Ebay Non Pony Purchase

[hathorcat]

Can I ask something on this. You got your item? You were happy with the item and happy with the price and yet you left neutral feedback? Simply because it took your seller a week to ship something out?

I am not disagreeing with the fact that your seller should have contacted you to let you know there was a delay and they should certainly not add "1 business day shipping" on their listing. So I would perhaps understand a ding on communication or shipping. But a neutral seems harsh. Although of course its your purchase and your call if course.

Unfortunately this kind of thing is the reason I am so reluctant to sell on ebay nowadays. There is just a lack of understanding that so many sellers are just normal people selling to make a little extra money, with no intention of scamming someone but perhaps with other commitments or real life that gets in the way or simply not wanting to engage in a confrontation/discussion with someone or not understanding the expectation levels some people may have.

Like so many, I work long hours during the week and often have weekend commitments - getting to the post office is not easy. I sell, when I sell, as a hobby and simply to get some pony $$ to spend or simply to sell on unwanted items - its not a profession and I am not Amazon. I have in my listings 5 days shipping - I clearly specify that and yet I still get grief sometimes and have had stars dinged if things do not get to buyers instantly - i.e. if I dont ship out within a day or 2. That I could now be left neutral feedback because it takes me longer than a couple of days to get to a post office is a little worrying.

[Stars]

When I was waiting for my lot of G2 that ended up never arriving I waited a week before I contacted the seller to ask why they weren't dispatched yet and if there was an issue. A week seems reasonable to me for your average seller.

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[Tap Dancer]

Can I ask something on this. You got your item? You were happy with the item and happy with the price and yet you left neutral feedback? Simply because it took your seller a week to ship something out?

The seller also did not respond to her message although she WAS online. Personally, I think a seller should mail a package within 3 business days unless they say otherwise in their listing. If something comes up, they should be courteous enough to contact the buyer and let them know about the delay.

[hathorcat]

Can I ask something on this. You got your item? You were happy with the item and happy with the price and yet you left neutral feedback? Simply because it took your seller a week to ship something out?

The seller also did not respond to her message although she WAS online. Personally, I think a seller should mail a package within 3 business days unless they say otherwise in their listing. If something comes up, they should be courteous enough to contact the buyer and let them know about the delay.

Yes, I acknowledged that fact in that same post you quoted. And I completely agree that it is not only courteous but should be expected for someone to advise if shipping is going to be so long after the period promised in the listing. I cant and wont defend that. I do think its unreasonable to expect ever seller to be able to get to the post office within a guaranteed 3 day window but if you promise you can do that you should set out to achieve it or at least communicate with your buyer.

And at the end of the day its the OPs call on feedback. I am just saying personally I think a neutral over someone not sending an email and a [not crazy long] delayed shipping period is something I would not do. Its just my opinion and perhaps an unpopular one. You can bet if someone on here was left a neutral in the same situation and started a thread here, they would be given into trouble for a lack of communication but they would be sympathised with for their buyer not trying to work something out with them first or simply not dinging stars.

[bluerose9978]

I have to agree with hathorcat. The seller definitely needed to communicate better but it did not warrant a neutral. I would have seriously dinged some stars, however, for lack of communication and shipping time.

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[Marionette]

I have seen many a seller complain about receiving a positive with dinged stars. In fact, from what I've read, it affects them just as much. If you have a problem with leaving a neutral feedback for the transaction but suggest the dinged stars, keep that in mind.

I think, honestly, the problem lies with the way ebay handles stars and rating levels. "Neutral" should be, well, neutral, and "3/5 stars" should logically be "okay but not great" and "4/5" should be "pretty good." But on ebay, the game is "get a positive with no dinged stars or you might as well have gotten a negative," or at least that's how people make it out to be. The onus winds up on customers to give a positive rating with full stars if the transaction was anything short of a disaster. There can be a lot of drama from sellers if that doesn't happen, even if it seems much more honest to rate neutral or to rate positive with dinged stars. I understand that these ratings do affect the seller, and I'm sympathetic when the seller really was trying their best to fulfill their terms. I still shake my head a little when sellers come down on customers for communicating these things to other buyers in the only way that they're able to, in a way that doesn't seem like it should be the end of the world.

Furthermore, Hathorcat, your situation is different. This isn't a matter of leaving neutral feedback simply because it took a week but because it was supposed to take a day and the buyer got ignored. There is a world of difference. You give yourself a realistic timeframe. If it takes you longer than a couple of days but you're still within your stated timeframe, ebay literally prevents the customer from dinging your shipping time stars (they aren't allowed to rate the stars for this at all if you shipped it out within that timeframe), and I think you would have grounds to dispute a neutral. If there were an emergency preventing you from shipping within that time frame and you made a good attempt to communicate the delay, at least providing a reason when you were able to ship, I think you would have grounds to dispute a neutral. If ebay makes it inordinately hard to fix in that case, the problem lies with ebay.

