topic Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back? in Selling

Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

beachbum00 — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 18:59:04 GMT

Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback so easlier. But as a seller you cant do the same?

Seller seems to have to jump throw lots of hoops to resolve this issue?

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

lyndal1838 — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 19:06:04 GMT

Did the buyer do anything wrong other than leave you bad feedback?

If not, why do you want to leave them bad feedback? If it is to "get even" with them then you have your answer. Too many sellers were leaving bad feedback for buyers who did not deserve it, so ebay took away the ability for them to do it.

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

normalane — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 21:52:42 GMT

And now far too many conniving buyers are leaving bad feedback for decent good sellers who don't deserve it

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

repentatleisure1952 — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 22:56:45 GMT

@beachbum00 wrote:
Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback so easlier. But as a seller you cant do the same?
Seller seems to have to jump throw lots of hoops to resolve this issue?

Hmmmm,have you looked at the buyers comment & do you have a genuine follow up comment ?

If the buyer is correct two weeks does seem an inordinately long time to reply. As for the damage I have no opinion on that.

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

lyndal1838 — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 02:19:01 GMT

@normalane wrote:
And now far too many conniving buyers are leaving bad feedback for decent good sellers who don't deserve it

True, but I just answered the OP's question as to why she as a seller could not neg a buyer.

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

modestbods — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 04:25:20 GMT

@beachbum00 wrote:

Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback so easlier. But as a seller you cant do the same?

Seller seems to have to jump throw lots of hoops to resolve this issue?

@lyndal1838 wrote:
Did the buyer do anything wrong other than leave you bad feedback?
If not, why do you want to leave them bad feedback? If it is to "get even" with them then you have your answer. Too many sellers were leaving bad feedback for buyers who did not deserve it, so ebay took away the ability for them to do it

@ tuckcase1989 wrote:

Hmmmm,have you looked at the buyers comment & do you have a genuine follow up comment ?

OP, no matter how agrieved you might feel, or how badly you may want to fire off a return salvo at the buyer involved, which you could do via leaving an angry follow up comment, you need to stop and consider something...

Other potential buyers that are deciding on whether or not to do business with you will see your follow up comment, and if you are nasty in it to another buyer they will very probably choose not to do business with you, to avoid the possibility of being treated in the same manner if they too were to have a problem with your goods/service.

I can tell you that this is indeed the case, as I myself check sellers feedback before I choose to buy from them, and I pay particular attention to how they deal with problems with buyers and how they reply to negative/neutral comments made via their follow up comments. Those that do seem to resolve issues and that leave polite or apologetic follow up comments I will buy from, those however that don't resolve issues or that leave angry/nasty follow up comments I will absolutely not buy from, especilly the ones that leave bad follow ups.

So for your own sake, you should consider only leaving a very polite & apologetic comment, if any. Ironically, such a comment would stand the best chance of making the buyer involved feel bad or guilty for the comment they left if it was in any way unfair (assuming they have a conscience), whereas if you leave a bad follow up comment, that would only reinforce in their mind that they were right to leave you a neutral/bad feedback comment.

Forget about retribution, as no good will come of it, concentrate instead on reassuring those other buyers you want to do business with in future.

Good luck.

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

modestbods — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 04:36:39 GMT

Btw OP, welcome to the eBay discussion boards.

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

k1ooo-slr-sales — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 22:18:32 GMT

modestbods wrote:

OP, no matter how agrieved you might feel, or how badly you may want to fire off a return salvo at the buyer involved, which you could do via leaving an angry follow up comment, you need to stop and consider something...

Other potential buyers that are deciding on whether or not to do business with you will see your follow up comment, and if you are nasty in it to another buyer they will very probably choose not to do business with you, to avoid the possibility of being treated in the same manner if they too were to have a problem with your goods/service.

I can tell you that this is indeed the case, as I myself check sellers feedback before I choose to buy from them, and I pay particular attention to how they deal with problems with buyers and how they reply to negative/neutral comments made via their follow up comments. Those that do seem to resolve issues and that leave polite or apologetic follow up comments I will buy from, those however that don't resolve issues or that leave angry/nasty follow up comments I will absolutely not buy from, especilly the ones that leave bad follow ups.

So for your own sake, you should consider only leaving a very polite & apologetic comment, if any. Ironically, such a comment would stand the best chance of making the buyer involved feel bad or guilty for the comment they left if it was in any way unfair (assuming they have a conscience), whereas if you leave a bad follow up comment, that would only reinforce in their mind that they were right to leave you a neutral/bad feedback comment.

