How do I respond to this ebay seller?

[frannn]

I won an auction and paid within 5 days via Paypal. Nowhere in the auction did it state when payment was due. Plus, the auction was won on June 30, and payment was made July 5th. I paid immediately after the holiday weekend. The seller (only has 7 feedback) left me neutral feedback stating "no contact in regards to delay of payment". What delay of payment? I emailed this seller asking them to change the neutral to a positive due to no payment terms stated in the auction, plus I believe I paid within a reasonable time frame under normal ebay standards. I would never leave a seller a negative as retaliation, but I am very tempted to leave a neutral if I don't recieve my item within a few days of my payment. If this seller thinks payment should be receive within moments of the auction end, shouldn't my item be received by then as well?

 

[fam4jc]

I think you can reply to their neutral or negative feedback. I would state that you paid x days after close of auction. Then I would email this person and tell them you are not happy with a neutral. They may not realize that neutral is a negative. So sorry this happened. I am a seller. I am still waiting on pymnt 2 weeks later and i do have a 72 hour policy listed! I am waiting to place feedback until I make sure. Some people are just in too big a hurry.

 

[inkkognito]

Sounds like a very impatient seller!
Personally, when selling an item, I would wait a week before I would bug the buyer. Of course, I'm used to the prehistoric days when payment used to mostly be check or money order. I think that paypal is making people more impatient.
Barb

 

[Lollipop Mom]

Unfortunately there is no way for them to change their feedback rating. If I were you, I'd respond to it in a very matter of fact, businesslike manner. I think the way a person responds to feedback sometimes tells you more about them than the feedback itself! I would respond saying something like "auction ended 6/30 paid 7/5. No payment due date stated in auction." or something like that.

 

[frannn]

She apologized, and stated she is new to ebay, and said she hopes she hasn't offended me. I responded with the following:

In ebay, a nuetral is almost as bad as a negative. The only scale to judge
a seller/buyer is by their feedback, so it is very important to rate someone
fairly. I am not offended, but I am very concerned. Please fill out a
mutual feedback withdrawl form on ebay asap, so the feedback may be removed,
or please search ebay for another method of removal. I appreciate your
expediant assistance in this matter; I also wish you good luck in your
future ebay transactions.
Thanks!
My only hope is that she does this within the time frame necessary. I think the comment remains, but the actual neg or neutral is removed from the tally card under a member's profile.

 

[disneychrista]

Even with a mutual withdrawl the feedback and rating stays, it only changes your "number" which with a nutral wasn't affected.

As stated, simply respond to the feed with a simple "EOA 6/30 Paid 7/5"

 

[floridagirrl2]

OK, I'm not as nice as you. I, personally, would leave a negative stating something like, "Paid in 5 days, but seller left complaint feedback saying I didn't pay fast enough."

I also would reply to her neutral as other posters have stated.

 

[Puffy2]

I'm new to this selling thing too and I had a couple of "late" payments this past week (probably because of the 4th weekend) I only accept pay pal so it's not like I'm waiting for checks in the mail. I gave both my late payers "positives" but they weren't "glowing remarks" . I state in my auctions that payment is expected within 3 days - both of these were 5 days. As a seller, I'm left wondering , "are these guys ever going to pay?"

Also, I don't view neutral as "negative" - it's just neutral. You can always respond like the other posters suggested , by explaining that the seller didn't have a payment policy listed. I wouldn't worry about one neutral comment.

 

[Morganpics]

I have not sold anything, only bought. I always check the sellers feedback, and if there are neutrals read them to see why. If it was a serious issue or there are numerous neutral feedbacks, it carries more weight with me. If I read yours, I would not consider it particularly important. I agree with Lollipop Mom's idea of a response.

 

[ceecee]

I agree with Floridagirl! 5 days is not too long. I just received a money order today from an auction that ended 6-20!

 

[fac]

I have never left a neg feedback myself even one of the sellers sent me a leaked bubble blower recently. I thought it may have been broken in the mail.

But in this case, if I were you I will see whether she can move the neutral feedback, if not.
a. I will update with a response that states you paid within 5 days while there is no time limit on the posting

b. leave her at least a neutral. (seriously reputation is worth a million and ignorance on her part is not an excuse)

 

[Linda L.]

I guess I'm in the minority, but I think 5 days without any response is too long to wait. Ebay even lets you send a reminder after 3 days. When 3 days goes by, and I haven't heard from a buyer, I immediately send the reminder. I think, at the least, a buyer should respond to the request for payment and let the person know when to expect payment. I always request payment with a note asking for a response with their address. This way, I know they got my email and they do plan on completing the purchase. I don't give negs or neutrals for late payments, but I don't give glowing reports either. I usually don't give any feedback or just state facts.

