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Original poster

Seller being unreasonable with feedback!

28 replies

MumtoCharlotteMay · 31/01/2008 17:13

I purchased something off of ebay a couple of days ago. It came through the post this morning. Postage costs when I bought them seemed very high but I just thought that the womans packaging costs would up the price iykwim? I thought that with the postage as high as it was to post such a small item, meant it'd come all boxed up with bubble wrap etc, which I know can become expensive when put together.

They came through the post this morning with A piece of brown paper wrapped round them, which had been ripped to shreds. I was lucky that the item hadn't been damaged. I looked at the postage stamp and she'd overcharged me by over half the ammount it actually cost to post! I think that's really unreasonable considering there was no box, protective wrapping etc. Lord there wasn't even a second layer of brown paper! The item cost me a lot of money to buy.

I really liked the item, it wasn't damaged and postage was quick. So I didn't want to leave her negative feedback. Instead I left her neutral feedback saying the item was great, postage really quick, but postage was far too high. I thought that this was reasonable. She then gave me neutral feedback for no reason! I did everything right to ensure it was an easy transaction on my part, paid her instantly etc. I just think this is so unfair and childish, I'd rather she'd left me no feedback instead. Is there anything I can do to get it removed as it just seems so unfair when I did everything right on my part?

OP posts:
geordiemacminx · 31/01/2008 17:15

You should have contacted her first - perhaps she hadnt realised how little it would cost to post?

Think you can both withdraw feedback?

Original poster
MumtoCharlotteMay · 31/01/2008 17:37

Well I did think about contacting her but I just thought it was so unreasonable. Anybody with half a brain would've realsied it wouldn't have cost that much to post with the way it had been packaged. I don't mind being charged to cover ebay fees etc but even with that in mind it still wouldn't have come to the ammount it did. I didn't contact her before giving feedback because it was so evident she'd screwed me with the postage and I was angry about it. If you are going to screw somebody like that I think you should face the consequences.

I suppose I'll just have to let it lie as I'm not removing my feedback. My feedback is still 100% positive so at least that's not been affected.

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 31/01/2008 17:39

I would have left +ve and marked her well down on the detailed feedback bit for postage. You knew the postage costs when you bid.

madamez · 31/01/2008 17:41

She's not left you neutral feedback for no reason. She's left you neutral feedback because you left her neutral feedback and moaned about her postage charges. Did you, I wonder, query the postage charge before you sent your payment (because I set high postage charges for recorded delivery but will agree to send items at standard postal rate at the buyer's own risk). If not, how is she supposed to know that you were going to complain.

sixlostmonkeys · 31/01/2008 18:08

always best to query postage before bidding.
if not, contact seller and explain that you thought, at the end of the day the postage was too high especially considering the lack of packaging.

Never, use feedback as your way of communicating with a seller. That's just wrong.

If the seller refused a partial refund (I'm assuming we are talking £££££s here) then fair enough, comment in feedback.

Anyway, buyers will be able to do what they want like this soon and sellers won't be able to do darn thing about it, to warn others

Octothechildherder · 31/01/2008 19:15

A nutter has bought an item of ine through Buy It Now - her feedback is shocking and she hasn't paid for days .... have messaged her nicely - but fear she will be a non payer and I will end up with neg feedback. She has already bought the same item 2 weeks ago ...

HappyMummyOfOne · 03/02/2008 17:36

I agree, you should have contacted her before leaving the neutral. Most people leave the same feedback if you neg/neutral. You could have given positive but a low star rating - sellers with low star ratings wont be as prominent in listings soon due to the new postal changes so hopefully more will start being accurate with P&P.

I dont buy that much off Ebay any more as the postage is getting out of hand. Its usually cheaper to buy new from a store than new off Ebay by the time P&P is involved.

One trick I did pick up of another site is that as long as you pay by paypal you can choose the lowest postage method (if seller offers 1st/2nd/rec del etc) and still be covered, The onus is on the sender not the buyer when it comes to postage and insurance as per paypals t&c.

crokky · 03/02/2008 17:48

MumtoCharlotteMay - the only way you can get the feedback left for you retracted is for you both to retract the feedback.

I mainly sell stuff and buy occasionally, but if a buyer left me a neutral or a negative without contacting me about the problem first, I would be very cross at not being given the opportunity to fix the problem, however it arose. I would think therefore that she is justified in leaving you a neutral because you didn't contact her with the problem prior to making it part of her permanent record.

lennygrrl · 03/02/2008 18:06

Message withdrawn

helenhismadwife · 04/02/2008 22:13

I agree if I am left negative or neutral as a seller without any contact or opportunity to rectify the situation I leave the same because to me that is a buyer with bad communication

Piffle · 04/02/2008 22:17

would never do that wthout contacting the seller first
I have bought a top for ds2, paid a few quid for a nice baby top, it arrived with one big orange stain on lower sleeve.
She ahd folded it overin the pic and described as exc cond.
Slow to post.

