Ebay needs to Protect its Sellers

[crimuswolf]

Recently had an issue with a buyer trying to scam me and it was pretty obvious but luckily I had proof so I contacted ebay and they helped prevent me from losing money but that's where the protection ended and I now have a very slanderous bad review on my profile and ebay refuses to do anything about it even tho their own escalations people agree and say it was obvious they were trying to scam me. If it wasn't affecting my business I wouldn't care but my sells have dropped drastically since and it doesn't matter how many of my other costumers say the exact opposite in the rest of my reviews.  How are we supposed to maintain a good relationship as a seller with buyers if they allow these things to happen and refuse to do anything about it? I understand the risks but if we have obvious proof they should do better to protect those who help them make money. I've honestly felt like shutting down my account because of this. I'm gonna keep trying to reach out and get them to fix it but after a month of them saying you have a good case we'll get it taken care of then receiving a message saying I need to get the buyer to remove the review myself I'm at a loss. Has anyone successfully combated a scam artist?

[literaryconundrums]

I absolutely feel you here. They basically have the feedback system set up so that buyers can hold negative feedback over your head, but you have no recourse other than replying to the feedback. Getting ebay to remove it is almost impossible. I had a recent neutral feedback where the buyer just blatantly didn't read the listing, and I had proof that the items were thoroughly described (because it was right there. In the listing.) But even though it's objectively not true, the  buyer is allowed to have their opinion (not an opinion...it's a provable fact) and not reading listings or looking at pictures and then leaving neutral or negative feedback is not against ebay's policies. It's incredibly frustrating.

[heckofagame]

Just an FYI, the community guidelines don't permit the following:

• calling for petitions, boycotts, lawsuits, or other calls to activism in either posts or private messages or to otherwise drive traffic elsewhere

[stainlessenginecovers]

That feedback is 'removable' only because they mention having to get 'eBay involved'. 

Contact ebay reps at 'facebook for business'- leave a message.

But, the rest of what the buyer stated is your word against theirs. 

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@stainlessenginecovers wrote:

That feedback is 'removable' only because they mention having to get 'eBay involved'. 

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^^This^^

here is the actual policy link:  https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/feedback-policies/feedback-misuse-policy?id=5030

"Any misuse of feedback is not allowed. Feedback comments should match the positive or negative rating that was given in both buyer and seller feedback. For example, a negative comment should not be left with a positive rating.

Follow-up or reply comments must also match the rating, and can't be used to change a rating.

Feedback should only be related to the transaction. We don't allow:

• Expressing opinions on any political, religious, or social issues
• Any links, URLs, or other content encouraging sales outside of eBay
• Any implied or explicit threats or intimidation
• The publishing of any personally identifiable information
• Any inappropriate or offensive language
• Any references to investigations"

Since the feedback makes mention of getting Ebay involved, you should be able to get it removed.

Go here:  https://www.ebay.com/sellerhelp  and request to remove feedback.

If that doesn't work,   contact customer service here:  https://www.ebay.com/help/contact_us?id=4649

OR

use social media:  twitter.com/askebay     facebook.com/eBayforbusiness 

Leave a message including your eBay ID and a brief description of the problem and an eBay employee will get back to you as soon as possible. Use the private messaging feature only, do not post on the main wall as any post with personal information will be deleted.

Be sure to give the policy link.

[coolections]

Why did the buyer say it was not as described ?

[chapeau-noir]

I doubt that single neg in your list of good positives is affecting your sales. 

But I think you have a case to get it removed per the above guidelines.

[crimuswolf]

Thanks for the help I'll be sure to point that out to them if this recent attempt doesn't resolve the issue! As for their word against mine I have proof as I have video and picture evidence which is why they handled the case in the first place like I said obvious scam and I took these precautions because of horror stories I've read about and wanted to protect myself from this exact issue. I really do appreciate the help!

[house*of*paws]

@southern*sweet*tea

@stainlessenginecovers 

The times I’ve seen eBay remove feedback that mentioned ‘investigations’ … only the comment  was removed. The negative rating was left in place … leaving people (potential buyers) to wonder what actually happened in the transaction.

I haven’t heard that current eBay reps have been removing the entire feedback for this reason … have either of you?

Same issue regarding ‘profanity’ and some other no-no’s.

[I know that eBay seems to be removing more entire feedbacks lately … but it’s seems to be related to ‘fairness issues’ and sellers’ return policies, rather than what was said in the comments.]

[stainlessenginecovers]

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@crimuswolf wrote:

Thanks for the help I'll be sure to point that out to them if this recent attempt doesn't resolve the issue! As for their word against mine I have proof as I have video and picture evidence which is why they handled the case in the first place like I said obvious scam and I took these precautions because of horror stories I've read about and wanted to protect myself from this exact issue. I really do appreciate the help!

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@crimuswolf 

Pictures and Video are NOT admissible as any evidence as it can easily be altered. 

[crimuswolf]

To try and scam me. I had proof tho and was able to show it to an ebay rep so they would help me take care of the situation and they did but the person trying to scam me still was able to leave a horrible review which has since affected my sells.

[crimuswolf]

Thanks for the reference and help much appreciated!

[coolections]

Again, why was it not as described ? 

[crimuswolf]

Then idk how they expect us to defend ourselves and they should be considered if there is no signs of being tampered with and you can detect if a file is the original or not so that's not a great excuse on their end.

[gwens*4saleitems*]

I'm not seeing any LESS sales in March than what I see for your February sales. 

That feedback rating has nothing to do with your sales.