How can one negative feedback drop my score by 3?

[zakalwe567]

My seller score was 418. A buyer wanted to extort money from me for a minor cosmetic issue. I refused so he predictably left negative feedback. Weirdly, however, my score dropped to 416. Then someone else left positive feedback (accompanied by a comment) and somehow my score is still 416. As far as I know neither of these buyers had bought from me before so it cannot relate to that.

[papso22]

Edit, comment removed as it was incorrect. 

[red_magpie]

The feedback score change may be coincidental. Remember that your score is calculated on the last twelve months transactions, so items falling off after 12 months affect the score as much as new sales. I can't remember when eBay updates this.

By the way, have to contacted customer support to try to get the feedback removed? They might possibly remove it if you have messges to prove that the buyer still demands a partial refund without having to return the item, which eBay does not require sellers to do.

Even if they refuse, report the buyer for abuse of the money back guarantee - if enough sellers report the same behaviour eBay might act .

[zakalwe567]

Are you sure the actual score (as opposed to the percentage) is calculated only on the last 12 months because I don't think I've had 400+ transactions in the last 12 months, only about 150 or so?

The buyer expressed unhappiness about a crack, a chipper corned and a loose hinge on 2 or 3 CDs out of a bundle of 20. I offered him a partial refund (about 15% of the purchase price). He said he wanted more. I thought it was unreasonable and offered him a total refund if he returned the items with me paying for the postage (I even offered to pay extra to have them collected since he said he had health problems.) He insisted on keeping them but wanted a larger partial refund, amounting to about 25% of the purchase price. I refused this and he left negative feedback. Would that be considered abusive feedback that ebay would remove?

[red_magpie]

eBay uses the term feedback score to describe the percentage of positive feedback received. That's what I thought you were referring to. 

There are several reasons why your total feedback may have changed. eBay may have removed a negative or neutral feedback if the buyer has been removed from eBay, or if the item was removed. Multiple feedbacks left by the same buyer withn a short period may have been be counted as only one feedback (can't remember if this applies to the total, or only the score).

Does it really matter? Buyers won't be concerned whether your feedback is 416 or 418. It's the percentage postive score that's important.

[zakalwe567]

It's not hugely important. I'm just curious about how about how one extortionist buyer can reduce my total score by three. If this is some known trick it obviously gives abusive buyers more leverage when trying to extort money.

[*vyolla*]

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@zakalwe567 wrote:

It's not hugely important. I'm just curious about how about how one extortionist buyer can reduce my total score by three. If this is some known trick it obviously gives abusive buyers more leverage when trying to extort money.

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They can't reduce the actual number of feedback you have showing in the bracket next to your eBay ID, some other factor must've been in play there.

[john1297576]

Do not get how it has reduced by 3. Only you know that it was  418, so should reduce to 417. If ebay has mucked it up then it may correct itself when next feedback received.