So had 100 per cent feedback over 16 years why down to 93 percent with one bad feedback

[bjlcr]

Have been selling since 2002.had 100 per cent feedback .Then got a bad one back in February which took me down to 93 percent.

Now have another 8 good fedback since then but its gone up 1 percent.

How can 1 feedback take me down to to 93  percent.

Then 8 good ones ,take me up 1 percent

crazy

[imastawka]

I agree Springy.

But I also think the neg could've been avoided.

Buyer says charged double for postage, and it was damaged in transit.

Therefore it wasn't packed suitably.

I also check negs for how they are handled.  And it wasn't handled well IMO.

Buyer hasn't come across as unreasonable to me.

OP also left a false positive for that buyer - a no-no

[kopenhagen5]

Oh dear, that's a disaster. 

[beerandpizzaplz]

I can see a total of four negatives left for op as a seller, why is this one an issue?

[springyzone]

I think the seller's issue was how badly one neg in 12 months can bring down the % & how hard it can be to make up ground. Which is true.

I'll admit I never checked the OP's total FB history till just now. There aren't a lot of negs but the trend if you could call it such is the OP tends to reply along the lines of 'first neg in x years, so how can I be a bad seller'.

I suppose the answer to that is a buyer is only interested in how their own transaction goes. If their item is damaged or they are unhappy, they will give feedback based on their own experience.

You expect most transactions to go smoothly, it is how the seller tackles the occasional problem though that is important.

[davidc4430]

we little sellers just have to be that much better to our buyers than the big boys.

try to be 'nice' in communications.

use new packing stuff (boxes, bubblw wrap and peanuts.)

make sure the box is well taped up (i do every direction, accross this way, that way, around the other way)tape is cheap.

then put on the Fragile handle with care sticker.

oh and try to use a box with space around the item so you have protection all around. not allways possible.

how many items have i recieved from sellers (big sellers) where in transit something has penitrated the outer box and damaged the item, too many times.

we just have to be better as 1 negative really kills us where high volume sellers can be protected.

[dazzledayz]

---

@bjlcr wrote:

Have been selling since 2002.had 100 per cent feedback .Then got a bad one back in February which took me down to 93 percent.

Now have another 8 good fedback since then but its gone up 1 percent.

How can 1 feedback take me down to to 93  percent.

Then 8 good ones ,take me up 1 percent

crazy

---

The others have explained the feedback calculation so now you know how easy it is to go down and how hard it is to recover.

The item you got the neg for though probably deserved it as your condition description was VG (which the item was not).

You also failed to photograph the entirity of the item.

While it does show some damage to top right, a buyer would have no way of knowing what other edge damage exists.

If you had photographed all of the item and been a bit less flattering with the description you may have had a chance of reversing the feedback or never getting it in the first place.

[countessalmirena]

@bjlcr,

(Sorry - long reply! I'm being detailed to try to help you sort out a good way to proceed with your future sales.)

As imastawka and kopenhagen have pointed out, your response to the negative is actually doing your account more damage than the negative itself.

The buyer left negative feedback, to which you gave a reply.

awful seller, item is very damaged, charged double postage too, terrible      Buyer: y***m ( 10246) During past 6 months  

• Reply by bjlcr (15-Feb-18 00:15):
  Oh well 1 neg in 18 years.Very unreasonable person

You gave positive feedback (as that's the only sort of feedback which eBay permits you as the seller to leave):

Unreasonable buyer. Stay away      Buyer: y***m () During past 6 months  

• Follow-up by bjlcr (15-Feb-18 00:05):
  Very Unreasonable Buyer just wants a freebie
  • Reply by y***m (15-Feb-18 09:10):
    stop lying. didnt ask for refund. just expressed disappointment over c**ppy item

Now, forget for a moment the rights and wrongs of it. Perhaps you did package with the sort of care required for this sort of item, and perhaps the delivery person unwrapped the item and stomped on it, spat on it, and flung llama manure all over it, before rewrapping it and delivering it.  Perhaps the buyer received it in perfect condition but wanted to get a full refund and thus claimed damage. For the purposes of the feedback, I would suggest that it doesn't matter, because your interaction with that buyer would be at an end once this transaction is finished.

