eBay refuses to honor commitment to sellers regarding improper negative feedback

[thomasjaybaker]

I shipped a package through eBay with UPS.

The buyer (or UPS) damaged the merchandise.

The buyer requested a refund.

A refund was offered on return of the merchandise.

A return label was issued.

The buyer claimed he disposed of all the merchandise and could not return it.

The buyer had to close the refund request due to destroying all the evidence.

Now they have left me a negative feedback claiming they got ripped off because I packaged the merchandise poorly and they had "no recourse for a refund".

I requested eBay remove the negative feedback under their eBay site or program issues:

We remove neutral/negative feedback when:

An eBay Money Back Guarantee case or payment dispute was closed with the seller having met their obligations to the buyer.

I met all my obligations to the buyer.

I asked eBay to remove the negative feedback.

They are refusing, stating the buyer has not contravened any of their policies.

What is the point of policies if they don't honor them for sellers?

[gurlcat · Accepted solution]

The on-site feedback removal request feature does a bot assessment of the feedback wording and procedures noted in your history, and makes a "judgement" based on overly simple criteria ..... usually against the seller.  But don't despair.  Your case sounds like a clear buyer abuse which WILL get you a feedback removal if you follow the right steps. 
1. Report the buyer.  This isn't a pointless attempt at revenge but a crucial step in having your appeal considered.  Go to this page  https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/rules-policies-buyers/abusive-buyer-policy?id=4374&st=3&pos=1&que... 

and click the blue 'Report a buyer.'   Select the buyer/item from the list, then click Continue.  Select the reason 'Buyer asked for something not offered in my listing.'  -Under that pull-down, select 'Requested that I give a partial refund or discount' (I know they wanted a full refund, but this is the right selection).  You will get a text box underneath where you can type. "Buyer claimed item arrived damaged and wanted a refund, opened a return but then refused to return item, said they disposed of it."   DON'T mention the feedback yet.  This report is only about the abusive behavior that occurred via messaging.  Click 'Submit.' 

After reporting the buyer, you will need to contact the kind of agent that will actually help you, via social media.  But since you seem pretty angry I don't know if this was just a venting post and you'll never return, so let's see if you can do the buyer report first.

[gurlcat]

Now this is too funny.  -So they just threw it ALL in the trash .... including actual money.  Yeah right. 🤣😆😂

[gurlcat]

By the way, I see this started last month.  Sorry you didn't get any replies from a Mentor.  In the future I wouldn't bother with that sub-forum; ONLY official Mentors can answer posts there, and most of them are over here instead.  It is what it is. 
By the way, I guarantee that display is hanging up beautifully on this dude's wall, LOL.  But just so you know in the future, when I a buyer opens a return for damage they don't have to contact you first, and they don't have to submit any evidence for your carrier investigation.  -Some will, but obviously scammers like this won't.  It's a good thing you did finally send that return label before your clock timed out, because if you hadn't, then Papa eBay would have had to step in .... and they would have just yanked your money and not made the dude return your inventory.  Never let a return request time out.  If you're ever confused, come ask us what to do BEFORE it's too late. 

[bonanza125]

"An eBay Money Back Guarantee case or payment dispute was closed with the seller having met their obligations to the buyer."

That doesn't mean that Ebay will remove your negative feedback. Under return policy you have "No Returns." What you needed to have was a return policy of 30 day money back guarantee with seller paying for shipping. That way the buyer knows they can get there money back no questions asked. Ebay would more than likely look at that and remove your feedback. 

"I'll be looking for a new platform."

Good luck with that.

[thomasjaybaker]

Strangely, the buyer in question is not on the list on the "Report a Buyer" page. I agree, he's probably got it hanging on his wall as we speak. I'm going to check my "Sold" page. I think I saw a "Report a Buyer" link by the product there.

[thomasjaybaker]

Hey Gurlcat,

There was a link under the actual sold listing. When I clicked it, the buyer again appeared in the report a buyer page. I followed your instructions.

So I guess we move on to this step next: "After reporting the buyer, you will need to contact the kind of agent that will actually help you, via social media."

If the eBay platform was any less user friendly, they'd be out of business.

[onefootflippers]

When something like that happens I just thank my stars I didn't have to give them a refund and I move along to the next thing. I have never found trying to fight bad feedback to be worth the time.

[timzbiz]

This is one of the many reasons I no longer sell on ebay.

[kensgiftshop]

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@gurlcat wrote:

Now this is too funny.  -So they just threw it ALL in the trash .... including actual money.  Yeah right. 🤣😆😂

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If the glass was busted in shipping, might not have been much left of the money,

[gurlcat]

Excellent!  Now here's what you do.  Go to this link (below).  If you don't have a Facebook account you can create a guest account there.  I know it's weird, but actual eBay employees working from home are the ones manning the Message function, and they are English-fluent, mostly American agents, many of them also sellers themselves, and they understand the policies better and have more power than the Asian phone reps. 

What you'll do is click the blue Message button, and write what happened in the popup text box.  Include your ebay username and the item number.  Keep the description of events concise and non-emotional.  -LOL actually going back to your OP I see you are one of the rare people who did exactly that, here (most start with "I have been a loyal seller here for eight hundred years and I'VE HAD IT!" 🤣).  You can also mention that you reported the buyer's Abusive Buyer behavior, in case the agent doesn't happen to see that, but I think they usually do.  Also you may not get a reply until Monday.  Last I knew, they didn't work on weekends but that may have changed.

https://www.facebook.com/ebay 

[gurlcat]

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@kensgiftshop wrote:

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If the glass was busted in shipping, might not have been much left of the money,

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True I suppose but in this case I don't believe anything was busted.  

[curios1975]

i'm with you bro. eBay is pretty good, but...it's waaaaaaaay too saturated now with sellers.  between items getting flagged for being 'obscene' to someone, and their rates seeming to slowly creep up, and not having some of my items covered for losses etc...i'm going to slowly start my own website. it is extremely difficult to stand out on this platform (I am really into pre 1960 vintage and antique collectibles)... very difficult. I read what you went through, how they handled it was totally wrong. they focus too much on the buyers (which ,of course is obviously important, because without them, we wouldnt be on here), but they need to step it up and stick their necks out for us. if it wasn't for us (sellers), they wouldn't have a job. so, right now, man.