They lied to you , eBay is making negative feedbacks disappear all the time from large sellers even when the negative feedback is warranted and dozens of buyers complain about the same issues time after time. Only have to follow sellers like justwine to see the negative feedbacks climbing above 10 one week then the following one dropping to 1 or 2 to bring them back to 100%   Over the years I've had at least a dozen negative feedbacks deleted, some as recent as this month when eBay even ended up having to do a partial refund because the seller lied about resending a missing box of wine after originally only sent 1 of the 2 boxes ordered then when asked for proof they provide the old tracking number as "evidence" they reshipped it.  I wouldn't worry too much about your feedback, most buyers would know that feedback is being manipulated and distorted by sellers and eBay. That's been the case ever since they stopped allowing negative feedbacks to be given to buyers years ago. 

Wait 12 months and the neg will be gone.  Problem solved

I don't judge it all on the seller's reply. I also look at what a buyer says.

This one just said

Ordered wall / ceiling mount, was delivered ceiling mount............

There was no mention of the need for any instructions, no mention of contacting seller, nothing. It is not coming across as a thorough description of what went wrong. I've seen much better.

It comes across to me as a person who could barely bother to spend the time writing detailed feedback & only got on to complain.

In contrast, the seller's reply at least starts with please and is in legible sentences. The first sentence directly addresses the issue-was the wrong unit sent?

Okay, so neither person will be up for for a Nobel prize in literature, but that's not the aim of feedback. The aim, surely, is to address the issues.

If a seller is aggressively rude in a reply, it might turn me off, but if they are just a bit snippy and I suspect they may have every right to be, then I'm okay with it. It may turn others off, but maybe if they are that nervy the seller would prefer they move on anyway.

Springyzone, what I found gave the wrong tone included that “please read” sentence. It implies that the buyer didn’t read the installation manual. If the buyer had read it, and still found that the unit wasn’t wall-mountable, that would truly irritate and upset the buyer. If the buyer had read it but the instructions were not clear, still irritating. If the buyer didn’t read the instruction manual, it’s more tactful to mention the manual/instructions in a neutral way without making the buyer feel defensive (in my view).

The way in which it was phrased definitely assumed that the buyer hadn’t read the manual, and it included an exclamation mark to punctuate that point. The assumption might be correct… but chiding the customer is only going to get their back up (right or wrong).

In my view, the feedback comment is far too long - and it just draws attention to the negative.

That’s how it strikes me, at any rate.

As we can’t see who the buyer is (and the OP can’t tell us), and obviously we can’t see the feedback that they give others, it’s not possible for us to put the buyer’s neg in context with their overall buying behaviour. Mind you, assuming the seller is correct in describing that pattern, I can understand the seller being extremely fed up with and irritated by what could well be a completely unjustified negative.

I don't think the seller's reply is too bad, overall.  In context. Yes, it does wander into what I would call off track territory, in that at the end it goes on a bit about how their feedback score has been affected and so on.

But it is polite enough. It doesn't go calling the buyer names, it isn't abusive. 

It is most definitely a good thing the seller replied to the neg (in my opinion) because that first sentence is bang on & addresses what future buyers need to know. That there is a manual with illustrations & instructions and the item is definitely wall mountable.

I think the second sentence is fine too.

The third sentence addresses the fact that as a seller, they are willing to resolve issues if contacted. Not a bad thing.

Final sentence, unnecessary waste of words.

But emergency lighting, don't fret too much about your reply as I don't think it will turn most buyers off. It could have been better but it is not a disaster, put it that way. As someone else said, if you ever have to reply to another neg, take time to calm down and think out exactly what information future buyers need from it, to decide for themselves that that neg was unjustified.

OP, the reply you actually gave in feedback makes you sound obsessed by your feedback score and rather petulant. You appear to be lecturing the buyer. It also highlights the negative which the buyer gave, making it far more prominent.

Based on your feedback response, some buyers may not buy from you.

You’d have done better to say nothing at all. Best action would have been a short measured reply as I suggested. The bleating “my precious feedback” reply you gave — well, too late now.

As for calling the buyer “malicious”, maybe they are. The feedback pattern you described makes the buyer sound neg-happy with a bit of a lead finger. It still doesn’t help if you reply in feedback as you have. Buyers don’t want to know your drama. 

The best you can do now is learn from this, sell well, and the neg will slide down over time.

I got a neg a few years ago. Yes, they hurt, but it's not the end of the world. I sold a gemstone, that to the naked eye, looked fantastic and pristine. The buyer put it under magnification and there were very fine surface scratches. I never thought to look at it under a microscope, it was a two off item. When I looked at the second one under magnification, it showed fine scratches not visible to the naked eye. Instead of contacting me, the buyer left a neg. 

I issued a full refund when I checked the second item. I also replied to their neg, apologising, and taking full responsibility (we had also been in touch via PM at that stage. The buyer was very happy with how I handled things). It didn't affect my sales one bit, because any buyer that checked, could see that I took responsibility for the mistake of me not checking carefully the item that I listed (I didn't know it was a thing to check stones under a microscope!). 

I have bought many things from sellers with negs. The ones I avoid, are the sellers that abuse buyers in replies, called them scum, or scammers, or whatever. I want to know that if there is an issue with a purchase, the seller will handle it professionally, and I won't be called every name under the sun.

Your reply may or may not affect sales. Sadly, you can't change it. Always wait to reply, so you are replying professionally, and not full of emotion.

I'm with countess on this.

I am a buyer. I am not overly worried if a seller has a negative here and there.

It does not stop me from buying. Just about every seller I have bought from in the last year or so has not had a perfect record.

But yes, that neg is a concern, not because it is a neg as such but because it goes into detail and says the item is not wall mountable.

Now that IS information that a buyer will take note of. It could easily influence a buyer. It would me.

The way around this is for you to reply.

As countess said, a polite reply, making it VERY clear that this item is wall mountable and that you included instructions with the item and offered to send further instructions to this buyer should cover it.

It isn't always the neg that matters, it is how the seller responds that can influence a future buyer. This neg doesn't have to affect you one iota.

What you can't work it out yourself?

You can contact eBay and ask them to remove it & see what happens, However having 1 negative wouldn't really effect any sales, it would just effect the people who are there to are paranoid and probably going to leave feedback anyway.

The easiest way, would have been to explain to the buyer how to wall mount the unit, and then send them a request for FB revision.  Not sure you can do that since you have already  replied.

contact ebay they should remove it.

As a buyer, I can tell you that a single negative is not at all a bar to purchasing. What’s more important is how you respond to that feedback.

A short carefully written response to the feedback, something like “We’re so sorry you are unhappy with this item. As explained in the accompanying instructions, this is indeed wall-mountable. As also communicated, you are welcome to return the item for full refund” — it would not only make the negative look ridiculous, but would also make the extra point that you are an extremely reasonable seller, that you will address issues, and that the item in question does have instructions.

If eBay doesn’t remove the feedback, it’s not likely to affect your sales negatively.

I would be more concerned with your use of "private listings" ,  which was only intended for high priced items or those of a sensitive nature, than a single neg.

I would not worry too much about your feedback unless you are a low volume seller and it brings your feedback to below 98%. Many buyers come to the forums with purchase issues and when pointed out how bad the sellers feedback is most say they did not notice when buying.

try here:

Request to remove Feedback (ebay.com.au)