seller feedback to warn others of problems

[bdbq_reborn]

this is a bit ofa sticky wicket here on eBay and the rules leave honest input not allowed though buyers can ruin a business with tactless admonishment yet sellers must give buyers only positive input no matter. 

I believe we should never fight our battles publicly in the FB forum. It is unprofessional and limited characters can create an altogether different meaning. i also believe giving bad feedback can be as bad or even worse than getting it. One needs to always sound open minded and communicative.

But recently I experienced a problem that I wish I had been better informed. 

Communication with my customers has become a second job I actually enjoy. I have made wonderful friends all over the world and have received many lovely gifts from New Zealand, Germany and Spain as well as the U.S.

So getting my first admonishment from eBay requesting I keep a better line of communication from my buyer was a slap in the face  ... better yet I was gobsmacked!

I have a customer in the Carolinas that ordered a doll kit. Tracking showed steady movement toward the destination and then a turn around back to me. The storms had just completed their final damage. So with tracking showing the directional change and the storms causing U.S.P.S to abandon their historical chant "neiher rain etc" I figured they were responsible. However when it arrived back at my studio the address was hand written, the box opened, the contents removed from the protective wrapper, the weight of 2 lbs (totally incorrect it weighted less than a pound) and $9.81 along with my info again handwritten on an inner flap made me think it was a customer return

I contacted her and asked if she returned it ... heard nothing 

Later that day I tried again ...nothing

The next morning I bought a new label and even based the calculation on the weight written on the flap by the enigma. I sent it back out but was still very concerned.i  also wanted to make certain she and her family was safe and weather conditions ok for mail delivery.  I gave her the tracking and told her it had updated in her summary.

Later that day I received an eBay email stating she was concerned and contacted them to get the tracking number because the item had traced back to me. And to please have better communication with my buyer. 

THEN she contacted me and asked for the tracking which I had sent already and I also asked if her area had been affected and if she needs anything i was available to send food clothing and blankets through our community outreach, and of course apologized.

After she hot the items she sent me a terse note "al i got was head arms and  legs!  NO BODY???

Followed immediately by eBay stating a case has been opened but since i said very clearly it did NOT come with a body, if I chose to not refund her, the case would be closed.

As a seller i wish I had known her hair triggers

If I say nothing the next seller may experience the same thing which doesn't seem fair.

But if I put "customer has communication issues ; would rather call eBay than resolve  it thru seller contact " i am afraid i am breaking protocol.

As a seller what would you want to know before you transacted with her?

[coolections]

We would need to see the listing. I don't see anything you sold that had only a head and legs.

[sam9876]

No good deed goes unpunished.

[bdbq_reborn]

there are 8
here is the actual listings i am speaking of
https://www.ebay.com/itm/202438834526?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1559.l2649

[bdbq_reborn]

btw
my verbose tirade was sure to distract from the actual issue

i want to understand what we as sellers owe each other regarding nuisance buyers and how to go about it

eBay is standing behind me and feels the customer has no refund coming to them.

Thank you for taking the time to advise on the matter

[18704d]

The description does state "no body".

But the photograph shows a full body.

Lynn

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

Hmm, I expected to see a trail of unreasonable negative feedback on your account. There is none. You are complaining because of a comment a customer service rep made? You want to warn other sellers about an unhappy buyer who did not leave you feedback? This is why sellers lost the privilege of leaving bad feedback for buyers.

For what it's worth I don't agree your listing is "clear" that it only includes part of the doll. The pictures and the title imply otherwise. People shop on their cellphones and go a lot by pictures and title. Neither of yours were "clear".

It is the seller's responsibility to make sure the listing is clear and easy to understand. I think you should rework yours.

[jela_7588]

Well since buyers cannot get negative feedback most sellers would not bother reading the positive feedback.

Not to mention this would put your account in jeopardy if the buyer reports you.

This is exactly why eBay chose to remove the option of leaving buyers negative feedback. It's sort of the same thing as the local Walmart manager slamming a shopper on Facebook because they called corporate to work out an issue rather than addressing the store manager.

[castlemagicmemories]

Never have a conflict between what the listing is for and what the picture shows.  You are setting yourself up for just this situation.  

And there is nothing to "warn" anyone about regarding this buyer.  She might, however, feel otherwise about you.  "Showed full doll but I only received head, arms and legs.  Misleading, deceptive."

Be thankful she hasn't left feedback.  

You did a great job with communication and I commend your offer to help through your community outreach.  You are very caring.  Don't take the communication comment so hard.

[smileytown18]

Most sellers don't check buyer feedback, as we know they can only get positive. Besides most sellers have automated the process of giving feedback, buyers get positive as soon as they pay. So I'm not sure it would help

[emerald40]

What the buyer is getting should be explicitly shown in the photos.

No more, no less.

Sellers do this because the listing looks more enticing for the price they are paying.  And it usually results in a snad, as it should.

sellers tell buyers to look at photos carefully, so they need to be accurate.

[emerald40]

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@bdbq_reborn wrote:
btw
my verbose tirade was sure to distract from the actual issue

i want to understand what we as sellers owe each other regarding nuisance buyers and how to go about it

eBay is standing behind me and feels the customer has no refund coming to them.

Thank you for taking the time to advise on the matter

_________________________________________

The decision by paypal and the credit card company, I would put a wager on, will be entirely different. 

---

[emerald40]

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@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:

Hmm, I expected to see a trail of unreasonable negative feedback on your account. There is none. You are complaining because of a comment a customer service rep made? You want to warn other sellers about an unhappy buyer who did not leave you feedback? This is why sellers lost the privilege of leaving bad feedback for buyers.

For what it's worth I don't agree your listing is "clear" that it only includes part of the doll. The pictures and the title imply otherwise. People shop on their cellphones and go a lot by pictures and title. Neither of yours were "clear".

It is the seller's responsibility to make sure the listing is clear and easy to understand. I think you should rework yours.

---

He got off lucky.  And maybe buyers of these reborn dolls are a loyal bunch.

But in other categories, I bet he would have gotten negatives for this.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

They may not be loyal collectors. They may be realists and understand if they leave bad feedback for a seller, no matter if deserved, that they will hit the BBL of many other sellers in the niche.

Sometimes it's a matter of self-preservation.

[emerald40]

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@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:

They may not be loyal collectors. They may be realists and understand if they leave bad feedback for a seller, no matter if deserved, that they will hit the BBL of many other sellers in the niche.

Sometimes it's a matter of self-preservation.

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Yes, not all have the same talent.  Some of these reborn dolls look amazingly real.  To real imo.  I am not a fan.

But yes buyers do not want to bite the hand of any of them.

I do the same with the dime store collectibles and keychain puzzles.  The best come from a few sellers who all know each other.  You do not want to antagonize any of them.