what happenend to the negative feedback post about the free map

thistledome

aionas wrote: »

I would like to know what you think about this too. I also want to hear from you what you think about the way I conducted myself throughout this, you have all seen my emails to her.

I thought your email came across as a bit mad. Threatening court action etc just because of an ebay neg.

I wouldn't leave a neg, but I would be a bit annoyed to find I'd bought a free giveaway. I think sellers should mention this in the listing, then people could choose to buy it or not. Most people would probably choose to still go ahead and buy it for the reasons you mention and nobody would feel cheated.

On the other hand I didn't realise that this item was also on sale in London until somebody posted about it later.

How do you feel about the buyer's revised feedback? Seemed quite reasonable to me (the words if not the neg).

aionas

Hi, thanks for replying. When I originally saw the neg she left me I went straight to her profile and saw that she also negged the other guy with the very brown looking bag and I thought exactly like you, she was probably having a bad day. You mentioned about writing the email and reading it back removing the emotion, I intentionally walked away from the laptop and did not write to her for a couple of days so that i did not overdo it in the heat of the moment, especially as I had just received news of a death of a close relative which upset me even more... I think under the circumstances and the anger I felt at the time I wrote a firm but polite email stating my case and my options to her. But I cannot stand by and allow someone to insult me in front of what is essentially my customers, it's like someone running a shop and allowing someone to stand in the door and tell everyone he's a conman as they walk in. Worst still, the reason you are a conman is that you are selling bottled water when it is also available free on tap. That's what I felt like! As you say and I said too I did not force her to buy this, she chose to because it was useful for her. And I for one am very proud of my record and reputation and will not allow anyone to say those things about me. You mentioned my emails started well but the threat of legal action was OTT. I had no reply whatsoever or contact from her at any point so when someone is completely ignoring you, you have to look into the other options available. As I explained above, having discussed this with eBay and although they did admit the comments were awful they refused to remove them unless i present them with a court order to do so or the buyer retracted the negative feedback themselves. So I was left with a non replying person on one side and eBay asking a court order on the other. Which was why I wrote to her and explained that if she chose not to do anything about this I would have no other option but to pursue a court order to remove the comment as per eBays' request. I made it clear I do not want to go down this route but that I would if I was forced to. And the worst bit of all is that she had a clear explanation, she had a chance to redeem herself and still decided to leave the negative comment on my record. I knew she would not be able to remove it once it was revised which is why I emailed saying she had to contact eBay now to sort it out. Again no reply and then the emails came from fellow mse's regarding yesterday thread. At the end of the day all this lady had to do was to email me and say hey, I don't like what you sent me, I want my money back and that would have been it. She didn't do that, left neg, she was given a chance to remove it and chose not to take it. I take what you said onboard but I cannot 'leave it as that'. Sorry, not me. I've not been building an impeccable reputation for 7 years to allow this lady to ruin it just like that. Thank you for taking time to write.

pinkshoes

aionas wrote: »

Thanks for that, I'm afraid with this buyer not responding to any of my emails I contacted eBay and they said the only way they would consider removing the neg is if i had a court order so if this is the only way I can get this removed this is the way to go. I would be a pr*ck if i did that without informing her and giving her a chance to put things right first (a chance she never gave me).

But it's just a negative, not the end of the world, and certainly not worthy of court action! Just respond to it honestly and it's unlikely to put any buyers off!

A neg on a sellers feedback doesn't bother me in the slightest so long as it's been responded to in a calm and honest manner. It's the responses in capitals with rude words that would be the only thing that put me off!!

theonlywayisup

aionas,

You need to realise that this negative is not about to 'ruin your business'.

I just caught the tail end of a programme my DS was watching, where an elderely couple were trying to check-in for a flight from Cyprus with one ticket. They had clearly lost the ticket, but everyone they spoke to bore the brunt of their anger, obviously the check-in girl had lost the ticket, it couldn't possibly be them.

Suffice it to say, some people don't see the wood for the trees. Hang around on these boards long enough and you will realise there are a low percentage of justified negatives given. Forget the ins and outs, all you can do now is damage-limitation, your first effort at that failed - you don't see why, but many others do, but whatever YOU THINK, it failed. So now, reply to the negative/or not, but if you do, do it in a grown-up fashion and then move on. From memory, your feedback and DSrs were good, so this will make NO difference at all. You really do need to let it go now.

To be fair to the buyer, she saw the comments on here and took heed, will you do the same?

aionas

thistledome wrote: »

I thought your email came across as a bit mad. Threatening court action etc just because of an ebay neg.

I wouldn't leave a neg, but I would be a bit annoyed to find I'd bought a free giveaway. I think sellers should mention this in the listing, then people could choose to buy it or not. Most people would probably choose to still go ahead and buy it for the reasons you mention and nobody would feel cheated.

On the other hand I didn't realise that this item was also on sale in London until somebody posted about it later.

How do you feel about the buyer's revised feedback? Seemed quite reasonable to me (the words if not the neg).

I don't mind the revised comments but I do mind the negative feedback. It stands out like a sore thumb on my profile and I don't want it there. Had she changed that to a neutral I would accept it and it would be end of story but she didn't.

