eBay

talulansuri · ‎09-27-2017

Hello,

I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to give me some advice.

I don't often sell, I usually do more purchasing. I've had 100% Positive feedback until a recent sale. So this is the issue:

I recently sold an item. Prior to the Auction Ending date, my Grandmother passed away unexpectedly & I was called out of town for a week. At that point, I didn't even remember I had listed items as don't often sell anything.

6 days after the sale ended, I returned home (5 days from receiving payment on a FREE SHIPPING item). I received a message from buyer "I made payment & have not received any shipping infomaiton".

I responded to buyer with apology & explained 'I was out of town with an unexpected family emergency, before the ending of the auction and that I just returned the evening before and I would be able to send her item out in a few days & would upgrade the 'Free Shipping' to FREE Priority shipping for her.

The buyer had responded she was disappointed because she had "run out of her moisturizer 5 days earlier and if "(she) had known, she would have continued bidding on another auction".

SIDE NOTE: Aparently she was bidding on 2 of the same item from different sellers...when I checked, the only other sale within a week of same product was $12 over my ending auction price).

I again apologized, asking her "please forgive me, if you see my feedback, I have never disappointed a buyer, I appreciated her purchase" and I said I would send out her product and also include some 'extras' for her inconvenience & it would be able to get it shipped in 2 days.

Two days later, I received a notice from eBay that the seller had opened a case against me, requesting a refund. The buyer had NOT contacted me directly to request refund or question shipping status of product. At that point, the buyer had also left negative feedback before I was able to respond to her opening a case against me.

I immediately refunded the sale to the seller, very surprised by this. This plummeted my 100% feedback to 83.3%!!!!! I responded to the negative feedback but your are only allowed 80 characters to explain! Also, when I tried to leave feedback for this buyer, I was unable to leave any feedback for her?!?!

This was so not worth the $34.50 sale (actual cost of item is $70.00 PLUS shipping cost).

Anyone have any advice on how I'm able to try and get this resolved and get my rating back. I reached out to the buyer but no response from her (didn't expect any response). Thank you!

Best,

Denise

castlemagicmemories · ‎09-30-2017

@fern*wood wrote:
Sometimes we earn bad feedback for really bad and unfortunate reasons---sorry about your Grandmother.

Sorry you had to go through that, OP. My condolences and sympathy on the loss of your Grandmother.

And I wish that buyer had had more compassion and patience, but we live in a society that wants things yesterday and tracks their pizza. In the scheme of things, waiting a few days to get your moisturizer is not the end of the world.

fashunu4eeuh · ‎09-30-2017

I am very sorry for your loss. And that you had to learn this lesson under these circumstances. Which is sometimes why it is referred to as a "harsh" reality.

Your thinking is that if you do something extra, something that perhaps is not expected of you, it will offset your failing to do what is expected of you. You simply blew this customer off, the reason why doesn't matter. Approaching a business task as if it is a personal one did not serve you well here. Consider that negative rating as the tuition owed on a learning experience.

luckythewinner · ‎09-30-2017

Your original post is full of hints about what a "deal" your buyer is getting:

"a FREE SHIPPING item"
"$34.50 sale (actual cost of item is $70.00 PLUS shipping cost)"
"the only other sale within a week of same product was $12 over my ending auction price"

.. and how poorly the buyer treated you:

"buyer had NOT contacted me directly to request refund or question shipping status"
"left negative feedback before I was able to respond"
" I reached out to the buyer but no response"

To be honest, all of that smacks of a seller who is still in denial.

How much the product cost you, or how much the buyer would have had to pay elsewhere has nothing to do with the fact that you did not live up to your obligations as a seller.

A buyer is not required to contact you before leaving feedback or opening a case. A buyer is not supposed to have to inquire about the shipping status of the product. And after you failed to perform for six days, a buyer should not have to wait "a few days" more for you to live up to your obligations as a seller.

IMHO you 100% deserved this negative, and from your post it appears you learned nothing from it.

slati_2013 · ‎09-30-2017

Why do you feel it is an unearned negative feedback? It is an earned negative based on what you have written.

emerald1830 · ‎09-30-2017

I'm more confused about this:

Op, you're in China and where is this buyer? Can't be in the USA, can it?

emerald1830 · ‎09-30-2017

Good poin PinPong..
i'm just wondering how is the OP in China and is this buyer in the US?

