Recovering From Bad Feedback on eBay - Experts needed

jason101 on 13/10/2018 - 07:47

Hi all,

I've been selling on ebay for about 12 years over 3 or 4 accounts (yes that means as a long time user and constant seller I also never get any of the targeted codes) - I clocked up about 8,000 feedback without ANY NEGS, as in ZERO over 12 years. This was through, shipping daily, sending a personal email to every buyer, refunding unhappy clients, re-shipping items clients claimed never arrived, answering many post purchase questions - generally trying to be a good vendor.

Anyway about a year ago I noticed buyers attitudes starting to change, they know they have paypal protection (ie guaranteed refund rights), they know they can return anything at no cost to them, they know they can leave me feedback and I can not leave them negative feedback. They know their rights under ACL and other statutory positions.

SO….

Not many - but very few buyers turn into complete a$$holes. Something I've really never seen in my seller career on ebay.

This means that they are extremely rude in communications, generally want to start a fight with me when their item doesn't arrive on the day estimated by eBay that it should arrive, immediately defer to threats etc - I can handle all of this, but now I'm finding that they are also diverting to immediately leaving negative feedback as their consumer voice against whatever their issue is (irrespective as to whether I am communicating with them, trying to solve a problem or whatever).

So lets say I sell 120 items per month - only 50 or so buyers will typically leave me feedback (positive), but if I have 2 or 3 wako's (as has happened this month) - I'm going to get 3 negs from my 50 positives.

It really makes me look like a completely hopeless seller.

I have discovered that Australia Post's ebay store sells many cheap items, and these items are needed anyway by me (ie postage bags) and when a buyer buyers from Australia Post on eBay and pays with paypal - Aussie Post kindly leaves positive feedback.

So this helps bury recent negatives in my seller profile with a few positives (albeit rating me as a buyer).

My question is:

Apart from risking my account being banned by performing inter-account transactions, are there any other legitimate ways I can boost my feedback OR do any of the Ozb experts know of any other sellers selling very cheap items and offering immediate feedback on purchase?

General Discussion

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Comments

  • Peace Maker on 13/10/2018 - 08:18
    +29

    When I check a seller for negs I always look for their response in the feedback. If they seem friendly and reasonable the negs don't bother me. Most people realise a certain percentage of users are exactly how you described them.

    • Quantumcat on 13/10/2018 - 21:38
      +7

      Me too, if the negs are about shipping taking too long or something that's fine, I only look out for feedback saying items are fake etc

  • payton on 13/10/2018 - 09:02
    +7

    on the day estimated by eBay

    choose a shipping option that gives you a bit more leeway
    under promise over deliver

    As PM said above don't be a prick when responding to negs, be factual on the recourse you offered
    I'm of the same mind, if I see a 'witty' seller, I avoid them, it just spells trouble from the start

    • Ocker on 13/10/2018 - 12:15
      +5

      Extend your handling time and that way it will extend the expected delivery date for the sale

  • Ryanek on 13/10/2018 - 09:24
    +10

    You just compelled my to go through my eBay purchase history and leave positive feedback.

  • 87percent on 13/10/2018 - 09:50
    +7

    People bitch and moan about everything nowadays, it's like "hmm, what can i get upset about today?"

    But as @payton said, under promise, and over deliver. Few times recently where I've bought something and the seller hasn't posted it until I prompted them, when I got the shipping notification date and it arrived earlier, I was happy

    Also, communication is key. If you can't post today or whatever, an email advising me would be nice

    • altomic on 13/10/2018 - 10:18
      +15

      There is a typo in your comment. Worst comment ever. Will never read again. 1 star.

  • MITM on 13/10/2018 - 10:05
    +2

    Always reply to bad reviews (luckily it's only a few to deal with per month), and turn it into a positive to reinforce your service/goods - ie. have standard replies.

    eg. didn't arrive on time.
    Thank you for taking the time to post your review. We apologise for the untimely delivery of your purchase. As you can see from the overwhelmingly positive reviews above, the majority of our goods arrive on or before the estimate date.
    We eagerly endeavour to deliver all orders by the estimated date but circumstances beyond our control may have affected your delivery expectation.
    We look forward to delivering your next order in good time and will pay particular attention to achieve a more speedy delivery.
    If you feel in hindsight your review was overly negative we'd be appreciative of reconsidering and amending your feedback or if you have further feedback please feel free to contact us directly on/@ ….

