Now, I am not trying to be rude here... but how difficult is contacting the seller!?! Really!
In light of the feedback changes, communication is key, now more than ever. Yet, a new eBay phenomenon has sprung.. Attack of the no-contact Neutral/Negative.

I answer all my emails within 24 hours, I ship all orders within 48 hours, I send out numerous emails giving the status of orders and instructions and plea's for people to contact me with any issues. I like to think I am doing a pretty good job with the communication issue, but it is hard to keep up with communication if the buyer does not attempt to tell me what is wrong when they leave a Neg/Neu.

I had a few buyers last month leave me negs or neus and not a single email was sent my way saying they were unhappy. One was unhappy with the expiry date received or the packaging was not up to par etc. all of which could have avoided by asking a question before buying and even still, a refund or replacement after buying would have further avoided unpleasant feedback. However, no such attempts were made even though they had to click all the little buttons that say "Yes, we contacted, we waited, we were patient and talked to the seller"

So, in my attempts to help even after the bad feedback was left, I contacted 2 of these buyers asking if I could be of any service, because regardless of the feedback, I still want a happy customer. Well, much to my surprise... they never responded. Why wouldn't you want to be helped if you were unhappy enough to leave a bad feedback!!
(And speaking of feedback, it is astounding how many buyers still don't realize that a Neutral counts as a Negative now! www.leavingfeedback.com)

So seriously... what is going on here? Why do 90% of the people that leave a perfectly avoidable negative or neutral never contact you first for a solution? If you buy something at Wal-mart or Cost-co and it is not up to par with your expectations... don't you let them know? Or do you simply trash talk them to all your friends? My guess is... Both!
But I digress.. my point is.. you still attempt to return it, you still tell them what is wrong and maybe they replace it for you or give you your money back.. Why does eBay have to be any different?

Thanks for reading my little Monday "I don't get it" speech!!

Have a great day fellow eBayers!

My first taste of the new and "improved" eBay feedback was given to me today. Not only have I gone from a 99.7% that I was quite proud of, given the nature of ink cartridges, to my now: 99.0%.
To top off that startling discovery.. I get two neutrals from sales that ended in MID APRIL. It's as if they were waiting for when they wouldn't be able to get them back for any reason. The first was from a customer who claimed to have not received her inks even though the USPS tracking number clearly showed it was delivered. She contacted the USPS but they told her directly that it was delivered. At that point, there is nothing I can do! So she left a neutral. Which, because of the recent changes, is counted the same as a negative.
The second customer was sent a lot of 50 empty inks and a small few of them were not virgin as expected. So I refunded him immediately upon being informed of the issue. His neutral said that we refunded him for it though! Gee, thanks. You were angry enough to leave the equivalent of a negative, but appreciated your prompt refund! And then continued to purchase from me, so it must not have been that bad!

So, my question now is... why even have a neutral rating if it is counted as a Negative! Why is that eBay can give a little pop up when a customer leaves feedback that they can leave a neg or neutral freely, with no consequence, but eBay can't be bothered to add a little note about HOW that NEUTRAL or NEG effects us!! They can't promote a little education?! I realize that every seller from here to timbucktoo will be writing similar blogs, but if we think that will change anything, we are off our rockers!

The only thing a customer has to do is check a box that says, Yes, I contacted the seller, and voila, a neg or neu can be freely left. Yet, how many of them really try to contact us amd even if they do, it doesn't guarantee they will still leave a positive for you. I can see that not getting what you expected can be a disappointment and I have reiterated this to my shipping dept. time and time again, but alas, they are human, as am I and mistakes will happen. For me, feedback was always about how they mistake is handled in the end. I provide proof, support and refund when necessary, yet it is not enough.

What else can I do as a seller to make customers happy? We are now losing money on shipping in order to keep our DSR's up because the average buyer does not acknowledge that it takes more than postage to ship their item! It takes supplies: tape, envelopes, bubble wrap, labels, man power etc. But if you charge more than the postage on the stamp you are considered a scammer! I am all out of ideas and unfortunately eBay will not step up and educate the buyer. I try to provide quality goods that are always Well below retail prices, even after shipping costs and I do so in a timely and polite manner. I love eBay, I love my customers but it seems that both are a one way relationship. Isn't this co-dependancy!

CO-DEPENDANCY

Co-dependency is a learned behaviour that can be passed down from one generation to another. It is an emotional and behavioural condition that affects an individual's ability to have a healthy, mutually satisfying relationship. It is also known as "relationship addiction" because people with co-dependency often form or maintain relationships that are one-sided, emotionally destructive and/or abusive.

oh eBay, why don't you love me too!

This amazes me. I am not saying all sellers leave appropriate feedback everytime, but to take it away entirely just amazes me! I do not utilize Negative Feedback very often, but when I do, I certainly ask myself Why. Is it fair, was this my fault, did I deserve their Negative?

More often than not, a neg is easily avoided by simply asking questions and communication. Is it right for me to get a neg if UPS drops their box or loses a package? These are things beyond my control and are the most common reasons for a negative. Also occasionally we will make a mistake. Human error is bound to happen and I try to resolve complaints quickly and efficiently. I will give refunds when appropriate and am always polite, but will still end up with a neg after I do everything I can to make that buyer happy. How are sellers supposed to warn of troublesome or rude buyers without the use of the feedback system. The Keyword being: FEEDBACK!
Apparently eBay wants all of it's sellers to be disected with the DSR's, but we cannot comment on a poor buyer experience?
I was reading Ina Steiners Blog (auctionbytes.com) on the subject and Sellers are coming up with creative ways to leave a negative rating without actually being able to, (such as a positive with an all CAPS Negative) and while the idea's work in theory, it is sad to have to revert to that just to tell of your experience with a buyer.

Not all negatives are retaliatory, but soon enough, no one will have to make that distinction, becuase the right has been banned.
So, to all of my readers and customers, Please contact me about any issue you may have and I will gladly do my best to come to a solution.

The best fix for this situation is for buyers and sellers to work together to avoid negatives entirely. With all the complaints going on, this major point is being overlooked! Please communicate and we should be able to reach and understanding, everytime, everyone.

Thanks you for your time,
Lissa~