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

pennypinchUK

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.

sarah01uk

"Having been both a buyer and a seller on eBay I know it can be a tricky situation . I was once given negative Feedback because I 'overcharged' postage,by 30p !! Given that the item in question was a brand new,unwrapped item that the person was getting at an absolute snip, £5 instead of proper price of around £50, I thought that was incredibly petty!"

Sorry can't quote properly on here. It's things like this that make me less and less keen to use eBay. It's PACKAGE AND postage cost. Who's to say you don't live miles from a post office and used 30p of fuel to get there... I was given neutral feedback for an item being 'too snug', was a known brand, size 'medium' - I made no claim as to it's size other than a photo of the sizing label. I was tempted to respond that it's the perfect size and they are too fat but I (just about) held my tongue.

As for the dilemma I would agree but change the feedback as other have suggested to 'poor quality item but seller resolved issue and new item good' or something like that. I'd let the seller know that was my plan in advance. xx

Petaldust

You need to take the following things into account:

1. Whether or not you contacted the seller to tell them you were unhappy with the product and whether they tried to resolve the situation before you left your negative feedback.

2. What the problem actually is. Was there clearly something wrong with it meaning it should never have been sent to you, or is it a matter of opinion as to whether the quality is satisfactory?

3. How quickly the replacement reaches you and whether it is satisfactory when it does.

If the quality of the product is as bad as you imply, I would keep the negative feedback on there as a warning to others (because it should never have been sent out in the first place), but assuming you are satisfied with the replacement I would then edit it/add feedback to that end because they corrected the problem.

SnowPixie

rachiibell wrote: »

I would message them saying that I will leave honest positive feedback once the item is received. If it's good quality I would change my feedback to "First item faulty but good quality replacement received". If it's poor quality then I'd write "First item faulty and replacement faulty too"

I don't believe the buyer should leave negative feedback without having the courtesy to at least contact the seller and let them try to resolve the issue in the first instance.

Leaving negative feedback without trying to rectify the issue is a rash decision and can have severe consequences on an eBay seller’s livelihood. Negative feedback, in the heat of the moment is what I like to call ‘email reply rage' a bit like road rage.

Waiting until you have completed the entire transaction before leaving feedback, allows you to provide a true and accurate account of your whole experience and could have saved the buyer from such a dilemma. I’m not saying don’t leave negative feedback, just try to resolve the issue and if you are still not happy then leave the feedback.

In relation to this Moral Dilemma - if the seller is only replacing the product ‘if you change your feedback’ then this is wrong and is not in the true spirit of eBay. There are two options to consider before changing the feedback.

We can only speculate on why the product was poor quality. It could be that the product which was sent was accidently damaged or faulty (unbeknown to the seller) this can happen– if the seller simply wanted to replace the item to the same spec; then after the transaction is complete, you can leave the feedback which you deem is appropriate.

However, it could be that the seller was trying to fleece the buyer (again very wrong) if this buyer felt they were being ‘ripped off’ or sent an inferior product to begin with; ‘not in line with the seller’s description’ only to have the seller essentially ‘upgrade’ the product being sent then ‘negative’ feedback seems appropriate.

The majority of sellers work hard to provide excellent service and avoid negative feedback and it can have detrimental effect on their listings and business. Sellers are offered very little protection by eBay, when buyers fail to read product descriptions and are disappointed by what they receive; there is a lot to say about individual buyers expectations. Although it is not right; this could be why the seller has reacted the way they have. They are trying to protect their business and eBay do advise ‘to try to resolve the issue in the hope that a buyer updates their feedback’ (quote from eBay customer service).

This leaves sellers in a precarious position, how do you word something like this to the buyer without coming off sounding like blackmail. I would advise that the seller should automatically send a new item and carefully worded email. But even carefully worded emails can sometimes be misinterpreted.

My final thought on the subject - if the seller has deliberately misguided the buyer and sent an inferior product, it is essentially blackmailing the buyer and this conduct is unbecoming and immoral – leave the feedback

If they haven’t deliberately tried to mislead you, perhaps neutral feedback and following the above mentioned quote is the way forward.

SnowPixie

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.

I absolutely agree - great reply!

leathersofa

I very much sympathise with the seller here, on the info given. I endorse all that pennypinchuk says. I have more or less given up selling on EBay because of bad experiences with a few buyers. Only a few, but boy is it true that some people take the attitude that the world is out to get them and give no quarter whatsoever. I've had the 'you overcharged me for postage', because I weighed the item at home, gave them the exact postage to pay me and then found it just made it into the lower weight category at the PO. The difference was 11p and the buyer complained. I sent a cheque for the 11p. I sold a pair of chiffon evening trousers with a tiny, neatly mended tear in the hem, mentioned it in the description, they got them for under £5 instead of £50, they left neg feedback. You bust a gut to keep these people happy and get nothing but moans and complaints and neg feedback. If the seller is genuinely trying to put right the situation and has suggested that perhaps you might consider amending the feedback if the replacement pleases you, I'd do the decent thing. Or as someone above suggested, say the original wasn't up to scratch but the seller worked hard to sort things out and you ended up happy.

stmartinsdiver

SnowPixie wrote: »

My final thought on the subject - if the seller has deliberately misguided the buyer and sent an inferior product, it is essentially blackmailing the buyer and this conduct is unbecoming and immoral – leave the feedback
If they haven’t deliberately tried to mislead you, perhaps neutral feedback and following the above mentioned quote is the way forward.

I too have bought and sold on eBay and have experienced a couple of sellers who purposely misled and one buyer who threatened to leave negative feeedback unless I paid for him to return an item and gave him a full refund as the item was "not was he had expected" (it was a brand new duplicated present - still boxed and with a full warranty) despite there being a number of pictures and it was clearly and fairly described. I refused, negative feedback was left, I referred to eBay and they agreed with me and removed the negative feedback, but what a chore this was.
There are unreasonable and dishonest people on both sides of the fence but eBay seems to have more than it's fair share.
I fully concur with the above comments left by SnowPixie as being sage advice.

tain

Yeah change it for a replacement. Bribery works!


What you consider rubbish might be a-ok for others.

tgroom57

A quality issue is different to an item being faulty. I have had a couple of quality issues and in each case resolved ok - once photos have been uploaded to the ebay resolution centre. In each case I chose not to leave feedback, mostly to give seller the benefit of the doubt.

The downside is, if you leave feedback mentioning how pleased you are with a replacement you will encourage other buyers to press for the same. Because of this, I would agree to retract negative feedback and just leave it at that.

As an aside, I don't leave random phrases for feedback. I says it's excellent, or I don't say anything. And the same approach for buyers, so they can see what I expect.

tallgirld

I would change it to positive feedback as the problem has now been resolved.

They shouldn't have sent you a sub standard item in the first place but maybe because of your negative feedback they have learnt their lesson.......hopefully!!