topic Re: Negative feedback in Selling

Negative feedback

mick4116 — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 02:27:23 GMT

I can guess that this is a topic that has been spoken about before so i apologize in advance if it has been posted before.

My issue is that i started selling quite a bit over the last 2 years, i have 1700 positives, but in the last 6 months i have had 2 negatives which are really unwarranted, i have sent feedback revision requests but no answer, contacted ebay i think i just got a very unhelpful automated response, i really think these Negatives should be looked at.

the first Negative i got was from a buyer who bought the mask soundtrack, he put a coment in saying jim carey has a nice singing voice along with a negative, how that makes sense i dont know, sent him feedback revision, and nothing no response

The other one i put it in my adds that if there is a problem with any of my items please contact me and i will resolve it, that didnt happen just left negative without any communication to me at all. As most sellers know negatives are not good to have, i would accept negative feedback if there was a valid reasons for it but both these times to me are unjustified. and having 1700 positives in 1 year proves that. The other thing is negative feedback is somewhat damaging to a seller as buyers do look at negative feedback

I really would like to get a human rep from ebay to look at these i cant find anything, so any help as to where to look would be greatly appreciated

thanks in advancde

Re: Negative feedback

twyngwyn — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 02:34:07 GMT

Buyer once left me a red dot because they didn't like the ending to a novel.....so I had it removed

Replying to Feedback you received for an item you sold | eBay

Re: Negative feedback

mick4116 — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 02:47:08 GMT

Did you have the feedback removed and how did you do it

Re: Negative feedback

countessalmirena — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 02:54:12 GMT

Don’t be too worried; the majority of sellers really don’t let themselves be put off by the occasional neg.

A short factual reply to a negative can actually be better than no negatives at all. For example, to the feedback for The Mask soundtrack, something like “While we’re unsure why you gave a red dot, we are glad that you like Jim Carey’s singing voice” would almost certainly reassure a potential buyer .

Re: Negative feedback

kopenhagen5 — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 03:03:28 GMT

I remember it being discussed some time ago that buyers leaving feedback using a mobile phone would sometimes accidentally touch the red dot as they are very close together.

Doesn't help the seller of course, especially if the buyer doesn't know what a feedback revision request is.

As mentioned, most buyers wouldn't be turned away from an occasional neg with a positive comment.

And if you have a good turnover, they disappear from the first page very quickly anyway.

Re: Negative feedback

twyngwyn — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 04:07:33 GMT

Request assistance (ebay.com.au)

Re: Negative feedback

springyzone — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 20:24:55 GMT

I'm a buyer these days. Used to sell several years ago, so I like to think I can see a bit of both sides, if that helps.

I always look at the neutrals as well as the negs.

And the seller's replies, if any.

A few negs don't necessarily put me off buying & I don't think they will put most buyers off as some never look at the feedback in detail anyway. They would see your feedback score in the thousands and at 99.8% if they even look that far and just buy! So don't be overly worried.

I think if you contact ebay chat, you could have a good chance of having that second neg removed. It's a positive sentiment, a sort of strange one, mind you, as no other buyer cares what he thinks of Jim's singing voice. We would only want to know how the transaction went and if the CD was in good condition, as advertised.

The first neg I think you are stuck with.

Here's how I as a buyer would sum it up after reading all 5 comments. (remembering that if feedback is ridiculous, most buyers can notice that too)

1. You are responsive and would prefer to be contacted if there is a problem.

2. 3 out of the 5 neutrals & negs are undeserved and/or a bit strange. That second neg plus those first 2 neutrals.

3. One neg and one neutral state the CDs weren't in as advertised condition, they give some detail and are (from my viewpoint as a buyer) believable. The fact a CD is spotless or looks like new doesn't mean it is working well. In my mind, I'd be asking if you actually tested it. Telling a buyer they will now get no refund is risky business too as I see they bought in the last month. If a seller challenged me like that, I'd open a claim with ebay for a refund. And I am betting I would win. You would have done better to tell them to contact you so you can rectify any problems.

So on the whole, I think the neutrals & negs won't have much effect on you, they will drop off, you may be able to get one neg removed and I believe you are an overall good seller. Do I think that having 1700 positives in a year means there can be no mistakes on the seller's part though? No.

Re: Negative feedback

sugar249 — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 06:21:12 GMT

I would be more worried about you Neutral in regards to KC and the sunshine band. Your response to a badly scratched CD was that they should have contacted you. Better would have been not to send it in the first place.

The way you handle bad feedback is more important then the feedback itself.

Re: Negative feedback

cft207 — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 22:46:22 GMT

The recent handling of feedback has me shutting accounts after 20+ years of ebay..importing containers, selling gold bullion...you name it , but they've gone too far - not viable to pay so much and have so little seller protection.

For me - approx 6 weeks ago I bought something on ebay after confirming with seller it was right part for job. Foolishly I asked via one ebay account and then bought with an alternate, given I had gift certificate.

