Looking for input from other sellers

[whosyourcookie]

This story may get a little long-winded and I apologize. I just want to be thorough. And I don't really know that I'm looking for a real answer, but am curious what other sellers might think or if they have had similar things happen. I've been actively selling for about 2 years now. I sell 95% clothing. It seems about every 6 months or so you get a really strange or crazy customer. So come with me on a journey....

So a month ago I sold a used shirt. It wasn't an expensive shirt. I have free shipping/free returns(pretty much no questions asked) on 99% of my listings. I also have a disclaimer about how sometimes colors sometimes are hard to photograph accurately (because of lighting, camera, computer screens, phone screens, etc.) and also saying if you have any issue let me know and I'll make it right. 

I receive what I would consider an irate e-mail about said shirt (caps and multiple exclamation marks were used). Basically stating the shirt received was dark blue and my listing said blue. They were upset it was dark blue (it looks dark blue in the pic) but I purposely try not to get super specific when naming colors because what is one color to some can vary by opinion I've noticed. I generally stick to the primary colors unless the item is very borderline (i.e. very dark navy/black or very dark gray/black which is hard to distinguish in pics sometimes, but i would never call a pink shirt red either). They claimed it wasn't the same shirt. I assured them it was, but apologized for the inconvenience and reminded them if they were unhappy in ANY way to please feel free to return it (at no cost to them, mind you) for a full refund. 

They replied they were going to (begrudgingly?) keep the shirt but were not happy. OK? Strange. 

I braced myself for negative feedback (would have been a first for me). 

Weeks passed and then I noticed I had gotten POSITIVE feedback from the buyer....however a "snarky" comment about how the shirt was "very used". I would call that unpositive feedback? Also, no complaint of the condition of the shirt was ever brought up. 

A week later I get an e-mail from this buyer about how they left me "Great" positive feedback and I should do the same for them.  One day later I get a near belligerent e-mail about how they have e-mailed me 3(!) times (only 2 by my count....in 24 hours mind you) about leaving positive feedback for them and they didn't understand what my problem was.

Does this seem crazy to anyone? I didn't leave positive feedback because quite frankly I had a kinda bad interaction with the person. Their very first e-mail kind of set the tone and wasn't very nice. I'm all about making things right, especially if I am at fault. Would love to hear feedback from other sellers. I'm sure there are stories waaaay more interesting than this but would be good to hear back. 

On another note, they did go on at length about how important it was for the buyers and sellers to leave feedback for each other. But what good does it do when it's fake? Doesn't it devalue what it's really there for? Or when it's "positive" with a nasty comment? Just added to the oddness of the whole situation. I DO leave feedback by the way. I'm not as good about it as I should be. And whenever someone reaches out, and it's always been politely, to please leave feedback  I have ALWAYS obliged....but I think I'm going to have to pass on this one. 

[tunicaslot]

Most all of us have had a buyer like that at some point or another. I viewed your shirt and I also would have marked the color as blue on item specifics. When an item is more of a specific blue - like royal blue - that is noted in my title or description but I don't think the buyer has a beef that is legitimate. I see you also got another false positive as they claim the red is actually burgundy - some people don't have a life and have to find fault with everything they do - ignore them.

Best not to leave feedback at all for disgruntled buyers - block the buyer and just move on. You've offered a return with full refund and an apology - no need to do anything else.

Many of us feel that feedback should be done away with as buyers can't receive anything but positive feedback and many times buyers without legitimate claims can damage a sellers feedback with their "opinion".

[gracieallen01]

Actually, it just sounds like the typical bully, quite often found on ebay and a few other places, that really wants something for nothing, and they want it to be YOUR idea, not their request.

The usual 'guilt trip', and all your fault. 

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[luxe_beauty_4_less]

Block them and forget them.  You don't need that grief in the future.  Or, block them and leave positive feedback that says "ok transaction".  You can't leave a "negative" comment, but that's not negative.  Best of luck.

[lintbrush*]

Anytime a buyer contacts me about leaving feedback, I do it.  There's no point in angering the buyer (they seem to be coming unglued a bit by the amount of messages).  Feedback as a buyer is pretty meaningless.  They just give some buyers the warm fuzzies.  You can't redeem feedback points for a prize.  

Keep it simple and meaningless.

Thank you for your purchase.

But now that you've had two recent comments from buyers about the color being off, you might want to see what you can do to make it more accurate.  I just took a look at your Verizon shirt and thought it was grey.  I had no idea it was black.   If I had missed the item specs, I would've thought I was buying a grey shirt.  Black isn't in your title or in your description.   The same goes for many of your clothing items.  The colors look so different in the pictures than what you put in the specs.   I don't know what's causing it exactly, but it will be an issue.

Are you editing your pictures and lightening them?  The difference in the wood backgrounds is quite noticeable - as well as the wood hanger color.  

