First Negative Feedback

[geoep-35]

Hello all,

I am new to the eBay world and unfortunately have received my first negative review today.  After reading the buyers feedback, I can understand that they may not be happy but I had not received any messages from them at all before the review was given.  The item had been indicated by them to have been covered in dust and they had to repair two parts of it.  One of those parts was indicated in the description as having been an issue but the other repair they said they made was not an issue when I had the item as I reviewed it carefully, so I'm not sure how I could have addressed that one when writing the description.  The third issue was dust, which I cleaned as best I could but also indicated there may be more dust that wasn't as visible in the pictures.  

It sounds like they've already corrected the issues they had so I don't know if they'd want to return the item at this point (but I'll never know without asking I suppose).  

As a new buyer, should I attempt any resolution at this point for something like this or just take it as a learning opportunity to learn from and move on?

Thank you!

[12345jamesstamps]

I think it looks OK in my opinion.

It's not like a guest is coming over with a magnifying glass to look at the item.

It was not new in box...😆

Block the buyer immediately.

[l5vw]

You might ask if they would revise the feedback ? I don't think you deserved a negative. Maybe a neutral at most. 

[geoep-35]

Thank you all so much for the feedback.  

This is also my first post on the community forums and I'm really encouraged by such thoughtful responses.  

I took some additional steps so far based on a lot of the feedback so far to include:

1) Checking the buyers feedback left for others - it appears they leave pretty much all positive reviews so it seems unlikely it's a scammer and they were in fact truly dissatisfied with what they received.  But that just reinforces the approach of taking this as an opportunity for me to learn on my end and I will look to do better moving forward. 

2) I did submit a ticket to have the comment removed but it was denied.  eBay indicated that they did find reason to side with the buyer because there were issues with the item not clearly stated in the description.  I suppose that was for the gluing of one of the figures which wasn't an issue when I had the item.  Perhaps that happened in shipping somewhere but I don't know what I could have realistically done to fix that part.  

I like the idea of leaving a reply to the negative comment indicating that I will look to improve going forward, but also not showing that I'll easily submit to refunds to scammers.  I think I will sleep on that but likely do that tomorrow.  

Hopefully I continue to receive positive feedback and I can bring my 87.5% back up here soon.  

Thank you all again so much!  Even those that sided with the buyer on this one give me an idea that it's not black and white and there are areas for me to improve.  

[geoep-35]

Thank you @pickapaper - I did check the feedback left for others and it appears heavily positive.  So it seems they really just were dissatisfied and I'll look at this as an opportunity to be more descriptive with my items.  

[geoep-35]

Thank you so much @gurlcat for such a thoughtful and detailed reply to my questions!

Your advice really brought me out of the negativity of that first bad review lol - but I think all of what you said is excellent advice.  I did check her feedback left and it seems most if not all was positive for other sellers, so its quite likely they were truly unhappy with it.  I can definitely look at this as an opportunity to be more thoughtful in my descriptions, but I think your advice of replying to the negative review is an excellent idea.  I'll likely do that here shortly.

I shall choose to look at this as a blessing and opportunity!

[geoep-35]

I can see your point about the No Returns being a deterrent to reaching out to me in the future.  

Would this be something you'd recommend changing once I'm a bit more entrenched with more positive reviews?  Or would this attract potential scammers for new sellers to get away with more?

[kibble-net]

You may as well accept returns. If a buyer wants a return bad enough, they're going to find a way. I would rather they return an item leaving it intact, rather than being incentivized to purposefully destroy it in order to gain access to a free return label. Plus, there is the peace of mind that attracts a wider customer base.

It is a numbers game. The crazies are out there, but the more you sell, the more the numbers work out in your favor. Depending on your niche, this kind of experience will probably only happen once every few hundred sales.

[downtowntrentbrown]

That’s a tough break but you look like you have a good attitude about it and using it to improve has my respect. Just keep pushing forward and the ability to use things like this as a learning experience is very valuable not just in ebay but life in general.

[gloryglorygifts]

@gurlcat gave the perfect response to you. It could be a scammer looking for a partial refund.

I can clearly see the sides that needed to be glued and you didn't hide it. Most of it looks clean to me, except Mickey's ears, unless it's lighting? That amount of "dust" doesn't warrant a neg imho.

I'm sorry that you experienced your first negative. I remember my first came Christmas night, many years ago. Don't refund them anything unless they return it. Just respond to the feedback and say that they can return it for a full refund if they want.

This too shall pass. Good luck selling your items! Some of them are just lovely!

[gurlcat]

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@geoep-35 wrote:

I shall choose to look at this as a blessing and opportunity!

---

Keep this attitude and you will do very well here.  Here's another (more random) tip: BUY here whenever feasible; even new items may have the best price, not to mention pre-owned.  What you will gain from seeing things from the buyers point of view (how the features look on that side, what you can and can't do with this or that type of purchase, like offer-making, combined shipping,etc., and how different sellers do things) -this will give you priceless insights as a seller.  

As for returns, @kibble-net already said it; you're actually less susceptible to scams (and scam-like sheistiness) by allowing returns.  And yes it will get you more sales too.  Just think, if you have a choice and all other things being equal, would you rather buy from a store that will or won't accept returns?    And if you offer FREE returns, when a buyer sends back the item in any worse condition than you sent it, you can deduct up to 50% of the refund, to compensate for the item's value loss.  Bear in mind: the heavier the item, the more you'll have to pay for the return shipping label, but the thing with that is, it would be the case if the buyer files INAD anyway, which some certainly do by lying and saying there's something wrong even if they're really just remorseful, just to avoid paying for the label themselves.  And like kibble said, some will even go so far as to purposely damage the item for that purpose.  -I lost an expensive pair of designer boots that way, so the next day I changed all my listings to free returns, and I've never regretted it. 

[fm2000]

Over the years some angry buyers have said they left negative feedback for sellers who don't accept returns because they think negative feedback is their only recourse (they never read eBay's MBG and don't know what an INAD is.) I'd accept returns, not necessarily free returns, but always accepts returns paid for by the buyer. You are a new seller, offering at least buyer-paid returns will help with buyer confidence. Different return options work for different people selling different things, because you are new, this would be the best option for your situation.

Since you did disclose and show the peeling decals, you might be eligible for feedback removal, but it isn't a sure thing. Contact eBay for Business on Facebook and ask for a removal.  Opinions here will vary greatly on how to handle this if asking eBay to remove the feedback fail. Because you are a few seller and this negative statistically puts you below 90% you might want to offer the buyer a return at your expense or a partial refund to get rid of it. If you had 1000 positives and 1 negative it really wouldn't matter, with 22 positive and 1 negative it looks much worse than it really is (as a seller I know 1 negative for a new buyer doesn't necessarily mean anything, regardless of the percentage, but not all buyers may understand this when they see your feedback.) Try asking for feedback removal first though. And put that buyer on your BBL immediately.

It is a very minor detail, but I would put a picture of any defects right after the main picture (put a close-up of the stickers peeling as the second and third picture). A buyer might still miss it, but they are more likely to see it in the pictures than in the description.

[hvytoys2000]

Well don't feel special.  Even if you have told the ebay line thru 28 years of selling and proven yourself to be a quality seller of items you understand totally and display perfect integrity that means nothing when this happens.

I use myself as an example

[hvytoys2000]

Here here....such words as LYING in their claim can be proven but ebay does not care.  And a request to remove the feedback is DENIED BY SOMEONE WITH NO KNOWEDGE F THE PRODUCT INVOLVED obviously...