Why does eBay remove a negative feedback left for an abusive seller

[rainbowcolourz]

I bought a part for a dishwasher (I'm big on environment)  from a seller. The seller took 9 days to take the item to the post office (it was not that it took 9 days to arrive, he lodged it only 9 days after the day he was supposed to lodge). It arrived much later.

My initial query (as it was to have arrived in 3 days) was not answered.

I sent subsequent queries asking if he'd posted and he didn't respond.

After several messages, his response was "I was overseas" (presumably China)..... Then I asked him how he managed to skip isolation requirements if he'd just returned..... after a few more emails, and having been caught lying he became very abusive.

I left a negative feedback (the first negative in 10 years I might add), for his rude attitude, which I mentioned in the feedback. None of my messages violated any eBay policies, but his did.

After a few days, he left a dishonest feedback response. After a few more days, I found that eBay had removed my feedback but let his feedback response stand. 

Question: How can buyers trust eBay feedback when true feedback that is well within the eBay policies is removed?

I contacted eBay and they said that due to "Covid 19" they were giving sellers a chance in respect of postage delays (although the delay was not in the postage, but with the seller lodging the item). I said the feedback had been as the seller had been quite rude and after going through the messages they agreed. Not being vidictive I asked if they could remove his feedback response which they did.

However, I am really disgusted by eBay removing an honest feedback which would serve as a warning to future buyers.

[rainbowcolourz]

I think you are showing racism if you think travelling to China is racist. Go there and have a look, it's a great country. I did not say (or think) anything demeaning about China...
Well, maybe you ought to come across rude seller to experience it. I've been on eBay for 10 years and never come across such a rude seller before.
What is badgering? Replying to your unfounded accusations?

[gewens]

Hello,everyone. To be respectful is very important in your interaction with other members here. I'd like to remind you that content that is harmful, hostile, threatening, abusive, baiting, vulgar, defamatory, harassing, or includes hate or racist speech, name calling, or profanity will be edited or removed. Please read about our policy here: https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Community-Feedback/Updates-coming-to-eBay-com-au-Discussion-Boards/... Thanks very much. 🙂

[lyndal1838]

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@11dustyattic wrote:

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

So what was the seller's handling time?  If he posted within that timeframe you had no issue but you went out of your way to try to make him look like a liar.

I am not surprised at the seller's reaction to your badgering.

And racism is not acceptable....how do you know he went to China.

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Just got back from overseas, that would be a lie

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Would it?

How do you know he was not overseas?

[11dustyattic]

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

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@11dustyattic wrote:

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

So what was the seller's handling time?  If he posted within that timeframe you had no issue but you went out of your way to try to make him look like a liar.

I am not surprised at the seller's reaction to your badgering.

And racism is not acceptable....how do you know he went to China.

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Just got back from overseas, that would be a lie

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Would it?

How do you know he was not overseas?

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You seem to like to have the last say, to be in control of the discussion. Little tip, other people have opinions and are entitled to voice them. We were in lockdown sweetheart, how did this person get in and out of the country? Unless he's a 60 minutes reporter haha

[11dustyattic]

Nope I think I have it. He had just returned from a Fairy Princess cruise. Is it okay to say that, is it racist? 😉

[springyzone · Accepted solution]

I hear what you are saying. Without being able to see the actual feedback though, it is hard to judge exactly why it was removed. I guess if one of the ebay reps thought it was abusive, that might do it.

To me, it doesn't sound (based on your story) that it should have been removed but I think sometimes these reps make the wrong decisions. At least the seller's reply has also gone.

I think the seller was clearly in the wrong here and was lucky to have a neg removed.

First off, if the  estimated delivery date was only 3 days, I would at the very least expect it to be lodged in that time. At the moment, I would not expect it to arrive in the time frame, but it is perfectly reasonable to expect a seller to post in their stated time frame. The handling time could not possibly have been 9 days or more if the ETA was 3 days.

So your seller was slack.

Secondly, he almost certainly lied to you about being overseas. As you point out, international travellers are now in quarantine for 14 days and not at their own home either. But whicj\hever way you swing it, the seller was in the wrong here. If he had been overseas, he had no right selling a product that was located in Australia and one that he personally planned on posting. There is no way he could possibly have hoped to honour the terms of the sale. And if he really was in Aust all the time, it was a stupid lie-better to have just apologised for the delay.