{EDIT: I was assuming that the damage was done in transit! If it was a case of the item being in a more damaged condition than the buyer expected from the description you gave, it's a different kettle of poisson. As dazzledayz says, be much more rigid with your item condition information. Say "Good" condition rather than "Very good", and photograph all the damaged bits. That way, the buyer will know beforehand, and if you're ruthless with the item condition, downgrading rather than upgrading, your buyer is actually more likely to be pleased and give you glowing feedback.}

So the feedback isn't to vent (justifiably or not) at the buyer. That is one of the hardest things for a seller to learn on eBay, and don't imagine for a moment that I'm not sympathetic. I am. I know that there's a therapeutic value in being able to hurl back a rotten tomato when one has been flung at you. That's how we human beings can usually vent our spleen.

But... on eBay you as the seller are not able to do this. You can't issue a negative, even for the very worst of buyers.

In your mind you would be thinking, "It's not fair." You'd be thinking of all the scenarios where a buyer is a bad buyer, even perhaps a fraudulent buyer. However, to function as effectively as possible on eBay as a seller, under the current policies, you have got to put those scenarios out of your mind when it comes to feedback.

UNLEARN the following:

1. I want to warn other sellers of this bad buyer.
2. I want to let the buyer know he/she can't get away with negging me without receiving similar strong comments back. You want to play hardball? I'll play hardball...
3. It's unfair - I should have the right to leave accurate feedback about the buyer.
4. I have to let other customers know that the negative was unfair; that's why I have to reply to the negative to spell it out.

The reason why I say UNLEARN the following is because:

1. Other sellers cannot see the name of the buyer in your feedback; it's visible only to you and to the buyer. Other sellers see the masked ID. Other eBayers see only the masked ID. You are warning no one.
2. It's a fool's game to retaliate. You are only inflating the buyer's feedback score positively because you can only give positive feedback. The negative comments can and will be removed by eBay if the buyer reports the comments, as giving such feedback is against eBay policy. You'll also be chastised by eBay. In other words, you will end up paying the piper an extra amount while the buyer smiles.
3. Yes, it's unfair. It is eBay policy, however, so irrespective of its unfairness, you need to find a way to play within the rules. Since you cannot leave accurate feedback if you believe the buyer has been unfair and is a bad buyer, then don't leave feedback at all. You can leave a calm and factual reply to the negative itself, but see my comments below about how to use replies to negatives to your best advantage as a seller.
4. Other customers or would-be customers, when they read your reply to a negative, and your negative comments to the buyer combined with positive feedback, will not be thinking, "Oh, well, that's cleared that up, then. The buyer was an unreasonable freebie-seeker." Believe me, they won't. Rather, they'll be thinking, "Wow, I'd rather not deal with this seller - too much hassle if something goes wrong." You haven't convinced any customer that the negative was unfair, because it's all just accusations from both sides - the buyer and the seller. In fact, the pair of you have behaved a bit like squabbling t!t-for-tatters.

Now, think about what you could have done instead.

First of all, a buyer is unhappy. The buyer communicates to you that s/he is unhappy. Hopefully the buyer does this by messaging you rather than opening a case. This gives you a fantastic opportunity to resolve the situation so that the buyer is happy.

If you dismiss the buyer's complaint, and make him/her feel that "too bad, it's not my responsibility if the delivery person damaged the item", you will have a buyer who feels further offended. You will increase the risk of a negative exponentially. So your first step must be to find a way of replying to complaints of this sort with an acknowledgement of the buyer's position and feelings. Also take this as an opportunity to think - did you genuinely pack this item in such a way that it couldn't be damaged? It's not enough to say to yourself, "I've packed like this before, and no one else has ever compained." That isn't the point. Let's say that previously the package has received more careful treatment and that by good fortune similar items haven't been damaged. But this time the package was handled a little more carelessly. That is an EXPECTED RISK.

If you run a thorough risk analysis of your business, risk of damage to items during transit is one that you must factor in. Then you would look at ways to minimise that risk... and the easiest, most obvious way is to package the item with more care. The item was a cardboard stand, yes? You want to be sure that the postie cannot bend this. Think about what sorts of damage could occur - and don't tell yourself things like, "But surely the postman wouldn't do x y z". The postie might. That is what you must guard against - the possible, not just the way in which you think it should be.

