Negative feedback not all it seems

[samnight7772010]

You are very wrong in your negative feedback stance. Some people are just hostile. I have encountered two very hostile people who never messaged me first with their complaint which had no grounds to be made, nor did they ask for a refund they simply dumped negative feedback to destroy my income which is down now by a third! My investments in my plants is wasted I invested £300 approximately pounds in upgrading my plant hobby business to eBay buying extra plants and other items.

Many angle to keep their item and get a refund.

Ebay takes the view that any negative feedback is worth keeping! With my income down now by a third I am desperately seeking other means to top up my meagre pension. The amount I am talking about is a puny £60.00 a month profit which is all I can get after paying all the fees, especially the promotion fees which consume the majority of the possible gains to ebay. It's just not worth it anymore.

Ebay is doing nothing to detect and address any of this it is quite happy to see the suppliers go under, plenty more i guess but it is UNFAIR

[the_bald_orc]

You're always going to get people leaving negs but the most important thing is how you reply to them. Try not to get into tit for tat, name calling or anything similar. Keep professional, apologise (even if it means biting your tongue), and future customers will then see you deal with problems in a much more professional way.

[four_mid_able]

"my plant hobby business"

A business is a business a hobby is a hobby

which is it ?.

" £60.00 a month profit" ?

Private sellers don't make profit and they dont invest in stock with the intent of making a profit.

[plpmr]

Responding to bad feedback by attacking buyers shows you in a bad light and name calling makes it worse.

All your non-positives except two are for plants and looking at your listings and your post here -

You are a business seller trading as a private seller in violation of eBay rules and the law.

As your listings state that you don't accept returns you cannot blame buyers for not contacting you.

[masonsltd2009]

To take the first negative feedback I can see of yours. The customer appears to have recieved an item that is not what they ordered. 

I don't see what the problem with you receiving negative is. The customer ordered something and did not get the correct size. That is a negative experience for them. 

Take more care with your listings and packing. 

[samnight7772010]

The customer as you would refer to them is not truthful and it was not
that descriptor, the customer wrongly reported receiving an un sized
item! An item not declaring the size that they required on a label. The
customer did not reach out with a message back to myself, the seller and
they did not ask for a refund, surely that should ring bells for you ?
Why no message before doing this ? why no asking for a refund? WHY?
because they are hostile and they want to keep the item because it is
the right size and does fit them! so why should i suffer negative
feedback in this case?

[m.j.rodgers]

My freind I say this with the utmost respoect because I do not know you personally. However given the wording of your post here and your replies to your customers I don't think a career selling goods and services is for you. Ebay or otherwise. 

You give the impression of someone who struggles to empathise with how the everage Joe/Jane thinks when they shop on ebay. That's not a criticism because a lot of people can't do it. 

Ebay gives you the tools to ensure the customer gets what they think they ordered. It has tutorials and there is a wealth of advice both here on the community board as well as third party websites. It's your choice whether you use these resources or whether you just insist the customer is wrong. 

Take care of yourself and I wish you all the best for the future. 

[the_bald_orc]

Why? Because a customer has the right to leave you negative feedback as they see fit (unless it breaks rules), doesn't matter if it's unfair or not, the simple truth is they can. Try to see a negative as an opportunity to sell your customer service skills, remember when you reply to a feedback you're not really replying to the original buyer, but all your future potential buyers.

[*help_no_brakes*]

Read message #'s 3 & 4.

Or did you purposefully ignore those?

[samnight7772010]

Not sure I know what you mean. I never ignore messages from my valued
customers as you like to think of them

[samnight7772010]

A customer should not have the right to leave you negative feedback
where they have not messaged for resolution nor asked for refund, That
is just wilful terror tactics any fool can see that.

[papso22]

3 and 4 on this thread.  The ones about you trading illegally from a private account and attempting to deprive buyers of their legal rights. 

You are even posting on the business seller board!

[rainbowtrax]

Once you've sorted out the required business registration, another thing I would suggest is managing buyer expectations by adding photos of what they will actually receive. At the moment, you have just two photos, both of fully grown plants. You need to show examples of the stage you're selling. I know it's in the description but it's important to also show pictures of what you're selling. You have the option of 24 photos per listing, use some more of them. Show the plant, the nursery pot, the root before it's potted etc.

[willrose-elec]

A business seller (by your own admission) but listing as a private seller. No sympathy from me 🖕

[purveyor_of_tat]

---

@samnight7772010 wrote:
A customer should not have the right to leave you negative feedback
where they have not messaged for resolution nor asked for refund, That
is just wilful terror tactics any fool can see that.

---

Wilful tactics to what end, though?

They might not want a refund, they might have donated the wrong-sized bras to a friend/family member or just accepted they're a bit too big/small for them and powered through. 

Feedback is just that - feedback: information about reactions to a product, a person's performance of a task, etc. which is used as a basis for improvement.

Feedback is not about wanting a refund, it's about the bit I highlighted. 

[bankhaunter]

Ebay takes the view that any negative feedback is worth keeping!

Actually they don't, there have been plenty of complaints from buyers where a carefully worded, deserved negative has disappeared like snow in summer.

[billyandbrian]

The negative feedback in itself, measured against positive feedback you have received, would not stop me purchasing from you.

The responses you have left to the negative feedback absolutely would stop me buying. I know I am a genuine buyer, I order things I actually want, happy to pay a fair price, I pay quickly and have very very rarely had an issue. But I do want to be assured that if there is an issue and I approach the seller, I am not going to be met with a barrage of abuse.

You might want to look at how you are responding to negatives. How you are responding now will 100% put buyers off

[samnight7772010]

I like that "snow in summer" very refreshing phrase of speech. Thanks
for that.

[nigewrigh-79]

I find hostility is usually returned.

I try instead to help the buyer or accept a return immediately or just refund.

Being nasty just gets buyers back up and negs being left.

Forget it and move on.

[bravergrace]

It is horrible when people leave bad feedback without contacting you first, especially as you accept returns and they could have just sent the item back for a refund.  It probably feels as if there is nothing you can do about this - and some people are totally unreasonable when they buy things, especially things like plants that are likely to suffer in the post, especially in very hot or very cold weather,  but there are a few things you can do to reduce the chances of getting bad feedback in the first place.  I've been selling on eBay for years, and I hope you don't mind, but here are a few things that may help avoid the problem by keeping your customers from running to leave feedback at the first side of a problem.

(You seem like a sensible, fair, sort of person, and you've probably thought of some of these already, but perhaps not all of them.)

- Put a little note with your items, explaining that you accept returns, and giving your e-mail address so buyers can contact you with any problem.

- With live plants, it may be worth just offering first class post so they arrive a couple of days sooner and are less likely to die on the way.

- When you get bad feedback (and you will, because plants do sometimes die, it's not like selling books or postcards!"), take a deep breath, switch off eBay for a couple of hours, and think of a really professional way to deal with the buyer's problem.  Don't leave a reply to the feedback, but concentrate on seeing things from the buyer's point of view.  Then send them a message - along the lines of "I'm so sorry to hear your plant dried out in the post.  It must be really disappointing for you. Would you like me to send you a free replacement or a refund?"  With a bit of luck, the buyer will be impressed and calm down.  When they've got their replacement or refund, you can ask them to revise their feedback.  If they won't, leave a calm, polite and factual reply so other buyers can see you've done your best.  "Sorry one of the seedlings died in the post.  Unfortunately, plants do die sometimes.  Refund or replacement offered the next day."

Good luck with your selling.  You're obviously dedicated to your hobby business, and with a bit of luck and dedication, you might be able to make it do really well.