Negative Feedback Issue

forthe4unofit

I sold someone a pair of Jordan shoes a few months back. The buyer drove up the price to find my reserve ($350), then sent me a messaging saying he would pay me $50 below even before the auction ended. I knew there was something shady about the guy then. After going back and forth he told me that he was reputable and would pay the full price if the auction ended and he was the highest bidder.

He won the item, and within 2 days of receiving he sent me a message saying the shoes looked worn and he wanted a partial refund of $80. I told him if he wasn't happy with his purchase that he could return the shoes to me and I would refund him his money.

He filed a dispute with eBay to which I replied and said I would grant a full refund if he shipped the shoes back to me. After playing hardball with him, he dropped the dispute and kept the shoes.

2 months later he leaves me a neg.

Is this something that eBay will remove?

Also, if they do remove the neg, can I in turn leave the guy a neg showing his shady buying tactics?

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks guys

MULLINS5

Depends on what he put in the negative comment.

Can't leave him a negative.

forthe4unofit

This is the neg he left me - "wouldnt send more pics or confirm that shoes were new and they were clearly worn"

forthe4unofit

Ok,

I called eBay and they would not rescind the feedback, so I'm stuck. She said it was the buyers opinion that the shoes looked worn and even though I offered a full refund, there's nothing she can do because there was no feedback extortion involved. I asked her if there was anything I could have done differently to avoid the neg and she didn't have an answer for me.

Oh, and by the way, the guy sells shoes himself.

WinPitcher

You can reply to his neg.

forthe4unofit

I did "This guy declined a full refund offer. What better could I do than that?".

As you all know, I unfortunately cannot leave feedback on this guy. That is very dissapointing. It's a shame that buyers use these techniques and are allowed to get away with them.

storm888

"Shoes Are New. Full Refund Offered. Competitor Wanted Cash & Shoes. BBL."

MULLINS5

The buyer purchased shoes from you and wasn't happy with the service. Negative or Neutral is the correct FB to leave.

It would probably have been a good idea not to do business with somebody who was suspected to be shady to begin with (in reference to their driving the price up).

MULLINS5

<< <i>"Shoes Are New. Full Refund Offered. Competitor Wanted Cash & Shoes. BBL." >>



Appropriate followup.

forthe4unofit

<< <i>"Shoes Are New. Full Refund Offered. Competitor Wanted Cash & Shoes. BBL." >>



Aargh! That's much better than my crappy reply! I guess it's too late now. That was my first neg too!

forthe4unofit

<< <i>The buyer purchased shoes from you and wasn't happy with the service. Negative or Neutral is the correct FB to leave. >>



Wasn't happy with the service? As in not caving in to his demands of giving the item to him at a discounted price? From your perspective, you feel that justifies a neg? Seriously?

MULLINS5

<< <i>

<< <i>The buyer purchased shoes from you and wasn't happy with the service. Negative or Neutral is the correct FB to leave. >>



Wasn't happy with the service? As in not caving in to his demands of giving the item to him at a discounted price? From your perspective, you feel that justifies a neg? Seriously? >>



If he's not happy, he's not happy.

You knew you were dealing with slime when you sold to him...now your hands are greasy and you're complaining...really?

TonyC

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>The buyer purchased shoes from you and wasn't happy with the service. Negative or Neutral is the correct FB to leave. >>



Wasn't happy with the service? As in not caving in to his demands of giving the item to him at a discounted price? From your perspective, you feel that justifies a neg? Seriously? >>



If he's not happy, he's not happy.

You knew you were dealing with slime when you sold to him...now your hands are greasy and you're complaining...really? >>



Did he really have a choice in the matter? Once someone wins an item from you, they have you hostage and you must comply with every demand lest they leave you a negative--and then sometimes they still leave you a negative. Do you really think this situation would have ended any better if the OP tried to cancel the transaction because he thought the buyer was fishy?

Sometimes we can blame the seller who gets the negative feedback for their own mistakes... this does not appear to be one of those times...

wallst32

I had a similar situation once with an Xbox 360 which was clearly advertised as used. The buyer complained the little plastic/rubber nubs on the controller were worn off. If you are familiar with the controller you know these wear down pretty quickly. I offered a full refund, but the buyer said no I just want $x back (I forget the amount) or I will leave a negative! I declined to offer the partial refund and received a negative. I reported this to ebay and since the conversation took place on their messaging system they had full record of it. The service rep tells me yes it is feedback extortion, but we can't do anything to remove the comment unless we receive a court order (it would need to be slander or defamation or something along those lines). So I say great, your policy specifically states feedback extortion is against the rules yet you do not enforce it. The rep just said sorry, and I don't remember the rest of the mumble jumble.

forthe4unofit

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>The buyer purchased shoes from you and wasn't happy with the service. Negative or Neutral is the correct FB to leave. >>



Wasn't happy with the service? As in not caving in to his demands of giving the item to him at a discounted price? From your perspective, you feel that justifies a neg? Seriously? >>



If he's not happy, he's not happy.