The initial reply to the buyer could have been something like,

"Dear [buyer],

I am so sorry to hear that this item arrived damaged to you. I package items very carefully and thus far yours is the first instance of damage on arrival, so I want to be sure that I find the best outcome for you, as well as working out what could have gone wrong and how to avoid that in future.

Could you send me photographs of the packaging, as well as of the damaged item? This will help me identify any causative factors.

Once I establish that damage has occurred, taking into account the photographs, I will look to providing a resolution as quickly as possible. My policy on handling issues of damage includes resending items (if I have more of a particular item), arranging reimbursement through insurance, or refunding in full.

[With regard to the issue of postage, I charge an amount which takes into account packing materials and handling and the postage cost itself (which may include tracking, registering, signature on delivery, insurance, etc.) I always state the postage charge to buyers in advance so that buyers can make an informed decision prior to purchasing. Thank you for your comments and thoughts on this, as I always take buyer comments into consideration.]

I look forward to receiving the photos so that I can proceed in remedying this for you; again, I am so sorry that this item hasn't arrived safely to you.

Regards,

[seller]"

By handling the complaint in this way, you would have almost certainly avoided the negative. You would have received proof that the item was damaged. You would of course have had to refund, but if the buyer raised a dispute you'd have had to do that anyway. Your response as a seller should be based upon how best to minimise your damage and how best to soothe an upset buyer.

Let's say hypothetically, though, that no matter how nicely you replied, the buyer was out to defraud you and badmouth you. Let's say you wound up with the negative as given. What's a way of responding so that you impress buyers with your professionalism and problem-solving approach? Something like this, perhaps?

awful seller, item is very damaged, charged double postage too, terrible Buyer:

y***m ( 10246)

During past 6 months  

• Reply which COULD have been made by bjlcr (15-Feb-18 00:15):
  Item damaged in transit; refund issued. (P&P incl handling, stated up front.)

That reply comes in at 77 characters, is factual, doesn't sound defensive, shows that you resolved any issue, and sounds calmly professional. It doesn't apologise for your postage charges. Postage cost was indeed stated up front.

Basically, I would strongly suggest the following:

• Don't let buyer complaints get to the point of their needing to open a case, but in particular never let it get to the buyer escalating the case. You will end up having to refund plus being given a defect, and almost certainly copping a negative into the bargain.
• Use complaints as a tool for rethinking your current practices in handling, packaging, listing, etc.
• Respond to complaints in a way that deals effectively with customers; don't leave the buyer thinking you're not going to help and you take no responsibility, because as sure as eggs are eggs, the next step will be the buyer looking at eBay's Money Back Guarantee which will force you to refund plus be penalised.
• Use negative feedback as a tool for addressing a public complaint. Well-worded, a reply to a negative can actually make you look more professional and reliable.
• Don't give a negative comment with positive feedback to buyers. Just don't. I can appreciate how upset you were at the effect which the negative had upon your feedback percentage, but all of that back-and-forth makes you look worse, not better.

[dazzledayz]

There's an old sales rule that, if applied consistently, will avoid most customer issues:

"Under promise and over deliver"

You'll leave your customers pleasantly surprised instead of disappointed.

It looks good in feedback too when you get comments intimating "better than expected".

[negron18]

just buy a whole lot of junk from china for $1 dollar with free shipping from different sellers. Will boost again your feedback ratings. $20 worth of junk will buy 20 + feedbacks. Cheap price to pay for marketing and adverstising your reputation as a seller.

[bjlcr · Accepted solution]

I know I have had advice from many excellent people and Thank You

Yes I may have been a bit curt in my reply to this buyer.

I had reached the end of my tether with her.

The item was well protected and wrapped.I never said it was in great condition and the condition of the Cardboard

cut out was very good. Considering its age.

I asked her to return it a few times and I was more than happy to refund

But no the buyer sent me abusive messages ,Said she didnt want a refund ,

The item was worth more than what she had bought it for.

She was aware of that.

She called me names and I went to Ebay to ask them for help with her.

She then complained to Ebay and said I was harrasing her.

I just cut her off and blocked her .

I believe Ebay sent her some warnings because of her language she used.

So there is more behing my curt reply to her.

I will see if I can remove the reply.

Thank you to all with your advice.It is all being taken into consideration