In short seller lied to get the sale and ebay shut my return case with approx 1 hour, and then (after I'd chatted with them and confirmed I could leave neg for seller ), removed my neg feeback within MINUTES.
I have transcripts from ebay apologising and saying it should never have been removed, and that is was THEIR HUMAN ERROR>

Just received first NEG two days ago, after many years and over 7 active selling accounts

Buyer bought 12th Dec, I posted 12DEC, and it had ETA of 18-28DEc...sending from rural NSW to outside of Darwin NT over Christmas and holiday period.
Silly little $5 net profit item sending , as per buyers choice, by untracked Aus Post letter service.

Buyer leaves neg on 27th , and within the neg lies about me not answering his emails - two received 27th and both politely answered 27th.

First contact to ebay has transcript stating they'll remove the neg - Never did...subsequent contact is basically - go away , you get no help.

My buyer has left 3 neg feedback for his last 3 purchases from diff sellers, with MANY neg's all over his feedback history pages.

My choice is to leave ebay with their non-paying idiots, and for those sellers who do pay them I recommend leaving.

Sooner or later someone has to realise that their poorly trained Philippine "support" staff have very little idea of how to conduct business.

It's just not worth the whinging anymore as they've absolutely lost to plot.

gumtree & marketplace - zero fees and next to zero support
ebay - 16% fees and psuedo support that they only do for legal reasons, and which simply frustrates those seeking help anyway

pretty easy choice

Re: Negative feedback

cft207 — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 22:54:52 GMT

HAHA ...request assistance from ebay AHAHA

best oxymoron of the day

ha...lol

ha ha

you must have time to burn, and peace of mind to forfeit.

I've dealt with straight out lying thieves on ebay (literally, stole the goods ) , and yet ebay then , without giving direct help & also understanding the situation, say "we understand, we advise you to kindly ask the buyer (aka thief) to comply with ebay policies "

I recall though they were very diff once I received a couple of thousand dollars for an ounce of gold, with delivery address a room above a pub in England.
I had the cleared payment and was about to send but they found a telephone very quickly that time, called and spoke all chummy and lovely...best biz partner kind of deal. Buyer paid with a stolen credit card but due to routing ebay would have had to pay back, not me.

ebay has consistently lowered their standard sand is fast becoming a lame duck site , good only for buying very cheap garbage from China, that you may receive, or may just get a false tracking number and have to spend TIME to redeem your few bucks over months.

que ?

Let's go kneel before a crim and ask for mercy yeah

Re: Negative feedback

cft207 — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 22:59:31 GMT

I just read the neg comment you received :

"Jim Carrey has a good singing voice"

That's absurd !

If you asked ebay to remove that and they didn't , well, that would be evidence ebay is a flawed platform.
The neg alone is a public action detrimental to your business endeavours, yet the comment is meaningly.

Re: Negative feedback

springyzone — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 23:15:35 GMT

I'm hearing you. A few months back I had a neg removed too. One where I was factual, not nasty and didn't mention any ebay claims etc

I asked an ebay rep why and got no real response.

Just that not to worry, the negs are kept on record by ebay, even if they don't show online.

You'd think if ebay admit to the error though, they would fix it.

As for the negs you received, it can be easy to see sometimes that buyers have been unreasonable. It won't necessarily affect your future sales, though I know an underserved neg would be annoying.

My view is there are so many unreasonable and strange people in this world, it is a miracle if you can go for years without a neg here and there.

Many buyers will overlook a ridiculous neg. How you respond to it is vital as if you come across as a reasonable person dealing with an unreasonable one, you're fine.

Marketplace though is booming, I have to admit. More crazies there though than on ebay. People who ask if something is available and then you never hear from them again. Some sellers (this is true, happened to me recently!) who don't even know how much they were asking for a thing.

But at least you're not paying commission.

Re: Negative feedback

cft207 — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 00:52:27 GMT

regarding the human error and removal of feedback - ebay staff repeatedly state once they remove a feedback they have no way to reinstate it , or enable new feedback to be left. Great system huh ....easily done if they wanted to but they choose not to.

Same old : "we'll report that " or "I'll notify the OTHER TEAM to look into it" , AKA Hi, I understand, go away.

The pain more so lies in the illogical support and the fact they actually think they're helping.

I agree though, there's always issues when dealing with a multitude of people, that's life. I do however find it hugely insulting to have to abide by ebay 'policies', which they think is above and beyond actual regional laws in regard to conduction business, pay for that in commissions, only to be insulted again when seeking assistance from poorly trained staff who cannot , or choose not to, think for themselves according to fact, logic, and evidence.

Can only be told "I understand" so many times , especially when in same paragraph in which they admit mistake, and also say they're doing nothing about it.

ebay has gotten away with so much over the years, and continue to push the envelope of their own business greed.
An example : How many times have people bought an item listed 'available & sent from within Australia', yet wait weeks to receive the item from China ?
Often those sellers have many thousands of sales, and I have NEVER , not once, seen one of those sellers blocked or forced to change the listing about where item is sent from - That practice has continued for so long members just know that's the way it is. No doubt that issue could be stopped or reduced, but they don't ....$$$$

eBay fail to follow or enforce their own policies when it suits them yet copy and paste policy in your face repeatedly when trying to seek assistance that may take a tad of common sense, or thought.

