Unfair feedback - are we really powerless?

[craftylittledevils]

Hi,

So I've been selling from my business on Ebay since 2015.

I have never had a negative feedback until the start of this month.

The buyer bought 2 items from me.

I woke up on the 6th February to 2 negative feedback ratings and comments that the items were not as described.

I know this is completely untrue as all my items are carefully described (I only sell cross stitch kits, which all come from the same manufacturer, contain the same items and are described in the same way on all my listings).

The buyer did not contact me about their issue.

They did not open a return request.

I have messaged the buyer several times to try to find out what the problem is and see how I can resolve it.

They will not respond.

Ebay says if they buyer doesn't agree to remove or change the feedback then that's the end of the story as Ebay will only intervene if it fits into their guidelines (abuse, extortion etc). (Even though when I first called I was told my one CSO that they would investigate the matter and get to the bottom of it for me... but that's a whole other issue I have with Ebay giving different information each time I speak to someone).

To make matters even more strange, this same buyer bought 2 other kits from me a few days after the first ones. 

She messaged me to let me know they hadn't arrived (after 5 days) and I replied and asked her to wait one more business day.

The next business day she replied to say the kits had arrived.

I have since messaged her and asked if everything is ok with these 2 kits and she replied that yes, "All's good".

So, then I took the opportunity to ask her again about the first 2 kits she left negative feedback for and now she won't respond again.

I think there should be a requirement for buyers to at least correspond with the seller about the issue before they can leave negative feedback... or open a return request or SOMETHING to show that it's not just a malicious feedback rating and comment.

Any suggestions on where I go from here?

She brought my score down from 100% to 99.5 in one fell swoop 😞

Thanks, Chris.

[numis_phil]

I have been selling on Ebay for 21 years. In the early years I was terrified of getting a Negative. As the years roll on I don't worry about it anymore. Ebay has millions of people and statistical chances are that a percentage of them are going to be stupid, vindictive or idiots. Once you resign yourself to that, the best thing to do is to move on. 

[paper-jack]

Maybe they are not chinese knock-offs but the seller is reselling original Australian Couchman kits (https://ozstitch.com.au/collections/couchman ), although one would think that if that were the case mentioning their origin would be a good selling point. 

[shoppingbag*]

Possibly she has you mixed up with another Seller, and is too embarrassed to admit it?? I would send her a feedback revision request and see what happens. If the negatives remain, do not despair too much, it is bound to happen to all of us sooner or later. Most discerning buyers can see through this sort of thing. If I were wanting to buy from you, I would see that you have responded and offered to sort out any problems, and I would therefore ignore the negatives, especially when you have so many other positive feedbacks to prove you are a good and honest seller. My Seller dashboard shows that I have a 2.7% return rate, yet I have never had a return, just a buyer who opened one against me mistakenly, then cancelled it, but I am stuck with this despite constant promises from eBay that they would remove it. The item in question had not even arrived when this case was opened and described as "Package crushed"

When I read feedback, I realize that there is always someone who will complain and I go for what the majority are saying. I couldn't count the number of times I have seen obviously very unfair feedback given, like positive remarks as a negative feedback, and buyers who expect their $2 Chinese item to be good quality.

[brerrabbit585]

The Dimensions Gold knock-offs are definitely not original Dimensions kits. The internet is full of copies of those and people wonder why Dimensions isn't releasing many new designs nowadays. Cross stitch magazines have been known to go out of business within weeks because of the Chinese copying all the patterns.

NKF is a Chinese brand well known in cross stitch circles for copyright infringement.

[craftylittledevils]

Thank you all to those who provided information or support in relation to the topic I wrote about, the negative feedback from an unresponsive buyer.

I have slept on it and even though it still bugs me, I will put a line under it and move on.

Regarding those of you who are concerned about the products I am selling, that is not what this topic is about, but I have taken your comments on board, thanks.

[tazzieterror]

Like someone else above suggested, I wonder if the buyer has left the negs for you by mistake, and intended it to be for another seller.
Can you see from their feedback history if they've made purchases from a few other sellers lately? Perhaps the negs were intended for one of them if so.