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!

[kopenhagen5]

it would just effect the people who are there to are paranoid and probably going to leave feedback anyway.

I believe I am intelligent, have a good understanding of communication and admire the methods of Sherlock Holmes, yet the non parse sentence even for myself, gives little clue as to the grammatical error that has occurred making it possible for a reader to move forward.

And my crystal ball is broken.

[eol-products]

it would just effect the people who are there to are paranoid and probably going to leave feedback anyway.

it would just effect the people who are paranoid and probably going to leave negative feedback anyway.

[domino-710]

' People who are paranoid '. ??

[eol-products]

The type of buyer put off by one negative feedback and possibly one you would want to avoid anyway.

[domino-710]

Indeed - but - the seemingly - ' over obsessive ' - may sit with the OP.

Listings = 19.

Sales for the month = 6

One Neg.

And a really bad Feedback reply.

Mind you twas the other twit - mentioned paranoid. lol

[eol-products]

Thats how I read what they had said and I think the OP is a little that way in regard to how it will effect their sales going forward. 

[twyngwyn]

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@eol-products wrote:

it would just effect the people who are there to are paranoid and probably going to leave feedback anyway.

it would just effect the people who are paranoid and probably going to leave negative feedback anyway.

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It would just affect/influence the paranoid people, who would leave negative feedback anyway 😜

[springyzone]

I don't think the seller's reply is too bad, overall.  In context. Yes, it does wander into what I would call off track territory, in that at the end it goes on a bit about how their feedback score has been affected and so on.

But it is polite enough. It doesn't go calling the buyer names, it isn't abusive. 

It is most definitely a good thing the seller replied to the neg (in my opinion) because that first sentence is bang on & addresses what future buyers need to know. That there is a manual with illustrations & instructions and the item is definitely wall mountable.

I think the second sentence is fine too.

The third sentence addresses the fact that as a seller, they are willing to resolve issues if contacted. Not a bad thing.

Final sentence, unnecessary waste of words.

But emergency lighting, don't fret too much about your reply as I don't think it will turn most buyers off. It could have been better but it is not a disaster, put it that way. As someone else said, if you ever have to reply to another neg, take time to calm down and think out exactly what information future buyers need from it, to decide for themselves that that neg was unjustified.

[sugar249]

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@springyzone wrote:

I don't think the seller's reply is too bad, overall.  In context. Yes, it does wander into what I would call off track territory, in that at the end it goes on a bit about how their feedback score has been affected and so on.

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Come on, it starts by them telling them to read the instructions.  Who knows how well those instructions are written.

Any feedback is implying they havent read the instructions, and than going on about the seller feedback anxiety is bad

[springyzone]

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@sugar249 wrote:

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@springyzone wrote:

I don't think the seller's reply is too bad, overall.  In context. Yes, it does wander into what I would call off track territory, in that at the end it goes on a bit about how their feedback score has been affected and so on.

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Come on, it starts by them telling them to read the instructions.  Who knows how well those instructions are written.

Any feedback is implying they havent read the instructions, and than going on about the seller feedback anxiety is bad

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The buyer implied in feedback that the unit was not wall mountable.

The reply by seller says this:

Please read the installation manual, which clearly explains and illustrates how to wall mount this unit! 

Now if I went to read that because I was potentially going to buy one of those units to mount on a wall, I would have been anxious about the neg feedback and would not have bought it without asking the seller further questions.

But with the reply, I can see that the unit is wall mountable and that there is an installation manual. The seller says it "clearly explains".

As a buyer, I thought it was fine anyway. I have read similar replies plenty of times. To me, it is polite enough.

What would you expect the seller to say? Again (as a buyer), I am not impressed when I see a seller just say something like "So sorry about this dear, please let us know in future." (which is the typical Chinese response to negs). That sort of reply just implies the complaint was perfectly valid.

As for the bit about the seller going on a bit with feedback anxiety it is not great, it is a waste of words as I said before, but at least as a new buyer I would know that this seller cares about his ebay reputation. Many of the really big sellers never reply to negs. That's probably not a bad idea most of the time but if a neg tells a falsehood, I think a seller has a right to reply.

The feedback given would not stop me as a buyer from buying anyway. It may stop you but then we are all different. If he had said "This buyer is an idiot and can't read instructions"-different. But that's not how he did it.