Blocking a buyer...what can't they do?

[kitty-kat-kollection]

For the first time, I had to block a buyer last night. They purchased some shoes from me, claimed they were not as described or photographed (I did not edit or obscure any part of my 12 photographs), so wanted a refund.

I respectfully declined and they lodged an ebay dispute. Fine. I wrote a further message, and they grew very angry, irrational and then at times incoherent, saying they would be laughed out of their office, that only a clown would wear them, etc. I said that I would no longer be engaging directly with them due to their manner.

They then threatened that "defamation" would be "coming your way" and accused me of calling them a liar (I had not), which I could only assume implied they were threatening negative feedback, which is extortion and not allowed. I wrote this to ebay.

Then they REALLY blew up, sent three messages (none of which I replied to), called me dim, dopey, stupid, thick in the head, said I could not understand English, said they never threatened me with negative feedback, but then said they WOULD be leaving negative feedback as my item was "**bleep**".

Then they said to go away. Then they said (I still had not sent any messages so they were basically talking to themselves by now) "sod off. Permanently."

In the meantime, I saw they had left negative feedback so I immediately went onto the live ebay chat, explained the situation, they read all the messages, including the latest one telling me to "F*** off" (I STILL hadn't said anything to her! lol) and said they would be closing the dispute in my favour and removing the negative feedback. Thank you!

This buyer is going to be FURIOUS, but they screwed themselves with their unacceptable behaviour. My messages were all professional.

Anyway, I blocked them, but does this mean they just can't buy from me again? Can they still message me? I hope not.

Am I able to request ebay remove the positive feedback I left for them before all this happened?

[kitty-kat-kollection]

True. This has certainly been a learning curve.

[digital*ghost]

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@kitty-kat-kollection wrote:


How might I have better responded to the feedback though, 

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I won't answer for tippy, but the advice I give most often, if a neg isn't going to go anywhere, is rather than reply to the feedback or that particular buyer, provide the information you think is most important for any other buyer looking at your items and feedback.  A good reply can showcase your customer service skills, and let buyers know that you're approachable and reasonable, and can even make the buyer look like a total goose. 

I'm not always the best at it, myself, but you need to let other buyers know how you handle problems, rather than tell them how much of a problem that buyer was.

For a neg like that, and based on the info you've provided in the thread, if it wasn't going to be removed I'd have just said something like 'Offered refund as happy to accept return, buyer refused'. 

You can also go the witty and sarcastic route, if you dare (I don't have the gumption for that, but I've seen some very memorable ones over the years - was just recalling this to some other peeps on a FB group... Buyer had called the seller a liar, scammer etc in a neg, because they hadn't received an item, seller replied with "Driving to the airport in my Porsche with your $2 now". Still makes me chuckle. Another favourite is the buyer complaining an item broke when used in high winds. Seller said "I try hard to please my buyers, unfortunately I can't control the weather"  ). 

[kitty-kat-kollection]

HA!! I like those!

I find it REALLY difficult to fit into the tiny character limit what I want to say in terms of responding to feedback like this.

I also expect the feedback and my reply to it to both be gone soon, so my response was only ever meant to be temporary.

[lyndal1838]

Unfortunately ebay usually only removes the initial feedback and not the followups....and it is usually removed as soon as you report it.

I have never heard of sellers having to wait any length of time for it to disappear.

[digital*ghost]

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

Unfortunately ebay usually only removes the initial feedback and not the followups....and it is usually removed as soon as you report it.

I have never heard of sellers having to wait any length of time for it to disappear.

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If eBay removes feedback, they remove everything, including the reply. 

In some cases, they will remove the original comment only and leave the actual dot, in which case any reply will remain and the removed comment will be replaced with "This comment was removed by eBay". It seems they mostly like full removal these days, though. 

I have to say, I'm also a little concerned about the wait, though. Whenever I've had cause to get a case closed, they've done it manually when I spoke to them, so I didn't have to wait for the escalation date - any time I've seen someone say eBay told them to wait and / or escalate the case, it somehow gets automatically decided in favour of the buyer and the seller has to fight eBay to get what they were promised. At least in this case there's a transcript of what was advised, so hopefully there shouldn't be a problem getting eBay to follow through, one way or another. 

[performance_parts_clearance_centre]

There are some buyers whose sense of entitlement just makes them impossible to deal with. It's a "keyboard warrior" thing - most would never behave like that when face-to-face with someone in a "bricks and mortar" store.

As to feedback, I tend not to leave snarky comments in response to negs / neutrals - not all that hard, as I've only ever gotten a dozen or so in a decade, across three accounts.

But... had someone leave a "positive but not really positive" comment on an item a few weeks back, and couldn't help myself. 

He'd purchased a garage door motor, and had e-mailed me to simultaneously express his disappointment at there being no fitment instructions supplied with it and what poor service it was on our part, and request information on adjusting the door (which relates to the control unit, which was suupplied by the door comapnies, not us).

I responded that it was a generic motor which had been used by several garage door manufacturers, on many different model doors, and that there were numerous different mounting methods - this made it impossible to supply accurate fitment instructions. I then suggested that he consult a garage door serviceman to have the contol box and sensors adjusted as necessary.

Sure enough, a few days later he left a positve, but with a "not positive" comment stating that the item was good but that if you were DIY'ing, the seller wouldn't help you. I responded that if three bolts, one nut and two wires stumped him, he'd be better off not DIY'ing, and should pay a professional instead.

Then added him to the "Not sellin' you nuthin', you're a plank " list...

[performance_parts_clearance_centre]

Actually, I had a buyer leave a green dot and a markedly negative comment just yesterday - saying that the item didn't work, only partial refund offered, SCAMMER.

I left a reply that no return or refund request had been made, and there'd been no contact of any sort.

Then decided to contact eBay (via Chat).

Checked this morning - eBay have removed the original comment (left the green dot), and my reply is still in place.

(As it happens, I sent a polite "W T McF" message to the buyer, turns out they'd accidentally pasted a negative comment that was intended for another seller...)

[lyndal1838]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

Unfortunately ebay usually only removes the initial feedback and not the followups....and it is usually removed as soon as you report it.

I have never heard of sellers having to wait any length of time for it to disappear.

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If eBay removes feedback, they remove everything, including the reply. 

In some cases, they will remove the original comment only and leave the actual dot, in which case any reply will remain and the removed comment will be replaced with "This comment was removed by eBay". It seems they mostly like full removal these days, though. 

I have to say, I'm also a little concerned about the wait, though. Whenever I've had cause to get a case closed, they've done it manually when I spoke to them, so I didn't have to wait for the escalation date - any time I've seen someone say eBay told them to wait and / or escalate the case, it somehow gets automatically decided in favour of the buyer and the seller has to fight eBay to get what they were promised. At least in this case there's a transcript of what was advised, so hopefully there shouldn't be a problem getting eBay to follow through, one way or another. 

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Sorry Digi but I respectfully have to disagree that ebay removes both feedback and reply.

I have been bored today so have been checking out seller's feedback....especially sellers who have been on the boards complaining of unjust negatives.

In 99% of the cases the feedback has been removed and the followup comments remain....often leaving the seller look like a fool.

[imastawka]

I 99% agree with you Lyndal.

But it seems the OP has had her neg and reply removed.

[kitty-kat-kollection]

Yep! The neg is gone and the case is now closed, with no refund to the buyer. They will be livid.

I am relieved. Thank you all for your advice!