NEGATIVE Feedback

[blueriverrain]

I recently sold an item of clothing that the buyer told me when she received it was in not in new condition as I had stated. 
I instantly sent a refund without any question or discussion of what I thought 

I asked eBay if they would withdraw the Feedback but they will not do that 

I am questioning if you do the right thing and get left Negative Feedback why did I give the refund ? Even though I always have and always will. 

i have been selling on eBay for over 20 years with 100 percent Positive Feedback so loyalty dose not account ?

[contact.-50]

You did the right thing by issuing a refund promptly, which shows your commitment to customer satisfaction. While eBay's policy on feedback removal can be disappointing, your long-standing positive reputation speaks volumes about your reliability as a seller. Keep focusing on providing excellent service, and hopefully, future transactions will reflect your dedication and integrity.

[springyzone]

Yes, for sure a negative can sting if you are a seller who aims to do the right thing and who feels they did the best they could to fix a mistake.

All the seller can do is learn from it and move on.

Many buyers never check feedback at all before buying anyway. We on the boards know that for a fact. And I think, for those buyers who do look, they are able to see any overall pattern. If most feedback is overwhelmingly positive, it won't stop them buying.

How a seller responds to a negative or to a mistake can count too.

In this case, it is clear the buyer was given a refund.

If blueriverrain felt the need to reply at all to the feedback, all she would need to say is Sorry it happened, it was an honest mistake and as soon as she became aware of it, she issued a full refund.

[sugar249]

---

@springyzone wrote:

If blueriverrain felt the need to reply at all to the feedback, all she would need to say is Sorry it happened, it was an honest mistake and as soon as she became aware of it, she issued a full refund.

---

Not sure how you can claim a smelly , stained item listed as New is an honest mistake.  Surely you would notice it when taking photo's, listing and when packing.  Honest !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[springyzone]

---

@sugar249 wrote:

---

@springyzone wrote:

If blueriverrain felt the need to reply at all to the feedback, all she would need to say is Sorry it happened, it was an honest mistake and as soon as she became aware of it, she issued a full refund.

---

Not sure how you can claim a smelly , stained item listed as New is an honest mistake.  Surely you would notice it when taking photo's, listing and when packing.  Honest !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

---

Yes, I think you would notice this if you gave an item a thorough examination.

that's why I said in an earlier post that an item should never be listed as new unless a seller knows 100% for sure it is the case.

I think it is possible though for people to miss stains, although under the arms is one place that should be checked, for sure.

I think this incident highlights something that blueriverrain should take onboard and that is, items need to be properly examined before listing. This is at least the second time she has been taken to task by buyers for listing something as new when it obviously wasn't and in fact had faults. It isn't good enough to just put in a listing to contact her if there are problems or if she gets things wrong.

That in itself is fine but it doesn't absolve her of the responsibility of checking listings first so mistakes are few and far between.

I do think blueriverrain thinks of herself as an honest and trustworthy seller, I think that is what she aspires to be and that is why the negative hurt. But she needs to take more care before she lists.

[blueriverrain]

Thank you for your positive remarks 

[blueriverrain]

Hi

i took the buyers word and gave her a refund, I should have had the top returned to check for myself 

When I listed the top it was not smelly and I thought it was new

i checked through this buyers Feedback that she had left and even though she has not been on eBay  for very long she has left quiet a few  Neutral and Negative Feedback replies.  Seems to be a pattern there !

 Regards 

[brickworksmarket]

I find most of my returns are because I sent the incorrect replacement part and it does not fit. By the buyer saying this they don't have to pay the return postage and the only way to stop this would be to offer free returns.  Luckily for me they always give a positive feedback even though I sent the wrong part because it does not fit and you may have just been unlucky with this customer. But I find it does not hurt sales having a negative and so far today I have no sales and I have 100% at the moment. 

Funny feedback I read sometime ago was a seller got a negative because the part did not fit the buyers vehicle. The seller replied they never said what vehicle the part fitted in the listing.

[davewil1964]

I thought it was new

Not something that can slip your mind.

[sugar249]

---

@blueriverrain wrote:

Hi

i took the buyers word and gave her a refund, I should have had the top returned to check for myself 

When I listed the top it was not smelly and I thought it was new

---

Not sure why you would need it returned to check,  if you had checked before you sent it you would have known.

[springyzone]

---

@blueriverrain wrote:

Hi

i took the buyers word and gave her a refund, I should have had the top returned to check for myself 

When I listed the top it was not smelly and I thought it was new

i checked through this buyers Feedback that she had left and even though she has not been on eBay  for very long she has left quiet a few  Neutral and Negative Feedback replies.  Seems to be a pattern there !

 Regards 

---

Yes, once the buyer complained you would have been much better off to send a postage label through and to refund on return of the item.

That would have enabled you to re-examine it to see just what the problem was. Or how bad the problem was.

Mind you, there would not be much you could do about it at that stage, even if the problem wasn't as bad as stated.

But it would be good for you to have that chance to look at it again.

I think though that as you have had 2 similar types of feedback in the last 6 months (the earlier one was a positive feedback but mentioned a rip in the lining), it is an indication you need to examine items extremely carefully.

You say you thought it was new. Back in the day when I was selling with my sister, there were a lot of times we had items we were sure were new in the sense of unused or unworn. But we never listed them as such. We always listed as pre owned in as new condition.

Unless you know 100% for sure they are new and unworn, don't risk listing as new.

And if buyers do contact you about a flaw, ask to see a photo if possible, before you rush into refunds. Not that you could with this complaint in regards to smell but if I had been the buyer, I would have at least been sending photos of the 'huge stains' as evidence.

Some items can get a slight musty smell if they have been stored a while, even if not worn.