Will Negative Feedback Really Affect Your eBay Business?

All of us deal with cranky, greedy, demanding people who feel they are entitled to ignore the rules or do not read directions or expect something for nothing on a regular basis, yet it feels like a surprise every time we encounter such a person on eBay. If you are an eBay seller long enough, it is almost impossible to not get a negative here and there or at least the threat of getting a negative from an unhappy buyer, but there are remedies and ways to deal with this. Think of when you have a tag sale, some people turn their nose up at everything in an effort to haggle, or that kooky lady that shows up and shrilly yells "half price day!" and knocks things over and scaring away actual customers. Well they are all on eBay as well, and they may not even have had their morning coffee yet when they deal with you. Remember there was a reason you wanted to work from home, or at least get a part time job from home and reconsider how you want to handle eBay customers.

First, assess if this is a crazy negative out of nowhere or if there is some merit to the compliant. Did you ship so late that the item was not received in time for a gift giving occasion? Is your definition of words like "new" not the same as eBay's definition? Did you overstate the quality or materials or neglect to mention smoke smells or stains? While store quality items are not needed to sell on eBay, if something is not good enough to give as a gift, it needs to be spelled out. The less than perfect condition will not affect your sale of the item as long as it is disclosed. If you really cannot get around shipping the items any faster, consider printing postage online and having the post office pick up the package (which they will do for free). If you are just too busy to get your eBay items out, then you might be too busy to be selling on eBay. You may have made an honest mistake and not noticed the sold item had a flaw or you yourself were fooled by the quality of it. A good example might be if you were given an item thinking it was real when it was an imitation. If the item did not come with some sort of authenticity, you should state that in your auction and let the buyer assess authenticity for themselves. Of course, if you have good reason to think it is real (such as the box or bag or case it came in or you know the store from which it was purchased) you may state so, but the fact that your friend bought it for you and they would not try to pass off a fake does not mean that your friend was not fooled into thinking a fake is authentic, so include whatever information you can, such as serial numbers, pictures of tags and labels, receipts when applicable, etc.

Then finally, there are the times buyers are just plain crazy or mean or just want you to shave a few bucks off or did not read the auction description that well in their haste to buy. Perhaps they mixed you up with another seller they had bad dealings with. If you feel you are in the right and get a negative you do not deserve, you have a few choices:

a. eBay's Square trade can be initiated by either party to negotiate terms of the sale and to remove any negative feedback if they deem it appropriate. You will have to provide lots of details. The down side is the other party does not have to participate if they do not wish to, but a feedback can be withdrawn.

b. For about $30 you can have eBay review if feedback can be removed if there is good reason to remove it. Mentioning your name or identifying information, leaving a negative by accident or saying something illegal are all good reasons for eBay to consider removing negative feedback.

c. Ask the buyer what would make them satisfied enough to leave a follow-up correction. The negative will still exist and count in your statistics, but the negative comment will be followed up with a comment that shows you made restitution or the buyer is now satisfied and recants. This takes some humility when you may not be in the wrong, but it will show you are a reliable seller.

You may want to consider these options if you are a Power seller which requires you to maintain a certain higher ratio of positive feedback to retain Power Seller status. But if you are just clearing the junk out of your attic or garage and not making a career out of it, you might not really care about a negative feedback. If you want to build a business, you will need a customer service plan just like every other business and reply to emails and send out tracking information and answer questions even though they are spelled out within the auction description. Remember this is substituting for a real job, you must reply to emails and questions to make it work.

Buyers can generally get away with having more negatives unless they have excessive negatives for not paying. Remember that if you are buyer with excessive negatives that a seller can cancel your bid and you will miss out on an item you wanted. If you are a seller and a buyer, try to be a responsible buyer so as not to get any negatives based on your buying conduct that will affect your seller reputation.

You are given a chance to reply to negative feedback just beneath the line the feedback appears in the Feedback forum. When deciding what to do about the feedback, assess if you can explain the negative feedback in about 55 characters or less. The negative still appears, as well as your comment, and the buyer can reply one more time to what you write if they notice that you replied and care to offer more comments. While such ability to reply does allow you to explain, do not take it as an opportunity to get your pound of flesh against a rude buyer. First, they likely will not even see what you write unless they have taken to obsessively visit your feedback page on a regular basis, (any worthwhile negative comments you have to state should be stated in the feedback you leave for the buyer if you care to do such) . Second, this is your opportunity to explain your side, don't waste it with stuff that doesn't matter to a potential buyer. While you may be angry, wait until you are calm to concisely explain what happened. This can make a big difference. Often when I see from the feedback reply that a negative was uncalled for, but the seller demonstrates themselves as rude, vindictive, name calling individual, I will generally pass before dealing with a hot head unless I really want the item. This is especially true if the item can be found elsewhere. When you leave reply feedback, try to convey anything good you did, such as attempt to resolve conflicts via offering partial refund, exchange, bonus gift, discount or replacement to fix things and if this was accepted or not. In reply feedback, do not resort to calling someone a liar or cheat or crazy even if they are. If you want to tell the world what a deadbeat this buyer is, save it for what appears on their feedback page, not theirs. Finally, if the negative is essentially true and you have no way to defend it, consider admitting it. "I am sorry I missed the items flaw so I offered a partial refund" is at least honest and shows you tried to fix your mistake, a reasonable buyer knows we all make mistakes.