Forget about retribution, as no good will come of it, concentrate instead on reassuring those other buyers you want to do business with in future.

Good luck.

Here is an example of a seller's replies to negatives that shows what modestbods was posting about. I will let you make a judgement about whether you would want to deal with them or not. If you had a problem with an item you bought from this seller would you feel comfortable that you could get a reasonable outcome from them? Would you buy from them after reading these comments?

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

sweetii8 — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 22:27:15 GMT

I have only just found these, very interesting reading.

I had one buyer who made no contact ( no reply to e-mails from me or from from Ebay after I had tried to cancel the sale). He then paid very late on the Friday night via Paypal (still no contact). When he finally did make contact he wanted a 3 hour window for pickup (still didn't arrive on time) even though he lived 25minutes away.

He then leaves neutral feedback with the comment 'Excellent trader lookforward to more purchases'.

One other left negative feedback after 2 months, citing 'quality not as described' although I had not described quality at all in the listing.

The item was brand new still in the box. She stated it overheated after 5 minutes use (2 months later) even though she said she was going home to use it.

Had she contacted me I would have happily refunded her money.

Another buyer I had (he had tried to purchase 'off Ebay' and I refused) when I re-listed he made the highest bid and two days later said he couldn't pay. Transaction was cancelled. I checked out his feedback and he had done this numerous times but still had 100% feedback.

As I have not sold anything since the negative feedback and purchased very little my feedback score has plummeted.

With the few items I sold even though the majority of buyers were great the few who were not make it not worth the while and now with this ridiculous 180 day return policy I'm not even going to bother using this medium. Not worth the hassle.

Sorry, just a little/lot peeved about the way sellers are treated. Ignorant customers are always right.

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

springyzone — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 22:54:37 GMT

I thought the replies you gave to the feedback were excellent, sweetii8.

I've seen it before where buyers say something was great but give a neutral. I am not sure why they do it, but maybe they don't understand the system and think neutral is fine for smaller items or if they just feel normally happy (as opposed to over the moon, I suppose).

As for the highlighted examples of seller replies a couple of posts higher up, I was not impressed. Not at all. It would turn me off buying from someone so aggressive, for sure, and that is the main consideration, isn't it. No seller should want to turn off new buyers.

But having said that, i do have some sympathy for the seller in that they obviously listed the postage cost in their original ad and if someone didn't like it, they probably should not have bought. It's an iffy area though as I know I have resented it sometimes if I feel ripped off a bit by postage. Not that I have ever given a neg for it as I figured I knew what I was in for. Probably in the same situation I would give a positive and say I liked the item but felt postage costs were a bit on the high side.

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

i-love-my-sheep — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 23:59:36 GMT

@k1ooo-slr-sales wrote:
modestbods wrote:
OP, no matter how agrieved you might feel, or how badly you may want to fire off a return salvo at the buyer involved, which you could do via leaving an angry follow up comment, you need to stop and consider something...

Other potential buyers that are deciding on whether or not to do business with you will see your follow up comment, and if you are nasty in it to another buyer they will very probably choose not to do business with you, to avoid the possibility of being treated in the same manner if they too were to have a problem with your goods/service.

I can tell you that this is indeed the case, as I myself check sellers feedback before I choose to buy from them, and I pay particular attention to how they deal with problems with buyers and how they reply to negative/neutral comments made via their follow up comments. Those that do seem to resolve issues and that leave polite or apologetic follow up comments I will buy from, those however that don't resolve issues or that leave angry/nasty follow up comments I will absolutely not buy from, especilly the ones that leave bad follow ups.

So for your own sake, you should consider only leaving a very polite & apologetic comment, if any. Ironically, such a comment would stand the best chance of making the buyer involved feel bad or guilty for the comment they left if it was in any way unfair (assuming they have a conscience), whereas if you leave a bad follow up comment, that would only reinforce in their mind that they were right to leave you a neutral/bad feedback comment.

Forget about retribution, as no good will come of it, concentrate instead on reassuring those other buyers you want to do business with in future.

Good luck.
Here is an example of a seller's replies to negatives that shows what modestbods was posting about. I will let you make a judgement about whether you would want to deal with them or not. If you had a problem with an item you bought from this seller would you feel comfortable that you could get a reasonable outcome from them? Would you buy from them after reading these comments?

This is one reason why I always check a sellers feedback before buying anything. There has been a few instances where a seller has had exactly what I wanted, at a good price, but I have chosen to go with a different seller at a higher price because of disgusting follow up comments like this.

