eBay removes negative feedback too easily

Hello everyone!

I left negative feedback for a seller saying that he was not willing to pay the return shipping costs for an item even though they were his responsibility, and eBay deleted it the next day! Since something like this had happened to me in the past for other reasons and even then the feedback was deleted, I wonder why eBay removes negative feedback so easily and without saying anything?

Anonymous User

Posted 2 years ago·Last reply 2 years ago

21 comments

ziamorgana

·2 years ago

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Chances are you opened a return request and, not having found a solution, the request turned into a dispute after asking eBay to intervene; when this happens, positive or negative feedback is removed.

If eBay sides with the buyer, the seller receives defects that affect their performance.

Sellers who accumulate defects for transactions get a low performance score and are therefore penalized.

sika700

·2 years ago

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Bottom line, as I always maintain, negative feedback is useless, since it doesn't solve anything if you don't know eBay's correct procedures!

Kind regards.

Anonymous User

OP2 years ago

So if a seller refuses to pay for a return at their expense, it's not possible to leave negative feedback?

sika700

·2 years ago

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If they refuse, what’s the point of leaving negative feedback?

Does it solve the problem for you?

Of course not, if anything it makes it worse... in fact there are clear procedures which, if followed carefully, help you solve problems.

That’s all...

Have a good day.

Anonymous User

OP2 years ago

Well, at least other users read that that seller isn't very honest, otherwise what's the point of feedback?

sika700

·2 years ago

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@Anonymous wrote:
No, but at least other users read that that seller isn’t very fair; otherwise what’s the point of feedback?

Anyway, if it’s not formally correct, if it violates eBay rules, or if it’s defamatory, it gets removed...

So it’s always better to focus on solving your own problem... if a seller is dishonest, it’s not the feedback that penalizes them, but the fact that they didn’t voluntarily resolve the dispute.

Kind regards.

Anonymous User

OP2 years ago

@sika700 wrote:
So it's always better to focus on solving your own problem... if a seller is dishonest, it's not the feedback that penalizes them, but the fact that they didn't voluntarily resolve the dispute.

In this case too I don't think eBay takes many measures.... there are sellers with hundreds of negative feedbacks, who knows how many disputes, yet they keep selling without a care.

heavenwelkin

·2 years ago

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@Anonymous wrote:
So if a seller refuses to pay for a return at their expense, is it not possible to leave negative feedback?

The feedback system has received some updates recently which, in my opinion, are overall fair.

It could also have happened (we don't know this) that a seller, after a dispute opened by the buyer, respectively received:

1) The entire payment was taken by ebay

2) They paid out of pocket to resend the item and received a different or damaged item

3) They ALSO received a negative from the buyer

And after all this, MAYBE the seller decided to sue someone.......

If you carry out the return procedure correctly, YOU PAY NOTHING and get a FULL refund, the negative feedback you leave no longer concerns a sale that damaged you financially, but is only a NUISANCE and therefore would be a matter of personal opinions / feelings that go beyond the purchase.

And in fact ebay, on this type of defamatory feedback, steps in directly and removes it.

If a seller by nature has a bad temper, they would be heavily penalized by these feedbacks received simply on personal opinions and not on the item that arrived intact and as described.

For example if the seller did not reply to the email, or replied badly or was rude, or if they dug their heels in during the return process, etc.

If you opened a refund request and got the refund, what the seller did or how they behaved is completely irrelevant because ebay took care of sorting out the situation.

Kind regards.

Anonymous User

OP2 years ago

I still don’t agree with this way of removing feedback. A seller’s job is not only to ship items that match the description, but also to provide the customer with a pleasant buying experience and, above all, support if any issues come up.

It’s true that ebay eventually resolved it, but the seller didn’t do anything on his own and made me lose almost a month. On top of that, after the item was returned, he didn’t even send me the refund and I had to contact ebay again.

If this is not a good reason to leave negative feedback, or if it’s even considered defamatory, I’d really like to know what feedback is for..... might as well get rid of it, right ?

heavenwelkin

·2 years ago

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@Anonymous wrote:
I still don’t agree with this way of removing feedback.
True that in the end ebay sorted it out....

We can also look at the issue from this perspective:

At the point when the seller and the buyer are unable to resolve a problem, if the buyer decides to involve ebay, ebay can no longer leave negative/neutral feedback for the seller because at that point the seller no longer has decision-making power over the sale.

On ebay there are many new and inexperienced sellers, who do not fully know the site’s rules and maybe think they are right and behave accordingly.

An inexperienced private seller who simply wants to sell an item, in my opinion, cannot be crucified for form rather than substance.

