Thinking of leaving eBay...

[tllworld]

Hi all,

I have a business account and I am a Top Rated seller but I am seriously thinking of leaving eBay. Top reason is that I had some unfair feedback that wasn't removed, second reason is the fact that I have competitors classed as individuals selling the same stuff I do in large quantities (products that are bought ONLY from trade only wholesalers)  and obviously they can now sell for less than me. 

Last night it was the last straw for me, buyer leaves bad feedback as the product she receives it was not what she expected.  In the title and description it's clear that the product is X and not Y, in the description I even wrote again to expect X and not Y (knowing that there is some confusion on the matter). I asked to have the feedback removed but it was denied as according to them buyer genuinely expected to receive Y.  If they read the description they wouldn't have made this mistake.

Then I had another that complained about the fact that they didn't like the product after they threaten me to leave a bad review if I didn't refund without return.  Another one complained about paying for something they didn't receive AFTER I refunded them.  In all these case eBay didn't remove the feedback because buyers should be able to give honest feedback.   I feel I have no protection, not much better than Amazon. Every time my rating goes down, my sales decline and then it's really difficult to climb back up. I am basically paying for membership and listings but it's becoming less and less possible to make money on eBay. Am I the only one? Is there a way to complain to eBay? 

[tibiketitanium]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to bring up an issue I recently encountered and get your thoughts on it. As a seller, I recently received feedback where the buyer mentioned a competing brand, directly comparing my product to theirs and expressing a preference for the competitor. While I respect that buyers can share their honest experiences, I’m concerned that this type of feedback might fall into a gray area where it becomes less about the product they purchased and more about promoting another brand.

From what I understand, eBay’s feedback guidelines emphasize that feedback should stay relevant to the actual transaction and product. Allowing direct mentions of competitors could impact future sales and unfairly skew perceptions, especially if it’s not directly related to the item purchased.

Has anyone else had similar experiences with competitor mentions in feedback? How did you handle it, and what was eBay’s response? I’d love to know if there’s a better way to approach this or if others feel it might be worth discussing more widely with eBay.

Thanks for any insights!

[dch2112011]

I understand your frustration - it will not affect your sales - your response was polite and professional buyers will read your response 

However it might be worth ringing ebay in the morning and speaking to Dublin - ask the cs why the feedback cannot be removed under the feedback policy - You could try arguing ' The buyer is raising an issue that was correctly disclosed in the listing' On the basis that you disclosed specifically that it was not a 100% essential oil because it could be an issue due to similar products being sold that are 100% essential oil  therefore the issue was pointed out in the title and description   - it's a long shot because this removal I guess is aimed at items with faults pointed out - worth a try it might work ? 

- see below

Harmful, inappropriate or irrelevant comments and images
We remove all feedback that contains any:

Content promoting hatred, violence or discrimination
Profane, obscene, adult, illegal or explicit content
Opinions on any political, religious or social issues
Any implied or explicit threats or intimidation
Personally identifiable information
Links, URLs or other content encouraging sales outside of eBay
Infringement of third-party rights
Meaningless content or images that aren’t of the item purchased
Comments intended for a different item or seller
Negative comments with positive ratings, or positive comments with negative ratings
Personal attacks that could harm the reputation of the seller or their business and could not reasonably be viewed as constructive criticism
Any pictures left in feedback should accurately represent the item purchased and follow our policies, including the Images, videos and text policy, the Offensive materials policy, the Restricted adult items policy, and the Illegal explicit content policy.

See example

Extortion and manipulation
We remove all feedback that:

Is used as a means to extort another member
Is used to manipulate feedback ratings (see our Feedback manipulation policy)
See example

Buyer-related transaction issues
We remove neutral/negative feedback when we can see that:

The buyer asked to cancel after placing their order
The order was cancelled due to an issue with the buyer’s address
The order was cancelled because the buyer didn’t pay
The buyer is raising an issue that was correctly disclosed in the listing
The buyer has been actioned under our Abusive buyer policy
The buyer requested a change to an order after they’d paid (and their feedback relates to this)
See examples

[dch2112011]

Personally I would not worry about it - your response was polite and explanatory - I do not think any buyer would be put off buying from you or this item. - neutrals are of little interest but if it bugs you - you could get a ringback in the morning getting dublin and ask whether the feedback could be removed  on the basis that it promotes another product ? 

[bidicus*maximus]

We always leave a polite response to negative and neutral feedback that tells our side of the story and/or points out where the buyer was in error either by not reading the description, checking the measurements before buying, etc. 

[tibiketitanium]

Thank you for your replies. It’s incredibly frustrating to put in so much hard work and then face these challenges, especially with eBay offering little help. Ten years ago, eBay made up about 90% of our sales, but now it's down to just 5-10%. so its always a worry when customers leave feedback and we do as much as we can and bend over backwards for them. 

[pillarboxred]

Your first feedback to a buyer must be positive. You can follow up with another comment which can be negative. You can also reply to their negative comment.  As space is limited, you have to play around with wording to fit what you want to say in. It should all be factual and checkable.
I used to sell 250 collectables and antiques on eBay per annum. It's changed days, and I don't know whether the dog which has had its day is me or eBay. 

[tllworld]

I had another bad review and that made me very angry because it's  again a customer that didn't read the description, was refunded 3 weeks ago and now gives me a bad review. Because I have been selling smelly things and smell is subjective my rating is now very low and it's all for things outside my control.  My other reviews are all excellent because I often go above and beyond to make my customers happy.  Therefore in the new year I will review how I sell on eBay, it's a major blow and disappointment. There is no real support for us sellers, we are regularly scammed, treated unfairly and work hard to make a living.