Why is one customer's negative feedback - refund offered not taken! - allowed to damage me?

[bayet]

I've had a rating of 100% for a long time. But one customer who decided to inflict damage on me rather than accept the refund I offered has dragged me down from 100% to 99.1%. Secondly, there seems to be no improvement in this rating after more than six months. In fact it oscillates back down from 99.2 to 99.1 even though I continue to receive nothing but positive feedback.

[kopenhagen5]

The oscillation effect is because feedback percentage is taken over the last 12 months.

New pos feedback will lift your percentage and as the old ones (more than 12 months) drop away, that will reduce your percentage.

Your neg is on page 3 and you will return to 100% once that becomes 12 months old.

Doubt it effects your sales. Most buyers don't look past page one and with the reply you left, most would give you benefit of doubt.

[chris.pouch]

If you did the right thing by the buyer, perhaps eBay will retract the negative feedback. I would give them a call. I wish you well.

[kopenhagen5]

Chris, trans is more then 6 months old.

Unsure why OP is questioning now, perhaps more for the oscillating effect of feedback percentage.

[chris.pouch]

Oh.  Never mind then.

[typhoon4u]

To answer your question!

Your percentage has not improved because you have not sold very much.

After 12 months the neg will disapear and you will be back to 100%.

I really do not think this is hurting you. 

Focus on positively selling and not that ramdom "spot".

[springyzone]

kopes said:

Doubt it effects your sales. Most buyers don't look past page one and with the reply you left, most would give you benefit of doubt.

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I think you're right and that neg would not be affecting sales, but I would say any potential buyer who goes as far as to check the feedback in detail does not necessarily scroll through the pages. They would do what I do, look at the summary and click on the neg number for the last 12 months, then the neutrals.

But from what I have seen, just about every seller who has been around a while will have a few negs and neutrals, it is almost a miracle if you can avoid them. As long as overall, the seller seems reasonable and reliable, I think most buyers will still buy.

I know I personally give the benefit of the doubt in a lot of cases when I see negs and in others, I feel angry on behalf of the seller because you can see some buyers should not be let loose on ebay. Or probably anywhere else for that matter.