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eBay

If you buy or sell items on eBay, you will find tips and advice on this forum.

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Original poster

would you leave negative feedback?

23 replies

warthog · 09/11/2007 07:47

i won an item, was the only bidder so i got it for £2, £2.50 pp. i paid immediately.

a few days later i got this email:

Unfortunatley I ahve mispalced the item I was selling and I therefore would like the amount refunded to xxxxx, please could you let me know if this is possible.

Thank you

i've refunded the money. this person has no feedback. so either she did genuinely lose the item (a novice), or she reckons she can get more for it.

i'm a tad pissed off. it's not ok to auction something and then lose it. what would you do?

OP posts:

laura032004 · 09/11/2007 08:01

You refunded the seller? Or accepted a refund? Was it normally something that would have sold for more? Things do go astray in this house, but I'd turn it upside down to find it before doing something like that! Watch what she's selling for a few weeks, and see if it goes back on?

mummydoit · 09/11/2007 08:05

I'd be very careful about posting negative feedback as she may then post negative feedback on you. This happened to me the very first time I used eBay. I bought an item which never turned up. I sent two emails to the seller, requesting a refund, and got no response so I posted negative feedback on him. He then refunded me but posted negative feedback on me, saying I was complaining about nothing. I'm now stuck with a negative comment on an otherwise postive record.

bonkerz · 09/11/2007 08:05

i agree about waiting before giving neg feeback. watch her items and if she relists then leave neg stating she sold item, lost it then relisted it!

Original poster

warthog · 09/11/2007 08:08

ok - so if she found the item, you'd expect her to contact me? or would she be justified in relisting?

i paid through paypal, and cancelled the payment. i think she refused to accept it.

OP posts:

bonkerz · 09/11/2007 08:11

if she relists i would email her pointing out you know and will email ebay as its against the rules.

mummydoit · 09/11/2007 08:11

If she found the item, I'd expect her to contact you and sell it to you at the price agreed. If she relists it, you definitely have good reason to complain.

Oenophile · 09/11/2007 08:12

I think warthog missed out a word - 'I've BEEN refunded the money, this person' etc.

Hmm, tricky call isn't it? One doesn't want to be unfair and mark out a new seller with an immediate negative which may affect future sales (it will stand out like a sore thumb til she gets a lot of positives) if she made a genuine mistake - but on the other hand she doesn't exactly endear herself to me with that email - hardly bending over backwards to apologise, is she? I'd have been mortified if I couldn't supply an item I'd sold!

I think I'd either leave no feedback at all, or maybe neutral feedback with the simple truth "Item not supplied as apparently no longer available, however seller did refund promptly". And then if it did turn up for sale again, send her a stern email pointing out that what she did was a breach of eBay policy.

Original poster

warthog · 09/11/2007 08:25

yes, sorry oenophile, i did miss out 'been'.

ok, thanks all. i will watch and see what happens...

OP posts:

sixlostmonkeys · 09/11/2007 08:53

a neutral feedback can prompt a retalitory neg too so I'd have a good think about it.

It appears to be a clear case of seller not getting the amount they wanted and claiming the item was lost. Unfortunately you can't force a seller to part with an item.

I would definitely keep a watch for her re-listing it and when she does I would send a message along the lines of "oh good! you have found my item. I shall re-send my payment to you. You really didn't need to re-list this for me, you could have saved yourself some listing fees."

DumbledoresGirl · 09/11/2007 09:07

It does make you wonder when you see people with a 100% positive feedback though (I have one myself). Surely, if no-one ever leaves a negative feedback for fear of being left a retaliatory negative feedback, the feedback system is worthless.

FWIW though, I would give her the benefit of the doubt for now but act if she relists.

BlueChampagne · 09/11/2007 09:15

I too have 100% positive feedback, by simply paying/despatching promptly, listing items accurately, and communicating with buyers/sellers. I'd have left neutral feedback in your case, DumbledoresGirl, and save negative for a really bad time. If everyone is civilised, negative feedback shouldn't be necessary.

