Feedback

[ajarnjenny]

I have received a negative feedback from a buyer who bought my crochet pattern for $5.50 and she thought it was a crocheted garment.

I have clearly written in the item description. 'PLEASE NOTE; THIS IS A PATTERN ONLY, IT IS NOT THE FINISHED ITEMS. YOU WILL  RECEIVE THE PATTERN PRINTED ON PAPER AS A LETTER .'

I had another of these a while ago and she refused to revise the feedback.

What else can I do if this one refuses.

Really.......................it would cost $8 postage if it were the actual hat and booties, not to mention the cost of the yarn.

[ratman0100]

All the replies here have been very respectfull. I read your listing as a male would and thought it was as the picture looked? Someone said to make the "PATERN ONLY" words stick out. Another said to show the paper or something like that. Both are not un-reasonable comments. You said anyone who can read can see what you have said. I agree with you 100% but I still missed it at first glance. One of the negs was from a person whose first language is NOT English. That is one thing for everyone to remember is that we are a multi-cultural country and things now have to be crystal clear. So please listen to some of the advise that people have offered here and you will have a nice little earner for you self.   

[digital*ghost]

eBay will often remove a negative or neutral if the complaint is about information available in the listing. If you contact them, they will look at your listing and decide if it could have been in any way misleading to the buyer (intentionally or not) and make a decision based on that. 

That being said, and as much as you might not want to hear it, the fact that you have received FB about the same issue more than once is telling you something. It doesn't necessarily mean you're doing something wrong or that it's all your fault, but could mean that buyers aren't always paying attention to everything, or aren't always understanding everything, and whether that is your fault or not is not the issue - the issue is that you can take measures to prevent it from happening again, which is the basis of the advice about wording of titles and including images of the pattern. 

eBay load listings with advertising. When I look at yours, there are pictures of baby clothing, above your description and below, and in the listing you received the recent neut for, those images dominate the information you provided. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a little lost in all the other advertising and was missed altogether as it takes up about 1/8th of the page and the rest is pictures from other sellers, 3rd party advertising etc. I suggest providing a little more information about the item in the description section - make sure it's your item, and all the relevant information about it, the stuff that stands out. 

[peridot55555]

I agree with Ratman.

Ajarnjenny, please U have to revise your listing titles to read 'Pattern Only' before your other description in the titles - otherwise U will be getting more negative feedback.  The danger with this is that eBay will act against U if U have too much negative feedback.

I looked at your listings & thought they were the articles themselves - 'crochet pattern' could be a style - not everyone thinks the same as you do - most people go by the photo & a lot do not read the description.

Also make the pattern only in the description in much bigger bold print or in a red colour in big print - maybe something like I make my headings on my descriptions, so that it is the 1st thing the buyers see when they do read the description.

[*crikey*mate* · Accepted solution]

Jenny, regardless of whether you believe yourself to be in the right, the fact remains, that your listings do seem to be causing you some problems. You have asked what else you can do in your opening post, very experienced, unbiased sellers and buyers have given you their suggestions and opinions in this thread.

Why not take some of them on board and give them a go?

What you're doing is clearly not achieving the results that you desire, so wouldn't it be kinda wise to try something a bit different?

Not everybody reads and interprets anything in the same manner as you do, nor do they apply the same kind of logic to a situation.

What have you got to lose by following the suggestions that these very experienced and successful sellers have put forth?

The ones I personally like are

1) Start the listing title with "Pattern for........" even make it more fool proof by saying "Paper Pattern for"

2) The first line of your descriptive listing could have a bright coloured enlarged blurb saying something like "Please note, this auction is for a paper pattern featured in Picture number 3. The gallery photo and other pictures are provided as an indication of what the product may look like if you use the paper pattern and follow the instructions. The auction is not for the finished product.
3) Include the relevant picture of a paper pattern in your pictures.

4) List in the correct category if you are not already doing so.

Best of luck with it all.

One of the keys to an enjoyable selling experience on eBay is to make your listings fool proof.

[ajarnjenny]

Thank you for your reply and the others above who were answering my question and not just wanna be eBay police.

And to the person who reported my listings to eBay, you will be very disappointed to know that I did not get a strike.

How pathetic are you!

This forum is hostile to anyone who is not in the in group of about twenty people who post on here constantly and I am not surprised that these forums are now dead. I used to sell on here about six years ago and the forums were dynamic and a great place to be, but it seems they are now just for the very few who use them and attack like a pack anyone new with a question.

But thank you to the people who did give me good advice.