Archive for the ‘Negative Feedback’ Category

Dear eBay Queen:     

I’ve purchased several items from the same bead seller. Every order before this one was perfect. I bought some stone beads on eBay, amethyst and cherry quartz. The auctions for both indicated the beads were 16″ strands. I received the items, but they were not described. Instead of receiving a strand of beads, I received one single bead, that I think resembles cherry quartz, but is browner than what was shown in the photo.

I wrote the seller and told him that the amethyst arrived fine, but the strand of Cherry Quartz was missing. I explained I received a single bead, and if I had thought I was paying $14 for one bead, I would not have purchased it.  I stated I would like either a refund of the $14, or for them to send out the strand of quartz that I paid for.

He wrote back saying that he “double checked” his records, and that they have TWO people that check their stuff, and in fact they DID send the order that included BOTH the strand, AND a single bead.

The box arrived sealed, and the strand was not there.  So what do I do now?  He’s a Top Rated Seller and a PowerSeller, so I’m sure there is no recourse for me.

I’ve read some of your previous articles and you suggested going through PayPal, but why would I do this?  They are owned by eBay!  Do you have any other suggestions for me?  If not, I guess it cost me $14, but it will cost him word of mouth and any new sales from me.  Maybe the loss of my sales won’t hurt him because he’s a power seller.

Fran Campbell

Dear Fran:

eBay does own PayPal, but I don’t believe that is a bad thing.  Their partnership will only help your cause.  In a situation like this, I would contact your seller one more time.  Let your seller know that you are a repeat buyer, and that you would be happy to send them a photo of what you received.  Give them a day or so to respond.  If the seller doesn’t respond, I would file a complaint with PayPal.

eBay and PayPal care about your buying experience.  I would imagine that your seller cares too.

Dear eBay Queen:

I had a men’s suit up for sale that was clearly olive green and marked as olive green in the listing. For some reason, the product finder mistakenly had the color as black. This was my fault for missing that.  Before the buyer paid for the item, he tried to back out of the sale by saying he wasn’t sure it fit.  Today I received this email.

Here is the email that the buyer sent me:

“I received the suit yesterday and I have to say I am dissapointed. Quite surprisingly it fits just fine. I will need to extend the waist by an inch or so but the jacket fits beautiiful which was my main concern.

The problem is the color. Your description says black ….the pictures show beigee and the actual color is green!!

I have purchased 11 suits in 4 weeks from ebay and have perfect record of paying and feedback and have been very reasonable with the sellers..

In this case I am lost as I have 3 green suits. If you have something else I would consider it, else I would request full refund incl shipping as the item is grossly misrepresented. You have fantastic feedback and
mistakes do occur. I hope you will rect”

***Yes, he did send the email mid sentence.

Now, I disagree with him on all counts, except that I accidentally put black in the product finder, but the description and pictures are clearly not black. Also, I have no issues issuing a refund, but I want to insist upon my return terms and I most definitely do not want to pay for return shipping.  What’s your opinion on this?

Jaime

Dear Jamie:

There isn’t really anything to do except offer to accept the return.  I would email the buyer immediately and ask them to return the item.  Since there was an error in the listing, I would bend over backwards to make sure the buyer is happy.

They already mentioned your “fantastic feedback.”  While eBay won’t consider this a threat, to me the buyer is saying “hey I’ve seen your feedback and I just might leave something if you don’t do what I want.”  Keep in mind they could be being complimentary, but they are waiting, and believe that you are going to do the right thing.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 390366911972 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page. President’s day was this week!  Check out this Abraham Lincoln Autograph Signed Note.  I would have thought it would have sold for more.   Check it out HERE   SOLD $7500.00

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul, Kansas.

Dear eBay Queen:

I have a customer that wanted to buy four different items out of my eBay store.  My eBay listings say I do not combine shipping, because all my items are pre-packaged.  The buyer called me and we talked on the phone about shipping the items together. He asked me to combine the four items in a large box, which I did.  The next day he bought something else out of my store too, but I shipped that separately.

He emailed me to tell me the smaller box got to him last Friday. The large box has not been delivered and it shows on the USPS website that it never left my Post Office. The buyer is now wanting to wait another week to see if it comes or not.  If it doesn’t arrive by next week, he wants me to refund him and me file for the insurance.  He says it takes 3 months for insurance to be paid, and he is not going to wait on the refund for it.  Should I refund him and file or do I make him file? How should I handle this?  It is my first time I’ve ever had an insurance claim.

Theresa

Dear Theresa;

I have always wondered how well your way of shipping works.  In the last 13 years I have contemplated wrapping the items before I send them, but have never taken that step to do it.

The first thing I would do is contact your postmaster.  Give them the information on your package, and see if they can find it.  While you are on the phone with them, discuss the best way to start an insurance claim.  It’s been awhile since I have had a claim with USPS, but I do know it has to be missing for 30 days.  I’m not sure where your buyer got the 3 months.  I would also ask your postmaster if you need your buyer’s signature that it did not arrive.  If you do, I would send the paperwork to them, and let them sign and send it back before I refunded their money.   I hope your package is found and this works out for you and your buyer!

