Having issues with unwarranted neutral feedback

[1750ossodiseppia]

This is my first post.  Apologies if it is in the wrong place.

Last month, someone who resides in Japan purchased a $12.50 sticker from me.  I was using eBay's International shipping, but charged $5.00 to ship to one of eBays hubs.  My assumption is that at the time the buyer went through check out, he was made aware of the cost to ship internationally and the approximate time it would take for the item to arrive at his address.

I received neutral feedback and a long dissertation about how unhappy he was the shipping charge and length of time it took to get to him.  What I don't get is that he was provided with all of this information prior to making the purchase, yet he chose to get on a soap box and complain.

I have asked that he change his feedback and he refuses.  In his written explanation addressing his justification for the feedback, he says that his choices for feedback were neutral of negative.  I have reached out to eBay and asked for help and have gotten nothing but lip service and a bunch of stuff to try and make me feel good about selling.  All of that said:

Doesn't this read that I am protected against just this?

Whom can I contact within eBay to get this resolved?  The folks that I have heard from do not seem to speak English as their primary language.  So, I think there are some language barriers that are playing into this.

I am sorry for the lengthy post.  I'd really like to get this fixed.

[fbusoni]

Have you gone through the automated AI bot yet?  

[klhmdg]

Neutral FB (most FB) will not be removed.

eBay doesnt remove most FB anymore.

Your response doesnt help in my opinion-

"How sad that I have to suffer for something I have no control over. You had the option to not purchase from me, but you chose to do so, anyway. When you checked out and requested international shipping, the cost and length of time it takes to get to you is nothing I have to do with. Your purchase was April 13, I packed the sticker and created the label on April 14th (a Sunday) and mailed it on April 15th. I shipped in a timely fashion. Please do not buy from me again. I'm blocking you."

A more professional approach would be - At check out the cost and length of time it takes to get to you are shown before you purchase.  Had the cost and shipping time not fit your needs you should not have purchased"

Just my opinion but sometimes it is best to "get into it"

Neutral FB has no bearing on your selling but snippy comment could. Everyone can read what you wrote back.

[fbusoni]

If you are correct -- and I believe you are -- that there are no longer human beings who remove unwarranted negative or neutral feedback, then how on earth does eBay expect me (and millions of others) to broaden the number of foreign countries that we ship to -- many of which have a barely functioning social infrastructure, let alone an operational system of delivering mail?  Then there are the states with functioning postal delivery but immense and pervasive corruption.   

I know that negative or neutral feedback does not affect our metrics.  But why should we have to endure it when it is undeserved -- AND when eBay pledges that it will be removed?

And why has eBay not altered its web page with the declaration that neutral or negative will be removed?  I noticed that eBay has once again fiddled with its app, by making wholly unnecessary changes that now hides the payment link from the main screen.   Hoping to make some spare change from interest accumulation, yet eBay cannot fix what may well be an outright distortion / misrepresentation / prevarication on its web page.

I love eBay, but there are some things there that need fixing.  🙂

[12345jamesstamps]

Buyer mentions something about "$25.05" for sticker and shipping. Is buyer wrong?

A $1.55 stamp would have just been as good shipping it and it would have arrived faster without tracking.

I haven't lost anything going on 2 years with USPS.

"You're protected"...but I guess you're not?...with neutral feedback and length of shipping...per the ad.

So much for using the extra cost of shipping something...without this "you're protected".

Neutral feedback...especially this one means nothing...buyer received their item and most buyers will never have even read the whole feedback...but the response might make buyers read it now.

I would not have responded to the feedback....no need to since buyer received item.

[jameshen1]

I wouldn't worry about that feedback, and I certainly would not have responded to it.  The buyer had nothing but good things to say about your product and your shipping.  They were complaining about the international shipping cost of the eBay program and mainly about DHL taking so long to deliver.  In my opinion, that feedback wasn't saying anything derogatory about you or your product and as a potential buyer I would have seen that and thought the buyer is a crackpot to ding the seller for these things.

But your response isn't good.  Remember, you are not responding as much to the person who left the feedback as to other potential buyers who see it down the road.

[luckythewinner]

Negative feedback does not affect your feedback rating, and replying to it just draws more attention to it. 

And your reply was unprofessional and IMHO will harm you far more than the feedback itself ever would.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

I share the belief that the only damage done to you was by your response.

There is a risk when a low priced item is sold to an international buyer. Although they wanted the item and knew what it cost to ship, when they received the item they regretted making the purchase because of the shipping cost and time.

I'd consider not leaving a response to that FB.

My experience with neutral FB is Ebay will not remove it.

[jerseyboymusic]

What a childish reply to that feedback. You should have taken the high road

[slati_2013]

I don't know why you are upset with the neutral. It is not directed at you. In fact, they said they were happy to buy from you and praised you for doing everything right. What they were not happy about was eBay's shipping costs and time it took to deliver. This is more of an attack on eBay not you. Should have left it alone. 

[1750ossodiseppia]

Thank you all for the feedback.  I have gone through all channels within eBay to get this resolved.  The bots are no help, but I did communicate with ebay and got nowhere.  One of them even commented that the transaction occurred outside eBay.  That makes no sense, either.

None of what happened with this buyer makes any sense to me.  I've recently been able to leave positive feed back for both buyers and sellers.  So this is a bit of a non sequitur.

As I mentioned to the buyer, he had the option to reach out to me and ask for a different method to ship.  He chose not to.  He mentioned in his private message that he hoped to get eBay's attention with his complaint about the cost of shipping and length of time it took to reach him.

If I ship something without tracking and it doesn't arrive, it creates complications for me and the buyer.  So, to cover my butt, I only ship with tracking as I want a smooth transaction and happy customer.

I've had two buyers use the service.  One was ecstatic with his purchase, the other complained.  I'm not going to use the International shipping service anymore.  It's not worth it.

Thanks for the help

[monster-deals]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

Negative feedback does not affect your feedback rating,

---

We would all be 100% then

[1750ossodiseppia]

This makes me wonder what the point of feedback is, if a buyer or seller cannot provide appropriate feedback.  That's a rhetorical question

[inhawaii]

I would have went with something like...

"When you purchased this item from me it would have told you EXACTLY what ebay charges for international shipping. You decided to buy it.  Why are you complaining about it now after the fact?"

[dbfolks166mt]

     Under the terms of the EIS program negative or netural feedback can be removed. Policy is in the following link. Specific section on feedback follows. I am assuming shipping cost is related to "item handling"

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/setting-shipping-options/ebay-international-shippin... 

Benefits of eBay International Shipping

As well as making your items available to buyers in over 200 countries, there are several other benefits to using eBay International Shipping:

• When you ship internationally using eBay International Shipping, you're responsible for sending the item your buyer purchased safely to the US shipping hub. If a buyer reports that an item was lost or damaged during international shipping or it is damaged at the hub, we'll work with the buyer to resolve the issue. You're protected from:
  • The obligation to refund the buyer
  • eBay Money Back Guarantee cases
  • Payment disputes
  • Open 'Not as described' returns in your service metrics
  • Negative or neutral feedback related to item handling during international shipping
• Save on selling fees for your international transactions, including no international fee
• All international returns, refunds, and customs clearance will be handled on your behalf
• If you schedule Time Away, the estimated delivery date will be updated to reflect this
• You'll be protected against item not received claims and chargebacks once your item is accepted at the domestic hub