Unfair negative feedback

[oldyonder]

Hello

  I received my first negative feedback and I feel that is was unfairly given.  The buyer said the item received was small and dull, not like the pics.  I stated the size in the listing.  My pics are of the actual item and I do not touch up or enhance any pics.  They have left similar comments for other sellers.....  Had I known they were unhappy, I would have given a refund.  They have never contacted me and will not respond to any messages.  This is completely unfair and it **bleep** me off that eBay states the buyer has a right to their opinion, despite it being untrue.  Apparently lying is not against feedback policy, which is incomprehensible.  Unfortunately dishonesty is becoming the norm these days and honesty is punished.  Sad!  I am having a hard time accepting this.  Has anyone else had to deal with a similar issue?

[soh.maryl · Accepted solution]

Yes, eBay will state that it's the buyer's opinion and won't remove it.

Your reply was very professional and well done, by the way.

That FB would not stop me from buying from you and I think most buyers would feel the same way. 

[slippinjimmy]

It's an opinion, nothing unfair about it and there is no lie! Especially the part about it being "small", you do have a measurement of the length but that doesn't tell anyone what the size of the stones are which is probably what the buyer is referring to.

Now the good news, almost nobody cares about a single neg, certainly not eBay and neither will most buyers even if they actually check your feedback.

[packratville]

I second what soh.maryl said and also commend your professionalism in your response. I'd also have no problem whatsoever purchasing from you. But I know it hurts regardless when you have such a stellar selling record and work hard for it. I'm sorry it happened to you.

[mam98031]

The FB itself doesn't break any rules and so Ebay isn't likely to remove it.

However you said that you looked at their FB left for others and saw they have done this before?  How many other sellers and were they negative FB?  This could be important because if the buyer has a history of abusing FB, that could be grounds to get yours removed.

Relax and lets see if anything can be done.  But the others are right, one negative FB isn't going to hurt the health of your account.  It may drive you crazy, but it won't hurt your account.  You did a great job responding.  You stayed professional and that is ALWAYS the right thing to do.

[2015mhfashions]

  The buyer said the item received was small and dull

Describing themselves possibly ?

[this*old*attic]

How can an opinion be untrue? It’s an opinion.

When dealing with the public, one will deal with the full range of humanity - from picky, demanding and petulant to patient and easy to please.

Thats the human animal.

[7550alex]

Hi, 

I have just had negative feedback to on a previously 100% positive feedback. I sold a brand new pair of washed linen trousers. 

The buyer said they wanted to return them because they weren’t new because the washing label was faded!! I explained they were washed linen, but she called me a liar and then left negative feedback saying I described them as new, but they weren’t .

I do think sellers are rather exposed, and not particularly well protected by ebay!!!

[inhawaii]

I had the same thing happen to me. 

I sold a candy bar. The size/weight of the candy bar was clearly in the listing.

The customer said "i thought it would be bigger" and left me a negative feedback.

Just like you, i would have bent over backwards to make  the customer happy even if it meant giving a full refund and having him keep the candy.

I tried to "negotiate" with the customer to get him to remove the feedback.  The customer demanded i send him 2 more candy bars free if i wanted him to remove the feedback.  Because of this demand/threat for something not included in the listing, ebay removed the feedback. 

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like your situation will warrant that. 

Good luck to you. 

[ed8108]

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@oldyonder wrote:

Hello

 Unfortunately dishonesty is becoming the norm these days and honesty is punished.  Sad!  

×××××××××××××××××××××

Reality is that manny people do behave badly.

The world would be a much happier place if people would act in a manner toward others the way that they would like to be treated.

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[luckythewinner]

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They have never contacted me and will not respond to any messages

Nor are they required to. 

Apparently lying is not against feedback policy, which is incomprehensible.

It is comprehensible to me because eBay has no way of knowing who is lying. 

Has anyone else had to deal with a similar issue?

I would guess there are millions of eBay sellers have received feedback they felt was unfair. 

I am having a hard time accepting this. 

If this sort of thing is taking an emotional toll on you, perhaps eBay is not a good fit. 

[turquoisetulips]

Candy ? perk !    🙂   

[turquoisetulips]

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@oldyonder wrote:

Hello

  I received my first negative feedback and I feel that is was unfairly given.  The buyer said the item received was small and dull, not like the pics.  I stated the size in the listing.  My pics are of the actual item and I do not touch up or enhance any pics.  They have left similar comments for other sellers.....  Had I known they were unhappy, I would have given a refund.  They have never contacted me and will not respond to any messages.  This is completely unfair and it **bleep** me off that eBay states the buyer has a right to their opinion, despite it being untrue.  Apparently lying is not against feedback policy, which is incomprehensible.  Unfortunately dishonesty is becoming the norm these days and honesty is punished.  Sad!  I am having a hard time accepting this.  Has anyone else had to deal with a similar issue?

I received a neutral  feedback without the buyer ever contacting me  to let me know they weren't 100 % happy and their comments were  downright insulting . Like you and most other sellers  if given the chance I would have tried to fix it .  I think most buyers know if they contact the seller  they'd get some type of compensation  if they don't like their purchase . So you got to look at it this way . There are people out in the world  who are just generally unhappy . And a great percentage of them place the blame  on  humanity  for their unhappiness . So when they get even the slightest chance  they'll stick to someone else whether they truly deserve it or not.  Tulips 

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[mam98031]

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@this*old*attic wrote:

How can an opinion be untrue? It’s an opinion.

When dealing with the public, one will deal with the full range of humanity - from picky, demanding and petulant to patient and easy to please.

Thats the human animal.

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That's a bit too general IMHO.  Not every statement made when leaving FB is an opinion.  Sometimes it is suppose to be a statement of fact, which may or may not be true.  If a buyer says the item wasn't received, that isn't an opinion, that is a statement of fact.  So I'm just trying to be devils advocate here.  Just because a buyer makes a statement does not make it automatically an opinion.  Sometimes what they say is just plain wrong.  

[mam98031]

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@7550alex wrote:

Hi, 

I have just had negative feedback to on a previously 100% positive feedback. I sold a brand new pair of washed linen trousers. 

The buyer said they wanted to return them because they weren’t new because the washing label was faded!! I explained they were washed linen, but she called me a liar and then left negative feedback saying I described them as new, but they weren’t .

I do think sellers are rather exposed, and not particularly well protected by ebay!!!

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@7550alex 

You should update your listing to say that the fabric used to make the pants are pre-washed linen.  I don't see that anywhere in your listing.  It may help for the future.