Feedback extortion

[deanenesthings]

I’ve had 100% rating for over a decade on this account. I was just threatened with a negative feedback if I did not give a partial refund. I immediately contacted CS and was told not to worry, any negative feedback would be removed because item was about size and shown clearly next to a ruler. ( Diamond Huggies ) I refused the shakedown and ignored buyer once the extortion message came in. Neg of course was left claiming I enlarged pics ( on diamonds- lmao. Most buyers demand zoomed in pics to see clarity and color!) So I requested removal. Denied stating it was INAD - when no return request was opened for INAD???money back guarantee ??? I then escalated to the “ offline team” which immediately denied the request to remove because eBay didn’t want to get involved in a buyer’s opinion.
Another thing-I thought a buyer had to wait 7 days to leave bad feedback? Guess that changed too! 
So I’m furious. I buy & collect way more than I sell. eBay is making 18% off my sales. Ended all of my listings, made FB private, returning items. 
So beware. What stuck out to me was “ Buyers don’t expect to see 100% positive feedback “ in this new garbage update. 
100% positive feedback is a reputation I’ve strived to attain and sustain. 1 buyer clearly violating eBay policy can ruin it with no recourse from a seller. 

[brightlightbookseller]

Pretty sure the buyer could report that and the seller could get in trouble if they did that.  Any negative comment in a feedback comment (even a reply) to a buyer is against the rules.  I would keep it very neutral, if they reply at all.

[vintagecraze50]

YEAH I WOULD BE CAREFUL BUT factual. Something like this: Buyer requested partial refund without return of item. Pretty factual, exactly what happened and absolutely NOT something ebay would get perturbed about.

[inhawaii]

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@vintagecraze50 wrote:

You should have just replied in that feedback that buyer was extorting you for a partial refund and fix their butt on here. Sellers seeing that on a buyers record will block those people.

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Great idea!

Also better chance of ebay taking it down.

[iamalwaysright]

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@vintagecraze50 wrote:

You should have just replied in that feedback that buyer was extorting you for a partial refund and fix their butt on here. Sellers seeing that on a buyers record will block those people.

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eBay would probably throw that down to the very bottom of the list for the “most relevant” default sorting option.

[fab_finds4u]

That is incorrect. It is true you can't leave the buyer a negatiive comment when leaving them feedback on their profile. On your profile you can clarify or defend a negative left for you in a feedback reply. You can be truthful. No name calling though. 

[deanenesthings]

 I tried one last time. eBay allowed this to remain as an INAD. 

 

 

 

[deanenesthings]

Pic was removed by an actual employee to protect the buyer’s identity. You’d think they’d look into the actual extortion.  Here is the edited pic. Thanks 

 

[gurlcat]

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@deanenesthings wrote:

Pic was removed by an actual employee to protect the buyer’s identity. You’d think they’d look into the actual extortion.  Here is the edited pic. Thanks 

 

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Pic was not removed by an actual employee (of eBay).  The forums are moderated by Khoros, which has no interest in any eBay concerns, only maintaining civility and privacy in our discussions.  

But I really like your reply to the buyer.  Not sure everyone here would agree, but I say if the shoe fits and eBay doesn't care, that buyer can wear it!  

[deanenesthings]

Ah… should’ve known. Thanks for the clarification. I was thinking of dressing up as a unicorn or maybe Bigfoot for Halloween but maybe I’ll just go as an “ actual eBay employee “ instead. Same thing. Maybe I’ll run into one while Squatching or at Area 51. 
If anyone knows the secret password to get in the back door of the super secret club, I’d sure appreciate it. 

[gurlcat]

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@deanenesthings wrote:

If anyone knows the secret password to get in the back door of the super secret club, I’d sure appreciate it. 

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If the issue was anything other than feedback we would have directed you to the Facebook help route by now, because the employees working the message tickets ARE actual eBay employees, and far more knowledgeable and authorized to help than the overseas phone workers.  But unfortunately they don't handle feedback removal requests whatsoever anymore.  Honestly it seems AI is 99% responsible for those decisions now, and I don't know if any humans even can override that anymore.  

[lacemaker3]

I think there are two reasons here that, combined or individually, could explain why this was not considered to be feedback extortion.

1. The buyer clearly indicated in an eBay message that she would have been willing to return the earrings for a full refund. So she was not insisting on a partial refund. The buyer suggested a solution that was acceptable under eBay policy.
    
2. The seller doesn't accept returns, and has not said an INAD case was filed. The chances are that eBay would have allowed the return in that case, based on prior experience, and as long as the seller accepted the return (and eBay did not have to step in), the seller would have been covered by seller protection and any feedback would have been removed.

@deanenesthings, I'm sorry I can't give you better news, and I don't know if this will help or not.

[gurlcat]

Where did you see this: "The buyer clearly indicated in an eBay message that she would have been willing to return the earrings for a full refund. " ???  I can't find that anywhere in the main post or any of the replies written by the OP.  

[lacemaker3]

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@gurlcat wrote:

Where did you see this: "The buyer clearly indicated in an eBay message that she would have been willing to return the earrings for a full refund. " ???  I can't find that anywhere in the main post or any of the replies written by the OP.  

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The OP posted a picture of the buyer's message in their photos, but didn't include it in a post. I saw it on their profile page. I took a screenshot of that part of the buyer's message and posted it; it seemed relevant.

[gurlcat]

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EDIT:  Ahhhh!!!  I stayed confused because I went to her (SELLER) profile and couldn't find photos.  But then I realized you might mean her COMMUNITY FORUM profile page.  I didn't even realize photos are stored there!   

Heck yeah that is relevant!  And @iamalwaysright specifically asked to see a screenshot of the buyer's actual message way back over a month ago, in message #15.  

But she only uploaded it to her profile (just yesterday) and for some reason decided not to share it to this thread.   She also didn't share this:




@deanenesthings Please to not waste our time like this ever again.  You knew all along that your buyer was willing to return the earrings but you made it out to be purely about a partial refund.  All you had to do was suggest that she file an INAD return.   Also you were not told your feedback WOULD be removed, only that you could try to get it removed.  

By the way, when I said last night that your reply to the feedback was good, I didn't realize that you didn't make it public again.  -So what exactly would be the point of defending yourself against a negative feedback when nobody can see it?  All buyers see is that you have 1 negative, no idea what it was about.  The hilarious thing about that is, your buyer's "reason" is so absurd you probably wouldn't even need to write a defense to it.  Photos showing earrings bigger than they really are .... that doesn't even make sense.   But if I were considering buying from you, and I saw that your feedback was private, I would have to assume that whatever that 1 neg was about must have been TERRIBLE and TRUE, or you wouldn't have hidden it from the world!  😂😆🤣

  

[inhawaii]

That's not feedback extortion.  THIS is feedback extortion:

"If you don't give me a partial refund I will leave you negative feedback."