Or am I missing something..lol..

southernfriedbelle · ‎09-30-2017

OP, you have my deepest sympathy for your loss. I do have to agree with the other responders, though, regarding your responsibility for this transaction and its consequences

When you were called out of town, no doubt you had to make arrangements for the management of various responsibilities and commitments in your absence. Your eBay business somehow was overlooked as being among those obligations.

Recently, with Hurricane Irma bearing down upon us, part of our frenzied preparation included ending my listings. Even though I am a small, occasional seller, it was important to protect my eBay business in order to avoid the exact situation in which you now find yourself.

I know our situations are very different. My point that is that if you sell even occasionally, your business is a business, and has to be considered a priority, even when you're presented with unforeseen personal circumstances.

I hope you can view this unfortunate experience as an opportunity to work toward increasing your sales and building your feedback score back up. I wish you the best.

Best of luck to you!

Belle

castlemagicmemories · ‎10-01-2017

Op, what was your handling time? Ebay is removing this from listings as they feel the estimated delivery date is enough.

Ebay does not count Saturdays and Sundays as business days.

Point being, there is a possibility that you may have inadvertently shipped timely. Say if you had 7 days handling time, and there was a weekend in there, then while you were late, you were not out of line. Did the buyer get the package by the expected delivery date? If they did, again, you were fine.

And if so, you could call CS and point that out and possibly they would remove that neg. With apologies to all those who chastised the OP. I'm not saying she is right, there was a delay but maybe still in all it all came out right, and she just had a death in the family. I understand that is no excuse, but things happen.

I save negs for truly egregious behavior as many do.

honestabe411 · ‎10-01-2017

That is most definitely earned negative feedback.

eBay is not a playground, it's a platform for businesses.

southernfriedbelle · ‎10-01-2017

@honestabe411 wrote:
That is most definitely earned negative feedback.

eBay is not a playground, it's a platform for businesses.

Agree it's a "platform for business," @honestabe411, but OP is not a fulltime seller, as you are. Not saying what you said is wrong, but she just lost her grandmother. A little kindness and compassion from those of us responding would probably go a long way toward her actually hearing and receiving those responses. JMO

Belle

southernfriedbelle · ‎10-01-2017

@emerald1830 wrote:
Good poin PinPong..
i'm just wondering how is the OP in China and is this buyer in the US?

Or am I missing something..lol..

Not understanding how that would impact the situation, @emerald1830? Can you elaborate?

Belle

seafordtradingco · ‎10-01-2017

Yeah, that's great that you are like that. But there are a lot of people who aren't. Ebay doesn't care how nice you are. They want the buyers to pay and you to send out the product you described on time. That's it. End of story. I'm sorry you had this happen and my condolences on your gradmothers death.

mismarymarpl0 · ‎10-01-2017

@emerald1830 wrote:
Good poin PinPong..
i'm just wondering how is the OP in China and is this buyer in the US?

Or am I missing something..lol..

Op's items are listed from Wisconsin

3d-styx · ‎10-01-2017

On your leaving feedback for the buyer, leaving feedback is utterly pointless when sellers can't leave negative feedback. Put her on your blocked buyer's list and just move on. You'll sleep better.

creoleorchid · ‎10-01-2017

I responded to buyer with apology & explained 'I was out of town with an unexpected family emergency, before the ending of the auction and that I just returned the evening before and I would be able to send her item out in a few days & would upgrade the 'Free Shipping' to FREE Priority shipping for her.

This is why you got the negative. She felt you had ignored her for 5 days, then you when you said you'd get around to it in a few more days, how would you expect her to react? At that point, she had no idea what your idea of a few days meant. It could have been another week.

You didn't mention the 2 days until after she complained about the "few days". Most people consider "a few" to mean more than 2. And most sellers would have gotten their butts to the post office in a New York minute as soon as they realized their mistake. I know of some sellers who race to the post office between visits to the ICU when a family member is gravely ill.

Personally, I wouldn't have left the negative but maybe a neutral, and filed INR as soon as the estimated delivery date.