Feedback Extortion

[gummybearsales]

I bought a photocard from a seller. Because shipping was fast and the item came as described BUT they did not package it safely, I left a neutral review; based off of the description, I expected it to be sent with more protection. The seller then contacted me, and after I explained why I left a neutral review, they offered to give me a refund in return of me taking down my feedback. I politely declined, and after that they left a childish review on my account, saying "❌AVOID AT ALL COSTS🚫LAME EXPECTATION FOR A $1.99 PC DELIVER PERFECT CONDITION". They also responded to my feedback on their account with "PSYCHOTIC LIAR! NOT 2 PIECES OF PAPER -IF YOU'RE GOING TO HATE MAKE IT SEEM REAL".

I have already reported them for feedback extortion, but ebay has not done anything or contacted me back. I use this account to sell items as well, and I do not want buyers to see that review and avoid buying from me because of it. What else can I do while waiting to hear back from ebay?

[soh.maryl]

Forget the feedback extortion issue:  You need to contact eBay to get that feedback removed.  Sellers are NOT allowed to ever leave negative feedback for buyers and that includes a positive feedback with negative wording.

You get that removed and the seller gets a defect.  (You didn't know that?) 

[golfingaddict]

How did you expect the seller to ship your item?  You were charged .99.  

As a seller, you must have a general idea of what shipping costs for anything more than a plain envelope and stamp?

And just curious.  Did you see anything in that listing that made you think twice?   

Think about everything you did in this transaction from purchase, communication to feedback. 

Would you be ok with a buyer leaving you neutral feedback because they "felt" or "thought" or "imagined" that you would do things their way?  Just wondering....

Just contact support and ask them to remove the follow up that the seller left on your feedback.  The seller appears to be a bit of a control freak or hothead.. You might want to choose your sellers a bit more carefully next time.  Perhaps even ask them if they will ship in a box and whatever else you expect the to do for a $3.00 transaction.

[fab_finds4u]

@soh.maryl 

There are two types of feedback a seller can leave. One is feedback left for the buyer on the buyer's profile. That feedback can only be positive, a positive rating with a positive comment. 

The feedback left on their profile is removable. They should get a defect for that.

The other is a feedback reply to the comment left by the buyer on the seller's profile.  The seller's feedback reply does not have to be a positive comment.  eBay says while it might make the buyer uncomfortable the seller is allowed to clarify/defend the negative they received. The buyer would then have to last word and reply to their reply. I believe it would only be removable if it contained profanity.

[2015mhfashions]

For a total of $2.98 Inc shipping you invited a whole lot of problems, did it really deserve the feedback you left for that amount ? As another has pointed out you paid 99c for shipping, you state shipped between 2 pieces of paper, i assume you mean an envelope ?

That is not 2 pieces of paper, not how you maybe would have shipped it but nonetheless putting a card in an envelope for 99c seems reasonable, if it was an envelope your feedback left has tried to make it sound even more extreme, all for 99c.

You may learn as a buyer the feedback you leave can also say a lot more about you than it does the seller, many sellers now look at the feedback you leave to justify if they want to deal with you.

[southern*sweet*tea]

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. My PWE account thanks you, too.

[lamber9347]

@gummybearsales - When I read your post I felt a certain way, but after looking at your own responses to the FB, plus another neutral you left, I have changed my opinion. And that is precisely the reasoning behind leaving FB. 

FB is both a reflection on the seller AND on the buyer. You are new on eBay so you don't have much experience with the process. Sellers can only leave positive FB so you can easily get that removed and the seller will receive a ding for that. However they are allowed to leave their own reply to your comment.

When you as a buyer make offers to sellers, they will review your prior FB left for others as a way of seeing if you are someone they want to do business with. Because you have left such few reviews and already two are neutrals, you will end up being the person who loses more often, as you will turn off other potential sellers to any offers you make to them. So you end up losing more than the seller. As a buyer, I would hesitate to purchase from you because if there were any issues with the item, I would expect you to be a difficult seller to deal with, based on how your responded in your reviews. 

A neutral doesn't count against a seller's FB ratings. A neutral is pretty much that, a neutral comment. From the two neutrals you've left for others, you do come across as overly critical and that is a major turn off for any seller on here. So you are really only harming your own self by leaving those types of comments and not the seller. Not to say that you WERE trying to hurt those sellers, but that how it LOOKS. The implication is there based on your own comments in those neutrals. 

As you are also now a seller, you also should consider the implications for your own FB when buyers look at it. You are inadvertently coming across as overly picky, perhaps too critical and fussy to deal with. I don't mean any offense and please don't take this wrongly. I am only trying to point out how you could be perceived to a stranger online based on what you are writing in your reviews. There is also bad karma that you are inadvertently putting out in the Universe, which can come back to haunt you as a seller. Perhaps you should take a few steps back and give this more thought moving forward. Best of luck to you....