Kind regards.

Anonymous User

OP2 years ago

@heavenwelkin wrote:
We can also look at the issue from this point of view:

At the moment when the seller and the buyer are unable to solve a problem, when the buyer decides to involve eBay, eBay can no longer leave negative/neutral feedback for the seller because at that point the seller no longer has decision-making power over the sale.

It depends. When a dispute is opened, eBay gives the seller and buyer a few days to try to find a solution, and only then steps in. If the seller was unwilling to pay for the return even though it was his responsibility, in my opinion he deserves negative feedback, regardless of eBay getting involved.

I find it unfair not to be able to write this just because eBay makes judgments that aren't even possible to know.

On eBay there are many new and inexperienced sellers who don’t know the site’s rules well and may think they are right and act accordingly.
In my opinion, an inexperienced private seller who simply wants to sell an item cannot be crucified for the form rather than the substance.

Best regards.

In this case it was a professional seller who clearly was not willing to pay the return shipping costs and just made me waste time over an item of little value.

heavenwelkin

·2 years ago

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Good evening mariaconcetta9560

I understand and respect your point of view.

We can keep arguing back and forth...

Each of us has expressed our own point of view on the matter and that’s fine.

I hope that in some way opening this discussion will be useful both to you and to whoever reads it.

Kind regards.

daxsisko

·2 years ago

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@Anonymous wrote:
@heavenwelkin wrote:
We can also look at the issue from this perspective:

At the point when a problem between the seller and the buyer can’t be resolved, when the buyer decides to involve eBay, they can no longer leave negative/neutral feedback for the seller because at that point the seller no longer has decision-making power over the transaction.

It depends. When an eBay dispute is opened, the seller and buyer are given a few days to try to find a solution, and only after that does eBay step in. If the seller was unwilling to pay for the return shipping even though it was their responsibility, in my opinion they deserve negative feedback, regardless of the fact that eBay stepped in.
I find it unfair not to be able to write this just because eBay makes assessments that it’s not even possible to know.

On eBay there are many new and inexperienced sellers who don’t fully know the site’s rules and maybe think they’re in the right and act accordingly.
An inexperienced private seller who simply wants to sell an item, in my view, shouldn’t be crucified for the form rather than the substance.

Best regards.

In this case, it was a professional seller who clearly was not willing to pay the return costs and only wasted my time over a low-value item.

aside from that, in my opinion, the now uselessness in certain respects of negative feedback for various reasons..... ( too long to explain and I prefer the short version..... ) , anyway eBay in turn, in my opinion, has "realized" that posting negative feedback could bring "indirect" problems ( and not only.... ) for them too ......

drfox71

·2 years ago

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EXACTLY. Ebay doesn’t protect buyers, it protects sellers!

marioelegio

·2 years ago

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…..this is what buyers say, while sellers claim the opposite.

mario

daxsisko

·2 years ago

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@drfox71 wrote:
EXACTLY. Ebay does not protect buyers, but sellers!

WRONG: Ebay, first and foremost, does not protect those ignorant of the rules.....and who, of course, then do not inform themselves properly......

heavenwelkin

·2 years ago

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@drfox71 wrote:
EXACTLY. Ebay does not protect buyers, but sellers!

A negative feedback does not concretely solve any problem and does not protect either the seller or the buyer.

A buyer who leaves too many negatives could face repercussions on their purchases since many sellers avoid completing the sale and BLOCK problematic buyers, argumentative ones who leave negatives too casually.

For this reason, the ebay platform has evolved with tools that (if used correctly) make it possible to overcome all the limitations of negative feedback.

If a buyer uses correctly the tools provided by the platform, they would not need to leave any negative review.

Feedback on ebay originated in 1995 when there were no protection tools and everything was based on mutual trust between seller and buyer, and feedback was the only useful tool to distinguish a serious and honest seller from one who was otherwise not.

In the meantime, after almost 30 years, things have changed considerably.

Kind regards.

heavenwelkin

·2 years ago

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Good evening

The return shipping costs for items that do not conform are the seller's responsibility.

If the seller does not arrange to collect the parcel, eBay issues a refund in favor of the buyer, who also keeps the item.

If you paid for the return shipping out of your own pocket, it's likely you did so because you didn't know.

If you didn't know, you should have found out before sending it back by asking eBay support or here on the forum.

Now I assume that you have received the refund, so for eBay that's fine and you can't leave negative feedback if you got a full refund of what you paid.

Kind regards.

Anonymous User

OP2 years ago

Actually, I contacted eBay support, which provided me with a return label, and after the item had been delivered I had to contact them again because the seller did not issue the refund.