eBay

activated-charcoal · ‎07-25-2023

I've been selling on eBay since 1998. Have sold hundreds of items over the 25-year period. My feedback was 100%. I sent a buyer an item that contained a battery, and apparently the battery was not up to snuff. They immediately left negative feedback without contacting me. This dropped my feedback from 100% to 90%; I cannot see how eBay could figure a 10% drop after my selling hundreds of items, but whatever. At any rate, I tried contacting the buyer, offering to refund all the money in addition to letting him keep the item. The buyer has not replied. Any advice on how to proceed from here?

safan80 · ‎07-25-2023

@inhawaii

I wouldn't say that. Buyers who jump to using negative feedback without trying to contact the seller first deserve to keep their broken item. It's a basic responsibility of the buyer to reach out to the seller FIRST and not just throw down a negative.

inhawaii · ‎07-25-2023

@safan80 wrote:
@inhawaii

I wouldn't say that. Buyers who jump to using negative feedback without trying to contact the seller first deserve to keep their broken item. It's a basic responsibility of the buyer to reach out to the seller FIRST and not just throw down a negative.

Buyer left this negative feedback without letting me know there was a problem. I would have given them a full refund if he had contacted me first, but not anymore.

Goodbye Stranger - Supertramp

buyselljack2016 · ‎07-25-2023

That would be nice, but there is no requirement to contact the seller, and some buyers have become conditioned to not contact a seller because of the past experiences that they have had when contacting a seller.

slippinjimmy · ‎07-25-2023

I wouldn't leave that type of reply either (I have rarely replied at all), I let the rest of my glowing feedback speak for me. I have no interest in engaging with a no notice neg thrower who could have easily used the MBG to get a full refund (and THEN left a neg if they wanted to).

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep

fashunu4eeuh · ‎07-25-2023

@activated-charcoal wrote:
I had not considered the effect of heat on the battery. Since I tested it to the best of my ability beforehand, that may well be what happened. At any rate, I now see why sellers put the "CONTACT ME BEFORE LEAVING NEGATIVE FEEDBACK" at the bottom of their listings.

Yes, it is understandable, though i don’t believe that such a practice is of any benefit to the seller.

From a buying psychology viewpoint, not a big fan of including a blurb like that in a listing (that is, to ask a reader/buyer to contact a seller before leaving poor feedback) because it suggests several negative things:

1) That it’s happened to the seller before. 2) that the seller anticipates it will happen again. 3) That the seller has a lack of confidence in his _____ (fill in the blank: item, customer service skills, transaction, buyer, etc.)

It’s not in a seller’s best interests to suggest he fears feedback results. At best, there are no guarantees that such a request for contact would even be honored by an unhappy buyer. At worst, an unscrupulous buyer might find an advantage there.

Bringing up feedback also skirts violating a little-known policy that states one should not reference feedback in a listing title or description. (See Feedback Manipulation policy.)

Besides all that, the last thing i want a buyer to be thinking about is negative feedback before the transaction has even happened.

traditonalproducts · ‎07-25-2023

Absolutely. Dilly Dilly! 😀

taxes101 · ‎07-25-2023

SAME!! 1st negative! Today is our day I guess! LOL!
I have also been here since 1998!

But, you know what? One negative in 25 years is STILL great!

Mine was given because they said the ring size was wrong and the ring had a stone missing. I possibly made a mistake on the ring size, typo or something, and I do look at everything under a magnifier, and I didn't notice a stone missing and couldn't tell in the photos either— but, you know these things happen and things can go wrong. That's just life.

Just like you experienced, this person did not contact me first—just left a big ol FAT red negative! LOL!

I was upset for about ten minutes. Now I'm over it.
My reply:
****Oh noo!! I'm so sorry! No worries, though, if size is not right, and I missed that a stone was missing, please return! I don't usually mess up like this, and I'm sorry this was disappointing for you. You are welcome to return for a full refund! Also...This is my 1st negative since I began in 1998! One of us should get some type of award! LOL! Just kidding! ****

ten_o_nine · ‎07-25-2023

@activated-charcoal

Whatever you do, do not reply to the feedback yet, try and ask for a revision, because once you reply to a feedback, it can't be revised.

fashunu4eeuh · ‎07-25-2023

Sometimes a buyer sees that a seller does not accept returns and jumps to the conclusion that trying to contact a No Returns seller would not be fruitful, and then go straight to negative feedback.

I do not think it would be unreasonable for eBay to require a buyer at least contact the seller prior to leaving poor feedback. It would not be very different from the way eBay delays buyers a week before leaving negative feedback for Top Rated sellers.

asset_liquidators · ‎07-25-2023

I was just going to say the same thing. That could make you a target. The first sentence of what inhawaii said would be very good however "Buyer left this negative feedback without letting me know there was a problem".

activated-charcoal · ‎07-25-2023

Thank you, good point.

activated-charcoal · ‎07-25-2023

Very sorry to hear that. Sort of hits you like a ton of bricks, heh? Anyway, glad you got over it quickly. I am working through the stages of grief :).