Feedback aint what it used to be

[missbelz15]

I just bought an item which was the wrong one and got dreadful service trying to replace it which is still yet to happen so, quite reasonably I thought , I left negative feedback for the company .  It was posted when I wrote it but has since vanished . Is this common now that if you don't like the feedback you are given you just ask eBay to delete it?

[digital*ghost]

Just for the sake of posterity and not meant to be taken in offence or defence of anyone in particular. 

Feedback extortion is demanding something from the seller that a buyer is not entitled to, and either threatening to leave bad feedback if it is not provided, or - having already left bad feedback - promising to revise it to a positive after it has been provided.

This is very explicitly stated by eBay - their own example of something that is not FB extortion, is "if my item doesn't arrive by tomorrow, I will be leaving negative feedback" (may not be verbatim). It's a bad thing to send to a seller in almost any context, and most buyers would be blocked for doing so, but it is not extortion by eBay standards. 

Extortion would be saying bad FB will be left unless the seller does or provides something above and beyond what their listing and eBay's policies oblige them to - eg asking for a free item or free post, a partial  and / or full refund without returning the item, regardless of whether it's faulty etc, stuff like that.

In other words, threatening to leave a negative does not = automatic FB extortion, though eBay CS can sometimes be pretty vulnerable to the Socratic method when it comes to negotiations, should one have at least the facade of a logical conclusion to lead them to. 

I'm not going to get into the minutiae of this particular scenario, there may have been something in the comment or messages that qualified the comment for removal, there may not have been, all I know is that there is not enough info in this thread to presume it was definitely something the buyer did or said wrong and they are to blame for the disappearance - eBay has a very long and storied history of removing warranted FB, nearly as much as they have of refusing to remove unwarranted FB (there was a particular tool company frequently mentioned here some years ago, that always seemed to have the bulk of their neg FB disappear, though they still couldn't maintain a percentage over 99% - it has been going on for years). 

It's actually ok to blame eBay for stuff, instead of defaulting to wondering what a member did wrong. 

[sugar249]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

In other words, threatening to leave a negative does not = automatic FB extortion, though eBay CS can sometimes be pretty vulnerable to the Socratic method when it comes to negotiations, should one have at least the facade of a logical conclusion to lead them to. 

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True,  but we don't know how the threat was written, or what was in the feedback itself.  And based on some of the things said by the OP in her responses, we can only assume it was not measured, but rather emotive and over the top

[digital*ghost]

O

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@sugar249 wrote:

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True,  but we don't know how the threat was written, or what was in the feedback itself.  And based on some of the things said by the OP in her responses, we can only assume it was not measured, but rather emotive and over the top

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No, we can't. That was my point. 

I'm not keen on talking about the OP as if they're not participating in the thread, but will do so anyway - they are clearly in defensive mode at this stage of the thread, so this thread in and of itself is not necessarily a good indication of how communication transpired with the seller.

They did say the seller did not reply to their messages until after FB was left, so there may well have been some frustration in not receiving a response, but again ebay's own example of FB extortion shows that angry and even unreasonable threats of bad FB (which is what would I consider a message like their example to be) are not enough in and of themselves to count as extortion - there has to be a demand for something the buyer isn't entitled to and the OP hasn't indicated there was.

[sugar249]

Just out of interest I looked at the other posts from this OP, on top of some of the responses here , I think they give a good indication of how the communication would have transpired, 

[digital*ghost]

Maybe they do, maybe they don't. I know the way I communicate here is a bit different to how I communicate in a more professional setting (which I tend to consider messages between buyer and seller to be, regardless of which one I am), but I know others communicate the same way no matter the context - I tend to default to formal language regardless, but I'm a little more indulgent in my id here than I am communicating with people I have a transaction with, so - rightly or wrongly - I tend to expect a few others are as well. 😅

Thing is I'm not trying to categorically rule out there could have been something in the communication or feedback that qualified the FB for removal, just mention that there's not enough info (for me) to categorically rule out eBay being inconsistent in how they handle FB removal requests, since sellers who have received near-identical negs to ones I've had removed had their requests refused, and it is not unheard of for them to remove negs that didn't breach any policies or otherwise qualify for removal by listed criteria. 

Or TL;DR - I guess I just didn't like the persistent assertion it was FB extortion when there was no real evidence for it. 😅

[missbelz15]

Thank you

[e_purchasing]

I am actually appalled at some of the actions and/or advice given on this thread.

Aussie sellers in the whole will take ownership of issues/problems that have stemmed from them and will take the steps to rectify as long as they are at fault or have control of the matter.

Opening disputes , leaving negatives should be the last step. Communication and friendly communication should always be the first step.

if you buy something from a physical shop and there is a problem, you take it back and communicate with someone, who in turn rectifies it. You don't go lodging disputes in civil claims or picketing in front of the store.

Treat sellers fairly and with respect, 99% of them will do the same for you.

If I was a seller and read this thread, I would block every one that mentioned opening dispute without first communicating to get a resolution and I would also block the OP as they come across as someone having a big stick and wanting to wield it constantly.

[sugar249]

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@e_purchasing wrote:

If I was a seller and read this thread, I would block every one that mentioned opening dispute without first communicating to get a resolution and I would also block the OP as they come across as someone having a big stick and wanting to wield it constantly.

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I definitely agree with blocking the OP, serious issues there.  

But strongly disagree with your comment re those who mentioned raising a dispute without trying to communicate first.   The OP mentioned that she sent several messages without result, maybe you hadnt bothered to fully read her comments, although all over the place, she did claim to do that,  the next steps in the Ebay process is to raise a dispute,  that is the method suggested by Ebay themselves.

[missbelz15]

Meanwhile this terrible OP is still waiting for a refund on this item which was paid for nearly a month ago and sent back to the seller 9 days ago but  I'm guessing "That serves her right " is the appropriate response from this  "Community"  in relation to this outcome.

[padi*0409]

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@missbelz15 wrote:

Meanwhile this terrible OP is still waiting for a refund on this item which was paid for nearly a month ago and sent back to the seller 9 days ago but  I'm guessing "That serves her right " is the appropriate response from this  "Community"  in relation to this outcome.

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You sent it back 9 days ago, the seller probably hasn't received it back yet once they receive it that's when they are supposed to refund you (within 3 days anyway).

What does the tracking say, has it been delivered yet ?

https://www.ebay.com.au/help/buying/returns-refunds/return-item-refund?id=4041

To make it easy for you, here's the relevant section :-