I am right now in process of moving 46 listings of value approx AUD $13000-14000 to other sales site...VERY time consuming.

Best leave a flawed system to its own demise rather than die a slow death with it.

I'll vote with my typing fingers for a while transferring listings and give them two more fingers on my way out the door as they are in no way a loyal and mutually beneficial business partner - haven't been for a few years before they instigated their managed payment system. I noticed differences soon after they sold Paypal , and also when australian phone support lost ability to do anything but redirect/deflect issues.

Re: Negative feedback

sugar249 — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 04:13:22 GMT

@cft207 wrote:

Just received first NEG two days ago, after many years and over 7 active selling accounts
Buyer bought 12th Dec, I posted 12DEC, and it had ETA of 18-28DEc...sending from rural NSW to outside of Darwin NT over Christmas and holiday period.
Silly little $5 net profit item sending , as per buyers choice, by untracked Aus Post letter service.

Buyer leaves neg on 27th , and within the neg lies about me not answering his emails - two received 27th and both politely answered 27th.

Why would you send something untracked, even a $5 item, If they don't want to pay for tracking, I don't want to deal with them. ,

Re: Negative feedback

davewil1964 — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 07:10:52 GMT

Many of us real sellers send things untracked. It depends on value, and the profit with tracking vs the profit without. And the likelihood of copping an INR.

Works for me - out of several thousand I've had a handful I've had to repay. A maximum of $80. Versus the cost of tracking (which comes out of my pocket, as I price my items according to the competition), which would be several thousand dollars.

It's known as risk management. You lose the occasional one, but you're in front overall.

Re: Negative feedback

sugar249 — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 13:02:59 GMT

@davewil1964 wrote:
Many of us real sellers send things untracked. It depends on value, and the profit with tracking vs the profit without. And the likelihood of copping an INR.

Works for me - out of several thousand I've had a handful I've had to repay. A maximum of $80. Versus the cost of tracking (which comes out of my pocket, as I price my items according to the competition), which would be several thousand dollars.

It's known as risk management. You lose the occasional one, but you're in front overall.

Just to clarify I am a real seller, not sure why you think I am not.

But besides that, glad you are happy to take the risk management approach, my approach it is not happening on my shift. The hassle of having to refund or resend an item, just isnt worth my time or effort or dollars.

The INR rate for untracked compared to tracked is significantly higher, I think some will know how I know this.

Re: Negative feedback

springyzone — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 22:17:19 GMT

ebay has gotten away with so much over the years, and continue to push the envelope of their own business greed.
An example : How many times have people bought an item listed 'available & sent from within Australia', yet wait weeks to receive the item from China ?
Often those sellers have many thousands of sales, and I have NEVER , not once, seen one of those sellers blocked or forced to change the listing about where item is sent from - That practice has continued for so long members just know that's the way it is. No doubt that issue could be stopped or reduced, but they don't ....$$$$

eBay fail to follow or enforce their own policies when it suits them yet copy and paste policy in your face repeatedly

One thing I have read of repeatedly here on the boards, & also noticed for myself, is how automated ebay is. A lot of the time, you get a Bot reply instead of something that actually addresses the issues. This is especially so in emails or messages. I am guessing this is a cost saving measure, although occasionally people do get good results from ebay chat.

The issue you mentioned with Chinese sellers listing here and sending items that take weeks to arrive. I agree, it is an ongoing problem and one I believe that could have a relatively easy fix. Ebay should just show seller location on the original ad page, along with item location.

It isn't that it is hard to look up seller registration, but a lot of buyers would never think to do it or may not know how to do it. They assume item location is seller location.

I do think buyers though need to look carefully at estimated arrival dates. If something is listed as being in a capital city and it is going to take weeks and weeks to arrive, that should be a red flag.

And if an item does not arrive on time, then I think buyers should not mess around, just open an ebay claim and follow through till they get a refund.

Good luck with your business enterprises. I no longer sell on ebay, haven't for years, but I gather that one of the reasons a lot of sellers stick with it is that it has a wider buyer base and a more streamlined system of sales/payments etc

It would be interesting if you could come back here in a few weeks and let us know how you are getting on on the other sites and if you have any tips.

Re: Negative feedback

brickworksmarket — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 23:46:25 GMT

I agree and would rather send everything tracked . But there are times I get stuck with low value items that owe me nothing and I will use untracked to make some extra money. There's likely items that attract higher claim rates than others and I have been lucky to not come across any as of yet.

Re: Negative feedback

sugar249 — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:30:25 GMT

@brickworksmarket wrote:
I agree and would rather send everything tracked . But there are times I get stuck with low value items that owe me nothing and I will use untracked to make some extra money. There's likely items that attract higher claim rates than others and I have been lucky to not come across any as of yet.

You also run the risk of some ???? leaving you negative feedback, so is it worth it for a low value item, even if it owes you nothing. Repostage will suddenly make it a loss item.

Re: Negative feedback

davewil1964 — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 07:36:03 GMT

Like I said a handful in 15 years. Works for me. Maybe book buyers are more honest than the general population.