Why would I want to deal with anyone who treats their customers like this, regardless of the reason? There are ways of getting your message across without resorting to obscene comments.

I would hope that the buyer in the above photo reported that seller to eBay. It's sellers like that that make it hard for the rest of us. No wonder some buyers think all sellers are low lifes.

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

modestbods — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 08:07:09 GMT

@sweetii8 wrote:

As I have not sold anything since the negative feedback and purchased very little my feedback score has plummeted.

With the few items I sold even though the majority of buyers were great the few who were not make it not worth the while and now with this ridiculous 180 day return policy I'm not even going to bother using this medium. Not worth the hassle.

Sorry, just a little/lot peeved about the way sellers are treated. Ignorant customers are always right.

I can relate 100%

I had the one bad comment left by a buyer (on a positive fb) in which they complained about my slow postage when in fact it wasn't, but rather she wasn't home when delivery was attempted and then didn't check her letterbox properly for a week & so didn't find the card that had been left until a week later (after i suggested she check it). I was suffiently disappointed & put off by it that I logged out and didn't log back in until many months later.

@springyzone wrote:

But having said that, i do have some sympathy for the seller in that they obviously listed the postage cost in their original ad and if someone didn't like it, they probably should not have bought. It's an iffy area though as I know I have resented it sometimes if I feel ripped off a bit by postage. Not that I have ever given a neg for it as I figured I knew what I was in for. Probably in the same situation I would give a positive and say I liked the item but felt postage costs were a bit on the high side.

Most probably they were merely passing on just the final value fees applied to the postage by ebay nowadays, which is perfectly reasonable to do, and if thats the case then the buyer was being very unreasonable in leaving negs for it.

That said, the sellers response was abhorrent and utterly inexcusable.

Ultimately they are the only ones to be injured by their appalling comments though, for I have little doubt that it has done themselves immeasurable damage by completely turning off many prospective buyers. Ironically, their follow up comments have most assuredly cost them a great deal more in lost reputation than those three negatives ever could on their own.

It's a fact of life, there's no pleasing some people. But why risk displeasing a great deal more people by trying to make that point in anything but a polite and proffesional manner?

The seller would have been far better served to leave a follow up comment like "Very sorry, I understand 100%, unfortunately ebay now charge fees on post too". Consider the difference it might make to prospective buyers reading that vs their reading the actual comments made by the seller (that k1ooo posted above, nice find btw).

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

imastawka — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 08:34:25 GMT

For a 'rare' item costing $349 I would expect it to be wrapped to

such an extent that A Post couldn't damage it.

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

k1ooo-slr-sales — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 10:22:53 GMT

@modestbods wrote:
@springyzone wrote:

But having said that, i do have some sympathy for the seller in that they obviously listed the postage cost in their original ad and if someone didn't like it, they probably should not have bought. It's an iffy area though as I know I have resented it sometimes if I feel ripped off a bit by postage. Not that I have ever given a neg for it as I figured I knew what I was in for. Probably in the same situation I would give a positive and say I liked the item but felt postage costs were a bit on the high side.
Most probably they were merely passing on just the final value fees applied to the postage by ebay nowadays, which is perfectly reasonable to do, and if thats the case then the buyer was being very unreasonable in leaving negs for it.

That said, the sellers response was abhorrent and utterly inexcusable.

Ultimately they are the only ones to be injured by their appalling comments though, for I have little doubt that it has done themselves immeasurable damage by completely turning off many prospective buyers. Ironically, their follow up comments have most assuredly cost them a great deal more in lost reputation than those three negatives ever could on their own.

It's a fact of life, there's no pleasing some people. But why risk displeasing a great deal more people by trying to make that point in anything but a polite and proffesional manner?

The seller would have been far better served to leave a follow up comment like "Very sorry, I understand 100%, unfortunately ebay now charge fees on post too". Consider the difference it might make to prospective buyers reading that vs their reading the actual comments made by the seller (that k1ooo posted above, nice find btw).

modestbods, that feedback was from way back in 2012 . . . . . well before the current fee structure.

I won an auction item from that seller for $50. They added a $100 pickup fee AFTER the auction ended and when I said I'll take the postage option on the listing that was $74 they resent an invoice with an adjusted postage charge of $135. When I said no to those charges they sent me a cancellation that I declined and then they opened an UnPaid Item case against me. I had already contacted eBay and they said that I just needed to contact them to get any strike removed. While the UPI case was active they sent me another invoice for the original $50, a $120 postage charge AND a seller charge of $200 giving a total of $370. They did this to ensure that I did not pay while the case was open and therefore they could have any negative feedback removed. I subsequently discovered that this seller was shill bidding across three accounts and reported them. They have curtailed their eBay activity since then.

