eBay

ummyeahok · ‎01-08-2021

I had concerns about shipping delays due to shipping surges due to the holidays, and COVID related shipping issues, so I set my handling time to 5 business days. Buyer bought the item the evening of 11/24. I was able to ship out and have USPS scan and pick up the very next day 11/25, the day before Thanksgiving. Because of this, eBay emailed the buyer letting them know that it was on its way, and should expect it 12/1 (4 business days). Well, since what eBay says is golden, 12/1 that very night, the buyer messages me, claiming the item was lost. Tracking (9405508205496902587899) shows that it was still in transit. Since USPS last scanned it on the 11/25, on 12/2 she demanded that I ship her out a replacement. Not wanting to damage my 100% positive rating, I reluctantly shipped out a second that same day (9405508205496945118999). On the 12/4, two days later, she demanded a refund. Of course, with two on their way, with the second not even having a chance to get there, I told her that when they arrive, to go through the eBay return process. That is when negative feedback was left.

“Ordered on Nov 24. Today is dec 4th, still no color wheel.”

Both arrived on 12/9, 10 business days after original purchase. I requested feedback removal and this was ebays response:

”We’ve looked carefully at this feedback and see that it doesn’t qualify for removal.

Feedback is a way to let our members share their experiences with other members. Feedback that breaches the feedback policy may be removed by eBay. We won't remove feedback on the grounds that a seller believes a comment is untrue or undeserved.”

If it doesn’t qualify then why do they have the option to select “beyond your control, ex: weather delays”? My business handling time was set to 5 days, that means that I SHOULD have sent the first item out on the 2nd, which DID arrive a week later, but I foolishly and graciously shipped it immediately. I am being penalized due to the inefficiencies of USPS, and ebays need to immediately tell buyers when their shipping label has printed, rather than include seller set “handling days.”

Is this right for them to do this? It should have been well known to ALL buyers and sellers AND eBay that a global wide pandemic has significantly increased the amount of shipping delays caused by significantly increased online shopping, fewer shipping employees due to social distancing requirements and illness, and pre election budget cuts. This was before it became known to me that UPS and FedEx was refusing shipments from certain retailers, meaning USPS was forced to take on their load as well. I say 10 business days, even without my pointless 5 business day handling buffer is pretty darn lucky, considering how worse off other buyers may have been.

bbravo65 · ‎01-09-2021

(quote from your comment)..."Due to the pandemic the postal service had to cut way back from their staff just like everyone else did..."

...no mean to correct you but USPS "is not, had ever and will not cut the workforce"...

...if only you committed stealing, being violent (exp...assaulting your fellow co-worker), poor attendance, sexually harassment, these are the most common causes, otherwise once you are career-employee, you are "well-protected" from being laid-off and guaranteed of 8 hours/day working time ...(well...some still can get their positions back with the help of the Postal Union(s), and yet, almost Supervisors, Station Managers or even Postmasters are "immune" from being booted out of the system...)

...the problems of packages being delayed...

1- due to the CCP virus, USPS has a new policies that employees can have up to 15 days to get off for quarantine if either themselves or their family members get positive test result, with continuously getting paid (75% of their base salaries) without using any of their own Annual Leaves or Sick Leaves...

2- the new hiring peoples, most are young folks, with ages between 20 to 30, could not handle the massive impact of lengthy working hours (exp. for Mail Carrier position, during last recently holiday seasons, some had to work from 5AM to 11PM, 7 days a week)...they quit after couple weeks...

3- "shopping spree" is what some (more than ever before) of our fellow Americans are doing now due to the nation shutdown from this pandemic and that created a huge impact for all the couriers in delivery...

wesk_36 · ‎01-09-2021

Buyers who blame any seller for the failure of the USPS and other carriers (edit) are not thinking correctly, in my opinion. I think this kind of buyer rational is irrational. It is also ebay's failure for fighting sellers on this issue while pretending to support them.

