eBay Feedback when it comes to Honest Mistakes, Customer Service, and Dishonesty

airplanenut

For background, I sell a ton on eBay and I buy next to nothing. While I may occasionally find a coin I want, what little I buy is usually limited to cheap fixed-price items where an eBay seller has a used version cheaper than a reseller on Amazon. I work my tail off to do business the right way; I don't want to make a mistake or describe something inaccurately, and to that end, if it happens, I'll make sure the buyer is made whole and hope that the resolution and my feedback combine to let a buyer know that it was an honest mistake and nothing more. To that end, when members here post about eBay deals gone wrong, I'm usually one to give more benefit of the doubt to the seller because outside of egregious cases, I want to believe that sellers mean well and aren't out to pull a fast one, at least until their actions prove otherwise. I advocate emailing a seller before just opening a SNAD, and I think anything but positive feedback should be a last resort, largely because my experience with buyers is that such feedback almost exclusively comes when they give me no chance to address the problem (whether or not it's a legitimate problem notwithstanding).

Moving away from coins for a moment, in the last month I've made 2 purchases on eBay. I bought a CD (yes, a CD) where tracking was never uploaded, and after a month I realized it never arrived. I emailed the seller and got no response. 2 business days later, I opened a case stating I still wanted the item, and immediately got a refund, all with no comment from the seller. Second was a set of DVDs which looked a bit off from the outset, and now I'm 99.9% sure are bootleg (I also ordered this one from Amazon so I'll have a genuine one for comparison). I won't contact the seller until I get the Amazon one.

Before I get too off-topic, back to coins and eBay in general. There's plenty that can go wrong in a coin sale: shipping problems, misleading photos, damage that isn't described, authenticity issues. Of course, most of these issues exist on a continuum and may be subject to a matter of opinion. This is where I'm curious as both a seller and a buyer. How do you draw the line between giving the seller the benefit of the doubt (just an email) or going stronger from the start (SNAD or non-positive feedback)? What if the seller doesn't cooperate (ignores emails or won't work with you)? From the seller side, I'm interested to know how buyers think. Almost all the time things work out for me as a seller (at the very least, preserving my feedback score), so I'm probably doing things right, but there's always room to improve. As a buyer, this was the first time I ever opened a case of any kind, and until these two transactions, I've never considered leaving feedback that wasn't positive, whether punitive in some way (at least send me a reply to my simple email asking for a shipping update) or as a warning to others (this item isn't genuine, and I'm not so sure it was an honest error).

I suppose this is becoming more of an open-ended prompt than a direct question, but there are a lot of eBay buyers and sellers here. I'm interested to know what you think.

jmlanzaf

TLDR

Feedback and case opening should be used where appropriate.

CalifornianKing

I would only open a SNAD case when there was a clear attempt to mislead me, or its fake ect. For coins, if I bought a coin and overpaid, or didn't notice a issue, that's on me. But if there are any issues, I would always message the seller before opening any actions.

MFeld

I’d give the seller a chance to make good, within a reasonable period of time, while being careful not to make (what could be unfair) accusations.

Mgarmy

It comes down to communication. I spent 375 on a decent heavy action jogging rod, ordered three weeks before vacation. Emailed the seller immediately upon purchase and asked if they could ship soonest. Crickets….no rod by delivery date…then ebay gives them another week ( which is crap) so long story short…no communication normally will result in poor marks and the only time I ever leave poor marks is in instances where seller does not communicate.

jt88

some eBay sellers never reply to questions. I usually stay away from those sellers

RichieURich

@MFeld said:
I’d give the seller a chance to make good, within a reasonable period of time, while being careful not to make (what could be unfair) accusations.

What he said. Additionally, based on many of your posts I've read, you seem to be a person with very good judgement. That good judgement will help you resolve any issues that arise.