.  Blame the heck out of the carriers.  Stay honest, polite and professional.  You want them to WANT to help you.

https://www.facebook.com/ebay

[electro_55]

That's exactly what I did this morning.  So far, only received an automated response, stating that they will get back to me soon. Let's see. But I have to admit my expectations are very low!

[mam98031]

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@electro_55 wrote:

That's exactly what I did this morning.  So far, only received an automated response, stating that they will get back to me soon. Let's see. But I have to admit my expectations are very low!

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They should.  They really have the better trained CSRs on working on Facebook.

[carlmarxx]

Request a call back  from ebay ,to talk with a live person. 

[mam98031]

Most times, going through Facebook for help on a more complicated issue works out far better.  IMHO

[electro_55]

You were right: through Facebook, it worked very well! I was able to experience real customer service, with someone (a real person!) able to consider the entire situation and act accordingly. I'm still amazed at the difference in level of support provided through the Facebook channel and the atrocious experience I have every time I contact "regular" customer service.

Thank you so much for your advice. I was hesitant to believe you, but you were absolutely right.

All the best!

[mam98031]

@electro_55 

Thank you for posting that.  And I am so glad I was able to help you.  I hope your post will help others too.  😍