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smabrouk · ‎01-09-2021

@ummyeahok wrote:
Buyer bought the item the evening of 11/24. I was able to ship out and have USPS scan and pick up the very next day 11/25, the day before Thanksgiving. Because of this, eBay emailed the buyer letting them know that it was on its way, and should expect it 12/1 (4 business days). Well, since what eBay says is golden, 12/1 that very night, the buyer messages me, claiming the item was lost. Tracking (9405508205496902587899) shows that it was still in transit. Since USPS last scanned it on the 11/25, on 12/2 she demanded that I ship her out a replacement. Not wanting to damage my 100% positive rating, I reluctantly shipped out a second that same day (9405508205496945118999). On the 12/4, two days later, she demanded a refund. Of course, with two on their way, with the second not even having a chance to get there, I told her that when they arrive, to go through the eBay return process. That is when negative feedback was left.

“Ordered on Nov 24. Today is dec 4th, still no color wheel.”

Both arrived on 12/9, 10 business days after original purchase.

Your buyer is UNREASONABLE, DISHONEST, and GREEDY! If the buyer had access to the tracking information then (s)he KNEW that the item was in-transit to her/him. There was NO REASON to complain!

You were VERY KIND to send out a second item. Undoubtedly, this DISHONEST, GREEDY buyer FAILED to (i) thank you for sending the second item, (ii) pay for the second item, or (iii) return the second item to you.

The problems with USPS delivery have been in the news since the summer when Trump’s Post Master General started making cuts to personnel, equipment, and services. The media reported these cuts being compounded by the pandemic and, starting in November, increased shipping due to holiday shopping in multiple news reports. Your buyer KNEW about these problems and took advantage of these problems in her/his effort to obtain your item for free. Such buyers should be banned from eBay as they give buyers a bad name and make honest sellers distrustful of buyers.

I say this as a buyer — I am not a seller.

Such negative feedback is INAPPROPRIATE and UNFAIR and should be removed.

showmecurrency4u · ‎01-09-2021

why should the seller be blamed because they were not the ones who set the shipping times. why did ebay post fairy tale delivery times for delivery? i have sold about 100,000 ebay items so why will ebay not listen to me?-they removed my post on seller hub.

farmalljr · ‎01-09-2021

I'm NOT talking about getting negative FEDDBACK. I'm talking about my seller metrics. EBAY was the one, ALONE, dinging my metrics, not buyers. I addressed EVERY buyer concern. None of them were upset with me over it.

You may not care about those metrics, or TRS, but for anyone selling much volume at all, the sales AND the discounts for being TRS, mean I want the status. Not because I "have a badge", it's because it boils down to dollars and cents. To dismiss us sellers who want/use this to our financial advantage, is foolish. TRS discounts save me a good amount of money over the year. The boost in search means I make more sales (which in turn put more money in my pocket).

I know there are some stores who ship items with nothing but a stamp on an envelope. They also have zero protections. All it takes is a few INR claims and you're done. I don't do that, nor do I want to open a separate store to do it. If YOU want to do that, that's fine. But I got no pity for you when it comes back to bite you, either.

So for MOST of us, yes, metrics and seller status matter. It's not just about some stupid badge.

futuremarine2011 · ‎01-09-2021

a neg stays with you 1 year. thats it if they stayed a lifetime my feedback would be all red. lol.

7198dave · ‎01-09-2021

Extending your handling time doesn't give your packages in transit extra days to be delivered. The second you purchase a label, ebay gives the estimated delivery time and no extra days just because you extended your handling time. I wish we had the option to do that.

And no, I don't think ebay should allow negative feedback for delayed shipping. It wasn't your fault.

ummyeahok · ‎01-09-2021

“Now hang on a second everyone.....eBay did promise seller protection and you NEED to call them and take it up with them.”

What’s the phone number? It was a major PITA just to file the denied request because it was over 30 days. I honestly couldn’t even relocate the page where I managed to select within 60 days when I attempted to quote the examples eBay offered. At one point I did, after I posted my thread, but it wouldn’t even let me respond to the denial.