You knew you were dealing with slime when you sold to him...now your hands are greasy and you're complaining...really? >>



No offense dude, but you act like a douche. I came on here asking for advice for a situation I was in and vented a little. I made a post because I respect the knowledge & opinions of many people on these forums, not to complain. I'm not interested in driving my post count up by making useless posts.

Thanks to everyone who helped me out! I appreciate it as always!

forthe4unofit

<< <i>I had a similar situation once with an Xbox 360 which was clearly advertised as used. The buyer complained the little plastic/rubber nubs on the controller were worn off. If you are familiar with the controller you know these wear down pretty quickly. I offered a full refund, but the buyer said no I just want $x back (I forget the amount) or I will leave a negative! I declined to offer the partial refund and received a negative. I reported this to ebay and since the conversation took place on their messaging system they had full record of it. The service rep tells me yes it is feedback extortion, but we can't do anything to remove the comment unless we receive a court order (it would need to be slander or defamation or something along those lines). So I say great, your policy specifically states feedback extortion is against the rules yet you do not enforce it. The rep just said sorry, and I don't remember the rest of the mumble jumble. >>



Man that is horrible! I am glad I am not trying to make a living on eBay. I would certainly look for other avenues to sell my products.

MULLINS5

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>The buyer purchased shoes from you and wasn't happy with the service. Negative or Neutral is the correct FB to leave. >>



Wasn't happy with the service? As in not caving in to his demands of giving the item to him at a discounted price? From your perspective, you feel that justifies a neg? Seriously? >>



If he's not happy, he's not happy.

You knew you were dealing with slime when you sold to him...now your hands are greasy and you're complaining...really? >>



No offense dude, but you act like a douche. I came on here asking for advice for a situation I was in and vented a little. I made a post because I respect the knowledge & opinions of many people on these forums, not to complain. I'm not interested in driving my post count up by making useless posts.

Thanks to everyone who helped me out! I appreciate it as always! >>



As the seller you failed to satisfy the buyer and received a negative for that. It happens.

WinPitcher

Never mind I stand corrected.

bobbyw8469

<< <i>As the seller you failed to satisfy the buyer and received a negative for that. It happens. >>



As a seller, he failed to satisfy a competitor who wanted to flip the shoes in question for more money. The current feedback system is a joke.

brendanb438

You need to escalate this. Did he send you the messages via eBay or via email in the attempt to extort extra money to keep the shoes? This is the evidence you need to prove he was trying to extort you. Keep demanding that they view this as feedback extortion if the buyer didn't get a partial refund to keep the goods.

-Brendan

diamondman

<< <i>

<< <i>As the seller you failed to satisfy the buyer and received a negative for that. It happens. >>



As a seller, he failed to satisfy a competitor who wanted to flip the shoes in question for more money. The current feedback system is a joke. >>



if ebay would start allowing sellers to leave negative for buyers, this would clear up some crap that goes on now.
the buyer knows he has all the power. also have noticed a large increase in NPB or waiting 2 to 4 weeks to pay for an item, so far this year 20 NPB'ers and right now have 5 buyers 10 to 20 days late + 2 NPB cases open, crap is getting old, just grin and bear it.

Tabe

<< <i>Did he really have a choice in the matter? >>


Actually, yes, he did. Since the guy contacted him before the auction was over and seemed shady from the get-go, he could have immediately added the guy to his blocked bidder list. Then the guy couldn't have won the item and the whole mess would have been avoided.

None of that absolves the buyer of his guilt in being a douchebag.

Tabe

storm888

Very few folks who come here asking for "help" do so with
totally clean hands. If we spent the time we prolly should
beating up on the help-seekers, we would get fewer of them.




Since the format of the game is "play it where it lies," I try
not to beat up on folks with the "it's your own fault" club.
Tho, 90%+ of the help-seekers KNOW that club would be,
in part, the correct stick, they really just need to know what
other folks think is a possible solution to their quandary.

All that is just my cheery view and other folks see the game
board differently.

dontippet

In my opinion, the only recourse you have is if he threatened negative feedback. Did he something like "I need some cash back or I might leave negative feedback". Even he said something like, "don't forget, I haven't left feedback yet" is considered feedback extortion. If he did something like that, then ebay will remove his negative feedback.

forthe4unofit

Thanks Storm.

It's obvious the guy was a jerk. People spend a lot of time talking about what someone should have done instead of acknowledging their question and suggesting what they should do. To everyone who likes to go with the talking about the 'what should have been done'; hindsight is 20/20 to most people and you are likely pointing out the obvious, thus wasting peoples time.

Just as a follow up to everyone, the buyer ended up replying to a message I sent him last night and changed my feedback to a positive.

This is the feedback he left: "excellent seller, item as described, lightning fast shipping, very satisfied A++"

The only thing I can think of is that since this guy is a seller himself, he was probably trying to avoid bad karma. That, or my message was rather convincing.

For the hindsight people, yes, I agree. It probably would have been better for him if he did that in the first place.

Thanks again all!