ebay...how much time do you give before leaving negative feedback?

[kfeusse]

this is my story.

 

I was looking at a set of History school books on Ebay.  I knew there were different versions with the same cover, so I asked the seller to verify that they were 3rd edition.  She did that.  I bought the books.  they came, the text and teacher's guide were 3rd edition but the tests, quizzes and project books were all 2nd edition.  Not wanting to jump to a conclusion...I quickly had a live chat with the publisher to see if they would be compatible.  I was told they wouldn't be.  So then I contacted the seller of the books on Ebay.  (this was Friday.)   I emailed her again Saturday and I haven't hear a word back.  Assuming that maybe she was gone for the weekend I emailed her one last time this morning, giving her 24 hours to at the very least respond to my emails before I leave negative feed (which I don't want to do, because you can't change that, right?)

 

Have I given her ample time to respond?  All I want is a refund on the books that were 2nd edition and if she wants me to return all of some of them, I will at her expense.  

 

I don't think I am being unreasonable, am I?

[hjffkj]

Not being unreasonable but I would give more time to a seller to make it right especially if it is over the weekend. I'd likely wait until Wednesday and then file a dispute on eBay. Then wait for that to be resolved before leaving feedback. If the rectify the issue I might say they fixed an issue but wereslowto respond when an issue arose

[zoobie]

I would give more time, especially over a holiday weekend. If it's a business, they may not have even been in the office. If it's an individual, maybe they're on winter break with most of the people in my FB feed. ;) Today is a federal holiday too.

 

PayPal gives you 6 months, so there's no harm in waiting 2 actual business days before escalating.

[Amy in NH]

You know today is a holiday, right? My area of the state is flooded with out of state vacationers. I'd give her another day or two in case her family went out of town for a long weekend. She'd need to get home and go through all her emails before she gets to yours - it's not like she's expecting to hear from you and looking for your email if she really thought they were all from the same edition.

[Katy]

Yes, wait to Wednesday at least.  I'd wait until Thursday.

[kfeusse]

now I feel bad.  I sent her an email this morning giving her 24 hours.  Should I send her another one?  or just not do anything until Wed or so?  I didn't know I could file a dispute before leaving feedback.  I would MUCH rather do it that way.  And I didn't mean to be grumpy.  

 

I have purchased before on Ebay and have not had this issue before...so maybe I jumped too quickly, huh?

 

sigh!

[zoobie]

I think people are used to the immediacy of a response available via Amazon or the other mega-retailers. When you're buying from an individual or a small business, it's hard to adjust the expectation of getting a response immediately no matter the time or day.

 

I don't think I'd send anything else. Just wait.

[justasque]

I think eBay might *require* you to file a dispute before leaving negative feedback. Even if they don't, it's the appropriate way to proceed, rather than jumping straight to the feedback. You can also call eBay to have them guide you through filing the dispute - I learned the hard way that if you put in the wrong reason for filing, that can mess things up.

 

Just remember that you're most likely dealing with an honest seller, possibly a busy homeschooling mom like yourself, who made a mistake, and treat her the way you'd like to be treated if you had made a mistake. That's the way I've always handled things, and it's always turned out well in the end.

[OneStepAtATime]

Agree, just wait and see if she responds.  It was a weekend, and today is a holiday.  Give it until Wednesday or so then file with ebay and see how it resolves before giving negative feedback.   Good luck.  Hopefully, it will all work out fine.

[gardenmom5]

have you formally filed a return request *through* ebay? (not direct communication)  in your purchase orders, there should be a button for return request., click that. for reason why - it doesn't contain what it says it contains.  that will get ebay involved.  ebay will get the seller moving to resolve this.  the seller has a time limit to get back to you.

 

I had to return several items in dec.  (I was not happy.  one seller HAD to know the item was damaged/only-fit-for-scrap already when they packed it up - but it was listed as excellent)  but I went through ebay, and the seller moved fast to fully refund me.  (including paying return postage when the listing was blunt about not paying postage.)

Edited February 15, 2016 by gardenmom5

[Davysmom]

Personally, I would email back and say you are sorry you didn't realize it was a holiday weekend, and just say that you will give it more time to respond before opening a dispute.

 

 

[Lanny]

Always try to work it out with a Seller, BEFORE leaving "Neutral" or "Negative" feedback for them.  In this case, I would allow much more time. Almost always, in the listings, it says that the Buyer needs to pay Return Shipping, if something is returned.  IMO a partial refund from the Seller is a reasonable request the Buyer can make in this transaction.   

 

My only experience like this was a hard disk drive sold by a Seller in Miami (where our Receiver/Forwarder is located) that was listed as "New Other" (pulled from a new laptop).  I expected that it would have a few hours of use. When it arrived and I ran Diagnostics on it, it had 10K + hours of use. It had been used, for years.  It was not "New Other".  I had installed it in my wife's older laptop and wanted a partial refund, as I believe the OP in this thread is entitled to.  However, I'd never had an experience like that before and I didn't handle it correctly.  In retrospect, I should have sent the eBay Seller a Message, in the eBay system, explaining and requesting a partial refund.  Instead, I clicked something else and they immediately issued an RMA.  I'm in South America and didn't want to pay to return it to them and it was already installed in my wife's laptop.  I learned...   :-)

 

Currently, I have a total of 9 items going to Miami for us. A book for me ("Android Phones for Dummies") and 8 tiny items.  The RAM for  this laptop may be lost in USPS, somewhere between the L.A. area and Miami.. USPS Tracking never updated after "Pre-Shipment".     I have communicated with that eBay Seller and I am positive they will either send another 8 GB of RAM to me or refund the $ to my PayPal account, if it doesn't show up in a few more days. The other item is a microSD for my cell phone, from a Seller in Miami..  I don't have a tracking number and it hasn't arrived yet.  If it doesn't show up in a few more days,  I will click on the "I didn't receive it option" and I'm sure they will send another one or refund my money.

