eBay

mpcac · ‎01-19-2018

I accepted a bid for an item last month from a good customer. Before shipping, I discovered that the item was broken so I emailed my customer ( he never responded ) and then I sent them a refund. Today I see that the customer has left me negative feedback. I called ebay and told them what had happened and said that I followed all of the rules and did everything that I could do to make this right and still received negative feedback. They said there was nothing they could do. They checked my correspondence with this customer and confirmed everything that I said....but they said the buyer has the right to leave feedback expressing how they felt about the transaction. Ebay used to offer the option of responding to negative feedback but they don't even offer this anymore. Why does Ebay mistreat their sellers like this. The only option for a seller is to block the bidder which I did.

conniedecember · ‎01-19-2018

We need that option back. Not fair to sellers

pvcliff · ‎01-19-2018

@mpcac wrote:
I accepted a bid for an item last month from a good customer. Before shipping, I discovered that the item was broken so I emailed my customer ( he never responded ) and then I sent them a refund. Today I see that the customer has left me negative feedback. I called ebay and told them what had happened and said that I followed all of the rules and did everything that I could do to make this right and still received negative feedback. They said there was nothing they could do. They checked my correspondence with this customer and confirmed everything that I said....but they said the buyer has the right to leave feedback expressing how they felt about the transaction. Ebay used to offer the option of responding to negative feedback but they don't even offer this anymore. Why does Ebay mistreat their sellers like this. The only option for a seller is to block the bidder which I did.

IMHO, the main issue is the OP feels that a previous customer should have cut him some slack. I agree. I've sold custom window treatments for 30 years. I have several hundred customers who come back and back because they love our service and selection. I very occasionally get a really picky, nothing is right, in your face grouchy customer. On the handful of times a "back and back" customer has reared up and become an "in your face/nothing is right" customer it is shocking and hurtful. What, they think I'm not going to listen to and try to solve their issue so that we can maintain our working relationship? Sorry this happened, OP.

______________________________________________

They didn’t say it was your fault. They said they blame you.

castlemagicmemories · ‎01-20-2018

@pvcliff wrote:
@mpcac wrote:
I accepted a bid for an item last month from a good customer. Before shipping, I discovered that the item was broken so I emailed my customer ( he never responded ) and then I sent them a refund. Today I see that the customer has left me negative feedback. I called ebay and told them what had happened and said that I followed all of the rules and did everything that I could do to make this right and still received negative feedback. They said there was nothing they could do. They checked my correspondence with this customer and confirmed everything that I said....but they said the buyer has the right to leave feedback expressing how they felt about the transaction. Ebay used to offer the option of responding to negative feedback but they don't even offer this anymore. Why does Ebay mistreat their sellers like this. The only option for a seller is to block the bidder which I did.
IMHO, the main issue is the OP feels that a previous customer should have cut him some slack. I agree. I've sold custom window treatments for 30 years. I have several hundred customers who come back and back because they love our service and selection. I very occasionally get a really picky, nothing is right, in your face grouchy customer. On the handful of times a "back and back" customer has reared up and become an "in your face/nothing is right" customer it is shocking and hurtful. What, they think I'm not going to listen to and try to solve their issue so that we can maintain our working relationship? Sorry this happened, OP.

Sorry this happened to you, but the buyer may have had personal issues, or they really might think you are not going to listen and try to solve their issue.

Experiences with other sellers may have lead them to expect that. Yes, even in spite of the relationship. A buyer never knows how the seller will react, and some have a propensity to blame the buyer. Buyers may cringe when a problem comes up because they have come to expect abusive treatment.

*madison · ‎01-20-2018

You've got a yellow shooting star.

So, you should know you can't add extra costs to cover your ebay / paypal fees. Or at least don't mention it in your listings..

And you should also know you can't charge buyers for insurance.. Buyers don't need insurance, they are covered with ebay / paypal.

As for the neg, well, you didn't complete the transaction, and some buyers just don't like it when that happens.

gemsandgadgets · ‎01-20-2018

Maybe the buyer didn't do anything 'wrong', but it wasn't very courteous. Because someone 'may' have had consecutive bad experiences, that shouldn't reflect on one particular seller.

castlemagicmemories · ‎01-20-2018

@gemsandgadgets wrote:
Maybe the buyer didn't do anything 'wrong', but it wasn't very courteous. Because someone 'may' have had consecutive bad experiences, that shouldn't reflect on one particular seller.

I understand, and I am all for courtesy! But the buyer probably didn't feel it was very courteous to be taken to a listing, pay, and then find out that only then did the seller find the damage. They may even have asked before buying, is there any damage? only to be told, no, the item is fine! Some seller's don't even check when they are asked this, that is why they find the damage before shipping, or not at all, the buyer finds it when they receive the item.

I understand that someone having multiple bad experiences shouldn't reflect on one particular seller, but the buyer can reach a point, as I said, where enough is enough, and this is where they draw the line, and post feedback that reflects the experience. And they may be more inclined to post negatives in the future, instead of being "courteous", even if they were one of those buyers who save negs for truly egregious behavior.

There have been several threads on the Selling Board from sellers that detailed the high amount of purchases that came not as described, and abusive communications and reluctance to resolve the issue from sellers. These threads had many responses from sellers with similiar experiences.

Just some thoughts.