Real-life MMD: Should I change my eBay feedback now the seller's replaced my item?

vaughanmaria · 26 March 2014 at 2:02PM

Perhaps next time you should contact the seller first to give them an opportunity to resolve the issue rather than immediately leaving negative feedback - it does after all affect their ratings and can be detrimental to their selling in the long term.

If they offer no compromise or solution - then feel free to leave your feedback.

Seems fair to me.

vaughanmaria · 26 March 2014 at 2:13PM

pennypinchUK wrote: »

Wow, I've just read other people's responses after I'd posted mine, most of which don't appear to accept that occasionally things can go wrong, often for reasons completely out of the hands of the seller.

Here's a little perspective from a person who has been a full time eBay seller for several years. I go to extraordinary lengths to give the highest levels of outstanding customer service (I'm the highest level "Top Rated Seller", Powerseller, etc. and by bending over backwards I typically manage to keep my feedback rating at 99.8 or more, based on about 12,000 feedbacks a year, that's about 20 negative feedbacks a year). But still some people cannot be satisfied.

Ebay is a hostile environment for sellers. Most buyers are great; understanding, reasonable and flexible. However, a significant minority of buyers think they can use the threat of negative feedback to the point of extortion. Unfortunately, the default position of some buyers is that all sellers are out to rip them off. In my experience, this is the complete opposite of the truth. The level of customer service a business seller must provide on eBay is way higher than the level you'd ever dream of in a shop.

Occasionally, things go wrong (delays or damage in the post, the item is faulty even though on visual inspection at dispatch it looked fine, a different level of quality compared to the customer's - sometimes unreasonable - expectations. Etc.)

The first time a seller becomes aware of a problem is often when the buyer posts negative feedback, without giving the seller a chance of resolving the issue. If the buyer bought the item in a shop they'd return to the shop and resolve it there. They'd not immediately post a damning press release and start a campaign of civil disobedience(!), but some people hit their default "scam" button without a seller even knowing there's a problem.

So what is a seller to do? Try to restore their reputation, that's what they do. They say "I'll fix the problem for you, if you fairly give me the chance to."

There's a world of difference between giving good post-sales customer service and "bribing" someone to retract negative feedback. Asking someone to remove negative feedback once the seller has had a chance to fix the problem is fair and reasonable, and just good business practice.

Even eBay know that in many instances it is right to rescind negative feedback, that's one of the reasons why they've got the facility to do it.

Couldn't agree more with this one! As a full time seller on ebay the seller is penalized time and time again - its a buyers market, even though the sellers keep ebay in business with their ever increasing fees! So irritating - buyers should not be allowed to leave negative feedback until they have contacted the seller and even then it shouldn't be brandished around like a tool of mass destruction!

MadVicky · 26 March 2014 at 2:17PM

I can understand the seller's interest in maintaining their feedback rating because one negative can have a significant impact on a seller with otherwise positive feedback (assuming this is the case). However, it's a bit sly to offer a better product for better feedback.

If I was in your position I think my next steps would be decided by how much I paid for the original product. If you paid a lot and received poor quality for it, then I would stand by your feedback because it warns other buyers. If you paid little for the original product then I would take the replacement and give the positive feedback (if the replacement is good quality) because the old saying "you get what you pay for" would apply in that case.

That said, if it seems like the poor quality of your original product might be one-off (e.g. faulty) then I'd take the replacement option because you do get the 'faulty' product from any seller, whether on ebay or on the high street, and it only seems fair to allow the seller to fix the problem.

neilleeds · 26 March 2014 at 2:24PM

The review should not be changed, that would be taking a bribe to give a false positive opinion of the product. Just get a refund and take your business to another seller. If the buyer feels they should change their feedback then fine but that should not be done in exchange for money or goods from the seller.

King_Drax_I · 26 March 2014 at 3:01PM

Could I ask the OP, and I may have missed it, but did you contact the seller and give them chance to put the problem right *before* you left your negative feedback?

Because if you didn't, then he's just doing his best to put things right, making the best of a bad job that was quite frankly made by you, the buyer.

Even if you did contact him before leaving feedback, maybe you haven't disclosed all your exchanges with him. What many posters have said about sellers being reasonable is true....and it does sound still as if he's trying his best Give the guy a break. Buyers like you are why eBay is in the mess it is today.

So, if he's put things right, then definitely change the feedback. Surely you now have nothing to complain about!