DumbledoresGirl · 09/11/2007 09:18

Oh I have had no need to leave negative feedback. I have always been more than satisfied with my buyers and sellers. I was only commenting on the general opinion here that if you leave negative feedback, you will be given negative feedback yourself. I wonder how widespread this view is and therefore how many ebayers are not getting negative feedback when they should be.

sixlostmonkeys · 09/11/2007 09:18

I totally agree with you dumbledoresgirl re the fear of the retalitory neg = a worthless FB system. I have known people who have lost a lot of money and been subject to nasty communication etc yet still value their own 100% more than the need to warn others (which is what the feedback system is supposed to do)

It is a case here of 'benefit of the doubt' but if it was more clear cut I would definitely be recommending a neg to warn others.

I also agree with you on acting should she relist - maybe include in my suggested message " I am so glad I haven't left feedback for you yet!"

DumbledoresGirl · 09/11/2007 09:23

This is a bit of a hijack here, but I have been wondering this for a while: in your experience (speaking to anyone here who feels experienced in ebay) why would someone leave no feedback at all? I recently had a flurry of ebay transactions and I couldn't help but notice that some people (buyers) did not leave me any feedback at all. I left them positive feedback based on the speed with which they paid. Should I worry about this? Does this indicate that they were unhappy with their purchases but didn't want to go to the extreme measure of leaving me negative feedback (although I had already posted their feedback so they could have said what they liked without any effect on their own feedback record) or are there simply people who don't bother with the feedback system?

ninedragons · 09/11/2007 09:28

I think it's just one of those jobs that's easy to forget about. I generally end up doing feedback in batches, so some of my sellers would wait for longer than others to get it. It is annoying but I'd say it's almost certainly nothing you've done.

sixlostmonkeys · 09/11/2007 09:39

Some people simply don't leave feedback at all.

Some buyers believe they should get feedback first (simply for paying) and so wait for feedback before giving any. I recently had a buyer send me a message saying he would leave feedback for me once I've left it for him - I simply won't play any games so I've left it. If he had simply messaged me and said he had received his books and all was fine then i would consider the transaction to be complete and I would have left FB.

Some people leave FB in batches - some as much as once a month (so you get it eventually)

I have noticed I have more and more buyers not leaving FB and my personal opinion on this is that more and more buyers are playing the "you leave it first game"

DumbledoresGirl · 09/11/2007 09:41

Well, I always do leave the feedback first, so that can't be the reason.

I don't really mind - no feedback is better than negative feedback, and the ebay world is be enough for me to not worry about meeting them again - but it does seem odd.

DumbledoresGirl · 09/11/2007 09:42

big enough

Original poster

warthog · 09/11/2007 10:42

dg, i've also not had feedback when i've left positive feedback.

i did once not give feedback because i had a bad experience. it worked out in the end, but only after a dispute was settled.

so i'd agree, the feedback system isn't totally working, because of the fear of negative feedback.

OP posts:

Riddo · 09/11/2007 10:44

I put a note in with the card I've sold asking them to leave feeback, so I know it's arrived and then I leave feedback for the buyer. If I don't get feedback I worry that they didn't receive the item but I suppose silence is better than a negative. Some people just don't seem to want to bother with feedback.

laura032004 · 09/11/2007 11:05

I always think no news is good news - you'd hear if there was a problem!

Housemum · 13/11/2007 09:18

I always leave feedback for buyers when they have paid (and the money is cleared if a cheque though I encourage paypal) - as far as I'm concerned that's their part of the transaction - OK so I suppose they could try to be stroppy after but I always have proof of postage and my pics usually have the date in the bottom corner so they can't say the item is not as it looked or try to say I used old pics.

Some people just don't seem to bother with FB - a lot of the time they don't have many ratings themselves, or they only buy not sell, so they probably don't understand the importance - I don't think I did when I first joined eBay many moons ago!

helenhismadwife · 13/11/2007 21:48

as a buyer I always email the seller to say I have received the item and then I leave positive feedback to show I am happy with it, if Im not happy I will email the seller and give them the chance to sort it out, if they sort it out for me I will then leave possitive feedback if they dont and I have to resort to complaining via paypal or ebay I leave negative. As a seller I wait until I know that the item has been safely received and the buyer is happy.

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