eBay

watermeloncornbread · ‎01-11-2020

So this one's a new one for me. I got negative feedback from a buyer because I didn't leave them feedback. Not leaving feedback is entirely a fault of mine, I tend to put feedback on the back burner which I understand isn't a great practice. But is not leaving feedback grounds for a negative? Can I dispute it? I've tried to contact the customer to resolve it, but I don't think I'm going to be able to settle with them as they're now messaging me from a new account, and they sent me a strong message about my "bad business practices" and they're calling me an "ass" and "scammer" for not leaving feedback. The feedback they left didn't even mention any specifics, they just wrote their ebay handle in the feedback field. I'm not sure what to do, any advice is appreciated.

a_c_green · ‎01-12-2020

@watermeloncornbread wrote:
The feedback they left didn't even mention any specifics, they just wrote their ebay handle in the feedback field. I'm not sure what to do, any advice is appreciated.

That does not seem to be their user ID in the feedback field; are you sure? I looked at feedback left by that ID, and your Neg is not there in the Feedback Left for Others tab. In fact, that ID has not left feedback for anyone in over a year.

Only your buyer could have left that Neg. Is the ID showing in your Neg the one from whom you are receiving the hostile messages?

inhawaii · ‎01-12-2020

How about:

"Was there a problem with your transaction? Please contact me."

Long Train Runnin' - The Doobie Brothers

mr_lincoln · ‎01-12-2020

@watermeloncornbread Call eBay and ask specifically for the Trust and Safety Department. First have them confirm the two IDs are "associated". If they are AND one or the other ID states they left you neg FB because you did not leave them FB then you might have a case.

Less then Positive FB should never be left or allowed just because a Seller does not leave FB ... but providing proof of that is what would be the challenge.

Really sorry this happened ... I bet the item wasn't that expensive either right?

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

dhbookds · ‎01-12-2020

Buyers have left negs for no feedback for years.........which is the reason many of us advocate leaving feedback first..........

I don't think I've ever seen it removed, but that doesn't mean it won't be.......

a_c_green · ‎01-12-2020

@inhawaii wrote:
How about:

"Was there a problem with your transaction? Please contact me."

As politicians like to say, "I would not dignify that [Neg feedback] with a response." I would explore all options for getting it cleanly removed instead.

Really, I don't think it should be too hard to remove. I mean, it doesn't even fit eBay's usual reason for refusing, which is that the comment is somehow the buyer's "opinion" of the purchase. In this case, I don't see how that (or any other reason) would apply.

city*satins · ‎01-12-2020

It looks as if the feedback was removed. If so, great!

Even without the buyer's rationale (that you didn't leave feedback for the buyer), feedback is removable if it does not reference or appear to reference the transaction for which it's being left, so this was likely easy to get removed anyway. YAY!

As for negative feedback that says for instance Seller never left me feedback! that has been trickier over the years. I once had a vigorous debate with Uncle Griff on this topic. He argued (this was about 15+ years ago) that sellers should leave feedback for buyers (he even wrote this in his published EBAY BIBLE) and that leaving negative feedback about it is a perfectly valid expression of the buyer's opinion of how the transaction went.

My counter-argument at the time was that should was not the same as must, that feedback was voluntary, and that eBay policy specifically forbade the purchase or sale of feedback, so that leaving negative about a seller's failure to provide this non-product was not only invalid but should be a policy violation on the part of the buyer.

I'd say we agreed to disagree but it would be more accurate to say that we merely disagreed, although he conceded my points - he still held fast to his opinion. And since he outranked me...well...

But since then, eBay has introduced policies (published and then unpublished and then republished them in a never-ending confusing cycle) that feedback should only address the transaction itself, so there is more room now to convincingly argue that negative feedback that is solely about giving feedback is removable.

Still....it's iffy and completely dependent on who answers the phone at Customer Service.

Glad yours was removed.

THIS SPACE LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK

city*satins · ‎01-12-2020

Be sure to BBL both the buyer and the new account.

THIS SPACE LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK

watermeloncornbread · ‎01-12-2020

Yes, they did remove the feedback. They got on that much quicker than I expected. Thanks everyone for the help and advice.

mr_lincoln · ‎01-12-2020

@dhbookds wrote:
Buyers have left negs for no feedback for years.........which is the reason many of us advocate leaving feedback first..........

I don't think I've ever seen it removed, but that doesn't mean it won't be.......

Thanks for that ... this begs these questions:

1. Are Sellers selling products or Feedback?

2. Are Buyers buying products or Feedback?

Obviously, the system needs to be re-vamped or canned and definitely policed better ...

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

bigdeals.etc · ‎01-12-2020

@mr_lincoln wrote:
@dhbookds wrote:
Buyers have left negs for no feedback for years.........which is the reason many of us advocate leaving feedback first..........

I don't think I've ever seen it removed, but that doesn't mean it won't be.......
Thanks for that ... this begs these questions:
1. Are Sellers selling products or Feedback?
2. Are Buyers buying products or Feedback?

Obviously, the system needs to be re-vamped or canned and definitely policed better ...

If the answer to your questions even remotely involves selling/buying feedback, eBay would never admit to that (despite the obvious) because it goes against their policy. You are prohibited to buy/sell feedback. Conundrum.

mr_lincoln · ‎01-12-2020

@bigdeals.etc wrote:
@mr_lincoln wrote:
@dhbookds wrote:
Buyers have left negs for no feedback for years.........which is the reason many of us advocate leaving feedback first..........

I don't think I've ever seen it removed, but that doesn't mean it won't be.......
Thanks for that ... this begs these questions:
1. Are Sellers selling products or Feedback?
2. Are Buyers buying products or Feedback?

Obviously, the system needs to be re-vamped or canned and definitely policed better ...
If the answer to your questions even remotely involves selling/buying feedback, eBay would never admit to that (despite the obvious) because it goes against their policy. You are prohibited to buy/sell feedback. Conundrum.

I agree ...

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

studio_haedes · ‎01-12-2020

feedback for buyers means absolutely nothing since negative feedback is forbidden. I dont understand why people are so obsessed with it. For a new seller a low feedback might be a hurdle, but for a buyer IT MEANS NOTHING.

Thank your buyers by delivering a good product and fast service. That is enough.

atikovi · ‎01-13-2020

@watermeloncornbread wrote:
Thanks, I'll try and dispute it. I should probably go back to leaving feedback the way I did when I was new to ebay, I always used to give feedback as soon as I shipped to encourage the buyer to leave me feedback but I suppose I got lazy about it.

While I would never leave a seller a negative just because they didn't leave me feedback, I did start a topic on the Buying forum about not leaving a seller any feedback after reading the sellers, Feedback left for others stats, and noting they haven't left any feedback for the last 500 sales. Lucky you dodged a bullet this time but it could have stuck if worded differently.

olbooker · ‎01-13-2020

Myself, I'm just a buyer, I don't expect feedback. eBay has crippled the feedback program, as to make it worthless, and it is truly unfair to receive bad feedback for something so meaningless. Sellers have a hard enough time selling and satisfying customers these days...

Some people are just mean-spirited, self-entitled twits. Sad!

Hope you get that resolved.