Dear eBay Queen:

I am going to have to file a non paying claim tomorrow. Can this person, (buyer,) in turn give me a negative feedback for pure spite?  I have been lucky and never received a negative in my 6 years of selling.  This time I think the buyer is a little nuts.  They’ve sent me ALL kinds of weird emails about the transaction.  I have found with most buyers, they won’t even take the time to leave a negative, but this buyer makes me wonder.  I strongly believe that if I have to file a non-paying buyer claim, they should lose the privilege of leaving negative feedback.  Is there such a thing? Can they leave feedback for me?

JP; Gardner, KS

Dear JP:

The answer is yes and no.   Let’s say you file a claim tomorrow, and the buyer leaves you a negative an hour later.  That negative will stay there for seven days until you close the claim.  Once the claim is closed, the negative is eligible for removal.  For more information, http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/unpaid-items.html

I’ve had this happen to me before, and it seemed like the longest seven days I’ve ever waited. I even called eBay it annoyed me so bad.  Their advice was to respond, with something like: “Buyer has not paid”.  Don’t mention anything about filing a claim, as your feedback response will be removed, but not the comment the buyer left, unless it also makes reference to a claim.

I hope this buyer is like most, and pays without problems.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 330588694086 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page) Do you like ice cream? I’ve never given much thought to what I use to scoop ice cream out with.  Have you?  Check out this Pistol Grip Round Tube “Old” Ice Cream Scoop SOLD $292.92  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pistol-Grip-Round-Tube-OLD-Ice-Cream-Scoop-/110736943334

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul. Do you have a question for the eBay Queen? Email: questions@asktheebayqueen.com

Dear eBay Queen:

I was selling a Coach designer purse that I purchased 6 months or so ago in Branson at the outlet store. I listed this in the auction and said I would include the purse, box, dust bag and original receipt when I shipped the item. I did not know it, and no one pointed it out to me, but I accidentally had a typo in the title of the auction.  Apparently some of the other sellers were not happy about this and complained to eBay.

I don’t know why eBay, or the people that were angry just didn’t just send me an email letting me know there was a problem.  I return all emails quickly, and I would have corrected the mistake if I knew. The purse was pulled by eBay saying it was a counterfeit item without even a question or comment to me!

Did they even care about my 100% Positive remarks? I have found that they don’t bother to check or ask questions. They just take the word of sellers (probably their top sellers who are upset that I had the nerve to sell something that they sell).  I went on the eBay discussion boards and asked people there what happened, and I was not treated very well there either.

I am done with eBay, I can sell my items at a garage sale without all the hassle. I tried to call and found it very difficult to talk with anyone. I notice they don’t have an email option for sellers to ask questions. Why not be proactive, answer questions and be customer friendly? After all, who is paying their fees? I do believe it is the sellers. Well, I don’t need to pay them anymore. My husband told me to give it another try, he suggested I write you and ask for your advice in this matter.  So, eBay Queen, what would you do?

Angry, Lee’s Summit, Mo

Dear Angry:

I know where you are coming from, and I completely understand your frustration.  Fashion/Designer items are one of the hardest categories to sell in on eBay.  It is one of the categories where a seller could sell fraudulent or fake goods.

You mentioned you still have the receipt for the item. Did you include this in the photograph?  If I were you, I would contact eBay letting them know you have the original receipt, and would be happy to fax it in to them to prove it is not a fake Coach bag. Once you do that, they will remove the note they have on your account. 

I get that you don’t want to sell on eBay because of how you were treated. I urge you to give them a second chance.  This particular category can be pretty hard to sell in.  There are plenty of “purse snob” out there wanting to knock your listing down any chance they get.  If you do decide to give it another try with this purse, make sure you take a photo of the receipt and include it in the listing.  This is a one-time occurrence, and would not have happened in any other category.

Dear eBay Queen:

I won an auction for PlayStation 3 with games on the 18th of July.  I paid the seller with PayPal within 2 days, and since then I have had nothing but troubles with the seller. He originally said he sent it with UPS, then he claimed he recovered it and was going send the item with FedEx.

I have contacted the Police Department in his town, and I filled out an online Fraud Form.  I just recently learned from reading one of your old posts online that I could use the eBay or PayPal Dispute system.  I have filed a dispute, but I don’t know if that will do anything.  I have called the guy but he always hangs up as soon as he hears my voice.  I just want to know what is happening.

Will I ever get to see the PS3,or at least my money again?

David; Palm Springs, FL

Dear David;

You did the right thing by filing a dispute.  Has he responded to the dispute?  He will need to prove you received the item by entering a delivery confirmation in the dispute console.  If he does not do this, you will receive 100% of your money back.  If he seller has not responded to the dispute after 14 days, you can close it in your favor.  Here is more information regarding the dispute process.

http://reviews.ebay.com/How-to-win-a-Paypal-dispute-for-Buyers-and-Sellers_W 0QQugidZ10000000001676577

 My best advice is to stay on top of this, respond to the seller if and when he comments.  If you don’t receive resolution in 14 days, close the dispute and the money will be put back in your account.  I am so sorry this happened to you.  I hope you’ll give eBay another chance after this horrific transaction.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 130557149948 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page) Do you like Justin Bieber? Do you want to smell like him?  Here’s your chance!  SOLD $189.00  Check it out HERE

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul. Do you have a question for the eBay Queen? Email:  questions@asktheebayqueen.com