    • jason101 on 13/10/2018 - 11:00

      Thanks - agreed, responding the best way - unfortunately eBay gives sellers about 50 characters to lodge their reply ;-)

      Which limits my replies to comments like:

      Never sent.told it’s probably there I just don’t know it.Laughable.evoid seller Buyer:
      Member id XXXXXX

      Reply by XXXXX (13-Oct-18 07:12):
      Dispatch advice sent: Thursday, October 4, 2018 8:32 PM to [email protected]

      Which sadly don't really reflect the whole story or give a chance to make good and strive for excellence in the future (as I seriously want to do)

  • JimmyF on 13/10/2018 - 10:39
    +2

    Not many - but very few buyers turn into complete a$$holes

    They had always been there, just now ebay has given them power via all the things you said about paypal protection and free returns etc.

    when their item doesn't arrive on the day estimated by eBay that it should arrive

    Increase your handling time, which will push out the estimated arrival time, but its a double edge that one.

  • elgrande on 13/10/2018 - 10:43
    +5

    Stop being such a bad seller, then you wont have the issue.

    Just kidding. I hate ebay.

  • [Deactivated] on 13/10/2018 - 10:53
    +1

    There are nice $1 items from China including shipping if you are nerdy and like electronics. Then sell a few small cheap items for a while.

  • askme69 on 13/10/2018 - 10:54
    +2

    Welcome to the #SJW, #TRIGGERED, #OUTRAGE Culture.

  • shaybisc on 13/10/2018 - 10:55

    I sent a question to an ebay volume seller yesterday, asking them if a universal grass trimmer head they sold would fit the grass trimmer they also sold. I got a very quick reply- 5 stars- saying that they do not "offer pre-sale support" so could not answer my question- 0 stars.

    But if I took a punt and bought the two items and they didn't work together, they offer after sales support.

  • jason101 on 13/10/2018 - 11:05
    +3

    I'm actually wondering if the whole "ebay hanging small sellers out to dry attitude" is a masterplan by eBay to eliminate all of the small sellers and focus on the corporate sellers of high end brand name product only.

    By allowing the small seller (say 100-200 items per month) to fail publicly by falling on their own swords they'll exit the platform really leaving only the big guys in the room, who sell on balance items better aligned with eBays corporate brand strategy (ie we are no longer an online garage sale).

    I wonder if the internet has evolved so far that we'll never see a viable competitor to eBay enter the global market?

    • [Deactivated] on 13/10/2018 - 11:07
      +2

      Definitely they do not care about small sellers. They have been trying to shift from classified auctions to high volume buy it now outlets for a while.

  • Fier2 on 13/10/2018 - 11:07
    +1

    I recently have a really bad experience on ebay as a buyer due to miscommunications or just lack of willing from the seller. I payed for 2items and received only 1 . Despite back and forth messagr, the seller didn t want to either send me the missing item or give a partial refund . I ended up giving him a bad review and trust me i didn t like to be the "bad guy". But my point is you have to stand in both side as a seller and as a buyer. One have a legitimate issue and the other one is being deaf…so after 10 days you just got enough….and that s the first time ever i give a negative feedback.

    But what i realised as a buyer is when the seller is sending me a message straight after i placed my order ( automatic one), i m less worry about my purchased and would wait 3-4 days extra after the estimated delivery day.
    Some seller even went extra length to send me an email asking me if i was happy with the items after the purchase and to let them know if there is anything wrong. What i really appreciate and never need to get back to them . That way it increased the trust and i found myself easier to go back to the same seller to get other items from their shop than looking at other sellers.

    • jason101 on 13/10/2018 - 11:35
      +1

      This is something I really need to look into - there must be some sort of automated 3rd party app or something that can assist with these extra emails. Thanks for the suggestion.

    • Ocker on 13/10/2018 - 12:20

      So why didn't you simply open and Item Not Received case, or Item Not As Described? Negative Feedback in such circumstances is a waste of time and effort.

      • Fier2 on 13/10/2018 - 12:35
        +1

        Trust me, i did. Went on live tchat with ebay customer service about my issues. They opened a item not received which was wrong as then the seller provide them with a picture of the packaging ( that i send him because i want to show him the weight on the package) and argue i got my items . Ended up my case being close without being solved. Back on tchat and ebay opened a item as not described. It was really frustrating and upsetting as all i asked was the missing item. And i did tell the seller thatif he do the right thing i won t give him a negative one as i assume that mistakes happen. But obviously that seller just want the money and found out latera couple others people got the same issues as me for the same item. So trust me negative feedback sometimes can be helpfull for others who intend to buy the same products.

  • Cuddle Monster on 13/10/2018 - 18:00
    +1

    We do live in a strange virtual reality world now where net anonymity encourages people to often behave like pricks, where they wouldn’t dare face to face. It’s become more common on Gumtree too. The scamming attempts have also really risen in the last few years. It seems to me that they’ve always been there but are now more emboldened to act out in the “New Age victimhood politically correct” culture we now have.

