What have y'all done (if anything) about feedback that is purely retalitory?

[mbaldassarre]

I'm sure some of you have experienced something like this...

Had a guy purchase six lots at either "buy it now" price, or after I took his offer.  He then made offers on several lots that were active AUCTIONS at the time. I explained, as I declined them, that I wanted those items to complete one full auction cycle before I would take offers. I mean... I would've accepted a truly  RIDICULOUS offer, of course, lol, but regular offers I wanted to let the first auction cycle complete first. 

He grumbled a bit, and said he was "no good at bidding." I'm not sure what the means. I offered that he could simply bid his offer price, possibly get the item for less, or if not and if the item didn't sell (for more that he would've been offering anyway) he could come back next week and I'd be happy to take offers. I also asked his why he had an aversion to bidding, so that I could better understand what he was looking for and how and why he preferred to engage with the platform the way he did. And we talked for a bit, but all I got was "I'm no good at bidding." Still don't know why one can't just bid their offer, but whatever. He ended  up placing bids on four of the lots.

AND THE NEXT DAY HE RESCINDS ALL OF THE BIDS. Just said, "please cancel my bids, I don't have any money." Now... I don't recall if I approved the cancellation, or if eBay did, whatever... it's fine, bids cancelled. FOUR. In ONE DAY. 🙄 (I don't think I've cancelled four bids in my LIFE, and I've been eBaying long enough to remember when cancelling a bid was kind of a BIG DEAL. And not all that easy to do!) So I replied to him, confirming that his bids were cancelled, and asked that he please not bid on future lots of mine. HARSH, I suppose, but come on... Four bad-faith bids all at once? Sorry, but no one needs that kind of buyer. And if I'd been castigated a bit for doing that myself, I think I'd understand. That's RIDICULOULSY inappropriate. Or at least it used to be. Maybe eBay culture has changed more that I'd realized.

But then after all of this, he goes and leaves negative feedback on the six items he'd previously purchased, claiming they were with "broken" (it wasn't) "loose" (it wasn't) or "bad" (whatever THAT means. It was the 100% item in the picture.) And in some cases that he "liked the item, but didn't like the seller." (Well SORRY, bud, but I don't like buyers who make multiple bad faith bids in a single day. 🙄) Said I had "bad communication" after we spent most of Sunday afternoon messaging back a forth, pleasantly, it seemed to me,  about eBay philosphy, offers vs auctions and why we like one or the other, etc... Hell, one of the lots he'd previously bought were a group of item I specifically pulled together and listed for HIM PERSONALLY. He gave me his list, I had what he needed, I made up the lot, listed it and he bought it. And on NONE of the supposedly loose or broken items did he reach out for a refund or return. (Because he know those were all lies.) It all comes down to him just being retaliatory after I told him not to bid on future lots. Which... I'm sorry, but four bad-faith bids in one day, with no real explanation? No, sorry, maybe I'm TA here, but NO, I don't really want to deal with a buyer like that. So I've...

1) Reported it all to eBay

2) adding him to my "banned buyers" list

3) mostly gotten over it now. Lol. Yeah, yeah. Lol

But... Have I acted appropriately here? Did I go too far? Did I do anything wrong? I know some **bleep** is just inherent to doing business here, or ANYWHERE, but what have y'all done in the past, and did you get any recompense? (Feedback removed, etc...?)

And BTW... I have had negative feedback before. Not a lot (2 or 3? in like ten years?) But in those cases, it WAS, legitimately, totally on me. I took full responsibility and did my best to resolve all issues. So, its not my first rodeo with this. I just KNOW this instance was completely retaliatory because I wouldn't take his offers, and then asked him not to bid in the future after cancelling FOUR of his bids.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Hi @mbaldassarre 

I would not have gone out of my way to inform the buyer that you did not wish to sell to him in the future. All that needed to happen was to place his ID on your block list.  He’d get the message then that you do not want him as a trading partner.

I find it helpful to give buyers the benefit of the doubt when an issue arises. It is possible that an emergency occurred and the buyer was telling the truth—that he found himself without funds.

Yes, he wasted your time. Yes, he had a contractual obligation to you that he broke, but at least he did not slink off without a word. He reached out and kept you informed, and the result of doing so was to tell him not to bother buying from you in future.

[mordecai8614]

and asked that he please not bid on future lots of mine.

Thats probably where you went wrong. Plus, telling that to a repeat customer who recently purchased 6 items & hadn't left feedback for them yet... Talk about poking the bear. 

[albertabrightalberta]

If a buyer seems too high maintenance for my liking, I add them to my BBL and cease communication with them. 

If I'd been in your shoes, if I didn't block him when he made the requests to end auctions, I definitely would have blocked with the bid retractions. 

My personal opinion is that there are enough good buyers on ebay and if someone seems difficult, I don't want to deal with them. 

Bookmark this page. 

https://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?BidderBlockLogin&&hm=vo.rp73%28%3F310%60%3Eb&hc=1&guest=1

ETA: On each of his purchases, there's a "report buyer" button. Use that button to report the buyer and that he left malicious feedback. (I'd report for each item on which he negged you.) 

Next time, skip the back and forth and just block.

[chapeau-noir]

Saying you didn't want him to bid on future lots (1) does no good and (2) can cause twitchy people to be twitchy.

The less said the better.

[fern*wood]

 For a buyer that obviously likes to make offers, those negs are going to turn off many sellers that look to see what kind of feedback the potential buyer gives.   I feel others have pinpointed what you could have done differently to avoid setting them off, but at least, ebay isn't showing them as most relevant. 

[jerseyboymusic]

I would have taken the high road in the feedback replies... the way you replied I think was more harm than the actual negatives. I may have said something like "I'm sorry you did not like this item. Please return for full refund." and have them open a return.

It looks like the buyer baited you and you took the bait.  I would have waited a few days before replying

[mbaldassarre]

Yeah, you're probably right about that. Smh

[windigard]

If it's any consolation, I was curious and looked at your feedback replies. As Jerseyboy music said, yeah your replies were reactive and emotional and that isn't generally a great look.

But at the same time, if I were a buyer that was investigating your feedback, I'd see your replies and even with the sass, I'd still recognize that the customer was likely a jerk, and I'd disregard the negative feedback. Heck, I'd be MORE inclined to buy from you, because I would have liked your passionate personality.

If you want to take a different stance in the future, remember that you're REALLY writing a reply to explain things to other readers. So just calmly explain your side, and smart shoppers will understand. I don't care if a seller has perfect 100%, or negatives. I just care about the context behind them. And replies are a great way for me to see both sides of the story.

In summation: just be yourself! Do what you feel is right. Learn, try new tactics, repeat. Mistakes are great teachers, they help you improve. Just forgive yourself and forge ahead. Consider the negative reviews a badge of pride that you dealt with a nasty person and gained wisdom from it! 😄