Lastly, if a seller intimates they have been in China, it is not racist to say they have been in China. Or anywhere else for that matter. The fact is, from the sounds of it, that it was meant to be a domestic sale and the seller, no matter what nationality he was or where he was located, should have been in a position to have the item posted in time-if not by himself then by someone else.

Probably a bad call by the ebay rep to have removed the neg but these things happen, luckily mosr sellers are better than that.

[digital*ghost]

eBay are automatically removing neg feedback if certain conditions are met - one of them is that there is tracking that proves it was lodged within the seller's handling time, though (from memory anyway - I keep getting a server errror when I try to access the announcement pages). 

A 3 day ETA is pretty unusual - that would tend to indicate the seller had a 0-1 day handling time, was located in the same state, and hadn't had their ETAs extended by a few days like every other seller on eBay. 

[davewil1964]

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@11dustyattic wrote:

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

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@11dustyattic wrote:

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

So what was the seller's handling time?  If he posted within that timeframe you had no issue but you went out of your way to try to make him look like a liar.

I am not surprised at the seller's reaction to your badgering.

And racism is not acceptable....how do you know he went to China.

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Just got back from overseas, that would be a lie

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Would it?

How do you know he was not overseas?

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You seem to like to have the last say, to be in control of the discussion. Little tip, other people have opinions and are entitled to voice them. We were in lockdown sweetheart, how did this person get in and out of the country? Unless he's a 60 minutes reporter haha

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It would depend on when the transaction occurred, which the OP has conveniently not told us. Australian citizens were allowed back into the country without quarantine at the start of the pandemic.

[springyzone]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

eBay are automatically removing neg feedback if certain conditions are met - one of them is that there is tracking that proves it was lodged within the seller's handling time, though (from memory anyway - I keep getting a server errror when I try to access the announcement pages). 

A 3 day ETA is pretty unusual - that would tend to indicate the seller had a 0-1 day handling time, was located in the same state, and hadn't had their ETAs extended by a few days like every other seller on eBay. 

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I must admit I found the ETA of 3 days exceptionally fast in the current situation. I agree, it would indicate a sale in the same state and to me, probably a courier service rather than Australia Post. (although it seems they did go via Aust post from my reading of the comment)

I do know a seller who does deliver via courier and can normally do it next day within the state or within a day or 2 to certain other states but if I recall,  even the courier service is now running to a 'Christmas timetable' which means add a day or so on to the normal time frames.

I personally would not expect anything within 3 days at the moment. Bonus if it does arrive that fast. But I would expect a seller to post within the advertised handling time. Trouble is, we (or I ) can't see the details of the transaction so can't check them out.

[11dustyattic]

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@davewil1964 wrote:

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@11dustyattic wrote:

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

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@11dustyattic wrote:

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

So what was the seller's handling time?  If he posted within that timeframe you had no issue but you went out of your way to try to make him look like a liar.

I am not surprised at the seller's reaction to your badgering.

And racism is not acceptable....how do you know he went to China.

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Just got back from overseas, that would be a lie

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Would it?

How do you know he was not overseas?

---

You seem to like to have the last say, to be in control of the discussion. Little tip, other people have opinions and are entitled to voice them. We were in lockdown sweetheart, how did this person get in and out of the country? Unless he's a 60 minutes reporter haha

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It would depend on when the transaction occurred, which the OP has conveniently not told us. Australian citizens were allowed back into the country without quarantine at the start of the pandemic.

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It sounded to me like the op considered it an impossibility also, hence calling him a liar,  and he indicated the seller said he had just got back from overseas, I would assume not long before he started this topic. Most of us start topics in the heat of the moment, needing advice or to vent or both lol 

I agree the op has been vague about time lines and possibly a little impatient (maybe trying to conceal just how impatient), however that doesn't excuse the seller from lying and not following up after saying he would. Even before border closures, not many people could travel, unless he was one of the idiot cruise ship passengers, more likely IMO an invented story