Ebay advice needed ASAP - negative feedback left very unfairly

soolin

cyril82 wrote: »

This is where i disagree, for a buyer to pay then complain later is a bit cheeky and unfair, the postage charges are not hidden and despite their being some feeling that postage should not include any profit i think that's nonsense, you are buying from a business, if the buyer just happened to discover the sellers internal costing would they be entitled to question the amount of profit they are making and ask that they reduce that amount in the way of a refund?

It is all immaterial, if a buyer feels they have been ripped off then they can leave appropriate feedback.

Maybe sellers should look at this another way, we charge exactly what we want and accept negatives as par for the course, if we can sustain a business even with low stars and negative feedback then all is well. If however we can't sustain a business like that then maybe we have to accept that we need to be fair to buyers.

This is back to the original point really, it doesn't matter what buyers accept when they buy an item or what people like us on an internet forum say all that matters is what the buyer thinks when ebay ask them to reflect their buying experience with that seller.

mimi1234

As a BUYER, I would definitely leave negative feedback! Especially as this was a returning buyer. I always send a freebie or give an extra discount to people who come back to me. However, I do feel that the buyer could have done it in a nicer way. i.e. said "I am not happy with the excessive P+P charge, please can you look into it or do something about". That way it allows the seller to do something about it, and if nothing is done, then I think it is totally acceptable that the buyer lets future buyers know about the problem that they encountered. </p>
As a SELLER, I always put the P+P price to double what I would charge people in the UK. I do this on purpose as to be totally honest, I don't really want to sell to people abroad (have had lots of claims re: lost items, which seem very suspicious as 1 even sent a message about the packaging and then made out it never arrived)! But people from abroad tend to be mad and bid anyway (up to them if they want to pay huge P+P fees). But once I post out, I do give a refund as I don't really believe in charging crazy amounts. I feel guilty about it. At the end of the day, it's only a £1 or £2, it's not like you are going to make huge profits.


Anyway, loads of people get negative feedback so the OP should not worry too much. Just be prepared for less people bidding on your items etc. Good luck all the same.

cyril82

soolin wrote: »

It is all immaterial, if a buyer feels they have been ripped off then they can leave appropriate feedback.

Maybe sellers should look at this another way, we charge exactly what we want and accept negatives as par for the course, if we can sustain a business even with low stars and negative feedback then all is well. If however we can't sustain a business like that then maybe we have to accept that we need to be fair to buyers.

This is back to the original point really, it doesn't matter what buyers accept when they buy an item or what people like us on an internet forum say all that matters is what the buyer thinks when ebay ask them to reflect their buying experience with that seller.

yea, you do have a point and running a successful business does require keeping customers happy.

i think it's cheeky of them to complain but what i don't understand is why sellers who profit on postage don't just select "no" where it says "display postage price".

I used to add extra to my postage on some items as if i didn't i would have had to add it to the sale price plus extra for fees, by adding it to the postage i was saving my buyers money, the only loser was ebay but at £900 a month in fees they were getting enough out of me.

Rather than explain all that to the buyer i found it easier to just tick the "no" box, It saves alot of hassle.

cyberbob

mimi1234 wrote: »

As a BUYER,
As a SELLER, I always put the P+P price to double what I would charge people in the UK. I do this on purpose as to be totally honest, I don't really want to sell to people abroad

If you don't want to sell abroad block overseas buyers. Its in your seller preferences

jtaylor2008

Speaking of negatives, is it my eyesight, or has this seller still got 100% even if there is 1 feedback? Why is that then?

http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=just_packaging_supplies&iid=330337909458&de=off&items=25&which=negative&interval=365

System

Well, as a buyer I always consider P&P costs when bidding. If P&P is high (regardless of how much I believe it actually costs to mail the item) I will bid lower to make up for it. At the end of the auction I count the final price I pay (auction end + P&P) as the price I agreed to pay for the item, so I am happy paying it, regardless. I have often ordered 99p items from China and paid £20 P&P, of course the item was worth more than 99p but the seller is attempting to avoid excess Ebay fees. This is common knowledge amongst Ebay sellers. Unfortunately not all buyers understand/know why they are being charged so much for P&P therefore they give neg rep.

MsCrow

candyflossing wrote: »

At the end of the auction I count the final price I pay (auction end + P&P) as the price I agreed to pay for the item, so I am happy paying it, regardless. I have often ordered 99p items from China and paid £20 P&P, of course the item was worth more than 99p but the seller is attempting to avoid excess Ebay fees. This is common knowledge amongst Ebay sellers. Unfortunately not all buyers understand/know why they are being charged so much for P&P therefore they give neg rep.

By taking this approach you are supporting sellers in their circumvention of fees; this isn't right.

I personally never bid on items with excessive postage (I know how to price postage, I used to sell).

I have to laugh in a way as sellers like this are pretty stupid. If they understood their market properly, they would understand that appropriately priced p&p and a generally low start price (providing they know how to sell up an item) will ALWAYS garner a good end price - and usually the chance of better will from buyers who don't feel immediately fleeced. Sellers who take the greed approach dig themselves a pit by restricting their market. Silly sellers. Silly buyers for supporting this.

soolin

cyril82 wrote: »

yea, you do have a point and running a successful business does require keeping customers happy.

i think it's cheeky of them to complain but what i don't understand is why sellers who profit on postage don't just select "no" where it says "display postage price".

I used to add extra to my postage on some items as if i didn't i would have had to add it to the sale price plus extra for fees, by adding it to the postage i was saving my buyers money, the only loser was ebay but at £900 a month in fees they were getting enough out of me.

Rather than explain all that to the buyer i found it easier to just tick the "no" box, It saves alot of hassle.

I don't use paypal postage as I'm old fashioned and queue at the post office. When I do print online (I have some items I can afford to lose so wouldn't make a special trip to the PO just to get a COP) I use Royal mail online as I have the option of 2nd class post , which I don't with paypal, and then I don't get the choice to hide the postage paid.

So even my pre printed labels will show a postage amount.

soolin

jtaylor2008 wrote: »

Speaking of negatives, is it my eyesight, or has this seller still got 100% even if there is 1 feedback? Why is that then?

http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=just_packaging_supplies&iid=330337909458&de=off&items=25&which=negative&interval=365

Every 2000 positive feedback received in a 12 month period wipes out one negative.So very high volume sellers can get a negative without losing their 100% as long as they maintain their level of sales. If sales and feedback start to decline then it is possible for the feedback, even weeks after the neg was received, to go below 100%.

cyberbob

There's a post on the ebay forums about a buyer saying that he has been left negs (6 off) due to the buyer complaining about the postage.

It comes out that the seller charged £10 for a 600gram item! This is nearly a £7 markup.