Is ok to leave neutral or negative feedback for seller who lost item?

[ravenqueen17]

I bought an item from a seller who's only been on eBay for 2 weeks. The item is quite rare and was much cheaper than what it is worth/usually sells for, I did think it seemed a little to good to be true but they have 3 positive ratings in the 2 weeks since they started selling. The item was newly listed. I bought the item late at night and they issued a tracking number the next morning,

about an hour later I got a notification to say the item had been refunded, but the seller made no attempt to message me to explain what had gone wrong. I politely messaged them, and they replied a little later to say they printed the tracking but then couldn't find the item anywhere. I completely understand things do get lost but they didn't apologise or seem very bothered at all, and it seems they only photographed and listed it a few days before I bought it. The response was very brief and they only offered this explanation because I messaged them asking why my purchase was refunded. I politely asked that they let me know if the item does turn up, and I said if they find it I will re buy it. The seller said their wife may have sold it on vinted or something but had no idea if she had or not, said he would ask her but appears he has not. I hate leaving neutral or negative feed back but it's just it felt kind of odd and the sellers initial lack of communication and not seeming bothered at all was a bit off putting I must say. Am I being unfair to leave neutral/negative feedback.

[thesmokingrunner]

If I was in your position and the same thing happened to me I would certainly leave feedback, but as to whether it would be Neutral or Negative one has to consider the following:

- The seller is new to eBay but that should not absolve them of the need to know the location of whatever they're selling (Neutral).

- They printed off a shipping label before discovering that the item could not be located. How come they didn't know where it was? (Negative)

- There was no communication from the seller until you contacted them. (Negative)

- The explanation, when made, was pretty broad-brush: seller couldn't locate the item, wife may have sold it. The seller might just have easily discovered the item was worth far more than it sold for but "I can't find it" sounds far better than "I sold it far too cheaply". (Neutral but borderline Negative)

Feedback is just that: feedback on your buying experience. The seller may well be new to eBay but that doesn't necessarily mean they get a free ride on feedback. They may do the same in future - wouldn't you want your experience recorded in case it happened to someone else?

Neutral feedback does not count towards calculating percentage rating, Negative feedback does. Maybe give the seller the benefit of the doubt as they're new to the site and leave a Neutral? I think that would be very fair of you.