Other issues to assess are: What type of accusation are they making? Are they questioning your ethics? Your merchandise? How long it took to ship? Are they just saying they did not like the item and expressing a personal preference that has nothing to do with the quality of service? If this person is emailing you constantly, is it cheaper to refund or offer a partial refund than to keep dealing with this person? Do you sell something so expensive that people debate before making the purchase? Do you sell something so rare that they are willing to take a chance? Do you sell something so common that they can likely find that exact same item for a comparable price from another seller with better feedback?

Private feedback is an option with some drawbacks. It will still show that there is a negative and the percentage but not the actual comments themselves - both good and bad. Personally if I see a private feedback option being implemented, my mind wanders to what is the worst possible eBay seller scenario - is the feedback left for you the worst thing you can think of someone saying about a seller? So before you decide this particular buyers' feedback is so awful that it must be hidden, give it some time and decide if private feedback is really the answer

Before getting a negative feedback: How to try to avoid it

If the buyer is not pleased and writes you about an item not being satisfactory, encourage them to take advantage of their rights as a buyer and submit the item for a free PayPal dispute resolution. You will provide tracking number - so even if sent late, and it will result in PayPal awarding the claim to you. If you cannot provide tracking, the claim will likely go to the buyer and the funds will be taken out of your account. If you can prove you shipped your item and the post office has not delivered it yet, then PayPal will side with you and leave your funds intact. But the buyer still did not get their item and is out of the money, so consider what your policy is on items lost in the mail and state this in your auction. Often losing a PayPal dispute can make a buyer upset, so be kind in your dealings so as not to irritate them.

Respond promptly to the compliant if they email you first. Some people are attempting to haggle after a sale; others did not read the item description where it states the true condition of the item. For instance, one auction I sold was a brand new nail enamel that was with the original seal over the cap but it was not in the box. The item stated this in the description but the buyer apparently did not read that and complained in their feedback. It is often helpful to print out a copy of the actual auction page as a reminder to the buyer of what they decided to buy and include that in the shipment if there is something unusual about your auction such as a disclosed flaw or irregularity.

Wrap items well in bubble wrap and tape down caps to prevent spills and damage to the product. Do not try to get extra money by excessive shipping and handling fees. Many buyers are annoyed when they see how cheaply their items shipped compared to what they were charged for shipping, even if the collective price was still a deal. Avoid getting negatives and neutrals based on packing and shipping complaints having nothing to do with your service or product.

State your shipping policy clearly in the auction. It is a funny thing on eBay, as a buyer, you may find an item early in the auction maybe at the 6 days to go mark, and anticipate the item that whole time. You may have wanted the item for several months before finding it on eBay. Then by the time the buyer actually wins the item, it has already been a week of anticipation. Some buyers feel as if they paid immediately when they issue a check or a Paypal check that needs to clear, even though several days go by before a seller can ship. So if the seller does not ship quickly, as a buyer it feels like you have waited forever. Do not add unnecessary delays to an eager buyers wait without informing them of the delay. If you only ship once a week, then state so in the auction. Try to notify the buyer of the actual shipment date so that they know when to expect it and don't blame you for post office holiday or weekend delays. If bad weather or car problems stops you from shipping, alert the buyer immediately.

If you did sell an item with a stain, rip, damage or send the wrong item and the seller can provide some reasonable proof thereof, look to set the matter straight by offering a refund upon return, a discount partial refund, or a credit against a future auction or perhaps a bonus item if possible. This will likely turn a threat of a negative into a positive feedback for relatively little cost and work on your part. If you sent someone the wrong item and someone needs to return an item to you, do apologize for their trouble since it was your fault and making a return is a pain.

If you have a bad feeling about a bidder before the auction ends, check out the feedback they have left for others to get a sense of them as well as the feedback they have received. You have the right to cancel a bid and block a bidder, but do so only when necessary so as not to lose sales for no good reason.

If once the item is sent the person has complaints about the item that you feel are without merit, then deal politely but firmly. If there is something you can do to investigate then offer to do so. Do not ignore the emails as that will be construed as guilt on your part or that you are not going to deal with them which often angers people. If you can refer to the auction description fully disclosed details, likely they will go away or leave a neutral feedback. If this does not happen, keep all emails in case of a PayPal or Square Trade dispute. A buyer has up to ninety days to leave feedback, so do not insult or one-up a buyer while the window for leaving feedback is still open. Also, a buyer who hastily leaves a positive can come back and leave a follow up comment with negative sentiments, although this will not be listed as a negative and will be buried in the feedback list.

At times, there is nothing you can do about getting a negative feedback; some people just expect service like a regular store or demand so much time from you that it is not worth it. If you do your best to describe your items well and give adequate consideration to what may be a viable buyer claim and act accordingly then you can be assured that you are doing what you can to preserve your feedback. You yourself have likely purchased from someone with lower feedback without being phased, potential buyers will likely feel the same about you.

If you are trying to build a eBay business so you can work at home, invariably, you will deal with lots of annoying buyers, and that is the price you pay for being able to make money from home, do remember people are annoying at a regular job as well. Your consistent good feedback is a better indicator of your eBay performance, and while perfect feedback would be nice, most buyers do not expect that.