Chinese seller offering partial refund if I change feedback from negative to positive

[kjoyt]

Hi folks. I am a long time ebay user but just found the forums for the first time while I was looking for a support question.

I did some very honest feedback on some items recently recvd from a Chinese seller. They had mixed up measurements and seem to have no clue about the difference between mm, cm and inches! So the items were tiny. Also basically cruddy quality.

They have now emailed me offering a 50% refund if I change my feedback from negative to positive.

My question is - is this even permitted under Ebay terms and conditions ? Should I be reporting the seller (and how?).

Or just ignore them and remember not to buy from them any more!

Thanks in advance.

[kopenhagen5]

eBay can only report it to eBay China and they won't act.

If the item/s are useless, tell them you will consider changing the feedback but not before you have 100% refund.

(some will say that's extortion but you are only responding to their extortion)

And don't do it if at all before you have satisfaction.

Chinese sellers are notorious for lying.

That seller has a bunch of negs n neuts, mostly for shoddy products.

[kjoyt]

Many thanks for the opinion.
The items are useable - but not for the purpose I intended - so I will keep them - not interested in any refund.
Definitely wont be changing the feedback or replying to the seller. As you said - its basically extortion.
Most just wanted to see if it was worth reporting - but from what you say it won't make much difference.
Thanks again.

Cheers

[countessalmirena]

There are some buyers who accept a refund and agree to change their feedback. What these buyers do is wait until they have received a refund and then edit the feedback comment to state "Seller begged for feedback revision. Item quality still awful" or "Here is the revised feedback you extorted" or something of that nature.

I am not advocating that; it's an interesting example of how some buyers are so fed up with poor quality Chinese items and misleading offers of partial refunds for items that are not as described (often made by sellers who will try to get the revision without having to actually issue a refund) that they feel some satisfaction in keeping to the letter only of the bargain struck with the seller.

If an item does not meet my reasonable expectation of its quality and suitability (being fit for purpose), I would rather return it and be refunded - but my best practice to avoid that position is to choose carefully when buying. It's one of the reasons that I will not purchase from (most) Chinese sellers on eBay.

[kjoyt]

>>There are some buyers who accept a refund and agree to change their feedback. What these buyers do is wait until they have received a refund and then edit the feedback comment to state "Seller begged for feedback revision. Item quality still awful" or "Here is the revised feedback you extorted" or something of that nature.>>

I like that idea - plays the game well !!

[digital*ghost]

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@countessalmirena wrote:

There are some buyers who accept a refund and agree to change their feedback. What these buyers do is wait until they have received a refund and then edit the feedback comment to state "Seller begged for feedback revision. Item quality still awful" or "Here is the revised feedback you extorted" or something of that nature.

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It'd still be a win for the seller, since AFAIK if you revise a comment, you can only upgrade it (unless things have changed recently, anyway).

That means if you left a neg, you only get the option to revise to a neutral or positive, and if you left a neutral, you can only revise to a positive.

Either way, it's an improvement regardless of what the comment says. 

[imastawka]

The thing is, with most Chinese sellers, if you contact them first, they usually offer

a full refund and let you keep the item, hoping to ward off that dreaded negative feedback.

You went straight for the jugular and gave a negative without giving them the option to fix the problem.

Always, always contact the seller first - before giving a negative.

You didn't even open a case for INAD.