 

[mtblujeans]

It would be nice if people would pay as soon as they win. I frequently do. But, people are busy and I don't get concerned until after the first 7 days. You can't get eBay to do anything about a problem until after the first 7 days or 10 days, depending upon what the problem is. I don't think 5 days is a long time to wait for payment when there is a holiday weekend in there. I have had people take 6-8 weeks to pay and just could not figure out what my problem is wanting to be paid before that! I think people don't realize how much time elapses. I don't usually carry on a "conversation" with the buyers. They pay and we are done. I agree that a neutral is a pseudo-negative. That new seller needed to be made aware of the power of a neutral comment.

 

[CharityLynn]

I had something very similar happen. It was a week before mother's day. I was browsing and found a coca cola disposable camera. My mom collects coca cola stuff. It was a buy it now option. So I did that and paid pay pal right then.

I made my paypal payment on 5/5 receved the camera on 6/2

Needless to say I was upset and the seller kept sending things that she got tied up and backed up and couldn't get caught up she was having a family member come and help. That this is how she supports her family to be nice. And to not leave feedback if you didn't have anything nice to say.

I must say I look at feedback now everytime. She had a lot of sales and over 2,00 positives but she also had over 200 negatives and nuetrals in the last 6 months.

But I didn't want to be evil and leave a negative so I put a nuetral and simply put paid 5/5 received 6/2..that was all I put.

Then she gave me a nuetral! I was ticked, what did I do wrong? I did a buy it now and paid that moment via Paypal.

LOL i can not believe I am still mad about it.

Then she sent me something asking to remove both of our feedback. I declined. I figure people need to see how she does things. On her site she even says shipping in 1-2 days. it may have been 2-3 days. But it took almost a full month to get it. It was one camera.

Ugh anyways.

thanks for listening lol

 

[fac]

CharityLynn,

I will be mad too.
How did she justify the neutral? (that you paid too quick )
did you respond to the feedback?

 

[CheapMom]

The only time I had a bad eBay experience: had to wait 2 months on something I paid immediatly for. Seller said- sorry I was out of town... very busy...
I chose to leave no feedback at all. She left me positive feedback.
Charity- I would be livid if I were you. You have to respond to that feedback.

 

[CharityLynn]

Yeah, I responded. I put Payment made 5/5, package rec. 6/2. I could have put worse. I thought I was being friendlyby 1 making it a nuetral comment and 2 not saying anything bad, I stated payment date and packe recv'd info. I am getting married in Oct and I was thinking I would buy my disp. cameras through her too then this happened. Oh well, she lost her sale.

 

[fac]

I do not know how much they are selling for the disposable camera. I brought 10 via amazon.com I forgot the exact price, but I think it was quite cheap.

 

[mtakac]

CharityLynn,

I would have been furious about the neutral. I buy and sell regularly on Ebay. I leave positive feedback as soon as a customer pays. It has nothing to do with the kind of feedback they leave me. Waiting a month for an item is unacceptable.

I have to agree with Linda L. about 5 days being rather long. I woudln't automatically leave negative or neutral feedback but I cleary state in my auctions that the winning bidder needs to contact me within 3 days of the end of the auction. Even if there message is "hey, I won't be able to pay you for another week" as long as I have some sort of communication.

Also, there are always those people who don't read instructions as they should. More and more sellers are sending automatic invoices as soon as the auction is over so some people expect it. I've had people send me messages inquiring as to why I hadn't contacted THEM when I state that I expect to them to contact ME.

I am dealing with a situation right now where I have a buyer who was the winning bidder on 8 separate items and I have heard nothing from them. It's been a week since the auction ended. I've invoiced them and sent a separate email.

I've never had to file a non-paying bidder form. Any advice? I know that you can file it after a week but that really seems too soon to me. People have unexpected emergencies or computer troubles.

Lastly, has anyone used the US Post Office's free pick up for priority mail packages? How did it work out for you? I send priority mail anyway and thought I might take advantage of this service unless it is more of a hassle than it's worth.

Thanks,
Micki

 

[swilshire]

Micki,

I think you'll find the USPS pickup a real plus, IF you are eligible to receive it. Not all customers are. It depends on the type of delivery you receive. If your mail is delivered by a rural carrier (usually recognized by the personal vehicles they drive and the fact that they don't wear Postal uniforms), you can't use this yet.

Call you local PO and ask them if it is available to you.

Sheila