Got a NEG on eBay. Now what?

[ianoid]

Since the feedback system changed, I don't entirely understand what to do now. My understanding is that all I can do is leave a comment.

 

Remember me, the guy all about 100%? Well, my 2neutrals lowered me to 99.3% with the new system. Not I got a Neg on a $6 As-is DVD (that's $6 INCLUDING SHIPPING), I'm wondering if anyone knows the new (BROKEN) feedback system better than I do, and can suggest the best thing to do to save face as a seller. Is it even worth writing to the newbie that neg'd me?

 

I'd probably say to the buyer:

1)You should have contacted me for a refund or at least to complain.

2)It was sold as-is.

3)The DVD worked fine for me.

4)It could be resurfaced for $2 at Hollywood Video.

5)I hate you!

Edited June 11, 2008 by ianoid

[Rick Weis]

I don't entirely understand what to do now.

 

quit ebay and go to chasethechuckwagon.com

 

Rick

[ianoid]

Could get Negs there too! I haven't even looked into the feedback system at CTCW.

 

Seriously though, I do plan to list a bunch on that site, but all vidgame stuff. I sell mostly non-video game stuff on eBay. And super common stuff that I probably can't get much for on CTCW.

 

ian

[Prodos8]

Pray the doofus gets NARU'd soon then ebay will remove your neg. I peeked at his feedback and he's already given two negs (including yours) and a neutral in the couple months or so he's been on. It looks like he's let the fact that sellers can't retaliate go to his head. I'm putting him on my blocked list, don't want to take chances with a buyer that obviously can't read/comprehend item descriptions.

[the.golden.ax]

Your first choice should be contacting the buyer to ask them what was wrong. Applogize for it (even if you didn't do anything wrong). Tell them it is always best to contact the seller before leaving bad feedback. Tell them that any good seller will want to make the situation right, and because you care, you are still willing to correct the problem. Then even if you take a loss, offer them a refund. Do not point out your side, do not tell them you hate them. I hadn't checked into it, but if mutual removal exists, or squaretrade removal still exists that would be the next route to take, beyond leaving a follow-up comment in responce to the negative on your own account stating that you refunded the buyer and corrected the situation. They should also be able to "follow-up" to your follow-up, saying that you made it right, even if it can not be removed. Don't reward them with a positve with negative comments. It only raises their score and does little to help your case.

 

A small percentage of people will not respond. But this is a better way of trying to resolve it than getting mad and giving it to the idea that it's there and it can't go away. There should be other loop-holes you can pursue as well. Check contact information and call the phone number. If it's a kid or a wrong number ebay will ban them and remove the feedback for having invalid contact info. Don't call them unless it is a last resort and you are sure you won't get in a verbal fight. You don't want them to have any grounds for harassment charges. Last (theory) if you refund them and file a non-pay alert, as non-payers it should get removed (as I read and understand the terms of the new feedback system).

 

 

Hope these ideas help.

 

AX

[holygrailvideogames.com]

eBay's new feedback system no longer allows for mutual feedback removal. You can either get a court order to remove the feedback or hope that the guy gets booted from eBay and then eBay will remove the feedback. The new system has many flaws. One of the biggest flaws is that they started counting neutrals as negatives.

[flyers156]

A shining example of why ebay's changes to the feedback system suck ass. It allows borderline retarded people that don't understand eBay screw up a giid sellers' reputation for god knows what reason.

Edited June 11, 2008 by flyers156

[zombiecraig]

eBay's new feedback system no longer allows for mutual feedback removal. You can either get a court order to remove the feedback or hope that the guy gets booted from eBay and then eBay will remove the feedback. The new system has many flaws. One of the biggest flaws is that they started counting neutrals as negatives.

 

 

A court order. What a joke.

 

9 years ago, I really enjoyed using eBay. These days, I absolutely despise the service.

 

The seller can do nothing. If someone wins an item and really thinks they got a good deal, they can still leave negative feedback just for fun.

 

Sure eBay "encourages" contacting sellers when there is a problem, but most people are so upset when there is a problem that they don't take the time to consider that, or don't have the patience to wait a day for the seller to answer them.

 

I would love to see a mass exodus of sellers from eBay. But the way eBay is today, there are too many people making a living selling through it, so I really don't see eBay being hurt at all.

[lemoncurry]

One other small consolation is that the neg, if it stands, will only count toward your score for a year.

 

The flip side of that, though, is that since only a year counts, each transaction has the potential to lower your score much more than if the earlier transactions were still counted... I tend to sell in spurts, so a neg could drop my score dramatically even more months later when a batch of old sales goes past the one year mark!

 

They really are serious about trying to make sellers keep their noses clean! (and encouraging me to sell more consistently!)

