Unjustified "Buyer Experience" Feedback Policy

[relixcollectibles]

I recently made a sale, which resulted in a neutral feedback from a buyer. I realize that neutral feedback has little to no impact on seller performance and I accept less than positive feedback, if it was my responsibility. With that being said, the response from eBay support is far more concerning than the feedback itself.

The listing in question was for a pair of shoes, which I had a buy-it-now or best offer applied. The condition was pre-owned with signs of wear, and all imperfections described/shown. The buyer was aware of this, even making mention of the flaws in their offers. I denied their offers, because the item was getting plenty of attention, so I was confident they would sell. The buyer agreed to my asking price and purchased the shoes.

This particular pair of shoes met the requirements for eBay's authenticity guaranteed service, so they would be sent to a hub first to confirm the listing matched the product. The shoes passed inspection and were then sent to the buyer. It's also worth noting that when a pair of shoes is sent through this process, "Messaging capability is turned off at the point of purchase".

The buyer received the shoes and then left me neutral feedback. Their reasons included the pricing could have been less, and because my communication as a seller was below average. So, if they weren't happy with the price, then why buy the item? Also, I can't communicate with them, due to the authenticity guaranteed program. I never try to deceive potential buyers, and I strive to accommodate any problems they may have, when possible.

I submitted a request to remove the feedback. This attempt was denied, so I then contacted customer support directly and explained the situation. They refused to remove the feedback because it falls under "Buyer experience", even though this instance seems more like extortion. Customer support then suggested that I contact my buyer directly, which is impossible for this transaction, as I explained earlier. I informed customer support, and they weren't even familiar with the authentication service... It's been nearly 4 years, so perhaps it's time to educate your team, eBay. Better late than never.

So ultimately, what I've learned, is you could leave every seller neutral/negative feedback for purchases made, because you think that you could have found items for cheaper prices. Well that doesn't seem justified to me and as established sellers, we deserve better here.

[asset_liquidators]

Try contacting ebay for business on facebook. You may have better luck than the outsourced reps in the Philippines.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

Leave a calm, composed and concise reply to the feedback, professionally addressing the buyers comments. Speak to your future buyers, as those are who will be reading it. 

You can apologize that the buyer feels that way, explain that eBay locks communication at time of purchase when AG is involved... not sure I would address price. 

Neutral and negative feedbacks suck, but sellers overlook the VALUE in the OPPORTUNITY to reply to them ... a stellar reply to a nasty feedback can turn a "bad" into a "good"!!

[buyselljack2016]

Only action that I see that now needs to be done (if  not already done) is to be sure to add the ID to the BBL.

I would not even respond to what was left. 

[12345jamesstamps]

"Neutral feedback"...don't leave any feedback to a buyer who can't even spell. Buyer kind of looks foolish trying to even write a sentence.

If you can't leave feedback they may no longer be an eBay member. Ebay member only had 3 feedbacks so I would just ignore the feedback of this buyer.

[mam98031 · Accepted solution]

While I completely respect that it stings a bit to have that FB there, it will NOT hurt you in any way.  Most buyers wouldn't give it a second thought.  But I really do understand how it makes you feel.  I have one of my own and a negative.  Neither should be there, but there is nothing I can do about it.

Above all else, do not make matters worse for yourself.  Many sellers do.  They can't resist putting in a comment and they do it when they are upset and it shows.  What the seller writes many times is far more harmful than what the buyer wrote.  In your case, I wouldn't comment on it at all.

Now I do think it is worth a try to have it removed or edited.  The worse they can tell you is no.  But their mention of the price being too much, they agreed to that when they purchased it, so really it is pretty silly of them to write that.

I would suggest that you contact Ebay for Business on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for the better trained CSRs.

Here are your options for contacting Ebay Customer Service.  Please be aware that for social media CS, you send them a Private Message and briefly explain what your problem or issue is.  Feel free to leave your Name, address, phone number and/or your email address in this message.  It is private and secure and it may help to speed up the response for you.

https://twitter.com/askebay

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

https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/

Your options will be on the left.  If you use the link below you can only get to the Automated Assistant or Chat box type AGENT in the box and hit enter. You will then get more options.  Not all options are available 24/7.  It will depend on staffing available.  So sometimes you can request a call back and sometimes you can't.  Sometimes you have the Chat option available and other times it won't me.  If it is important to you to use one of those options, just try back later.

If you use a cell phone or other mobile device, you may need to turn off your Spam filter so that Ebay can call you.

If you are a seller outside of the US or Canada, you will need to use the Chat Option.

https://www.ebay.com/help/home

[chapeau-noir]

That feedback doesn't even make sense and won't impact anything.  I'd be tempted to say "No arms were twisted in this transaction", but that's probably not a good idea. TBH, there's no comment (and please do not apologise - you have nothing to apologise for) that's going to make it make sense, but agree with the above that if you feel compelled to leave a response, do so to assure future buyers.