Now, before any long standing poster comes on here and contradicts what I wrote about declining a cancel request and then having an UnPaid Item case opened on me . . . . . well . . . . it is possible as it happened to me. I have kept the emails related to that transaction and would be more than happy to forward those emails to anybody who says it is not possible for a seller to do that. Just send me PM with your email address and I will forward them before you come on here say "it is not possible" . . . . . to which I would post screen grabs of the emails, cancel request, UPI case email etc to show that it is possible.

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

cherry*135 — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 10:35:13 GMT

@imastawka wrote:
For a 'rare' item costing $349 I would expect it to be wrapped to
such an extent that A Post couldn't damage it.
________________________________________________________________________________________________

I would too.The box it comes in is not that strong, would need to be placed in a much stronger box to protect it from knocks and damage while in the post. The whole item would be worth less now with a damaged box.

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

i-love-my-sheep — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 11:09:20 GMT

Considering what they are listed for as a buy it now ($400+), if it was a collector that bought the item, their purchase would have lost a LOT of value. I can understand why they would be pished off.

As a collector of Matchbox cars, I know how important boxes are for a collectable item and how much value can be lost by having a damaged box.

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

modestbods — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 11:28:05 GMT

Ahhh, sorry, I assumed they were current. I hadn't looked at the dates consciously, and the May 12 14 wouldn't have helped my subconscious to argue the point too much either lol

That seller does sound like a horror show through & through, and good riddance.

Maybe one good thing's come of it, at least now if a seller reading this thread gets a neg/neutral for incorporating the ebay fee into their postage, they might now have a half-way decent follow up comment for it.

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

ms_aussie — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 12:00:46 GMT

And now buyers are leaving bad feedback, often out of spite, for sellers who don't deserve it. And a seller can't do anything about it. Is that fair???

I have been selling on eBay since 2002 and have always maintained a 100% positive feedback. Back then, and up to fairly recently, a seller could leave a neg and I can't ever remember leaving a neg for anyone let alone leaving a neg out of spite.

When sellers could leave negs for buyers it made buyers think twice before laying bad feedback just because they can. Ebay was a much friendlier place as well and a much easier venue in which to sell. It was fun - lots of fun. Most buyers left feedback too. Not like now. Sellers work their butts off the give a buyer a great shopping experience and all they get for thier trouble is anxiety that perhaps the buyer will get nasty and give bad remarks. The fact we could all give eachother negs worked a lot better. There was a modicum of mutual respect. Sellers are resentful and buyers have the power to bring a good seller down just because they can. This is not, and never will be, a good thing.

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

modestbods — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 12:09:31 GMT

@i-love-my-sheep wrote:

As a collector of Matchbox cars, I know how important boxes are for a collectable item and how much value can be lost by having a damaged box.

It's not only collectibles.

I had a mid-high end speaker system worth $1500 rrp I'd bought through liquidation auction for $300. After 12 months sitting at home with all 7 boxes still unopened & gathering dust, I gave up on the idea of wiring my place for sound so put it into an auction at my work. I put signs ALL over every box deliberately positioned over the sealed openings so the signs had to be moved to open them, they said "New unopened in box, DO NOT OPEN !!" The boxes themselves had full sized pictures on front and back of the component contained within, along with pics showing the entire sytsem on each side, so there was nothing more to see inside the box anyway.

They lasted 30 minutes after our showroom opened for inspection before some anonymous... 'darling'... had gone through and opened every one... ripped open mind. I saw them, didn't say a word, went straight to my computer and dropped the reserve from $300 to $150, I then calmly walked out into one of our back storeooms, the one furthest from the showroom, & closed the door behind me. I then proceeded to tell the storeroom wall what i thought of it. 5 minutes later, satisfied that the wall had finally got the message, I calmly returned to work & didn't make mention of it to anyone. To this day I'd still like to find that 'darling', and introduce them to that wall.

Re: Why can a buyer leave neutral feedback on you, but you can't do the same back?

ms_aussie — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 12:06:09 GMT

IMO I think these horrible replies to red dots are more an indication of a seller stressed to the max than a person who just loves to put people down. If a buyer and a seller both had the opportunity to comment on the selling/buying experience neither party would be this stressed. Gagging people does not make them feel less resentful. How can it?