How would you handle this ebay situation?

[scottish]

Sounds like opinions are split between Leave NO feedback and Positive with a mention of what happened. Again would love to see there auctions and there feedback before I say which one is best . thats key in my opinion.

 

I can understand leaving no feedback, but for me, if someone just bends over backwards to fix their error, and gives you the item for free in the process, how can you not leave them positive feedback?

 

If all eBay sellers had done that over the years, I'd be flipping cartwheels of joy. 95% of the time there's an issue with an item caused by the seller (as opposed to damage to well packed items), there's always a fight. 95% of the time. No matter how professional, polite, and courteous I am, I almost always get hostile, defensive sellers trying to claim it's not their fault in some way, or that I'm trying to scam them, which absolutely infuriates me.

 

So when a seller does this...and I think it's happened to me maybe three times in 12 years....I'm ECSTATIC. Jumping for joy. Can't leave a positive fast enough.

 

Yes - any time a seller tries to make good 100% without having to move heaven and earth I leave positive feedback 99% of the time. So long as there isn't a pattern of deception.

 

It's a rare occurrence to run across a seller that will refund all of your cost and not take offense at the issues you have. As RMA stated no matter how courteous one tries to be via email people tend to see the worst possible and react accordingly.

 

I can also see leaving no feedback, but since the seller actually apologized and refunded I would go with positive feedback in this case.

[RockMyAmadeus]

I'd leave neutral feedback.

 

sale was a bust (negative)

+

seller handled it very well (positive)

=

neutral feedback with notes as others have suggested.

 

Seriously? You'd seriously leave someone a neutral feedback (which is nothing more than a weak negative) for giving you the item FOR FREE...? You'd be perfectly ok with harming their reputation when it cost you nothing, and you GAINED a free item....?

 

[TheDanimal]

That's just HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The guy made good by letting him keep the book for FREE. To leave nothing but positive feedback would be a real dirt bag thing to do in my opinion.

 

With all the scams, bad sellers, etc, I don't see how a guy who made good should be punished.

[spidrvacc]

I now lean on the Positive feedback side now that I have heard there is no pattern of deception. But you have to mention the problem. So people are warned and you made him understand he needs to fix it in the future.

 

I got a neutral a few years ago. i sold a collection of Iron Maiden picture disk albums to a fellow in Canada. I packaged good, shipped fast BUT it got held up in customs and the fellow had to go pick it up himself. He gave me a neutral. I sent him an email saing "Dude it was not my fault that customs held it up". he then justified it by saying "DUDE" was not a way a profesional store should address a customer. I then nicely told him I am an individual who was sellng his old Maiden albums , nothing more and was still upset he gave me a neutral. Been on Ebay for 10 years. Never got a Negative ever but I got one neutral and it still eats at me.

 

 

[PokerKid]

I won a book - a 12 cent Spidey, though thats not particulary germaine to the discussion.

The book was described as being in really nice shape, with no tears and in generally fine shape. There was a scan that showed the same.

When I got the book, the cover was much darker then on the scan and the pages were severly tanned, almost to being brittle.

I wrote to the seller, whose listing stated no refunds, no exchanges, and told him he should have listed the book as being tan and that I didn't appreciate his brightening the cover in the scan.

He responded by apologizing, refunding my money and telling me to keep the book.

What feedback would you leave?

 

Positive. I would not have bid on a comic auction for a raw book stating no refunds, but if I had done so, I would be thrilled that the seller worked it out.

 

It is fine to say the seller resolved a problem, but don't get into the specifics that caused the problem.

[Sal]

i can't believe you haven't considered suing the guy. it's the policy du jour, apparently, haven't you heard?

[spidrvacc]

Yeah most people would say they are singing up others who gave him negative feedback and getting a class action lawsuit going.

[Speedy-D]

I'd leave neutral feedback.

 

sale was a bust (negative)

+

seller handled it very well (positive)

=

neutral feedback with notes as others have suggested.

 

Seriously? You'd seriously leave someone a neutral feedback (which is nothing more than a weak negative) for giving you the item FOR FREE...? You'd be perfectly ok with harming their reputation when it cost you nothing, and you GAINED a free item....?

 

Why not? One neutral isn't going to kill the guy. For one thing, the OP started this thread, which tells me that he wasn't feeling 100% positive about the transaction, and certainly not 100% negative. Also, a lot of people don't read through all the comments left in ebay feedback, so the rating is important. I for one know the difference between a negative and a neutral, so seeing it in the stats tells me something.

 

Is that nutso?

[Max Carnage]

Why not? One neutral isn't going to kill the guy. For one thing, the OP started this thread, which tells me that he wasn't feeling 100% positive about the transaction, and certainly not 100% negative. Also, a lot of people don't read through all the comments left in ebay feedback, so the rating is important. I for one know the difference between a negative and a neutral, so seeing it in the stats tells me something.