But if, as in the OP's example, you've stated 1 business day, not provided any further info in the listing, not made any attempt to contact or to answer contact from the buyer even while you've been online (and might have a habit of this, given past feedback reporting issues with shipping time), you really don't have those grounds. I believe that sellers are human and should be allowed some wiggle room (and I work in retail -- trust me, I know what it's like to be subjected to a customer's unfair expectations). However, I also believe that people should do what they state they will, not make claims they're not reasonably able to fulfill, and to keep a customer informed if for some reason they cannot. It's basic etiquette.

I don't know that I'd leave a neutral myself in this particular case (knowing that it does have much more impact than it rightly should on ebay), but I'd be frustrated at the lack of communication, and I can't really blame anybody for doing so. I know "blaming" is not exactly what you're doing, but the way it was framed bothers me a bit. The problem lies squarely with ebay for handling feedback like it does, not with customers trying to give honest feedback, often without any clue of the impact that it may have on a seller (loss of listing discounts, etc.). If you're leery about selling on ebay, that's fine (I don't either), but it isn't really OP's or any other customer's fault, it's ebay's business model.

[Tap Dancer]

Can I ask something on this. You got your item? You were happy with the item and happy with the price and yet you left neutral feedback? Simply because it took your seller a week to ship something out?

The seller also did not respond to her message although she WAS online. Personally, I think a seller should mail a package within 3 business days unless they say otherwise in their listing. If something comes up, they should be courteous enough to contact the buyer and let them know about the delay.

Yes, I acknowledged that fact in that same post you quoted. And I completely agree that it is not only courteous but should be expected for someone to advise if shipping is going to be so long after the period promised in the listing. I cant and wont defend that. I do think its unreasonable to expect ever seller to be able to get to the post office within a guaranteed 3 day window but if you promise you can do that you should set out to achieve it or at least communicate with your buyer.

And at the end of the day its the OPs call on feedback. I am just saying personally I think a neutral over someone not sending an email and a [not crazy long] delayed shipping period is something I would not do. Its just my opinion and perhaps an unpopular one. You can bet if someone on here was left a neutral in the same situation and started a thread here, they would be given into trouble for a lack of communication but they would be sympathised with for their buyer not trying to work something out with them first or simply not dinging stars.

Notice I said, "Personally, I think a seller should mail a package within 3 business days unless they say otherwise in their listing." I've seen some listings where people mention they only go to the post office once or twice a week. Sometimes they'll even note the day. So if I buy something on a Monday and the seller has stated that they only mail packages on Saturdays, I know I'll have to wait almost a week...and of course I wouldn't fault them for that. However, if they don't mention anything OR if they say they mail packages several times a week, I think 3 business days is fair. If weather or something else causes a delay, let the buyer know so they won't worry. Communication is everything when you're selling. It's one thing if you can't get online, but at least acknowledge your buyer's questions ASAP. In this case, however, the OP saw that the seller WAS online because she had been leaving feedback for others. Maybe my opinion isn't popular, either, but a neutral seemed fair to me.

[hathorcat]

I have seen many a seller complain about receiving a positive with dinged stars. In fact, from what I've read, it affects them just as much. If you have a problem with leaving a neutral feedback for the transaction but suggest the dinged stars, keep that in mind.

I think, honestly, the problem lies with the way ebay handles stars and rating levels. "Neutral" should be, well, neutral, and "3/5 stars" should logically be "okay but not great" and "4/5" should be "pretty good." But on ebay, the game is "get a positive with no dinged stars or you might as well have gotten a negative," or at least that's how people make it out to be. The onus winds up on customers to give a positive rating with full stars if the transaction was anything short of a disaster. There can be a lot of drama from sellers if that doesn't happen, even if it seems much more honest to rate neutral or to rate positive with dinged stars. I understand that these ratings do affect the seller, and I'm sympathetic when the seller really was trying their best to fulfill their terms. I still shake my head a little when sellers come down on customers for communicating these things to other buyers in the only way that they're able to, in a way that doesn't seem like it should be the end of the world.

Furthermore, Hathorcat, your situation is different. This isn't a matter of leaving neutral feedback simply because it took a week but because it was supposed to take a day and the buyer got ignored. There is a world of difference. You give yourself a realistic timeframe. If it takes you longer than a couple of days but you're still within your stated timeframe, ebay literally prevents the customer from dinging your shipping time stars (they aren't allowed to rate the stars for this at all if you shipped it out within that timeframe), and I think you would have grounds to dispute a neutral. If there were an emergency preventing you from shipping within that time frame and you made a good attempt to communicate the delay, at least providing a reason when you were able to ship, I think you would have grounds to dispute a neutral. If ebay makes it inordinately hard to fix in that case, the problem lies with ebay.

But if, as in the OP's example, you've stated 1 business day, not provided any further info in the listing, not made any attempt to contact or to answer contact from the buyer even while you've been online (and might have a habit of this, given past feedback reporting issues with shipping time), you really don't have those grounds. I believe that sellers are human and should be allowed some wiggle room (and I work in retail -- trust me, I know what it's like to be subjected to a customer's unfair expectations). However, I also believe that people should do what they state they will, not make claims they're not reasonably able to fulfill, and to keep a customer informed if for some reason they cannot. It's basic etiquette.

