EBay Feedback: How to Remove eBay feedback and How to Give it Appropriately

Just wanted to offer my own feedback to this conversation:
 

People who buy and sell on eBay are always looking for the best way to actually do this without getting in trouble with either party.  With all the new rules and even rumors of refunds and banning, it's no wonder people are hesitate to do anything on eBay, however I have some perfect tips for anyone looking to buy or sell and how to do it the right way without running into problems:


Just to clear things up first, I am a BUYER and a SELLER and have been since I was 16. My account is well over 10 years old and I have learned how to use eBay's and Paypal's terms appropriately and know what to do to avoid getting in trouble with either one.

Here are some tips based on me as a buyer:

1. As a buyer, there is no retaliation worry from the seller, therefore you can post whatever feedback you'd like without worry of retaliation from the seller since the removal of negative feedback in 2010 for sellers. Because of this, Seller's reports of feedback are personally handled and almost always in favor of the seller.

So what do you do?

2. Before you leave any feedback, you CONTACT that seller about your issue, do NOT leave feedback until you have fully tried to resolve your issue!
This means, contact them through EBAY MESSAGES, NOT E-MAILS. Ebay messages are not 'confidential' ebay staff can read them and they use them to verify what's going on between you and the seller. If you say you contacted the seller, and you did it through an e-mail, it's not going to look like you contacted them at all, which can mean strike 1 against the buyer.

3. Request a refund from the seller, and if they refuse, OPEN A CASE. You can do this in BOTH eBay and Paypal, and this will force the buyer to try and resolve your issue... doing this almost GUARANTEES that you'll be refunded your money at the very least. The only way you won't is if you claim you didn't receive your item and the tracking number says you DID, or if you say you received the wrong item and the seller has video and pictures of them packing the item that they sent to you (which most sellers do now to protect THEMSELVES)

4. DO NOT just post negative feedback to people! If you got a bad item, and the person refunded your money, give them a neutral. You might be mad, but you posting negative feedback after your issue was resolved is only going to look like you're out to get the seller, that you're being abusive.

5. IF you've done EVERYTHING you can to resolve the issue, and it's all said and done, maybe you had to force your money to come back through eBay cases but the seller is still trying to bad mouth you, THEN you can post negative feedback BUT you have to do it in a careful way... Meaning, don't start screaming "THIS GUY RIPPED ME OFF!" That kind of feedback is considered abusive! IF you draw attention in your feedback to other feedbacks, that's what eBay calls "referencing other items" which is not allowed.
You canNOT blatantly call the seller bad names... even things like SCAM can be removed because it's damaging and unless you have proof you were scammed, (regardless whether you got your money back) it can be removed.

6. If you go for FREE SHIPPING then if it gets broken, it's your own fault. That's right. If you ever purchase anything with free shipping offered on the item, you'll notice when you leave feedback, the seller automatically gets 100% on that, because YOU chose it. Free shipping means the buyer can ship it in whatever condition they want. Shipping is EXPENSIVE, to send something that's 1oz, it costs $1.64 at the lowest, and that's if it's small enough to fit in a thick envelope. If they're selling something to you for $2.00 and offer free shipping, they're only getting about $0.40 out of that deal, AND they have to pay eBay and Paypal fees, they're basically GIVING you the item for nothing, so be greatful either way because that seller got NOTHING and the fact that they might be willing to send you a replacement is a GODSEND because that's money out of their pocket. They're now PAYING YOU to take it! So accept it and give the person a positive feedback because they didn't have to do it at all by those standards and EBAY KNOWS IT!

REMEMBER BUYERS: You might be paying the sellers, BUT THE SELLERS ARE PAYING EBAY. If there aren't sellers, eBay makes NO money, so they will protect them from losing money if they can.







Here are tips based on me as a SELLER:

1. THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT! You might not like it but that's the way it goes! If you plan on selling you better have a PLAN B in case things go south. This means, don't drain your money out of your paypal until the item is DELIVERED and feedback has been received as POSITIVE. You have to be PREPARED TO REFUND no matter what. eBay will always fall back on what the BUYER says if they're the FIRST to say it. Bad feedback is not worth your money.

2. IF a buyer doesn't contact you, doesn't say a WORD and just goes and slaps on BAD feedback, that's grounds for removal, especially if you have documented evidence to the contrary. You may have to refund them, but the feedback can still be removed.
Ebay KNOWS that bad feedback REALLY hurts a seller. Whenever you do searches for an item you're looking for, the 'Best Matching" items, are those from sellers with HIGH feedback scores. If you start to receive negative feedback for no reason, feedback containing lies, or abusive content, REPORT IT.
Sellers DO NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO GIVE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK TO A BUYER and they have a right to protect themselves from harmful feedback from people who scam sellers. There aren't just bad Sellers, there are BAD buyers too.
For example, I ran business outside of eBay, a legitament one. I was LOVED by my clients, and I decided to turn it into a worldwide business... however, I began receiving disputes within DAYS of purchases from clients in North Korea and China... even though Paypal knew that they were scammers because they had done the same to so many other businesses, Paypal punished ME, not them, for ALLOWING their countries to purchase my products. It made my business too 'risky' so I lost my business because of these scamming buyers. So I know what it's like on BOTH ends. I did nothing wrong, my clients loved me, but a handful of people, looking to get my products AND their money, took advantage of my business and Paypal's weaknesses and I lost it all.
eBay is at least able to counteract this with reviewing each feedback report personally to save sellers from further grief of these types of buyers.

3. Brings me to my next item, DOCUMENT YOUR ITEMS!!! If you're selling clothes, take pictures from all angles, front and backs, each sleeve, the tags inside them. If you're selling and item with DEFECTS, DO NOT HIDE THAT FACT! You have to be honest, even if it drives a few people away. eBay has NO tolerance for people who smudge the truth. I know many sellers who VIDEO TAPE themselves packaging the item to make sure they have properly secured their products and the fact that they shipped the correct one. You don't need an expensive video camera either, your phone will do the trick just as good, whether it's a smart phone or small compact phone, almost all phones can do video, so learn to use it to help you.

4. USE eBay's shipping labels!! These PROVE your item was delivered and what happened during delivery, and they will protect you fully in case the buyer tries to say they never received the package. And in the event a natural disaster happens, they WILL remove bad feedback from someone who received their package late because that's OUT OF YOUR HANDS!



For all sellers: ALL FEEDBACK REPORTS ARE CONFIDENTIAL! So if you need to file one, DO NOT HESITATE TO! Every bad feedback report puts you less in a position to sell your items! If you did everything right, and the buyer is making false allegations, being abusive or trying to con you into a refund by threatening bad feedback, these are ALL grounds to get it removed, and IF eBay chooses not to remove it, you ALWAYS have the ability to write a comment under the original bad feedback through the link provided at the bottom of your feedback page. This way, YOU GET YOUR SAY AS TO WHAT HAPPENED TO!


These are the rules I follow because I know what is to be scammed in both directions. You need to cover your basis on both sides!