MrsFlu · 26 March 2014 at 3:43PM

My husband bought me a watch on Ebay for my birthday. First time I wore it, the strap broke. The seller refunded the money and my husband gave them neutral feedback. They then contacted him and offered him £10.00 if he changed his feedback to positive! You can guess what he said.

gaving7095 · 26 March 2014 at 4:20PM

I would report them & stick with the negative feedback.
Personally I find that kind of seller behaviour despicable, it goes against exactly what the feedback system is in-place to do.

bear_it · 26 March 2014 at 4:53PM

Good comments, all - good to see most people are as hacked off with eBay being the buyers little !!!!!

Write a Terms of Business into every listing stating clearly how you operate, what your P&P rules are, refund policy, expectations of buyers in relation to concerns etc etc and by doing so any issue with negative feedback or keyboard heroes can be escalated to the Res Centre in respect of any complaints. This way you win far more than you lose as if you clearly state your terms, the buyer has very little to complain about as their contract to buy is on those terms (as long as said terms don't contravene eBay policy)

This is especially good for dealing with these charmers who hide behind sniping tools (which IMHO should be illegal - it's like walking up to a complete stranger about to buy a pair of shoes and saying "Those are mine"). Bidding on something with only 10 seconds left, having asked no questions, requested any pictures and not bothered to view an item beforehand is essentially buying blind and I treat it as such - any negative comments and we're straight into the Res Centre

As for this case in particular - report the seller. You'd be doing all honest sellers a favour helping to clear out the bottom feeders

juliamarsh · 26 March 2014 at 9:17PM

I thought feedback could not be changed once it had been left? Anyway I think both parties are wrong here. The buyer should have given the seller an opportunity to rectify the problem before leaving negative feedback. With the best will in the world, things do sometimes go wrong and provided the seller takes steps to put the matter right then I would always leave positive feedback but just explain that the item was faulty but the seller refunded/replaced. I wouldn't leave neutral either (like the case here with the broken watch strap) as long as the seller had rectified the issue promptly. The only time I would ever leave negative (and I hardly ever have) is if I had tried several times to contact the seller and they had failed to respond, meaning I had to resort to opening a dispute. Notwithstanding this, the seller should have replaced/refunded the item regardless, not made it dependent on the buyer changing the feedback and this is also wrong.

Off on a tangent, I think it is wrong that sellers are not allowed to leave negative feedback for buyers. I understand why it was implemented, so that buyers could be honest and not have to worry about the seller retaliating with tit for tat negative feedback, but some buyers do not fulfil their side of the bargain and why should they get away with this scot free? I am usually buying not selling, but whichever way round it is I always try to fulfil my side of the bargain as efficiently as possible, I guess that's why I have 100% positive! If I sell and the buyer pays promptly, I always leave them positive feedback without waiting to see what they write about me, because as far as I am concerned they have met their obligations as a buyer. Ebay can be a sticky business at times, that's for sure!! :rotfl:

babushkava · 26 March 2014 at 11:38PM

I ordered a board game compendium on CDrom from a seller on ebay.
When it arrived, the packaging was a plain white paper sleeve, nothing like the picture on the advert. This was a problem, because I wanted to give it as a gift and without the branding, it looked a nothing present.
I put the CD into my own pc, to test whether to keep it or not, since, if it worked well, I could make my own fancy wrapper as a compromise. However, my pc was so full of warnings about the unproven source of the CD, the program being unknown and highly suspicious and that to download it was likely to damage my pc. It was a stronger set of warnings than is usual with a download.
I wasn't concerned about this as my firewall would warn me again - but I was getting rather fed up with the non-value of this potential gift.
So I rated the item low and contacted the seller, via ebay, at the same time, saying that the item was not as pictured, nor as described on the site ("new in original shrink-wrap by the manufacturer").
I declared that it was no use to me and certainly not going to be any use as a gift, for the reasons above.
I offered that, if the seller remedied this matter and gave me what I had paid for, I would immediately upgrade my rating.
The seller responded, within a couple of hours and apologised that the item was not in its original wrapping, 'but it is completely genuine'. He also said that my pc was probably struggling with the basic nature of this CD program and offered advice on how to download it safely.
He did not follow up about the offer of an upgraded rating. He refunded me the full cost of the game immediately.
I contacted the seller again, to thank him for the advice and refund. I asked how to send back the item. I also could not find a place on ebay to change my rating of the seller, so I asked him to help with that as well.
He sent me an email that enabled me to still state my reservations, but to say that I had received a full refund and regarded this seller as reputable.
He firmly declined my offer to return the CD. He changed the details on ebay to make clear the facts to exactly describe and show what he is selling.
I felt this to be a very satisfactory conclusion - though I will not download the CD, I certainly have not lost anything by having bought it.

Real-life MMD: Should I change my eBay feedback now the seller's replaced my item?

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