Strange feedback, Strange buyer

[stoneledge]

Item sold Nov 6.

Shipped Nov 7.

Delivered per USPS tracking Nov 14.

On Dec 15, buyer leaves Negative feedback, "I didn't receive it till today."

No prior communication with buyer.   No messages, no cases.

Buyer has feedback score of 1.  Only one feedback on his profile.  From me.

Buyer ID history:  Joined Nov 6, same day as purchase.  No prior IDs on the account.

Experienced sellers:  what's going on here?  

[gramophone-georg]

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@duggmills wrote:

Bingo.   dtexleye3 got it. He or she ID'ed the problem. It's the 3 Day Delivery policy eBay dreamed up that fails to properly explain their hot flash on this one.

Many buyers read and think it means they will have their purchase in their hands three days for their purchase date.  I fell for it for 20 minutes (an exaggeration on my part, it really took almost 24 minutes) to realize this wasn't possible given the method of shipping which wasn't FedEx overnight. Therefore it meant something else. Then I discovered it was the sellers time to get the goods to the infallible Post Office.... LOL 

I'm sure many sellers are pleased with this Guarantee, however I laugh because I don't ever want my reputation linked to that of the infallible Post Office. How many billions have they lost in the last several years?

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It's not the Post Office you need to worry about; it's eBay. Often eBay's "guesstimates" are wildly optimistic when compared to actual shipper tracking info.

eBay can promise YOUR buyer the moon when it comes to delivery times, but if the buyer gets upset when eBay is wrong eBay just steps aside and lets YOU the seller get the pie in the face. 

[femmefan1946]

You can Respond to any feedback your own or your customer's.

The most effective Response is calm and factual.

Shipped Nov 7 Tracking shows rec'd Nov 14

for example.

Remember that FB is not dated. Only month, six month, or more than a year ago.

 Do contact Help at the bottom of this page, but don't get too fussed about it.

Then add the nitwit to your Blocked Bidder List and move on.

The only ones who read FB are your future buyers, so a calm professional response is useful.

The FB itself has no effect on your seller account.

[sin-n-dex]

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@stoneledge wrote:

Item sold Nov 6.

Shipped Nov 7.

Delivered per USPS tracking Nov 14.

On Dec 15, buyer leaves Negative feedback, "I didn't receive it till today."

No prior communication with buyer.   No messages, no cases.

Buyer has feedback score of 1.  Only one feedback on his profile.  From me.

Buyer ID history:  Joined Nov 6, same day as purchase.  No prior IDs on the account.

Experienced sellers:  what's going on here?  

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@stoneledge

Forget about what's going on, here's what you do.

Call eBay and tell them the buyer left you feedback that they only got their item "today" (on the date he left it), and that tracking proves delivery one month ago. eBay can't remove FB if it's the buyer's opinion but he's stating a fact that your package didn't arrive until that date, when tracking proves otherwise.

And if you get a script reader, try calling again. Don't ask for a name or call number if you don't like the answer or they'll make notes. Tell them that the FB is not an opinion, it's a fact that's wrong, and he can't claim the package was delivered today when it arrived a month ago which tracking will prove.

Good luck, and tell us how this works out.

C.

PS. Don't worry about trying to get a US rep, in my opinion it doesn't matter where the rep is, if they're badly trained, that's an individual gripe on that person.

[sin-n-dex]

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@chrysylys wrote:

I say it's a new member not familar with the site and that English is not their main language.  The phrasing 'not ...  until today' is a classic example of someone not fluent in the language and can mean 'I got it today'.

Ignore it and move on.

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If it's positive, you always ignore it.

If it's negative and it's not an opinion that you can't fight, you try and have it removed. I would always try to have it removed anyway at the most appropriate means (either by fixing the situation with the buyer, or having CS remove it if it's unjustified).

Cheers, C.

[sin-n-dex]

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@18704d wrote:

Delivered per USPS tracking Nov 14.

On Dec 15, buyer leaves Negative feedback, "I didn't receive it till today."

