eBay support... smh

[1surfbay]

I'm seriously surprised and irritated by eBay support. Here's what happened today. 

A buyer made a purchase from me, with a bad shipping address (undeliverable) and left me a negative feedback without contacting me or anything at all. Feedback is in Spanish and buyer clearly barely speaks English. 

So I call eBay today and they're telling me that I need to get the buyer to start a case in order to get the feedback removed. I explained that this is a buyer who doesn't know what he's doing (feedback of 1) and no English, so they're telling me to use google translate to communicate with the buyer to get this to happen. Really? I mean, really, eBay?

I ask him why he can't remove it if he knows the situation and says that the case will get things sorted, and he starts talking to me like a child, telling me a buyer has the right to leave feedback because they didn't get their item.

Really, dude? You are telling me that a buyer is acting right by providing an incorrect address and leaving a negative feedback after they don't get their item? Are you telling me that it's a legit rating of a seller? Are you telling me that you are fine with this and that it's the correct way to use the feedback system?

Unbelievable. If this is eBay's treatment of sellers, no way am I going to take this platform seriously. I know this is a bad move but I just hung up on the guy because I just couldn't handle being passively disrespected. eBay is definitely not for me. 

[missjen831]

This is normal ebay treatment of sellers. I would call back and try another rep if the buyer won't open a case. 

[the_fancy_fox]

Call back.

If you sent it to the address ebay supplied and the tracking shows the address as undeliverable you stand a shot at getting it removed.

Sometimes it takes more than one rep.

I just got one removed where the buyer said shipping was super slow. Ca to Iowa in 5 days and shipped the next business day after payment.

Be calm and polite on the phone. Show that you shipped to the address ebay gave you and what the tracking said.  If that rep will not help you, hang up and call back. If they say they will remove it ask to wait while they do it.

If you didnt ship to the address ebay gave you then you are probably out of luck.

[xgoblazersx]

What these people don't realize, is that they left a neg for a reason.  They won't, "just remove it" because you asked nicely and in their native language.  The buyer is unreasonable, the rep was unhelpful, call again.

[dhbookds]

So did you refund the money?

[the_fancy_fox]

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@dhbookds wrote:

So did you refund the money?

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Technically he cant until the buyer opens a case. If you refund 100% you will get a strike against your account.

[dhbookds]

If he canceled for reason of bad address, a refund would have been automatic???? and no defect......

[sin-n-dex]

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@dhbookds wrote:

If he canceled for reason of bad address, a refund would have been automatic???? and no defect......

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This is what the OP would have to do, refund with reason of problem with buyer's address. The tracking provided will show it was undeliverable and returned.

At that point, then call again and explain the item wasn't received because it was undeliverable (have rep look at tracking), explain the funds were refunded for reason of problem with buyer's address and the transaction is complete. Then attempt to have the FB removed. FB is removable if there's a problem with buyer's address, but if the cancel isn't done and the seller still has the funds, they won't remove it.

Cheers, C.

[the_fancy_fox]

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@dhbookds wrote:

If he canceled for reason of bad address, a refund would have been automatic???? and no defect......

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 Do this first, then call. 

Unfortuntely, the cost of shipping it will have to a write off.

[1surfbay]

Thanks for the replies. Called again and got another rep who says "yes that is correct, you should use google translate to contact the buyer and get them to open the case." 

Any attempt at explaining that I've tried to reach out to the buyer repeatedly and that the buyer has a feedback of 1 and doesn't know what he is doing, and the challenges of explaining things via google translate were consistently INTERRUPTED with "you just need to contact the buyer and tell them..."

Absolutely ridiculous. Wow. How a company can have such insulting level of customer service, especially when it comes to business related support, I cannot understand. 

I will try to cancel the order and risk ending up basically paying for a negative feedback (whatever the shipping was). Nice seller support eBay.

[ryanrobyn]

Don't worry about hanging up onEbay.The reps hang up on me lots. I really think they get great joy out of being sadistic. Perhaps that part is on their cue cards when they don't want to talk anymore, don't have an answer or finally have not enough sense to make up an excuse or lie like most of them do.

[flger1942]

I just want to say, as a buyer, that eBay support is really a pain... Often I have to write 3 (!) times before I actually got an answer to what I asked. The level is on kindergarten level. They give an answer (to a question I have never asked) like it was the first time I use eBay. It doesn't matter that I buy about 1000 items a year. It is VERY frustrating and I have wonder many times if they are mentally disabled in some way... Many times they don't seem to even read what I write !

The second last time I contacted the support I realized that they don't have a clue about what they are talking about ! I, as a customer, had to explain how eBay works...! Gosh.

For me, as a buyer, the eBay support is the worst thing with eBay... Sad.

[bubbleman2010]

No sense messing with it transaction took place 6 months ago nothing to refund and nothing will be removed....

[retrose1]

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@the_fancy_fox wrote:

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@dhbookds wrote:

So did you refund the money?

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Technically he cant until the buyer opens a case. If you refund 100% you will get a strike against your account.

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Actually right now, with no case against the seller, is the perfect time to refund.  There is no hold on the payment so that means that the seller can refund the payment MINUS the cost to ship and any restocking fee.  If I shipped to a buyer and it came back to me, I am not going to be out the cost to ship.  Period.

OP, you might want to get the feedback translated, if it contains obscenities you can get it removed for that reason.

Keep calling and if you get a CS with an accent, just hang up and try again.  Make sure that you are talking to a Feedback Specialist.

[gramophone-georg]

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@1surfbay wrote:

Thanks for the replies. Called again and got another rep who says "yes that is correct, you should use google translate to contact the buyer and get them to open the case." 

Any attempt at explaining that I've tried to reach out to the buyer repeatedly and that the buyer has a feedback of 1 and doesn't know what he is doing, and the challenges of explaining things via google translate were consistently INTERRUPTED with "you just need to contact the buyer and tell them..."

Absolutely ridiculous. Wow. How a company can have such insulting level of customer service, especially when it comes to business related support, I cannot understand. 

I will try to cancel the order and risk ending up basically paying for a negative feedback (whatever the shipping was). Nice seller support eBay.

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I'd think Google Translate would be better used in speaking with your eBay CSR in a lot of cases- if you can even figure out what language they are speaking.

The whole eBay customer service sham is a joke. I speak English and German, am mildly proficient in Russian with a little re- immersion, remember enough Swedish from my mom's side of the family to get myself shot, and can sort of get by in Spanish, French and Latin, and I took courses in Old English and Middle english in college... and at least half the times I called I just could NOT understand these CSR reps. True story.

I think the fact is that eBay just does NOT want to talk to us.