Hello John.
First, let me say I sympathize with your plight.
Enough to send a chill of fear up the back of anyone who has spent a lot of time and effort building an eBay business.
Luckily, my time on eBay is drawing to a close, would hate to be a new seller trying to build a business there these days..
I hope that your problem can be resolved and you can continue selling.
Here is a post by ebaysllr USA which may be of help to you and others.
I agree with most of the points they make, especially about taking a loss when you do not have an item that has sold.
This I have had to do a few times, and a few times I have been blackmailed into a lower price my disgruntled buyers, sometimes when it was not my fault. In nearly every case I have taken the loss, whilst trying to look at the bigger picture..
- Never cancel an order for out of stock. Do anything you can to avoid it. Example: I bought something at retail price and sent it to a guy when I accidentally ran out of stock on an item.
- Opt out of managed returns, and tell people in your listings to contact you via message for an easy hassle free return. With managed returns turned off you cannot get defects returns for NAD. If you don't say anything about returns, some buyers jump to the conclusion that you will drag your feet if they don't open a case.
- Take shipping seriously. Don't ever miss your handling deadline. Don't use parcel post. Offer one day shipping, and ship most of your items same day. Buyers are are sometimes willing to forgive other problems if their item arrives earlier then expected.
- If a case is opened in clear error, call eBay and have them remove the defect. I was able to get a defect for INR case when a dude opened it and received the item on its due date. I was able to get another removed when I guy opened a NAD and said in the message center he really just wanted a different size. American CSRs seem way more willing to do this then others, try again if they refuse you.
- Ban anyone who even looks like they may be trouble. If you are in a niche, ban all of your competitors. This one is something you should have been doing for awhile.
- Be super professional to people in messages. Always give the impression you willing to do anything that you can for your customer even if you hate them. Apologize profusely and take a loss if something goes wrong even if it is not your direct fault. Don't let the fear of a scammer prevent you from giving a possibly legit customer with a legit problem poor customer service.
- Quit bugging people to leave you feedback. Positive feedback is great, but all the requirements are based off of total transactions. If they don't leave you feedback you cannot get dinged for DSRs, but you still get the transaction count. Don't remind the people you may have potentially upset about the importance of good feedback.
- Under-describe your used items. List every noticeable defect and explain that there maybe other small signs of wear as well. Take clear photos, etc. People who are pleasantly surprised with the quality are more willing to forgive any other possible problem, as well are more likely to buy from you again.
Kind regards.
Richard.
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