Negative Feedback

[seatedequation]

Hello All, 
    I have been selling and purchasing on eBay for about 5 years now and have received and left exclusively positive reviews until yesterday. I unfortunately received a negative review for a listing I recently sold: "HP ProDesk 400 G5 mini i5-9500T 6 Core 2.20GHz 8GB DDR4 RAM 256GB SSD Windows 10." This listing was described to contain the following:

HP ProDesk 400 G5(i5-9500T, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM) and Power Supply.

    The computer was sold as a whole unit that I personally opened and ensured the functionality and cleanliness of. While I understand that many individuals on this platform are knowledgeable of computer components and internals, I chose to list the machine more as a whole unit ready for an office space or family computer out of the box.

    The problem of negative feedback arose when the buyer contacted me after receiving claiming that someone had "removed" the "hard drive caddy" and "SATA SSD." They continued claiming that the machine was missing this "essential part." They messaged once more stating that they had assumed the listing would include a "normal SSD" as one of my other listings had NVME in the title. They did not ask or request any sort of return or partial refund and instead promptly left a negative review making claims that:

"Seller was misleading with the listing title and the description," "made it seem like the computer had an specific type of internal hard drive" "seller didn't specify that another essential part inside of the computer was removed,” “Without it, the storage can't be expanded."

    I understand negative feedback is an unavoidable dilemma of selling, but this seems to be unjust and unfortunately my feedback removal request was denied. The listing never claimed to have a SATA SSD, hard drive caddy, or expandable storage. The buyer should have messaged prior to transacting with their expectations and needs for the computer. The main part of the review that upsets me is the claim about removing an "essential part" from the computer. I did not remove anything from the computer, the NVME SSD was included with the computer and provides better functionality than many SATA SSD's. The review makes me appear as a seller that sends out computers that are internally torn apart and non-functional due to missing components; this is simply not the case. The two other Identical machines I sold received great feedback from their buyers.
   I have come here to seek opinions and insight that may better me as a seller for next time. Was I wrong, is the listing misleading, was eBay right in denying my feedback removal request? Thank you for any possible comments on my situation!

[inhawaii]

Was eBay right in denying my feedback removal request? 

Sorry to say this but Yes. That feedback does not violate ebay policy.

Your reply to that feedback also leaves a lot to be desired.

A simple "please return the item for a full refund" would have been better.

Remember that future potential buyers will be reading that.

[chapeau-noir]

I'm sorry you were smacked with this, but your reply was outstanding. I also sell computer equipment and it's a tough market - some are computer illiterate (even if they know how to use a phone), or think they know more than they do, or don't read, or simply made a mistake so they make it your fault.  With just honest confusion usually I can help with a little tech advice but not always.

If this happens again, do what @inhawaii suggests - have them open a return, whether you take them or not if it's obvious that they're dissatisfied. You can't win on this site when it comes to stuff like this.

[12345jamesstamps]

Did the buyer wish to return it? If you say no. Then it is appropriate feedback. Doesn't matter on what you say or the buyer saids...a buyer can always do a return. Maybe you are correct with what you say...but a buyer can still return an item. Not sure about back and forth emails and such. I would have worked with the buyer...a return or partial or anything would have helped in the feedback.

Feedback can only be removed with certain words or wording not allowed. It was a clean negative feedback and appears the buyer knew how to leave such a feedback.

A negative feedback can be remove from the buyer if you work with them. Partial refund or refund or something to make amends before the allotted time in which a buyer can change their feedback....A buyer can change feedback within a time limit....and it is limited

[lamber9347]

Because you are asking for insight from others; your reply should not have told them to ask questions prior to purchasing. The folks who will actually read your feedback comments are POTENTIAL buyers so any reply must take that into consideration. Replies to unwanted or unwarranted FB are not the place to reprimand a previous buyer. Chances are that will only work against the seller. That buyer probably won't ever see your reply back, they have moved on. Feedback is simply a buyer's perspective of how a transaction ended and nothing they wrote was against policy. No reason for it to be removed by eBay. Best of luck to you....

[chapeau-noir]

I actually think the mention of asking questions was OK - it shows the seller is willing to answer any questions the buyer might have and communicates.

[seatedequation]

Thank you, I see how providing a option for return in the form of a reply leaves a better appearance on my account and offers a possible solution to the problem. Noted for future transactions.

[seatedequation]

I appreciate your complement on my reply, I am a novice seller at best and try to keep things professional whilst providing an explanation of my side of the transaction. While I am certainly not happy with the loss of profit a return may create, it does appear to be my best option in the event the buyer regrets the purchase. 

[seatedequation]

Hello, the buyer did not wish to return the computer, they messaged me simply to confirm whether the computer was supposed to contain the SATA SSD and caddy. The buyer had messaged me twice and I responded within 30 minutes. The buyer, however, sent the second message (days later), after leaving the poor feedback and never expressed the desire for a return, credit, or any compromise. I would have liked to collaborate with the buyer to avoid such a rating, but it appears sometimes a poor situation arises from a lack of communication and understanding. I appreciate your insight!

[seatedequation]

I understand how my mentioning of "asking questions" prior to purchasing may reflect a shift of blame from myself towards the buyer. As stated by @chapeau-noir  in their comment, I was simply trying to express to others that I am always available and ready to respond to questions about any listings. My reply may also appear as a rebuke to the buyer’s comments, but it was my attempt at providing an explanation of the situation for possible observers. For next time it appears it would be best to keep this between the buyer and myself. Thank you for your comment! 

[downunder-61 · Accepted solution]

I would ask for it to be removed, simply because seller's are not meant to mention things that are NOT included in a listing, only what is, so your buyer is blaming you for following eBay protocol, worth a try.

Try reaching out to eBay for Business on Facebook / Twitter, I do not have the link handy but someone should be along soon who has it...........

[seatedequation]

Thank You! I reached out to eBay's Facebook support, and they removed the feedback, they agreed that I followed listing guidelines and did not need to include a list of non-included items. Your assistance was much appreciated and has aided my situation!

[downunder-61]

Great news, don't forget to add this buyer to your BBL