 

I do agree that the new system sucks! It is so one-sided. Something with so many potential ramifications should require them to examine issues, privately, apart from the public feedback.

 

One thing's for sure, it is tempting me to ditch the separate seller and buyer id's so the buyer positives will help my seller score again! (Do they still let you combine two id's?)

[Shawn]

eBay's new feedback system no longer allows for mutual feedback removal. You can either get a court order to remove the feedback or hope that the guy gets booted from eBay and then eBay will remove the feedback. The new system has many flaws. One of the biggest flaws is that they started counting neutrals as negatives.

 

 

yep why even have neutral cause it's a negative no matter how you look at it. I got my first neutral the other day and I was pretty pissed. I advertise up front that shipping is 2 weeks from Canada to most parts of the USA and it took 17 days to get to the guy so he left me a neutral for it. Total asshole to talk to also as I tried talking common sense with the guy and it ended up in a typing war by the end of it. I always leave feedback first and this is the first time it's bit me in the ass for doing so. Inthe endthereis some people you just can't satisfy no matter what. It's like it's their goal in life to bitch about anything and everything possible. I can only imagine the kind of douche bag's this type of person is in real life.

Edited June 11, 2008 by Shawn Sr.

[Albert]

eBay's new feedback system no longer allows for mutual feedback removal.

...

One of the biggest flaws is that they started counting neutrals as negatives.

I wasn't aware of either of these. Ridiculous.

 

..Al

[Almost Rice]

Would it matter if mutual feedback removal was available? The buyer would never agree to remove since the seller can't leave negative.

Edited June 11, 2008 by Almost Rice

[pangasinan]

Is it possible for a buyer to remove a neg feedback from a seller,once they have left it ??

Edited June 11, 2008 by pangasinan

[DreamTR]

Is it possible for a buyer to remove a neg feedback from a seller,once they have left it ??

 

Sellers can't leave negatives anymore. This whole system is just an atrocity. No matter what you do, the Buyer has all the control no matter what happens. I've had so many people not pay these days that it's sickening. You can't even tell good buyers from bad when they don't have negatives.

[Albert]

Would it matter if mutual feedback removal was available? The buyer would never agree to remove since the seller can't leave negative.

Well, can the seller leave a neutral? Does that neutral show up as a "negative" when calculating your feedback percentage? If so, that might be incentive for some buyers..

 

..Al

[djpubba]

No a seller cannot leave neutral.

[ianoid]

Basically they took an old somewhat broken system that we were used to, and turned it into a totally broken essentially useless system that is no better than non-auction clearance sites. In trying to make eBay more like shopping at the mall (which seems to be everyone's goal, including the Goodwill), they have successfully made the feedback system essentially useless as a source of info.

 

To call eBay 'serious about trying to make sellers keep their noses clean' is like saying that the US is getting serious about terrorism. No matter how hard a seller tries, eBay doesn't educate buyers enough to ensure that negatives are not left in a candid, irrelevant manner. Every neg I've had to convert into a neutral with mutual withdrawal has come from an obvious moron newb who has no clear understanding of the system. Heck, nowadays even experienced sellers (like me and many others posting here) have no clear understanding of the system.

 

This buyer left a neutral instead of a positive, when a comment was positive. Clearly no understanding of the system.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again; when will the heir apparent arise to save us from the poorly operated monopolizer that is eBay? I hope it's google or craigslist or something who follows the current trend of socialization. I still think that Facebook would be an excellent platform for trading. People have to come forward with real information about themselves rather than trading and leaving negative comments in relative anonymity. (Note that I am a cursory Facebook user at best, but social networking could be an excellent aspect of auction sales).

Edited June 12, 2008 by ianoid

[ianoid]

Your first choice should be contacting the buyer to ask them what was wrong. Applogize for it (even if you didn't do anything wrong). Tell them it is always best to contact the seller before leaving bad feedback. Tell them that any good seller will want to make the situation right, and because you care, you are still willing to correct the problem. Then even if you take a loss, offer them a refund. Do not point out your side, do not tell them you hate them. I hadn't checked into it, but if mutual removal exists, or squaretrade removal still exists that would be the next route to take, beyond leaving a follow-up comment in responce to the negative on your own account stating that you refunded the buyer and corrected the situation. They should also be able to "follow-up" to your follow-up, saying that you made it right, even if it can not be removed. Don't reward them with a positve with negative comments. It only raises their score and does little to help your case.

