Ebay - negative feedback question

[IlanaK]

I buy and sell on ebay a little. I currently have 66 feedback - all positive. I just sold a few items from my son's bedroom as we are changing the theme. Most went really well - all very happy and good feedback. But one person is unhappy. They were a pain from the start. Bid and won, and then questioned how much postage syaing it wa too high. Actually, I charged less than it actually cost me to send! N0ow they have emailed saying there are minor defects on the item (which I had not noticed) and what am I going to do about it. I have offered a refund, but not of postage costs. I had a bad feeling about this buyer from the start, but too late now. ANyway, I am sure this will all end with him giving me negative feedback. I am not willing to be out of pocket to avoid this. SO, what effect will this have on my buying and selling in the future? All other feedback is extremely positive. Would you have a problem buying frmo someone with just one negative feedback?

none really just leave a follow up people will see that u are a good ebayer and 1 bad feedback isnt the end of the world wouldnt put me off

No, I had a problem with an ass myself. I sometimes read a lot of the comments, and if there are a lot of really positive comments I'm happy.

yeah i had someone leave me bad feedback because i had put the tshirt was large not xlarge (missed out on one letter!) if you just put a follow up like starshaker said, you can let people know what went wrong to give your side of things. and then your 100% would go down a bit, but itll still be 90something%

Thanks everyone. I generally have good experiences on ebay, but it only takes one bad one like this to put me off!

Also you can block them from ever bidding on your items again. Go to the help section and it'll tell you how (Can't remember, but I did it after a right PITA bought something from me)

ive had a couple of neg feedback..one that was a lie and one from some arse who i bought something from and it stunk of smoke, it hasnt affected my buying or selling at all.

no I've bought from people with neg feedback before. as long as its only a couple and the majority are postive I'm okay with that. You can't please everyone all of the time and feedback reflects that I think.

I have a friend who uses ebay a lot. He says that his reputation is worth a heck of a lot. He would go to any lengths to preserve it including being out of pocket. Mind you he does use it more than your average Joe.

Ilana, I hope you don't mind me saying this, but if you have sold the item and not described it correctly then you should return the person's money including postage. If you bought something from a company by mail order and it turned out not to be as advertised, would you be happy having to pay the postage to return it? You have (inadvertantly) misled the buyer and should do whatever you can to out this right.

I would also give negative feedback in this situation and to be honest, as a buyer it would put me off buying from you if I read that you would not give a full refund after selling an item that was not as described. I know it's hard to lose money on this sale, especially if the buyer has been a nuisance from the start, but offset it against the worth of your good reputation as an eBay seller for the future.

Of course when you receive the item back, if the defects are not there, then the buyer can lump it!

Iianak, how come you reduced his postage to less than what it cost you ? What are the minor defects ? is it dirty ( can it be washed) or is it damaged ? If dirty you could offer a reduction, otherwise I would offer the full refund & put it down to experience.

The way I look at it, e-bay is supposed to be about trust & if anyone sends me anything I'm not happy with, I complain. If resolved pleasantly (everyone makes mistakes) I give positive feedback.

I weighed it at home and told him the postage based on that. He complained I was charging too much. WHen I went to the post office, it actually cost more. I did not charge for packaging or anything else.

The item is a wooden wall peg thing shaped like WInnie the Pooh. It has three pegs on it. He says one of the pegs is loose. Well, it was on my sons wall being used with things hanging on it until the auction and we had no trouble with it. He also says there is a small dent at the bottom corner. I did not notice this or would have described it as such. It is possible this happened in transit, though I did bubble wrap it.

I am not going to refund postage costs - no way. I would be so out of pocket doing that.

Ilana if he gives you negative you could reply that a refund was offered.

well in that case I would say something like it's 2nd hand therefore it won't look like new & you undercharged for P&P as it was. If you think you gave a good descripton, don't give a refund !

If he gives you negative, just give him negative. I've got a negative because I complained about a washed out top & the woman would only refund the cost & not the P&P. I was cross, but just gave her negative. It's not the end of the world

also tell him to buy some glue...or as a goodwill gesture you could refund the cost of a tube of yoo hoo glue ?

He has a lower feedback than you, as long as you follow up any feedback he does leave for you, I wouldn't worry about it.

I see that he has left nuetral feedback before for apparently a wrongly sized item.

(Incase you are wondering IlanaK, I managed to find it on a search!)