A few of you say my email came across a bit mad... wouldn't you be a bit mad if someone called you those things? I've said it already but had she contacted me things would have been sorted long before. Had she bothered to engage in conversation things would probably have been sorted long before. But no, it was like i was talking to a brick wall!

I am not the only one selling these on eBay, I don't want to post details of other people and drag them into this without their knowledge but the same map is being sold by other sellers for £0.99 + £3.25 postage. Others are selling just tube maps which have been and always will be free. I am selling something with a retail price which is sold in many places and yes it is also given away in others (mostly hotels). Now not everyone stays in a hotel when they visit London do they? Anyway... deep breaths as the previous comment said... deep breaths!

aionas

theonlywayisup wrote: »

aionas,

You need to realise that this negative is not about to 'ruin your business'.

I just caught the tail end of a programme my DS was watching, where an elderely coupl were trying to checkin for a flight from Cyprus with one ticket. They had clearly lost the ticket, but everyone they spoke to bore the brunt of their anger, obviously the checkin girl had lost the ticket, it couldn't possibly be them.

Suffice it to say, some people don't see the wood for the trees. Hang around on these boards long enough and you will realise there are a low percentage of justified negatives given. Forget the ins and outs, all you can do now is damage-limitation, your first effort at that failed - you don't see why, but many others do, but whatever YOU THINK, it failed. So now, reply to the negative/or not, but if you do, do it in a grown-up fashion and then move on. From memory, your feedback and DSrs were good, so this will make NO difference at all. You really do need to let it go now.

To be fair to the buyer, she saw the comments on here and took heed, will you do the same?

It's not easy to let it go... not easy... I will only let it go once I've exhausted every possible chance I have to remove it. Call me mad, it's the way I am, I see this as an attack on my integrity and I can't just let it go. You say the neg will make no difference at all but I have already seen the difference, she has already caused me a big loss of sales as I have a pretty steady sales history over the last 2 years with the exception of the days after the neg was left. I can prove that my sales decreased dramatically as soon as that comment was left.

aionas

cyberbob wrote: »

I totally agree with the only way is up. The buyer was going over the top. But your emails threatening court action made you look rather ridiculous. As TOWIU said next time take a deep breath before you reply. You can get better responses from people if your polite rather than making ridiculous threats.

I agree with you that being polite gets better responses but not in this case, in fact polite or not, threatening (which i don't think i was - barely stating what ebay told me i would have to do) or not, I still have not received a single reply or communication from this buyer...

theonlywayisup

aionas wrote: »

It's not easy to let it go... not easy... I will only let it go once I've exhausted every possible chance I have to remove it. Call me mad, it's the way I am, I see this as an attack on my integrity and I can't just let it go. You say the neg will make no difference at all but I have already seen the difference, she has already caused me a big loss of sales as I have a pretty steady sales history over the last 2 years with the exception of the days after the neg was left. I can prove that my sales decreased dramatically as soon as that comment was left.

I haven't called you mad. I had agreed with you in principle, however, I think you are now getting a little dramatic.

In general the posters on these boards are either somewhat naive or hardened to Ebay and it's ways.

I am a business seller and whilst I don't boast about sales, they are somewhat more than yours. I still get cross and take personally any negative or neutral comments, but I don't dwell on them. I send an email (nothing along the lines of yours) and tbh have found that most 'problem' sellers then turn into my biggest re-buyers or greatest fans! You cannot force a seller to change her mind. You tried, failed and the negative still stands.

As I said before, you may want to try to contact her following discussion here, but I would be more lighthearted with your email and not follow it up if she didn't reply. As a business, I would be more interested in 'her' coming back as a customer and salvaging that part of the relationship than the petty negative I had received. But then I guess, it takes a lot to make the world go round.

theonlywayisup

aionas wrote: »

threatening (which i don't think i was - barely stating what ebay told me i would have to do) or not, I still have not received a single reply or communication from this buyer...

The buyer came on here, I suspect, hoping to feel justified in her actions. I suspect you now reply feeling the same. In a nutshell, she was slated (in general) for her negative (by most) and you were certainly called 'mad' and 'dramatic'. That's not to say these opinions are correct, but they are the unbaised opinions of a 'lot' of outsiders, with no emotion or gain. It is up to you what you do now, but if it were me, I would read and re-read and certainly digest.

cyberbob

aionas wrote: »

I agree with you that being polite gets better responses but not in this case, in fact polite or not, threatening (which i don't think i was - barely stating what ebay told me i would have to do) or not, I still have not received a single reply or communication from this buyer...

If you sent me an email threatening (which you were) court action I would think what a muppet and ignore you to. If though I had had a polite email apologising for the misunderstanding (yes it may not have been your fault but to retain good customer relations you need to swallow your pride sometimes) I would consider a response.

You say you threatened court action because that's what ebay told you to do. If ebay had told you to run naked around your local town would you have? because it's just as ridiculous as threatening court action over feedback. A little common sense would have gone a long way in this situation

What you need to do now is move on. get on with your selling and a month of sales down the line you may realise what a big fuss was made over this