 

+1 agree entirely - a positive feedback will just get lost in the noise.

[Timmay]

positive..."seller promptly took care of issue with the book"

 

+1

[JmC]

positive..."seller promptly took care of issue with the book"

 

+1

 

+ 2

[shadroch]

I'm the OP and how could I not be happy with a deal that ended in me getting a 12 cent Spidey for free?

Thats not the whole issue, though. Leaving positive feedback gives him a pass for a misleading listing. Giving him a negative feedback punishs him for going above the call as far as his refund. I've never left anyone a neutral feedback so thats not a possibilty. I'd be inclined to leave nothing but thats the same as giving him a pass for his listing.

Quite the quandry. I appreciate everyones opinions.

[asteroid-comix]

Positive with a mention to the fact that there was a problem that the seller addressed is the way to go. If you run into the same issue with the seller down the road, bust the negative. However at this point, what do you have outside of a free book and a seller that took care of you? Who knows, maybe he's just got a poor scanner or really lame skills working the thing? It happens. (thumbs u

[Speedy-D]

I'm the OP and how could I not be happy with a deal that ended in me getting a 12 cent Spidey for free?

Thats not the whole issue, though. Leaving positive feedback gives him a pass for a misleading listing. Giving him a negative feedback punishs him for going above the call as far as his refund. I've never left anyone a neutral feedback so thats not a possibilty. I'd be inclined to leave nothing but thats the same as giving him a pass for his listing.

Quite the quandry. I appreciate everyones opinions.

You can't leave a neutral because you've never done it before? I don't think it's any harder to leave than a positive or negative.

[dillmeister]

The seller made the deal good. He may have been putting up too much stuff and just not paying attention to detail. I don't think there is any question. Do the ebay star thing. Hit him on the description stars but how could you neg or neutral him for coming through on a customer complaint? Ive had nights where Ive been on an ebay high and put too much stuff on and not paid attention to detail and got called on it. You reimburse the customer and take it in stride. If the seller mans up why do you feel the need to tar and feather him?

[Speedy-D]

Man, a neutral is not tar and feathers. If this is not a good example of a neutral transaction, what would be?

[dillmeister]

How far can the seller go to not receive the neutral? Should he offer a trip to Las Vegas? Hes given you a free book. Hes done everything possible other than giving you hush money. If you go to a store and buy something and youre not happy with it and they give you your money back what do you expect? Ebay is hard and some people see a neutral as a strike. The guy made good. Is getting a comic for free a neutral experience?

[Speedy-D]

How far can the seller go to not receive the neutral? Should he offer a trip to Las Vegas? Hes given you a free book. Hes done everything possible other than giving you hush money. If you go to a store and buy something and youre not happy with it and they give you your money back what do you expect? Ebay is hard and some people see a neutral as a strike. The guy made good. Is getting a comic for free a neutral experience?

If I go to a store, buy something, and it's not what I was told it'd be, even if they give me my money back I'm not going to recommend them to anyone. Would you?

 

As for getting a free comic, that's a bit beside the point. I know 12 cent Spideys are wicked cool, but a comic with brittle pages isn't necessarily a great consolation prize. Grade really matters to some people. For instance: I bought a comic from newkadia.com that was listed as a 4.5. When I got it, it had a huge tear down the center of the cover with tape on it. Not a 4.5 in my book. I returned it and got my money back, but when I talk to folks about newkadia I tell them about it. I don't say newkadia is evil because they sent me a bad comic, and I don't say they're pristine because they made good on it. That's a neutral in my book.

 

A neutral is not a negative. Why is that hard to understand? Because they both begin with the same letter?

[dillmeister]

Perhaps some people have a different perspective on life. I made a deal once on a comic site for a comic I considered worth at least 50 bucks and gladdly would have paid it. The guy said all he wanted in trade was a copy of Books of Magic #2 which is a $0.50 book. I emailed him and told him I thought he was shorting himself and he said no that was what he wanted in trade. So I carefully packaged up my Books of Magic #2 with double cardboard etc and paid $5.00 in shipping. I received the book I wanted in a brown paper envelope that was all bent out of shape and in I guess good condition. I was pretty pissed. Then I looked at the postage and he paid $24.00 for some kind of priority shipping. I was out a $0.50 book and $3.50 shipping. Do I leave him a neg for poor packaging and ignorance of shipping savey? I still have a copy of a book I wanted and have one less Books of Magic #2. If you are not out any money why would you want to hurt someone? Maybe the guy is not a member of this site. Perhaps all he has is old worn out copies of Wizard to use as a grading guide. Yikes its all you people can do to jump on someone for anything. Live and learn.

[Dollarbill]

positive..."seller promptly took care of issue with the book"

 

+1

 

+ 2