 

A small percentage of people will not respond. But this is a better way of trying to resolve it than getting mad and giving it to the idea that it's there and it can't go away. There should be other loop-holes you can pursue as well. Check contact information and call the phone number. If it's a kid or a wrong number ebay will ban them and remove the feedback for having invalid contact info. Don't call them unless it is a last resort and you are sure you won't get in a verbal fight. You don't want them to have any grounds for harassment charges. Last (theory) if you refund them and file a non-pay alert, as non-payers it should get removed (as I read and understand the terms of the new feedback system).

 

 

Hope these ideas help.

 

AX

 

 

I'm pissed, but I am prone to taking your approach. I don't anticipate giving the buyer a refund though. Why bother if there is no recourse to negatives. Nobody seems to understand if they can leave additional comments or retract?

 

I've come to accept that I will be getting far worse feedback now than before. And I don't really think I care. Everyone will be getting them.

 

And I also agree that there is no point having buyers and sellers accounts since I can only get positives as a buyer now. It will only dilute the useless negs I get as a seller.

 

ian

[ianoid]

Not to spam my own post, but here is what messaged to the bidder:

 

"I was surprised to receive a negative feedback from you. If you had read the item description, it stated that the disc was rough. I did watch the whole movie without skips. I think it could have been cleaned or resurfaced, which is a relatively cheap way to go. Either way, it would have been appropriate to hear from you with some request for recompense. You might have notice that I have been on eBay for almost 10 years with no negatives. This is certainly not the first problem I've had. It's not that anyone can make every experience perfect as a seller. Good sellers like me go out of their way to please unsatisfied customers. Unfortunately since you already left me a negative, I'm not sure what there is left for me to do. I see that you have had very few transactions and have left several neutrals and negatives already. Experienced eBayers don't need to leave negs much because they realize that communication is 99% of the process. "

 

I'm not comfortable messing with paypal and refunding then filing an NPB in case there is some way I can get into trouble for that. Of course it would take months or more for paypal or eBay to make sense of it, but that last thing I need is trouble with paypal. That's like being in trouble with the government if you are an eBay seller.

[lemoncurry]

To call eBay 'serious about trying to make sellers keep their noses clean' is like saying that the US is getting serious about terrorism. No matter how hard a seller tries, eBay doesn't educate buyers enough to ensure that negatives are not left in a candid, irrelevant manner. Every neg I've had to convert into a neutral with mutual withdrawal has come from an obvious moron newb who has no clear understanding of the system. Heck, nowadays even experienced sellers (like me and many others posting here) have no clear understanding of the system.

Your comparison is eerily accurate, the US has made air travel, etc a royal PITA in order to supposedly thwart the actual bad guys.

 

Yes, good sellers will take some hits, but bad sellers should be weeded out much more readily. One would hope, at least.

 

Still sucks, though!

 

I have seen at least one goofball buyer get NARUed over leaving irreverent negs, however.

[the.golden.ax]

Then Let's all move to Canada (joke)

 

I just work up... the world sucks.

[pangasinan]

Is it possible for a buyer to remove a neg feedback from a seller,once they have left it ??

 

Sellers can't leave negatives anymore. This whole system is just an atrocity. No matter what you do, the Buyer has all the control no matter what happens. I've had so many people not pay these days that it's sickening. You can't even tell good buyers from bad when they don't have negatives.

You have misunderstood what i mean..my fault,If i as a buyer leave a seller a neg feedback am i able to remove that neg feedback later on if the seller makes amends.

[Prodos8]

You have misunderstood what i mean..my fault,If i as a buyer leave a seller a neg feedback am i able to remove that neg feedback later on if the seller makes amends.

No you cannot.

 

That's why you are supposed to try and work problems out with the seller BEFORE you leave feedback.

[doubledown]

The new feedback policies are definately crap, but so were the old ones. I as a seller leave feedback the instant the buyer has fufilled his/her obligation to me (making payment). Where as 95% of persons I buy from don't leave feedback untill I leave feedback for them. With the old system it was obiviously because they were holding their feedback in case I gave them a negative, then they would just give me a negative too out of spite. Which did happen more than once, and which is why my score now has a few negatives. The only negatives I have are as a buyer, in each case I guaranteed I paid for the auction withing 24 hours with an instant PayPal payment. So how on my part does that constitute a bad transaction thus constituting a negative mark on my account. At least with the new system I can leave a neutral/negative without fear of vendictive asshole reprisal. I personally look too much at feedback any more any ways. My feedback score is up around 450 with only those couple negative retailtory strikes, and I don't really think it's going to affect a buyer's decision that much. I honestly rarely check a seller's feedback with the possible exception of what their overall number is.

[Buyatari]

Thats awful.

 

The real reason for the change is so less sellers file NPB alerts.

 

You file a strike against someone and you get negged. It will be the last time you file a strike against someone and you just eat that small fee next time.