    Basically…

    1. It’s nothing to do with you. You sound like a good seller doing your best, and that’s all you can do really.
    2. Don’t take it personally.
    3. Underpromise as others mentioned.
    4. Be very practical and straight in how you communicate and handle sales (not responding instantly to tantrums is what I do often on GT)

    I thought it was actually possible to request eBay to review dodgy or unfair reviews. If that’s possible, try that. But yeah, just accept that we now live in a world where tantrum throwers are often acknowledged and rewarded for their nonsense.

  • Some Human on 14/10/2018 - 03:50
    -2

    Resolving feedback is far more effective than burying it. If you’re unable to resolve the feedback with your buyers and unable to get eBay to remove it, I can only assume you have said or done something to upset them.
    Are you being polite to your buyers at all times and treating them with respect?
    When dealing with upset buyers, you need to keep your cool and be the most polite and kind person you can be on eBay, even if that doesn’t reflect who you are in real life.

    Never sent.told it’s probably there I just don’t know it.Laughable.evoid seller Buyer:
    Member id XXXXXX
    Reply by XXXXX (13-Oct-18 07:12):
    Dispatch advice sent: Thursday, October 4, 2018 8:32 PM to [email protected]

    No offense, but the fact you have presented the buyer’s email for the world to see makes me think you may be impolite and spiteful, even though I understand you’ve put it there to warn other sellers. It also seems like you might have been insulting the buyer’s intelligence.

    • terrys on 14/10/2018 - 10:07
      -1

      "Which limits my replies to comments like:"

      They could also be dealing with people for who, like you, language isn't their first language.

      • Some Human on 14/10/2018 - 12:20

        My bad, I thought OP was after advice. I’ve had 2 negs which were undeserving - the issue was the buyer’s fault. By politely talking to them and apologizing even though it wasn’t my fault, I was able to get them to revise their feedback. If OP has done everything right, and has treated the buyer with respect, they would be more likely to revise. If not, he should ask eBay if they can remove the feedback.
        I wouldn’t mind hearing the full version of what OP has said to make the buyer call him “laughable”

        Also

        language isn't their first language.

        English much?

  • Odin on 14/10/2018 - 11:44
    +1

    You can request a revision to feedback, and if that fails you can request ebay delete the feedback. If you've got messages to back it up they'll usually side with you.

    Also if you get negative feedback because a buyer didn't pay. Open an unpaid item case, once it's resolved your negative feedback gets deleted. Happened to me.

    What's annoying (and I had no idea about this) is that you can't give the buyer negative feedback, you can only give positive. So they (profanity) up a sale, and you're forced to leave them with 100% positive feedback when they're a total prick? It's pretty stupid.

  • mjcoll123 on 14/10/2018 - 15:55

    As a very small occasional seller and buyer for many years I can totally empathise. It has changed drastically in favour of the buyer and to the detriment of the small seller. Although I’ve found most buyers are good, there’s always one. I recently sold a dress at auction very cheaply (and how anyone makes any money selling stuff I don’t know, as you practically have to give them away these days). Then the buyer presumably changed her mind and didn’t bother to pay. Foolishly, after giving her a month or so, I opened a case with eBay, who made her pay for it, and I then I sent the item. The next thing I got was a ‘revenge’ case opened by her stating she hadn’t received the item. I had the tracking details proving it had been delivered two days before she opened the case, so eBay again found in my favour. So she left negative feedback to the effect that I hadn’t delivered and tried to blame Australia Post. This also had the effect of destroying my 100% rating of many years - I pride myself on good customer service, politeness and communication. I once upgraded a guy’s purchase to Express Post because I’d been sick and unable to get to the post office (no thanks, of course, and I notice nobody ever leaves feedback anymore either). So, it was back to eBay customer service to get that fixed, which they did do, but the hassle just wasn’t worth selling the item. I left feedback on her purchasing habits, surprised to see she has a 100% rating and glowing feedback, but she has had that removed too, so I wonder how many people she’s done it to. The latest debacle has finished me for good with trying to sell on eBay or online generally - everyone wants something for nothing unless they’re selling it. I sold some Coles minis as I’d heard you could make money (and, being unemployed but not entitled to anything from Centrelink, money is something I really need at the moment). Because of the shocking cost of the postage, which everyone else was offering for free, I lost money and wasted a heap of time. I ended up delivering one across town because it was cheaper to drive there (I needed to go to the area for something else) than post it. I realise that’s AP and not eBay, but the competition is so tight you feel obliged to sell things for a lot more than you should have to. I’m done!

  • ozbjunkie on 14/10/2018 - 20:03

    People can be profanities, but you should give longer delivery estimates, as others say, under promise and over deliver.

    Eg. I bought a tv on the weekend, estimate of Wednesday to Thursday delivery, got a call today to organise delivery, I'll be getting my tv tomorrow and seller will be getting positive feedback.

    At least you're trying, best of luck with your business.

  • altomic on 15/10/2018 - 13:38

    I usually get feedback for less than 50% of sales.

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