Hopefully one of the picture experts can come along and help with that.  

[luxe_beauty_4_less]

Just to tag on to my earlier comment.  I leave positive feedback for every buyer when I ship.  I don't wait to see the outcome of the transaction. Thus, no buyer has to follow up and ask for feedback.  If they end up being a pain, then I block them and put them out of my mind.  Their feedback score and comments left by sellers is meaningless anyway as you have to fill a transaction when they hit the buy button and pay.  Good luck selling!

[luckythewinner]

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@whosyourcookie wrote:

Would love to hear feedback from other sellers.

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eBay is a platform where a buyer and his friends can effective destroy a seller's livelihood through negative feedback, harassment and fraud.

You noticed the positive feedback he left. You already knew he was a troublesome buyer. And yet you made a conscious effort to withhold this utterly meaningless feedback in what I can only view as a passive/aggressive effort to "punish" him for not living up to your expectations as a buyer.

My advice would be to stop playing with fire.

[dflkj-70]

I automanually leave positive feedback to every buyer when I ship my orders out.

Yours isn't the first buyer of this kind I've ran into, once I learned how little meaning feedback actually has I made up my mind, saves me a few of them kind of headaches.

If you're going to pass on this one...

This would be one of those rare occasions where I will actually suggest adding this buyer to your BBL.

To prevent a retaliatory purchase in the future.

[gracieallen01]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@whosyourcookie wrote:

Would love to hear feedback from other sellers.

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eBay is a platform where a buyer and his friends can effective destroy a seller's livelihood through negative feedback, harassment and fraud.

eBay is also a platform where feedback for a buyer is utterly meaningless.

I cannot imagine why a seller would hesitate more than half a second before giving a buyer feedback if he asked for it.

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Perhaps there are still some sellers that - right, wrong or indifferent - just don't take the 'path of appeasement and/or least resistance'.

[charity_scents]

Think your buyer was trying to get a discount/partial refund by complaining. 

Agree with tunica: "Best not to leave feedback at all for disgruntled buyers - block the buyer and just move on. You've offered a return with full refund and an apology - no need to do anything else."
I'd probably ask CSR to remove the false positive. 

Per @lintbrush*  comments on photo colors:
The type of lighting in the room can have dramatic effects on the color in photos. Many cameras have settings for different types of light (fluorescent, tungsten, etc) and many have white balance settings. Some manufacturers offer free programs that you can correct white balance (ie Canon Digital Photo Professional).  If you have Lightroom, white balance and color can easily be adjusted along with exposure, etc. (Lightroom CC is inexpensive).

[luckythewinner]

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@gracieallen01 wrote:

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Perhaps there are still some sellers that - right, wrong or indifferent - just don't take the 'path of appeasement and/or least resistance'.

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I'm sure there are. But in that case, the seller should not be surprised when the occasional buyer is not appeased and resists. To me, it comes down to whether you are here to make money, or to prove a point.

[castlemagicmemories]

But what good does it do when it's fake? 

Or removed.

[collectfest]

As a seller, I leave positive feedback when the seller pays. That is their job to pay.

I agree, as you describe their attitude issues I would block the buyer. Since you didn't leave feedback I would leave well enough alone and move on.

I use to sell a lot on ebay, new changes has made doing shows a better option for me to sell vintage/antique items. As of late, I have noticed vintage items selling way under market value that I can sell at shows. As a result I am buying more.

It is FRUSTRATING when SELLERS do not leave me feedback PROMPTLY when I pay. This policy, I'll leave feedback after the buyer leaves feedback is BAD business to me. No favorite list for those sellers.

 I ALWAYS pay seconds after I win an auction. I did my job, PAY! 

Having said that I am not a picky buyer, if I buy something and it comes not what I expected I do not complain to the seller unless their item was fake or damage was hidden. I also email seller with respect, I assume things were just a mistake or inexperience. 

So that's my take. Take care.

[beez5720]

I think some people have very little contact with other individuals, perhaps socially retarded, or just a very retentive personality. Some people like conflict and drama because it validates them.

In this case, I would probably not respond to the buyer any more at all and place them on the Block Buyer List immediately. I might reply to the false positive with something diplomatically passive aggressive, but I certainly would not leave any kind of feedback for the buyer after the fact (although I do use feedback for buyers as a way to thank them for purchasing from me, since buyer feedback is always positive and serves no other purpose than acknowledging the sale - but everyone uses feedback in the way they see fit. Never would I respond to a request such as your buyer's delusion, though).

[iart]

The person may be mentally ill. As there doesn't seem to be any downside to this for you, I'd move on.

But feedback. We leave it when the item is shipped. I don't like doing this because the deal isn't done until the buyer gets the item and accepts it. But buyers expect feedback soon after they pay. We've done it this way for years and were afraid that  it would leave us open to a lot of negatives, but it hasn't.