How do I remove negative feedback (Seller)?

[emergency-lighting]

Hi All,

We have sold thousands of goods on eBay over 6+ years. 

Recently, we came across a malicious Buyer who left us an unjustified negative feedback (our first ever), therefore making us lose our 100% feedback (which can often be the difference between winning or losing a sale). 

Basically, Buyer left us negative feedback, claiming that our product cannot be wall mounted. Our packaging, datasheet and installation instructions clearly explains and illustrates how to wall mount the product. We have made contact with the Buyer to explain how to wall mount the product and have requested to revise their feedback. We even offered to provide a FULL refund if they are still unhappy. Buyer declined both of our requests, claiming that their feedback is accurate. 

I have done some research on the Buyer and was shocked to learn that of the 14 feedback they have given to Buyers, 12 of them have been negative!!! Clearly a very sour and malicious Buyer! 

We have sold thousands of this product with no issues whatsoever. We have contacted eBay Live Chat twice and had a phone conversation once to explain our position and request to remove the false negative feedback. However, despite backing ourselves with strong evidence, eBay is saying that they can no longer remove negative feedback as of 30August2023.

PLEASE eBay, if you are reading this, please provide some Seller Protection against malicious Buyers. We have worked so hard over the years to provide quality products and top service to our (and your) customers. We are clearly not at fault so PLEASE help us retract the negative feedback as it is a HUGE deal for small businesses like us. Thank you!

[domino-710]

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@danieh_6 wrote:

You can contact eBay and ask them to remove it & see what happens, However having 1 negative wouldn't really effect any sales, it would just effect the people who are there to are paranoid and probably going to leave feedback anyway.

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Sorry - need help with this. 

[danieh_6]

What do you mean?

[cam-2793]

The phrase in blue does not parse. Can you please translate it into English.

[danieh_6]

What you can't work it out yourself?

[springyzone]

I'm with countess on this.

I am a buyer. I am not overly worried if a seller has a negative here and there.

It does not stop me from buying. Just about every seller I have bought from in the last year or so has not had a perfect record.

But yes, that neg is a concern, not because it is a neg as such but because it goes into detail and says the item is not wall mountable.

Now that IS information that a buyer will take note of. It could easily influence a buyer. It would me.

The way around this is for you to reply.

As countess said, a polite reply, making it VERY clear that this item is wall mountable and that you included instructions with the item and offered to send further instructions to this buyer should cover it.

It isn't always the neg that matters, it is how the seller responds that can influence a future buyer. This neg doesn't have to affect you one iota.

[sugar249]

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@danieh_6 wrote:

What you can't work it out yourself?

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Nope,  I agree the bit in blue makes no sense

[sugar249]

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@springyzone wrote:

I'm with countess on this.

I am a buyer. I am not overly worried if a seller has a negative here and there.

It does not stop me from buying. Just about every seller I have bought from in the last year or so has not had a perfect record.

But yes, that neg is a concern, not because it is a neg as such but because it goes into detail and says the item is not wall mountable.

Now that IS information that a buyer will take note of. It could easily influence a buyer. It would me.

The way around this is for you to reply.

As countess said, a polite reply, making it VERY clear that this item is wall mountable and that you included instructions with the item and offered to send further instructions to this buyer should cover it.

It isn't always the neg that matters, it is how the seller responds that can influence a future buyer. This neg doesn't have to affect you one iota.

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Sadly they did reply in a not to courteous manner,  and mainly complained about the impact a negative would have.    They should have just given more details around the wall mounting, and not made unnecessary complaints about the neg or comments about the buyer.

In business never ever publicly complain about your buyer,  or competition.

Note I say this from a perspective that I dont believe the buyer is always right,  but it's how you handle the situation

[springyzone]

Yes, I did not see the reply till after I had posted.

I agree, complaining about getting a neg is a waste of the available word limit. It's not giving the buyer any new information.

It's much better (from my perspective as a buyer) if the seller outlines what they did to remedy the situation or where the buyer has gone wrong (in a polite way).

The buyer definitely is not always right.

In this case,  a reply needed to reinforce that it is indeed wall mountable, instructions were sent, seller was willing to send extra instructions or make a full refund if buyer was not happy. That's the sort of stuff a buyer is interested in.

[*sons_n_daughters*]

I got a neg a few years ago. Yes, they hurt, but it's not the end of the world. I sold a gemstone, that to the naked eye, looked fantastic and pristine. The buyer put it under magnification and there were very fine surface scratches. I never thought to look at it under a microscope, it was a two off item. When I looked at the second one under magnification, it showed fine scratches not visible to the naked eye. Instead of contacting me, the buyer left a neg. 

I issued a full refund when I checked the second item. I also replied to their neg, apologising, and taking full responsibility (we had also been in touch via PM at that stage. The buyer was very happy with how I handled things). It didn't affect my sales one bit, because any buyer that checked, could see that I took responsibility for the mistake of me not checking carefully the item that I listed (I didn't know it was a thing to check stones under a microscope!). 

I have bought many things from sellers with negs. The ones I avoid, are the sellers that abuse buyers in replies, called them scum, or scammers, or whatever. I want to know that if there is an issue with a purchase, the seller will handle it professionally, and I won't be called every name under the sun.

Your reply may or may not affect sales. Sadly, you can't change it. Always wait to reply, so you are replying professionally, and not full of emotion.

[countessalmirena]

OP, the reply you actually gave in feedback makes you sound obsessed by your feedback score and rather petulant. You appear to be lecturing the buyer. It also highlights the negative which the buyer gave, making it far more prominent.

Based on your feedback response, some buyers may not buy from you.

You’d have done better to say nothing at all. Best action would have been a short measured reply as I suggested. The bleating “my precious feedback” reply you gave — well, too late now.

As for calling the buyer “malicious”, maybe they are. The feedback pattern you described makes the buyer sound neg-happy with a bit of a lead finger. It still doesn’t help if you reply in feedback as you have. Buyers don’t want to know your drama. 

The best you can do now is learn from this, sell well, and the neg will slide down over time.