“First, POLITELY ask the customer to revise her feedback. Kiss up to her if you need to.”

Oh no. It’s way beyond that point. During the delay, I was super polite, reminding her about the issues USPS were having, and the reasons they were giving. But I left out a TON of info about this transaction just to stay on topic. So feedback was left 12/4. I didn’t even know about it till this week. So 12/9, both items arrived, and she messages me telling me that the product “sucked.” No additional details about what she felt was wrong with it. Just that “it sucked.” So I reminded her to return it (I honestly have a no returns accepted setting, but if something is clearly wrong, she is in the right to return it).

The next day 12/10 I get a message telling me that it doesn’t light up everything she thought it would and asked me what light bulb to use. Ok, great. I now know exactly why she thought “it sucked” and can offer her assistance. I told her what bulb I used in my personal one, and recommended other light bulbs as well. She replied back later that day with “thank you. I will try that.” At this point I can’t figure out if I’m dealing with someone with a major personality disorder. Half the time she’s a jerk, and the other half she sounds like a reasonably polite person.

So, on 12/12 I figured I’d try my luck. I messaged her again, asking if she was able to get the light situation worked out. I also mentioned how I noticed that the replacement arrived on the same day, and offered to buy her a return shipping label, mentioning that she could schedule a pick up, so that she didn’t even need to leave her home. That was the last time I heard from her.

12/17 I get an email from PayPal. Apparently she disputed the charge to her credit card, claiming that she never received the item. So rather than report the transaction to eBay or even PayPal, she disputed it with her card, who can’t prove at all that she received two of them. Let’s say both arrived on her doorstep and a porch pirate stole them both... ...there are eBay messages telling me it sucked, and later asking for help since it wasn’t working the way she had hoped. Yep. Sounds like she never got it to me. 🙄

smabrouk · ‎01-10-2021

Oh no. It’s way beyond that point. During the delay, I was super polite, reminding her about the issues USPS were having, and the reasons they were giving. But I left out a TON of info about this transaction just to stay on topic. So feedback was left 12/4. I didn’t even know about it till this week. So 12/9, both items arrived, and she messages me telling me that the product “sucked.” No additional details about what she felt was wrong with it. Just that “it sucked.” So I reminded her to return it (I honestly have a no returns accepted setting, but if something is clearly wrong, she is in the right to return it).

The next day 12/10 I get a message telling me that it doesn’t light up everything she thought it would and asked me what light bulb to use. Ok, great. I now know exactly why she thought “it sucked” and can offer her assistance. I told her what bulb I used in my personal one, and recommended other light bulbs as well. She replied back later that day with “thank you. I will try that.” At this point I can’t figure out if I’m dealing with someone with a major personality disorder. Half the time she’s a jerk, and the other half she sounds like a reasonably polite person.

So, on 12/12 I figured I’d try my luck. I messaged her again, asking if she was able to get the light situation worked out. I also mentioned how I noticed that the replacement arrived on the same day, and offered to buy her a return shipping label, mentioning that she could schedule a pick up, so that she didn’t even need to leave her home. That was the last time I heard from her.

12/17 I get an email from PayPal. Apparently she disputed the charge to her credit card, claiming that she never received the item. So rather than report the transaction to eBay or even PayPal, she disputed it with her card, who can’t prove at all that she received two of them. Let’s say both arrived on her doorstep and a porch pirate stole them both... ...there are eBay messages telling me it sucked, and later asking for help since it wasn’t working the way she had hoped. Yep. Sounds like she never got it to me. 🙄

Are you going to dispute the chargeback with PayPal? You have LOTS of evidence that she received the item (as well as tracking information that she received the second item). In none of her messages after 12/10/2020 does she state that she has not received the item, but rather she requests your help with using it.

