Warning: eBay does not protect Power Sellers from Buyer Extortion!

[ronusa-inc]

Having been a Power Seller since 1999 I am totally appalled as the way we have been treated by eBay the past few days; and over the past several years as well. Having a perfect 100% feedback rating for the past several years; we had a customer who chose to post negative feedback; and then we contacted the buyer and he demanded that he keep the item and immediately refund him the total purchase price of nearly 300 bucks; and then he would agree to remove the negative feedback. All of these messages occurred through eBay message center and we have proof of this extortion in plain language against our company. We contacted eBay by phone on 2 occasions and both times eBay told us that we should comply with their demands.  This is not the first time that eBay has treated our company like criminals over the past several years. After paying eBay hundreds of thousands of dollars in commission fees since 1999 we have decided to take our business elsewhere as their behaviour is totally unacceptable. So beware all of you Power Sellers that eBay does permit extortionists to practice their trade!

[odditiesandantiquities1]

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@ronusa-inc wrote:

Having been a Power Seller since 1999 I am totally appalled as the way we have been treated by eBay the past few days; and over the past several years as well. Having a perfect 100% feedback rating for the past several years; we had a customer who chose to post negative feedback; and then we contacted the buyer and he demanded that he keep the item and immediately refund him the total purchase price of nearly 300 bucks; and then he would agree to remove the negative feedback. All of these messages occurred through eBay message center and we have proof of this extortion in plain language against our company. We contacted eBay by phone on 2 occasions and both times eBay told us that we should comply with their demands.  This is not the first time that eBay has treated our company like criminals over the past several years. After paying eBay hundreds of thousands of dollars in commission fees since 1999 we have decided to take our business elsewhere as their behaviour is totally unacceptable. So beware all of you Power Sellers that eBay does permit extortionists to practice their trade!

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I am so dreadfully sorry for your experience. I can understand your anger and frustration. I hope you reconsider, though. Ebay needs experienced sellers like you and should support you as well. 

[ronusa-inc]

We would reconsider if they treated us fairly; but we told CS that if wasn't for eBay Power Sellers such as us; then they would not have a job since we actually pay their salaries!

[odditiesandantiquities1]

You are right. They certainly make income from us....

[slippinjimmy]

If the buyer didn't contact you before leaving the neg then how is it Feedback Extortion?

Hard to tell from the feedback what exactly happened to the buyers order. Sounds like they bought something and you didn't ship it until they asked where it was (but that's just a guess).

FYI - eBay have in the past removed negs from my profile when it was a clear case of feedback extortion (ie: "if you don't give me "x" I will give you a neg").

[ronusa-inc]

Regardless of when the buyer actually placed their negative feedback; anytime they demand that they keep the item and also demand a full refund in return for removing the feedback; that is pure extortion any way you look at it in our minds.

[starroute-us]

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@ronusa-inc wrote:
Regardless of when the buyer actually placed their negative feedback; anytime they demand that they keep the item and also demand a full refund in return for removing the feedback; that is pure extortion any way you look at it in our minds.

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Yes, and here is the policy to quote to the ebay CSR when calling:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/feedback-extortion.html

Just be very calm and concise.:)

This applies even if they already gave neg FB and then demanded a freebie in exchange for a FB revision.

"The buyer isn't allowed to threaten to use Feedback or detailed seller ratings in an attempt to force a seller into providing:
Goods or services that weren't included in the original item's description or purchase price.
A return, refund, or replacement item."

[goodluckselling]

It is only a buyers opinion and should not play a role in your companies successful business on eBay.  Hardly anyone reads feedback on eBay any longer anyways. 

Good Luck Selling!

[megadestroyers]

Should I leave neutral or negative Feedback for a seller?
Feedback comments become a permanent part of a seller's record. If you're a buyer, contact your seller to try to resolve any issues before leaving neutral or negative Feedback. Please make sure that your comments are fair, based in fact, and relate to the specific transaction for which you received the feedback request.

If a buyer didn't contact you before leaving the negative comment, as per the simply stated requirement in ebays very own feedback policy, how is it that buyer isn't immediately, and posthastily, tagged with a policy violation, the negative comment, true or just made up schmazzle, removed even quicker?  

[chrysylys]

Buyer did NOT threaten to leave FB.

They DID leave it.

It would have stopped there if the seller didn't contact them. It was only after the seller contacted them that they asked for other consideration. And since we don't know what the seller said ...

[slippinjimmy]

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@chrysylys wrote:
Buyer did NOT threaten to leave FB.

They DID leave it.

It would have stopped there if the seller didn't contact them. It was only after the seller contacted them that they asked for other consideration. And since we don't know what the seller said ...

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We can guess....the OP has quite a few "feedback withdrawn".

[mr_lincoln]

@ronusa-inc  This sounds like a serious issue, posting here is great but will not get eBay's attention perse ... sure they probably read it but it is not directed to them, it is here for discussion.  Would consider bringing something like this up at the Weekly Chat (4 PM EST today  Wed).  It is quite obvious that Feedback Extorsion is being used by the Buyer, direct violation of eBay Policy and THAT affects all members here who support The Community and give Sellers and Buyers adviced based on eBay Policy.  So if we advise a new member that a threat of negative FB is a Policy Violation, add the link to the Help Pages that explains and supports that then something like your situation happnes what credibility do we have here?  To me that's serious ...

[luckythewinner]

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@ronusa-inc wrote:

we had a customer who chose to post negative feedback; and then we contacted the buyer

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When you first contacted the buyer after the negative, what *exactly* did you say?

[ronusa-inc]

We were extremely careful how we worded our response to the buyer as in the past we were able to have CS to remove the negative feedback due to extortion tactics. In this recent case we have a separate message in which we had the buyer to double verify for clarification purposes only their extortion demands; and they replied Yes.

[chrysylys]

Sounds like you initiated it in an attempt to have the FB already left removed.