posted on March 10, 2003 09:11:50 PM new
I got a negative (my first and only, after 500+ feedback), and I feel it was unjustified. I sold a CD burner to a guy and he neg'd me because he said "still not sure the burner works - think that it is a philips problem".
Well first of all, he never contacted me to tell me it didn't work, and it worked just fine before I sent it to him! On top of that, I offer 100% refund and if he would've contacted me, then I would've gladly given him a full refund. Instead he neg'd me. So I neg'd him back, saying "sellers beware- this buyer leaves negative feedback without working it out first".
Now as you all know, your first negative stings, and this one especially since it could've been worked out if he had only contacted me first. I'm thinking of using Square Trade to see if I can get the neg. removed. What do you all think? Do you think I stand a chance with Square Trade?
posted on March 10, 2003 09:50:18 PM new
I was in the exact same position you are. I had 650+ pos when I got my first neg from a newbie who had registered with Ebay the day before the auction ended. His wording was" mirror arrived broken. Bad handling by FedEx, not your fault". The neg I responded with was almost word for word the same as yours. I'm sure I could probably have persuaded him to go through Square trade to get them both removed, but I chose not to pursue it for two reasons. First, since he was a newbie, he will constantly be reminded that feedback is a two way street when he sees that red mark on his record, and it will be to his advantage to try to work out problems with a seller or buyer in the future. Second, and more important, is the fact that the wording of his neg did not reflect on my integrity as a seller and if a prospective bidder can't understand that I did nothing wrong, I don't want them bidding on my auction anyway. Also, since I'm not a virgin anymore, I'm less likely to be the victim of a feedback extortion attempt, and if I am I won't give in as I no longer have a perfect record to try to protect and I no longer fear a neg the way I used to. The most important thing is to carefully choose the wording for your response to his neg. I'm sure there are others on this board who are better than I at helping you to craft a good response. Properly done, you can take the wind out of his sails and have that neg make him look like the bad guy.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
posted on March 10, 2003 10:00:52 PM new
WOW! Thanks a lot, Sparkz!! That helped tremendously and you're right- I shouldn't worry about the neg, especially since it didn't reflect upon me as a seller. I know the first neg always hurts, so I'll just accept it and move on my merry way! Thanks again!
posted on March 12, 2003 09:08:04 PM new
While I haven't gotten a neg on my ebay account, I have 3 on my half.com account - I would probably be annoyed to get one, but I would not try to get it removed or worry about it too much, I have over 2300 unique positives, I think I have established myself pretty well. Nobody has tried to extort me either, but I would just report them to ebay and move on. Square Trade is a scam at $20, it is just another profit center for ebay. They should just eliminate the middle man and collect the fee themselves.
posted on March 15, 2003 07:25:17 PM new
After 74 negs in one week thread, I thought I might pop this back up. You check his Square trade stuff yourself. Lol.
Snap! snap! snap!,,,,,,Whiiiiiip it, Whiiiiip it GOOD! OUCH!
posted on March 16, 2003 07:12:38 AM new
I'm involved in two ST cases right now. I paid for one but will not get the neg removed. They will return my money some day before summer I guess...
The other one is a bidder who hit me with a neutral and I hit her with a neg. We talked it over and agreed to ST and split it down the middle. Now she wants only her neg removed. Right.. I'm gonna give her $10.00 to keep my neutral. Not in this lifetime.
ST has proved itself to be a joke. I'll proudly wear my very few negs and neutrals in the future. All of them came from bidders with under 10 feedbacks and my negs hurt them more than theirs hurt me.
posted on March 16, 2003 08:00:34 AM new
Please explain why you think a neg hurts a buyer? It only hurts them if they buy AND sell on an account. I could not care less if I got hit with a neg on my strictly buying account. What's a seller going to do, cancel my bid?
posted on March 16, 2003 08:21:02 AM new
Yes. If I see a bidder that looks like trouble I will and do cancel and block. Some people are just not worth the trouble and the small amount of money.
I am sometimes not quick enough to cancel and block, but if I can I do. Would you want a bidder that acts like an idiot?
I sell mainly low dollar items. $5.00 profit is not worth the trouble some folks can bring. I try my best to avoid these jerks... If I see that a seller had a real problem with a bidder I watch the bidder. If I see a few problems with the bidder I cancel and block.
posted on March 16, 2003 08:29:57 AM new
You never addressed how it hurts a bidder. You cancel their bid? So, they move on to the next seller with a similar item (very few things are unique on ebay these days) - I suspect most sellers (esp. sellers with lower priced items) just don't have the time to search through their buyers to research their bidding history.
Poor feedback for buyers at most makes it a little inconvenient for them. Poor feedback for sellers can scare bidders away. It's not worth getting into the feedback war with a buyer. Until ebay fixes their ebay system and removes negative feedback from a deadbeat buyer, I won't play that game.
