First Negative received - any tips please

Little_Miss_Winner

To be honest i was quite relieved when I received my 1st negative (!)

I had lived in fear for nerly 2 years of getting a negative, and when the dreadful day appeared and the deed was done........................i breathed a sigh of relief, left a snotty reply (witty one), and then saw my sales double.

Get over it..........................enjoy christmas & new year!!! :xmassmile

Regards,
pot

Becles

From a buyers point of view, if you put a factual response in both your follow up, and the other persons neg, I would still buy from you as portrays a decent person. It looks professional to handle negative feedback in a calm, mature way.

I wouldn't buy from you if you left a childish rant calling the other person names, as I have seen in feedback before, as I would assume the seller was a nutcase!

nightswimmer

I agree with Beckles. From a buyers point of view, i don't mind if someone has a few negatives, as it's the real world and :spam: happens. What I care about, is how the seller responds. A factual response such as 'Item in perfect condition when dispatched - refund offered', not only leaves me with the impression that the seller is professional, but also that they are willing to sort out any problems. Responses that consist of name calling or some 'witty' put down, just leave me feeling like the seller is immature and doesn't give a hoot.

Anyway, I'm sorry you got a negative, especially over something like this. I have still to get my first, but I am sure I will feel much the same way as you do, when I do. But as other's have said, it's not the end of the world, and should have no impact on your sales etc.

BTW, I seem to remember reading that you regain a percentage point when you reach 2000, but I could be wrong.

:xmassign:

Hintza

We all know how feckless some ebayers are.


As a buyer 1 or 2 negatives are no problem; when considering a purchase I am looking for a pattern in neagtives eg arrived 3 weeks late; not as described etc I will then look to see how the seller reacted or offered any mitigating circumstances and I will base my decision on that.

You can mormally spot the totally unreasonable negative a mile away.

As a seller last year I was a bit naughty and expected a consignment of goods to arrive in a day or twos time and started my listing I must have let about 20 people down and fully expected a host of negatives. But at the end of the day I got 4-5 and most of those were from folk on AOL who got their e-mails rejected as spam. The ones who waited patiently eventually were sent two by way of an apology and they all gave me a positive even though items didn't turn up for a month.

The true EBayer is the one that keeps in contact and sorts the problems out (that happen fairly frequently) and you will see that in feedback...those are the ones you want to deal with.

Road_Hog

snowwhite wrote:

Any advice would be great?

The main thing is to stop worrying about it. The more sales you do and the longer you are selling the more likely you are to get a Neg.

Once you accpet it, you can move on and stop worrying about it. It will not be your last. Everyone who has 100% worries about their first Neg, but once you have it you can forget about it.

Remember, you're selling on ebay to make money, not to build up the most impressive feedback score. As along as it is 98%+ nobody is going to take much notice.

Contains_Mild_Peril

I believe your feedback score goes back to 100% when you reach 2000 positives if you have one neg, as discussed on this previous thread
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=100709
I know it hurts when some eejit spoils your perfect record, but it's highly unlikely to affect sales. I usually consider anything above 99% for a regular seller to be fine. 98-99% will usually have me reading the feedback to see what the negs/neutrals were for before I decide whether to make a purchase, though I generally consider anything below 98% to be dodgy.

larmy16 wrote:

I dont have the answer to your question, but I am in the same position regarding a sale I made on Amazon. A really cheap book, but in fabulous condition was sold by me to someone who has just emailed to say the book is really damp and smells of mould!!! Apparently it is stinking their room out. I am in shock about it as I have a very keen sense of smell! The book was like new! I wonder if some people do this as a matter of course - to get the item and a full refund.

So I truly empathise with you. I have 100% on Amazon so it is not going to look good for me if they put that down!

Did you post it in fairly waterproof packaging? If you just used paper packaging it's possible it got damp in the post, but a standard Jiffy bag should keep the contents dry enough, so if that's what you used, the customer was probably trying to screw you.

windym_2

You won't ever go back to 100% but look on the bright side, if you leave a response to her feedback that is short, accurate and nice, she will be made to look the fool and it will enhance your positives so much more.

OllieLong

windym wrote:

You won't ever go back to 100%

You will, as has been said when you reach 2000 positives it will be 100% if you only have one neg.

larmy16

Contains_Mild_Peril wrote:

Did you post it in fairly waterproof packaging? If you just used paper packaging it's possible it got damp in the post, but a standard Jiffy bag should keep the contents dry enough, so if that's what you used, the customer was probably trying to screw you.

I use bubble wrap securely sealed and then a neat packaged brown paper parcel again securely sealed which really is the equivalent of a jiffy bag is it not? Oh anyway, I know that book was like new and there was no smell. How could it have gone from that that to be damp, smelling of mould and so bad their room was stinking of it!!!?

It was also the tone of the email too that was horrible, you know the kind - poor communication skills and an agressive vibe to it. Oh well I just got a lovely email from someone who received their book today and sang my praises on Amazon

PS I have refunded their money but asked for them to return the book and I will refund postage. I will be very surprised if they do.

thanks

PS I had to smile at an auction on ebay I saw today. The guy said "if you are a compulsive complainer or expect to get a used item for pennies, or object to the postage cost - don't bother bidding" :snow_laug

dastephens

Just make sure you block this bidder so that they can't do this to you again.