I emailed her 5 days ago saying I would not have bought a stained top.
Nothing back from her

StarlightMcKenzie · 04/02/2008 22:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

helenhismadwife · 04/02/2008 22:31

I never leave feedback as a seller until I have received it from the buyer to indicate they are happy. I always leave it as soon as the item is received as a buyer and email the seller to say thank you and that I have received the item safely or if there are problems to tell them about them

StarlightMcKenzie · 04/02/2008 23:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

helenhismadwife · 05/02/2008 08:07

Sorry you think its unfair starlight but do you actually sell on ebay or just buy? A transaction on ebay begins when they bid and in my view ends when the item is received and they buyer is happy, many sellers are the same with feedback. There are bad buyers as well as sellers out there, who try to blackmail sellers into giving discounts with the threat of negatives if they dont, call me silly but I think that is unreasonable and unfair. If there is a genuine problem I do everything I can to sort it out and my feedback shows this, I have in over 4000 transactions left one negative for a buyer so hardly holding them to ransom am I?

When ebay changes there rules I wont be leaving any feedback at all, along with a lot of sellers, if feedback cant be honest and unbiased and sellers can be held to ransom then what is the point of it

helenhismadwife · 05/02/2008 08:08

just to add I have received 4 negatives and 2 neutrals and as I said I dont leave feedback until its received.....

sherby · 05/02/2008 08:15

I dislike this tit-for-tat feedback. We have just had our first bad ebay experience. Ordered an item which was guaranteed for 3pm the next day and paid £15 postage. FIVE days later it arrived, we emailed asking where it was, what was happening and all we got in return was yeah its coming. We have asked for a refund of the postage and it is just being ignored. So we will leave neutral. I think it is very bad form for us to then be left neutral when we have done everything we were supposed to.

sixlostmonkeys · 05/02/2008 08:27

starlightmckenzie - feedback should be left at the end of a transaction. Paying for an item is just the start of the transaction.
A lot can go wrong during a transaction and feedback should relate to how both seller and buyer act during the transaction.

I'm with helenhismadwife on the changes - I won't be leaving any feedback at all as a seller. What's the point? we can only leave positives therefore buyers will just receive a collection of positives and look good even if they were absolute arses for dozens of transactions (and the sellers have been unable to warn about this)

helenhismadwife · 05/02/2008 08:46

Sherby it is wrong but you can see when its tit for tat feedback, I dont actually do that as I said I have 4 negatives and 2 neutrals I have left one negative for a buyer who was a complete pia. Your experience was bad can you not raise a dispute with paypal to get a partial refund?

I dont know how ebay can think that its the buyers who are the backbone, if there were no sellers there would be nothing to buy and isnt it the sellers who have made ebay the billions

sixlostmonkeys · 05/02/2008 09:07

"I dont know how ebay can think that its the buyers who are the backbone, if there were no sellers there would be nothing to buy and isnt it the sellers who have made ebay the billions"

yup - I'm with you totally here.

Sellers are ebays customers and the buyers are the sellers' customers. Sellers are expected to look after their customers yet ebay don't look after the sellers.

StarlightMcKenzie · 05/02/2008 21:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Ineedacleaner · 05/02/2008 22:16

I buy and sell on ebay and I ALWAYS eave the buyers feedback when they have paid because as far as I am concerned they have kept up their end of the deal. It really winds me up when sellers leave negative feedback in retalitation.

discoverlife · 05/02/2008 22:19

You can contact ebay about the feedback she gave and they can withdraw hers.
Ebay are actually makeing it impossible for a seller to leave negative feedback just to spite someone with a real grumble.

helenhismadwife · 06/02/2008 09:36

If you have a problem with something a transaction you should contact the seller that is what ebay suggests you do, if you dont get any joy then you should leave feedback. I actually have two accounts a buying one with relatively low feedback and a selling one. I am not worried about leaving negative feedback for bad sellers and never have been otherwise its not a true reflection of the transaction.

The winning bid in my view is the start of the transaction, as a seller I know I describe everything accurately I describe marks etc. I have had a buyer complain and want a discount for something that was actually described in the auction threatening me with negative if I didnt, I knew he was lying so my answer to that was send it back and I will send you a full refund funily enough he didnt email me again. There are bad and dishonest sellers but equally there are some very dishonest sellers.

Discoverlife ebay are not only making it impossible to leave negative feedback in revenge they are not going to be allowed to leave any negative or neutral leaving sellers wide open to be ripped off, have buyers not pay, bribe them for feedback. If I cant leave honest feedback I wont leave any at all along with a lot of sellers because it makes it all pointless and this is from someone who in over 1000 transactions has left one negative for a buyer!!!!

sixlostmonkeys · 06/02/2008 10:17

"I don't feel I want to contact the seller first, - as they are obviously irresponsible (It's obvious to send clothes clean surely), but I can't leave negative feedback either....I'm held hostage!"

Thing is - it's a buyer's responsibility to contact the seller if there is a problem. A seller can not rectify a problem if they are not told about it.
Now, buyer can simply assume the seller is bad or irresponsible, not give them a chance to sort it out and then just neg them. Buyers such as these should be negged as they have acted irresponsibly themselves (and unfairly)
So, now that it's all changing, buyers will not only be free to blackmail or scam but can run a good seller into the ground because they couldn't be bothered to take on their part of the transaction properly. All the while the buyers will keep their 100% pos feedback

and yeah yeah there are the ones that send the wrong item and refuse a refund etc etc, fair enough, if they don't rectify the problem they deserve a neg and the buyer doesn't (provided the buyer has dealt with it properly) BUT how many buyers are now going to neg rather than communicate or neg even though they had a refund?
..and on this train of thought, why should sellers try to rectify a problem if they are going to receive a neg anyway? If a seller is receiving negs with "sent wrong item and then refunded" or neg "Item broke in post. seller refunded" well, you see what I'm getting at??