PayPal allows you to dispute a chargeback; search online and you will find the information. This buyer should not be allowed to get away with this — she is lying and stealing: such behavior should not go unanswered as it hurts everyone, sellers and honest buyers.

montanaoriginalart · ‎01-11-2021

No its not right and not fair. but unfortunately ebay encourages this because of their guaranteed delivery time which is not accurate at all even without covid. This is what is shown to buyers on the listings:

If your Guaranteed Delivery item isn’t on time, you can (1) return the item, for a refund of the full price and return shipping costs; or (2) keep the item and get a refund of your shipping costs (if shipping was free, get a $5 eBay voucher). Attempted delivery on or before the guaranteed date will be considered a timely delivery.

There is no way ebay can guarantee when usps will get a package to anyone. Ebays delivery time is unrealistic and causing so many problems with customers and ruining sellers reputations for something we have absolutely no control over.

ummyeahok · ‎01-17-2021

@smabrouk wrote:

Are you going to dispute the chargeback with PayPal? You have LOTS of evidence that she received the item (as well as tracking information that she received the second item). In none of her messages after 12/10/2020 does she state that she has not received the item, but rather she requests your help with using it.

PayPal allows you to dispute a chargeback; search online and you will find the information. This buyer should not be allowed to get away with this — she is lying and stealing: such behavior should not go unanswered as it hurts everyone, sellers and honest buyers.

I was never given the option to dispute it.

Email from 12/17:

We are writing to let you know one of your buyers opened a case for this transaction. The buyer stated that they did not receive their merchandise.

Our records show tracking information is available for this transaction. We will review this as soon as possible.

Email from 12/20:

We're happy to confirm that the following transaction was covered under Seller Protection because you met the PayPal Seller Protection requirements. $75.14 USD is now available in your PayPal balance and there is no further action required.

Email from today:

We received notice from the buyer's financial institution that Case ID PP-D-95326457 has been decided in the buyer's favor. However, because you’re a valued customer, we’re not debiting your PayPal account for the disputed amount.

So I get to keep my money, but so does she. It seems odd that I was never able to dispute it. They made it seem like it would take several months of going back and forth with PayPal and her credit card, and that maybe IF PayPal had decided I did not qualify for “Sellers Protection,” only THEN would I be able to dispute with actual proof. I don’t even know if PayPal even knew that a replacement was sent out. They had the tracking from the original, but did they have both? Either way, this woman essentially has two free products. I was paid for one, but am forever stuck with negative feedback since eBay thinks it’s takes 4 days to deliver something during that holiday mess.

lunarlullababies · ‎01-17-2021

Reach out to ebay. They'll remove it. I pay 50.00 fees, on a transaction just shy of 300.00, they better be on my side for something!

dlaplant · ‎01-18-2021

If your request for negative feedback removal due to Covid-19 USPS shipping issues is initially denied, open up a chat window with EBAY customer service agent, and they will override that negative feedback and remove any negative seller metric scores associated with it. It takes a few days for the change to appear.

EBAY’s Seller Performance and Feedback Policy article states:

We automatically remove defects in certain situations, including where we find the buyer was at fault, if the problem was caused by an eBay site issue, OR IF THERE WAS AN ISSUE OUTSIDE OF YOUR CONTROL LIKE SHIPPING SERVICE DELAYS, or items being delayed because of an extreme weather event.

mtseay · ‎01-18-2021

No, they don't. I have never had neutral or negative feedback and have been selling since 2007. I now have 3, two of which were for "late arrival" and one damaged in shipping. And after refunding the monies, the folks get thier merch. I end up with nothing. IMO, it's the same as theft at that point.

aldente28 · ‎01-18-2021

@ummyeahok wrote:
Do you think it’s right for eBay to allow negative feedback for USPS delays?

No.

However, I think your options are limited. I recommend leaving a reply to the feedback politely saying something like:

"sorry to hear. USPS is experiencing COVID delays. Item was shipped on time"

(or same day, or next day...whatever the case and whatever sounds best). You can also call ebay CS and ask them to remove it, but I don't think they will. While it's not your fault, buyers are allowed to leave feedback about their experience with the purchase, which includes shipping time.

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