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?

[springyzone]

The buyer was sent the wrong item.

She then sent several messages to the seller who ignored her. Till after she left negative feedback.

Personally, if that happened to me, I'd be opening a dispute and I don't think of myself as an unreasonable buyer.

Aussie sellers might, 'on the whole' take ownership and try to rectify problems but it sure doesn't sound as if that seller was one of them.

The ebay dispute mechanism is there for a reason and the reason is sometimes it's the only way to get any result.

[missbelz15]

Yes perhaps I should have gone to eBay dispute after several messages were ignored but I was aware it is quite some time before you can even get eBay to start acting .

Instead I forewarned the seller they were likely to get negative feedback from me which the seller still ignored and didn't start replying until after I had actually left the feedback .

Once he did reply I told him if he kept his promise to replace the item then if he sent me the link I would remove the negative feedback .

He originally promised to send out the replacement item as soon as the return postal label was activated but didn't . He then changed his mind and was prepared to act only after receiving the returned item and also lied again about not being advised of the return item being sent .

One of his repeated lies  included how he had tried to phone me  several times . Seeing as I never gave him my phone number that would have been somewhat unlikely.

In the end I decided to ask for a refund instead of replacement as I decided every time i used the item i would be reminded of the unpleasantness attached to it.

He has now received the item and has apparently issued a refund which I expect to get reasonably soon.

Frankly I  still don't feel I behaved unreasonably under the circumstances despite the contrary opinion of many in this forum . 

[digital*ghost]

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@missbelz15 wrote:

One of his repeated lies  included how he had tried to phone me  several times . Seeing as I never gave him my phone number that would have been somewhat unlikely.

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The phone number registered with eBay is provided to sellers via the order (that is, one only has to click "view order" from their eBay sold list, and the phone number will be there. I think about 1% of of my orders don't have it). That isn't to say I think the seller tried to call, just that he likely has a number (even if it's an old number, any seller making an effort to contact would have replied to a message no matter what, IMHO).

It may have been the wording of the message where you advised a neg would left in conjunction for asking for a replacement, that caused ebay to agree to FB removal - in context, no, this is absolutely not FB extortion, but it's easy to skew context to someone else if things aren't worded 100% perfectly. (For example, while you are  entitled to a remedy in this situation and a replacement can absolutely be one of the things a seller can provide, if that message has any potential to be interpreted as asking for the replacement without sending the original back, that's all it would have taken to get an ebay rep to agree it was extortion, despite the seller's clear lack of anything resembling customer service at that point).

If there's any lesson here, JMHO it is to never threaten to leave bad FB for a seller in any message (or offer to revise what's already been left if they do something) - the good sellers are not only aware of every buyer's ability to do this, but it hurts your cause more than helps it with them, as it will immediately sour relations. The bad sellers don't care, or will find a way to use that threat to their advantage. 

[sugar249 · Accepted solution]

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@missbelz15 wrote:

He originally promised to send out the replacement item as soon as the return postal label was activated but didn't . He then changed his mind and was prepared to act only after receiving the returned item and also lied again about not being advised of the return item being sent .

One of his repeated lies  included how he had tried to phone me  several times . Seeing as I never gave him my phone number that would have been somewhat unlikely.

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As per digi, 99.9% of my invoices show the buyers telephone number.

If I feel a buyer is bothersome or just the slightest bit dodgy, I insist on a return, before either sending a refund or replacement. 

You will be surprised at the the number who when asked to return an item, suddenly say no it's all good I'll keep it, and you never hear from them again.  I wonder why?

[missbelz15]

I understand that I was wrong about his not having my phone number .. but it's not too relevant as he didn't ever try and ring any more than emailed me as he lied about doing .

The implication that he did the right thing in not refunding me until he received the item despite promising to act as soon as he was advised by the PO it had been posted more than a little insulting .

[padi*0409]

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@missbelz15 wrote:

The implication that he did the right thing in not refunding me until he received the item despite promising to act as soon as he was advised by the PO it had been posted more than a little insulting .

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As I earlier pointed out the seller is just doing as eBay directs them to do. The problem with them posting as soon as a tracking event has occurred is that firstly there is no indication of what is in the parcel and secondly that the parcel could be being sent to an address other than the sellers. 

I'm in no way suggesting that you've done either of those things, but it has happened in the past to sellers.

[missbelz15]

Maybe I am oversensitive but I don't much like being treated as a crook or even a liar regardless of what others might do and my point was that the seller , wisely or unwisely , did promise to act as soon as he was advised his return postage label , addressed to him and him only, was activated.

I would have thought perhaps my 1023 , 100% feedback rating might indicate I am neither of those ...but hey , as I suggested at the start of this discussion perhaps " Feedback ain't what it used to be"

[digital*ghost]

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@missbelz15 wrote:

Maybe I am oversensitive but I don't much like being treated as a crook or even a liar regardless of what others might do and my point was that the seller , wisely or unwisely , did promise to act as soon as he was advised his return postage label , addressed to him and him only, was activated.

I would have thought perhaps my 1023 , 100% feedback rating might indicate I am neither of those ...but hey , as I suggested at the start of this discussion perhaps " Feedback ain't what it used to be"

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Yeah, the seller definitely should have never promised that - even if they intended to do so, it's better to not advertise it to anyone as it's just an open invitation to be taken advantage of. If any charitability could be extended to the seller, maybe they did intend it, but was advised against it at some point. 

I don't think it's a case of "feedback ain't what it used to be", to be perfectly honest. it is more the case that "feedback never was the thing some people thought it was", because this system has always been imperfect, imbalanced and inconsistent, it can't be anything else because it is just a collection of subjective opinions, or in the case of buyer FB, a collection of purchase / payment acknowledgements. It's just that most people don't care if it advantages them, and / or don't notice until it affects them.

Case in point, high FB and 100% as a buyer is all but meaningless. I don't mean that in an insulting way, it's just that...you know...you can't get negative FB so you can't have less than 100%. It's not reflective of how trustworthy of a buyer anyone is, how reasonable they are, or anything remotely important to a seller. Anyone can be a jerk, even those who buy a lot. 

[missbelz15]

Yes you  are quite pretty right about feedback as a buyer because, as we both know,  eBay has, for reasons that elude  me , decided that dodgy buyers should be allowed to escape criticism .  Mind you if someone has 1000 or so positive comments it is unlikely they are too untrustworthy .

My experience in relation to trust is that people who are themselves trustworthy are inclined to believe others are the same and  those who don't seem to trust me or others are not likely to be themselves trustworthy.

On the subject of trust again maybe I am too demanding . I would have preferred the seller to simply say 'sorry for your inconvenience ,we will send the right one out straight away and we will send you a return post label which you can use to return the first one .'

However choosing to wait until I had used the return label was an acceptable second best . But then changing his mind mid stream and choosing to wait until i had actually returned the original one was made me decide to ask to a refund instead.

[sugar249]

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@missbelz15 wrote:

On the subject of trust again maybe I am too demanding . I would have preferred the seller to simply say 'sorry for your inconvenience ,we will send the right one out straight away and we will send you a return post label which you can use to return the first one .'

However choosing to wait until I had used the return label was an acceptable second best . But then changing his mind mid stream and choosing to wait until i had actually returned the original one was made me decide to ask to a refund instead.

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But that is not the process, why should I as a seller send you yet another item, just because you claim that there is a problem.

There is a well setup process by Ebay,  follow it.  If you aren't happy with that, leave Ebay.  99.9% of Bricks and Mortars places insist on you taking back a product, show proof of purchase, before they will give you a new product, refund or exchange.    Why do you think you should be treated any differently.