Seller Defects, eBay Incompetence

[mdhavey]

I have now contacted CS twice by phone, and received two emails that directly contradict what the CSR told me on the phone.

I received a "seller defect" because eBay says I shipped an item late. The item sold Dec. 26 and was shipped January 3. The fact is, and is documented on the Buyer's Note and in messages, she requested I delay shipping until Jan. 3.  So I shipped it on Jan. 3, THE EXACT DAY THE BUYER REQUESTED. 

Of course, I got a Seller Defect due to late shipping.

A phone CSR agreed that I was correct to ship when the Buyer requested, and sent notes and the documentation to the "defect team". A day later I got a boilerplate email from the "defect team" stating they could not remove the defect because I shipped the item late. Duh.

A second call to a phone CSR who quickly found the documentation, and said he would, again, contact the "defect team" with proof of late shipment due to the buyers request.

A day later I get another boilerplate email from the "defect team" adamantly saying they would not remove the defect because the item clearly shipped late.

Is ebay really this disorganized, incoherent, and downright incompetent? Are we really supposed to ignore a Buyer's request in order to not receive a "defect", thus incurring a negative review from the Buyer?

[reallynicestamps · Accepted solution]

The phone reps do not work for eBay. They are sub-contractors somewhere in Utah, poorly paid and worse trained.

If you want to deal with a trained eBay employee with some authority, use the Chat callback, or FaceBook or Twitter.

https://twitter.com/askebay
https://www.facebook.com/eBay/

As a bonus, you get a transcript since this is a written discussion, and can compare what you were told with what you think you were told.

[mdhavey]

Isn't that a bit strange? You need to go through Facebook or Twitter to get a real ebay employee?

[popblox]

---

@mdhavey wrote:

Are we really supposed to ignore a Buyer's request in order to not receive a "defect", thus incurring a negative review from the Buyer?

---

Yes. If a buyer needs to make specific arrangements, they need to be made prior to purchase. In this case, if the buyer had contacted you beforehand, you could've changed the handling time on the listing, which would've kept both the buyer and eBay happy.

In addition, you can easily get negative feedback removed if it's associated with 'special instructions' not offered in the listing.

[luckythewinner]

The fact that you allowed a buyer to convince you to do something detrimental to your account is unfortunate.

But I suspect a big reason that eBay chose metrics that could be automated is because they are not interested in paying customer support reps to keep updating seller "scorecards" manually. 

eBay doesn't count the first 5 late shipment against a seller, and I suspect this is intended to cover exactly this sort of situation. 

[mtgraves7984]

---

@mdhavey wrote:

Isn't that a bit strange? You need to go through Facebook or Twitter to get a real ebay employee?

---

@mdhavey 

Correct answer is: You need to go through Facebook or Twitter to get a real crackerjack ebay employee.

I've moved past whether it's strange or not (new, maybe...), but a message on the eBay facebook page will get you quick, intelligible emails from qualified C/S Reps with the ability and the resources to handle issues with a seller.

Answer on your own time... you can reply to them, one Rep may hand you off to a better qualified Rep, you can even escalate it to decision-makers. It might take 3 emails with 3 different Reps, but they'll be folks that can actually offer service.

When I used facebook to reach eBay (recommended here) I was amazed. Try it. Trust me and good luck.

[mdhavey]

Oh, come on. If they can't remove a seller defect, even if it was due to following a buyer's specific shipping instructions, I certainly doubt they would remove a bad review because the package sat outside in the rain for a week because they weren't home and I didn't follow their instructions.

[mdhavey]

Wow. Who knew that following a buyers shipping instructions, to delay shipping because they wouldn't be home over the holidays, would be "detrimental to my account"?

[fashunu4eeuh]

---

@mdhavey wrote:

Wow. Who knew that following a buyers shipping instructions, to delay shipping because they wouldn't be home over the holidays, would be "detrimental to my account"?

---

When this was first implemented, sellers objected to the obvious lack of concern for customer service, but that did not dissuade eBay from enacting the practice. So yes, it is detrimental to your account to ship late, even at buyer request.

[popblox]

---

@mdhavey wrote:

Oh, come on. If they can't remove a seller defect, even if it was due to following a buyer's specific shipping instructions, I certainly doubt they would remove a bad review because the package sat outside in the rain for a week because they weren't home and I didn't follow their instructions.

---

I mean, ok. I've experienced it personally on multiple occasions and "buyer requested something that wasn't offered in the listing" is one of the (very) few reasons you can actually report a buyer. But you're welcome to ignore advice from experienced sellers who volunteer their time here and just continue to stew on it instead. In the future, a disclaimer in your post stating you don't actually want any help would be nice.

[mdhavey]

popblox

With all due respect, you didn't actually offer any advice or suggestion that addressed my issue: that I am getting diametrically opposed, conflicting answers from ebay, depending on who was answering. The best real advice was from reallynicestamps and mtgraves7984 who said that contacting actual, qualified ebay reps via Facebook was the way to get informed, fact-based answers. That was helpful.

[yuzuha]

---

@fashunu4eeuh wrote:

---

---

When this was first implemented, sellers objected to the obvious lack of concern for customer service, but that did not dissuade eBay from enacting the practice. So yes, it is detrimental to your account to ship late, even at buyer request.

---

I wouldn't call it a "lack of concern for customer service." If I place an order on any other website, it will be shipped promptly-- I can't send them a message and say "I know that I paid today but can you not ship this for two weeks?" It is MY responsibility as the buyer to either 1) not make the order until I am ready to have it shipped, or 2) make arrangements to have someone else pick up my packages if I know it will likely arrive when I am out of town.

[gracieallen01]

@mtgraves7984 

With all this fantastic CS on FB and Twit, I wonder why sellers have to come to the boards to get that information, after the fact and defect?  Seems strange to me that ebay doesn't, more openly and on a broader band, advertise where to go for REAL help - at least for those that think to use, and trust, social media as a CS resource.

[gracieallen01]

---

@mdhavey wrote:

Wow. Who knew that following a buyers shipping instructions, to delay shipping because they wouldn't be home over the holidays, would be "detrimental to my account"?

---

It didn't use to be that way, before ebay made it a computerizes, one-size-fits-all, AI programed venue.  The 'bots rule and the people just apologize or pass the blame.

[downunder-61]

---

@mdhavey wrote:

popblox

With all due respect, you didn't actually offer any advice or suggestion that addressed my issue: that I am getting diametrically opposed, conflicting answers from ebay, depending on who was answering. The best real advice was from reallynicestamps and mtgraves7984 who said that contacting actual, qualified ebay reps via Facebook was the way to get informed, fact-based answers. That was helpful.

---

You do know we are just volunteers ? Buyers and sellers who try to assist ?

It was advised pretty early on to contact eBay on Facebook, up to you if you want to follow the advice or argue the logistics and policies of eBay which obviously members here have no power to change.

Good luck gettng the help you need.