Removing Negative Amazon Feedback: Dealing with the Unreasonable Customer

As an Amazon marketplace seller specializing in used books I must confess that I check daily to see what kind of feedback I've received from past customers. Today I'm at a 100% positive feedback for the past 30 days and at 99% for the past 365 days. It is this second percentage that the potential or new customer sees when he browses my book listings on Amazon. A low 30 day feedback, of course, will eventually affect your 365 day feedback, so one must keep a close watch on feedback, else your sales may begin to drop.

Yesterday, however, was not such a happy feedback day. My 100% feedback for the past 30 days was then a dismal 86%, with a glaring red negative 1 out of 5 rating from my latest feedback listed. I had also received a curt and angry e-mail from this customer using Amazon's e-mail system. His complaint? He had paid $80 for a book and upon receipt discovered that it's original selling price was $12.95.

He had been, in his mind, ripped-off. How dare I, an Amazon bookseller, sell him a book for $80 when it originally sold for only $12.95 only a few years before? How dare I price the book competitively with the prices of the other 10 sellers listing this book for sale on Amazon! It originally sold for $12.95 and so it must never, ever, ever, be sold for anything higher than that!

(I must pause here and reflect on his logical response when he comes across "penny dreadfuls" and "dime novels" in antique malls and discovers to his horror and shock that, gasp! they don't sell for pennies and dimes anymore!)

This is a classic example of "buyer's remorse" and it really has absolutely nothing to do with me, the seller. The buyer chose to order my book and pay that amount; no one forced him to order my copy. As this book is currently selling for $90+ with a decent sales ranking right now, anyway, I really don't know what he is complaining about. It was a reference book, so read it, study it, then resell it for a profit online. It is the principle of supply and demand in action; this is why this book, originally selling for $12.95, is going for $90 now, while so many other books that were originally priced at $29.95 are selling for pennies.

As an Amazon seller, you might feel like you have no recourse in regards to this kind of feedback abuse. After all, the customer is "always right", right? There's nothing you can do but pray that your next feedback-leaving Amazon customers are more reasonable and leave you positives.

Actually, that isn't true. You, as an Amazon seller, do have some options when you get an unreasonable, childish negative feedback like this. You can actually report it to Amazon and ask them to remove it! Here are the official four situations where Amazon will intervene and remove negative feedback for you:

Reason #1 for Negative Feedback Removal on Amazon:
The feedback includes obscene language.

Reason #2 for Negative Feedback Removal on Amazon:
The feedback includes seller-specific personally identifiable information.

Reason #3 for Negative Feedback Removal on Amazon:
The entire feedback comment is a product review.

Reason #4 for Negative Feedback Removal on Amazon:
The entire feedback comment is regarding fulfillment or customer service for an order fulfilled by Amazon.

When I saw this list, I didn't immediately see how I was going to be able to present a case for having this particular feedback removed, as this customer was complaining about price. Then I realized that his complaint was essentially a "product review", as he said "yes" when asked if the item was as described. When I contacted Amazon to make my complaint, I copied his feedback, pointed out that I had not forced him to buy this book and that I found his feedback offensive and unreasonable, and that it was essentially a product review, and lo and behold! within 24 hours the kind Amazon team of feedback reviewers had the feedback removed.

If you feel you have received an unfair and/or childish negative feedback as an Amazon seller, the process to request that it be removed is simple. Look for links at the Amazon Seller site that say "Seller Help" and then "Contact Seller Support by e-mail." (Seller support no longer accepts feedback removal requests by phone.) On the left there will be a menu titled "What is the problem?" Select "Orders", and then "Customer feedback problems." You will need to provide the Order ID, which you will find included with the feedback when you browse this from your Seller Account.

Blessings!

Source
Amazon Seller Help Pages