AW Daily - Tips & Tactics - After the Auction: Leaving Negative Feedback

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Well, it's been over a month since Jim sent a seller his money order for that Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card, and it still hasn't arrived. Meanwhile, Doreen is pulling her hair out waiting for payment from a buyer who hasn't responded to her emails for three weeks. Before you get into this kind of a pickle, here are the right ways to leave negative feedback, which will make you look professional and minimize the chance of feedback reprisals.

Don't Jump the Gun
First, negative feedback should be used judiciously. Since negative feedback will seriously affect the buying and selling of other users, it's best to try every possible method of rectifying the situation before leaving negative feedback. The seller or buyer in question may have a legitimate reason for not having contacted you, such as a family emergency or technical outage.

When you know you are dealing with a clear case of negligence or fraud, then leave negative feedback. Also, if you are a seller, review your sales policy and compare it to other seller's. If it is unrealistic, featuring, for example, unreasonable handling charges, payment conditions, and payment deadlines, you are setting yourself up for problems. In these instances, the negative feedback you leave will likely result in reciprocal negative feedback.

Keep Your Head
Though it's human nature to be emotional and passionate, especially when you feel you've been ripped off, don't be abusive, threatening, or flamboyant in the feedback that you leave. First of all, it's annoying for other users to have to read rants filled with exclamation points and capitalized words in another person's feedback file. After all, they haven't had any dealings with the person you're criticizing, so how do they know you're telling the truth? Also, don't be abusive--this could jeopardize your position when contacting the auction site and trying to take action against the seller. If it seems like you're out of control, the site might suspect that you flew off the handle and gave negative feedback without a legitimate reason.

What to Write
Be professional, specific, and direct. Leave out unnecessary particulars that have nothing to do with the sale, such as observations about a user's personal behavior.

Wrong:
"He didn't pay, but what really bothered me was that CRAP MUSIC embedded in his auction!"

Also, don't make vague, derogatory remarks. Be specific and stick to the facts, namely that the user misrepresented the item or violated your policy--not delivering payment within a reasonable time, lying about the item's condition, not responding to your emails, etc.

Right:
"No payment four weeks after auction's close; unresponsive to email."

Wrong:
"THE DOG DIDN'T PAY!!!!!!!"

Not only will you look more professional, but you'll also clearly explain why other users should avoid this person.

Reprisals
The danger of leaving negative feedback is that the individual accused might strike back with his or her own negative feedback, even if it is undeserved. In these instances, respond by leaving a neutral feedback in your own feedback file, which restates your position on why the feedback was given. If you have very little other negative feedback, people will know it was most likely retaliatory. Likewise, if the other user has a negative feedback rating, it will be obvious the negative feedback was given in response to your complaint. In addition, many services let users amend feedback. If so, leave negative feedback, and notify the other user by email. In the email, explain that you will edit the feedback if he or she finishes the sale.

Perfect Timing
You can reduce the chance of receiving a retaliatory negative if you wait to post your negative right before the auction's URL is removed from the site's system. Since most sites allow the posting of feedback only when the auction is still archived (usually about 30 days), you can try to time your feedback so that the other user does not have an opportunity to respond.

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