posted on December 11, 2000 07:30:30 AM new
I have just rec'd my first negative feedback and it is especially upsetting because it is a praise comment. It was meant to be a positive but the buyer had just left a negative feedback for someone else and must not have changed it back to positive for me. If I write to ebay and they can clearly see it is meant to be a positive will they change it? Has anybody had this happen before?
posted on December 11, 2000 07:40:29 AM new
Poor Di, I am very sorry for you.
They might, I have had a comment removed before, but it takes considerable effort. Chances are the first few responses will say something to the effect "We are sorry, but this feedback does not meet the criteria for removal". Persist! Try and get your buyer to also contact Safeharbor, and be sure to include buyers contact info. when you contact them yourself. It will be a long road and even if successful you probably will have 4-6 weeks before action is taken.
I have one I'm working on now. Auction ended 12/1, buyer left a neg 12/1 saying I ripped him off, LOL. Obviously a mistake, but eBay says that comment only meets part of the criteria for removal.
They are tough cookies, be tougher. Best of luck. I am so sorry you got your first neg, I remember mine and it just RUINED my days for weeks. Don't fret about one, its gonna happen eventually no matter how hard you try.
Ben
PS - Be sure to respond to the neg in your profile and have your customer then reply acknowledging it was left in error. That will HELP.
posted on December 11, 2000 07:42:00 AM new
Bummer. I think your only hope is to have the bidder contact eBay and explain the mistake.
Even then, I think it has to go to the Supreme Court for a ruling. Get a lawyer and make sure that when the bidder punched the negative button, it went all the way through and is not just a hanging or pregnant chad.
Good luck.
posted on December 11, 2000 08:48:03 AM new
Looking at this positively, anybody who actually checks out this negative feedback will immediately see that it is in error. And I =do= read negs, especially fairly current ones, before I bid on anything. I think most buyers do. And, if it's your only neg, and it's clearly a positive comment, buyers will chalk it up to human error and not be concerned.
posted on December 11, 2000 08:55:03 AM new
Ben, thanks so much for your words of encouragement. I have sent an email to ebay and one to the buyer to ask if she would please write to ebay too. It is nice to know that you did finally get one of your feedbacks changed in the past. It seems that in cases of genuine mistakes or obvious feedback abuse (like having a neg posted same day auction ends!) that ebay would have a feedback team to do something about them.
I'll let you know how it turns out...although it could be quite a while from now!!! Thanks.
posted on December 11, 2000 09:22:29 AM new
That is SO CARELESS!
What is confusing is that prior to hitting the submit key, one is ONCE MORE REMINDED that this NEG can have repercussions, giving poster a last chance to think about it..So I cannot understand anyone not being aware......
Until Ebay does whatever to redress this wrong, you can always post a comment explaining that this was left in error....and the best of luck!
******************** Gosh Shosh!
posted on December 11, 2000 09:26:06 AM new
Shosh that is a great idea!
I hope the ebay undercover operator that reads the boards reads that one! (<=joke)
I think you will want to cite the following in your request to eBay (and it will obviously help tremendously if the user who left the feedback also emails eBay about the mistake).
"Feedback intended for another user will be considered for removal only in situations where the user responsible for the mistaken posting informs eBay of the error and has already placed the same feedback for the correct user."
While the comment iteself was intended for you the negative rating was not. And until the feedback is removed it is impossible for the user to leave the correct feedback.
Hopefully, resolution of your case will help eBay to formulate a rule that covers correct feedback comment with an incorrect rating.
posted on December 11, 2000 12:16:45 PM new
I recently went through a similar situation, and I have good news and bad news.
First, it does not matter how clear it was that it was a mistake. Ebay will not unilaterally remove it. This is because of legal aspects of Ebay being "only a venue". The lawyers say that if they start removing feedback for any reason other than those outlined in their policy, they open themselves up for lawsuits based on feedback.
Now for the good news: You CAN have the feedback removed. It's very straightforward and almost 100% certain to work.
The bad news: It costs $15.
Ebay will remove feedback if they receive a decision from a certified third party mediator. Basically, this means Squaretrade, for all practicle purposes.
You need to contact the other party and arrange this. Since it was their error, hopefully they will be willing to pay. If not, then you have to decide whether it's worth $15 bucks to you.
The process is very simple and Squaretrade guides you through it welll. In my case, both I and the other party responded to the Squaretrade emails immediately, and that part of the process was completed in less than 1 day.
Then it takes 10 days to 2 weeks for the feedback to be removed. Negs can not be changed to positives, and both feedbacks for the transaction are removed.
The interesting question -- one for which I've written Squaretrade and have not received a response -- is what happens if the other party does not respond. Does Squaretrade issue a "default judgement"? I don't know, but it certainly brings up some very interesting possibilities.
[ edited by amalgamated2000 on Dec 11, 2000 12:17 PM ]
posted on December 11, 2000 12:28:17 PM new
Also after you leave a response, the person leaving the neg can respond to your response. That way it will look alot better.
Ain't Life Grand...
posted on December 11, 2000 12:32:22 PM new
Thank you so much codasaurus and amalgamated2000 for your very informative posts. How very nice it is for everyone to take the time to help me.
I have not yet heard back from the buyer but she was very nice during the transaction and her (negative!) feedback was very very nice praise. She said it was a wonderful item and gave me all A's etc. I'm hoping she will help me. I know I would feel terrible if I gave a negative when it was supposed to be a positive and she seems a very nice person so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Again, I REALLY appreciate the help. Thank you again, Di
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