 

The first thing to do is try to work out issues with the Seller. The 2nd is to go to eBay and the final option is PayPal.  Usually, I believe eBay and PayPal will tend to side with the Buyer.

[Ms Brooks]

As an eBay seller, you need to give a seller time to respond over the weekend. It could just be an honest mistake on the seller's part. Sellers have lives too. Emergency happen, holidays arise, and mistakes do happen. We are people too.

 

Think about your communication with the seller. The seller may have verified the books were 3rd edition, but did you ask about the tests too? 

[gardenmom5]

I agree with being slow to leave negative feedback.  most sellers are really good about working with you for a return.  this is their business.  

 

for both yours and the sellers protection, e-bay requires you to go through them.   that's why you need to go to your purchase orders page for the item, and click on return item on that page, then the reason why (doesn't contain what it says it does), then a brief description of the problem.  ebay as an entity only gets directly involved if the seller doesn't adequately deal with it. if the return process is started on their system and all communication goes through them - they can easily access all pertinent communication.  sellers  who don't deal with things promptly, can be banned. (which is why you shouldn't have a problem if you go through their system)

 

a year ago, one seller sent me a return communication form that wouldn't allow me to attach photographs - so I asked for a different e-mail.  she was firm about going through e-bay, but did send me the link for the correct ebay form that DID allow attachments. 

that item was inadequately packed and came with a huge crack rendering it useless for its intended purpose. (a water pitcher)  she used the photographs to file an insurance claim.  I was also allowed to keep the item, which is now only good for decoration.

 

 

 

even if the sellers says they don't do return shipping (which is fair if the customer simply changed their mind and no longer wants it) - I have no problem requiring they pay full return shipping (no matter what they say) for a misrepresented or defective/broken item. 

[gardenmom5]

As an eBay seller, you need to give a seller time to respond over the weekend. It could just be an honest mistake on the seller's part. Sellers have lives too. Emergency happen, holidays arise, and mistakes do happen. We are people too.

 

Think about your communication with the seller. The seller may have verified the books were 3rd edition, but did you ask about the tests too? 

 

if the tests were listed belonging to the books, that would have been an oversight on the seller for not verifying they were compatible when they made the listing.

[Lanny]

if the tests were listed belonging to the books, that would have been an oversight on the seller for not verifying they were compatible when they made the listing.

 

And the Seller may have purchased all those things, thinking everything matched and was appropriate, when she made her purchase.

[gardenmom5]

oh- my most recent experience - I didn't even ask for a refund (a keyboard skin that doesn't fit, though supposedly it should. it was only $5).  all I asked was if there was a way the seller could help find something they sold that did fit.  other than it not fitting, I really like it.  my response from the seller was they were issuing a full refund.  (but, but, but . . . I want a skin that fits . . . cry.) yes - -I'll leave positive feedback.  I left positive feedback for the seller with the cracked water pitcher.  .. .

[J-rap]

I would advise you to be slow in adding negative feedback.  As frustrating as it can be at times, you are dealing with regular people -- generally not business people -- and they sometimes don't recognize the need for quick deadlines and turnaround even though they are really nice people and want to have a positive deal with you.

 

I usually wait a week, though if they respond with a reason for being late (they are sick, etc.), then I'll probably give them even longer to address whatever the problem is.

 

One time I forgot I was going to be out-of-town (for two weeks) when my auction ended, and the item was at home.  I explained the situation immediately to the winner of the auction, and was very glad she gave me extra time and didn't leave a negative feedback.

 

I like to give people the benefit of the doubt as much as I can.  Of course if the negotiation was very slow or not quite what I'd hoped, I will learn to not do business with that person again!

[gardenmom5]

And the Seller may have purchased all those things, thinking everything matched and was appropriate, when she made her purchase.

 

that's still her oversight, and still on her as a seller. if she listed them as going together, she was wrong.  it might have been an honest mistake - but it was still wrong, and still on her.

Edited February 15, 2016 by gardenmom5

[Lanny]

Follow on to the 2 delayed items I am looking for in Miami. The most important one, 8 GB of RAM for this laptop, started tracking again, on the USPS web site, yesterday. It was in L.A. So, that isn't lost.    :hurray:   What I don't know is whether it was in the USPS all of that time (one week) or if it was still in the Sellers location, although they claimed they had tendered it to the USPS.    The other item, a microSD memory for my cell phone,  showed an ETA  of the 13th and it was local, within Miami.  I just requested that the Seller cancel the transaction and refund my $3.99 to my PayPal account.   eBay says I need to wait until the 22nd before escalating it to them for resolution.  Hopefully, it will either show up or I will get a refund.  

 

NOTE: Frequently, with Amazon Sellers and with eBay Sellers, when you get the email from Amazon or eBay that something was shipped to you, that may only indicate that the Seller has Printed the Shipping Label.  It may or may not be with the carrier that same day. It may be 1 or 2 or even 3 days later, before the carrier has the item.

 

ETA: There is no Tracking Number for the microSD memory.  Almost always, Sellers provide a Tracking Number and that helps know where things are. The USPS Tracking can be very up to date or sometimes days behind, but when it works, that's great.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Lanny

[1GirlTwinBoys]

I would allow at least 1 week.  Things happen and come up so I feel that patience is needed in situations like this.