I don't know that I'd leave a neutral myself in this particular case (knowing that it does have much more impact than it rightly should on ebay), but I'd be frustrated at the lack of communication, and I can't really blame anybody for doing so. I know "blaming" is not exactly what you're doing, but the way it was framed bothers me a bit. The problem lies squarely with ebay for handling feedback like it does, not with customers trying to give honest feedback, often without any clue of the impact that it may have on a seller (loss of listing discounts, etc.). If you're leery about selling on ebay, that's fine (I don't either), but it isn't really OP's or any other customer's fault, it's ebay's business model.

I have never received a neutral or a negative for shipping and yet despite always shipping within the time frame promised [which I do admit can be as much as 5 days] I have had stars dinged so unfortunately ebay does not prevent buyers from doing that.

@Tap Dancer - as you say its everyone's individual call on it. For me its more just another one of those things which push me further and further away from ebay and from even selling to people I do not actually know. Its the fear of not being able to meet the expectations of some buyers. I am very much an as and when seller and will happily admit I am not going to be at the post office a day or 2 after a purchase [although I will do my best]. Maybe its me or perhaps its just the sheer size of the community nowadays but sometimes the whole selling/buying thing seems to have become so much stricter than it used to be.

[MikeysGrrrl]

Wow, I really wasn't expecting this thread to get so much activity while I was away from the arena sick lol.

The reason I left a neutral was for the sake of future buyers. I simply stated the it took the seller 9 days (that's almost a week and a half vs the 1 day that the listing states) and that they never responded to any of the messages that I sent them.

The feedback was given based on a decision that my husband and I reached together. We also sell on ebay and although life can be hectic, weather can be cruddy and we don't drive, we have always strived to get parcels from our ebay and etsy out same/next day (weekends included). It has never been more than 1 day extra, whenever that has been the case, we have contacted our buyers to let them know.

I feel it would have been wrong to leave a positive feedback with negative wording (also against ebays policy), it definitely didn't deserve a negative, so I felt that neutral was more than fair. Dinging stars hurts the sellers rating but it doesn't alert future buyers to any potential problems.

Even long after the fact I've still never heard from the seller, nor have they asked for the feedback to be revised or responded to the feedback that I left for them. Like I said in an earlier post they have had a handful of buyers leave them neutral/negative feedback indicating long delays between purchase date and shipping date.

[hathorcat]

You dont have to defend yourself MG Its your call on feedback completely and utterly your decision of course. We are all different in how we buy and sell - this is just one of those threads which teaches me something about the way ebay and a lot of those who buy and sell there have become so much stricter over the years. Its good to have the education sometimes!

[MikeysGrrrl]

Oh I don't feel like I'm defending myself so to speak, just clarifying the situation

[hathorcat]

Cool Its always interesting to hear different perspectives and why people approach things differently.

[Marionette]

Hathorcat:

Sorry for the late response here. The thread slipped my mind for a while, but I really wanted to say this: it isn't right at all if you've gotten dinged stars in shipping time when you shipped within your stated timeframe. I buy a lot of stuff on ebay, and if the seller shipped the item in the timeframe they set, ebay seriously grays out the stars and won't let me rate them for shipping time. It gives the seller an automatic 100% in that category. You should look into it if you ever sell on ebay again. A buyer is agreeing to your shipping timeframe. You shouldn't be punished for following rules the buyer agreed to.

If you can't tell from my responses... I'm not a fan of ebay as a company and only use them to buy because I collect things I sometimes can't find elsewhere. xD They're especially bad for hobbyist sales because they really prioritize high-volume sellers; the system is innately harder on you if you don't sell a ton of stuff. When I can, I much prefer to go through communities like this one or sites that are more geared to small sellers. If I seem annoyed here, it's not really at your stance but at how misleading ebay can be!

I think a certain amount of strictness is really necessary as a buyer/seller, though, because the reality is that it's so easy to get burned with internet sales. It's not like buying something from a big store where the buyer has a chain of command to go through when something goes wrong and a seller has avenues to go through if someone tries to cheat them and a higher sale volume to cushion it if they have to let something go. In online sales, it's risky for both buyer and seller! Less so in ponies, but in other hobbies I collect actively in, I've seen some real horror stories.

Not selling to buyers you don't know is a perfectly valid response to that though! It goes a long way toward lessening your chances of a bad experience (usually... like I said, horror stories >.o).

[hathorcat]

I think perhaps my issue could be while I physically ship within the promised window, sometimes I am a little late to click the button which marks the item as dispatched. I am guessing thats why its possible for people to mark down the stars? So perhaps I am a little to blame for the situation...still annoys me though

[bluerose9978]

I think perhaps my issue could be while I physically ship within the promised window, sometimes I am a little late to click the button which marks the item as dispatched. I am guessing thats why its possible for people to mark down the stars? So perhaps I am a little to blame for the situation...still annoys me though

People have unreal expectations. I ship either same day or the very next if they pay after the postman has picked up my mail for the day (or if I'm at work when they pay). And all my packages are printed through eBay. And I still get dinged stars. I think some people expect that a package should magically appear overnight on their doorstep.