----------

Possible reply:

Paid Nov 1, Shipped Nov 2, USPS Tracking Shows Delivery Nov 14

(adjust above dates if needed)

jmtcw,

Lynn

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Reply only after you try to get it removed.

Replying to a negative can make it non-removable (it's accepting liability for the statement).

Cheers, C.

[sin-n-dex]

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@plumbingspecials wrote:
Respond with:
"Tracking shows your package was delivered on November 14. Thank you for your purchase."

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That's good to tell the buyer, but did you know on the eBay portal over the computer that all a future customer will see is "within last month, within last six months, within last year..." The customer won't know that Nov 14 was one month before the FB was left.

Try to get it removed.

Cheers, C.

[starroute-us]

@stoneledge

Call and have it removed.

It could have gone via a reshipper and the buyer did not receive until now, although that is not your issue.

You delivered on time to the address given proven by tracking.

[femmefan1946]

PS. Don't worry about trying to get a US rep, in my opinion it doesn't matter where the rep is, if they're badly trained, that's an individual gripe on that person.

Thank you for that.

I have a couple of Philippina nieces (and their children) and the hate on for some of the nicest, smartest people I have ever been happy to have in the family really annoys me. (What the girls ever saw in my nephews escapes me.)

Perhaps it's just that Canada is not only officially bilingual but welcomes so many newcomers every year that we are capable of dealing with accents. (I immigrated here in 1952. You might have some difficulty understanding the Doric Scots my family speaks together.)

[stoneledge]

I messaged the buyer upon receiving the feedback.

I requested feedback revision via feedback forum.   

I replied to the feedback with the facts. "Order Nov 6, Ship Nov 7. Delivered Nov 14 USPS tracking confirmation. Thank you."   

I called eBay.  The call took about 10 mins.

eBay removed the feedback, about 15 mins later.

Accent was Mexi-Cali-Surfer-Bro.

[keziak]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

Perhaps it's just that Canada is not only officially bilingual but welcomes so many newcomers every year that we are capable of dealing with accents. (I immigrated here in 1952. You might have some difficulty understanding the Doric Scots my family speaks together.)

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Curious, what is Doric Scots? 

How does your family feel about the "Outlander" program?

[sin-n-dex]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

PS. Don't worry about trying to get a US rep, in my opinion it doesn't matter where the rep is, if they're badly trained, that's an individual gripe on that person.

Thank you for that.

I have a couple of Philippina nieces (and their children) and the hate on for some of the nicest, smartest people I have ever been happy to have in the family really annoys me. (What the girls ever saw in my nephews escapes me.)

Perhaps it's just that Canada is not only officially bilingual but welcomes so many newcomers every year that we are capable of dealing with accents. (I immigrated here in 1952. You might have some difficulty understanding the Doric Scots my family speaks together.)

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50% of the callers I get at work are immigrants, and speaking with someone who has a thick accent is the norm. I get through this by asking questions that I need answered instead of trying to follow along a tale told by someone who doesn't know what it is I need to hear. For instance, "I'm calling to discuss my accent" will be followed with "did you report that to us yet? Would you like to report it? Do you know who you are looking to speak with? Are you discussing your injuries or damage to your vehicle?" The caller doesn't know what to say and will talk for five minutes if I let them... My calls are directed in 60 seconds without stress.

I use the same skills when calling eBay regardless of whether or not the caller speaks English as a first language or not, and IMO speaking with someone in the Philippines is a mild accent with minimal language difficulties compared to what I face with many of my callers at work.

I will never encourage another eBayer to keep hanging up the phone until they get a native speaker, because it really doesn't matter, so long as the rep who answers is trained, and not a "list reader" (which I'm willing to give pointers on how to identify those).

Cheers, C.

[ijazzu]

YEAH!!!!!! Good job

[plumbingspecials]

I hadn't thought about that, if the buyer's feedback did not mention the date, it would be ineffective for the seller to respond with the date. Perhaps It would be better to state that tracking shows it was delivered within the Estimated delivery date.
Thanks for clarifying semantics, because sometimes it does make the difference.
🙂