Neutral Ebay Feedback

Below is a stamp I purchased while out of town. The description was "US SCOTT C4 1923 8 CENT AIRMAIL ISSUE MNH OG PO FRESH CV=$40". I love the centering so I paid nearly 50% of catalog for it. I get home and have a chance to look at the stamp and see mold on the face of the stamp in two places. I'm upset because I expected "PO Fresh" and I should have noticed it but didn't. I left the seller netural feedback as the description was inaccurate. He gets in touch with me and offers a full refund. My question, should I leave the feedback or take it back. I'm not inclined to do so. If a seller puts out a stamp it should be described correctly and I'm getting a little tired of bad descriptions. I don't mind the $$ I lost too much and I can't judge this seller other than by this one sale. Knowing that other than positive feedback hurts a seller should I allow him to "get away" with this or recall my feedback?

Art

That's a tough question... I think neutral feedback is acceptable here. I don't think you can be positive just because you got a refund. However, if the situation has been resolved by a refund, I personally would not leave a negative. I would save negative feedback for an unresolved or blatantly fraudulant situation.
I once got an item of clothing on ebay that was made of a cheaper material than advertised. I contact the seller, and I believed it was a genuine mistake, but I left neutral feedback as ultimately the transaction was void.

Good question - For me it would depend on whether I thought it was a genuine mistake carelessness or deliberate - But how do you know if you havent dealt with the Seller before? - By offering a full refund the Seller has addressed your concerns in a positive and professional manner by the looks of it - If the Seller didnt have any substantive negative feedbacks then I would assume it was not deliberate and probably leave no feedback at all - But it really is a case of each to their own

Art,

Give the seller an opportunity to make up for the mistake before leaving negative feedback. Mistakes happen. Esp when dealers are selling hundreds or thousands of stamps.

Once he refunds your $$, I would recall the neutral feedback and leave him positive feedback.

Just my opinion ...

Brian

I have requested and returned items under both senerios - first where the seller didn't even question why but graciously accepted the return. That to me is was a positive experience. Second scenerio I received a lot of flack even though the item was obviously damaged (and not through the delivery). I eventually prevailed, but even though I got to return the item, it was a negative experience. Similiar situations with same result, but two opposite experiences. My viewpoint - if seller accepted without much question, then I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

I can see one possible mould spot in the scan: over the right '8'. Was this, and the other spot, visible in the scan that led you to buy the stamp?

If they were, I'd accept the refund quietly and be grateful. If you're buying a used car, you may listen to the salesman's spiel, but you look very closely at the car before deciding to buy. Why should buying on the Internet be any different? The glowing description is all very well and good, but show me the goods. In this case, I might leave muted positive feedback, or none at all.

If the mould spots weren't visible from the scans, it's a different story. I'd take a look at the seller's past record (say on Toolhaus), consider how amicably the return had gone (did the seller accept the return cheerfully?) and how likely you are to buy from the seller again. I've experienced this scenario several times, and I usually end up leaving no feedback at all.

I've left very little neutral or negative feedback. I only do so when I'm pretty thoroughly annoyed. One seller for whom I left Neutral feedback has blacklisted me. Foolish of him, because I might have bid on or two of his auctions since, and he might have had the last laugh - by taking my money.

In my opinion one should NEVER leave neutral or negative feedback before at least contacting the seller and giving them the opportunity to rectify the situation.

It could have been an honest mistake. We're all human.

I've got over 3,500 feedback on ebay, split roughly 60% as buyer, 40% as seller. Been eBaying since 1998. I've been on both sides of this equation.

There's always the possibility that the seller may have deliberately misdecribed the item, but as a seller, there's far more downside than upside to doing this, especially on a $20 sale. It's just not worth it.

As a buyer, I don't want to burn bridges by preemptively leaving nonpositive feedback without any attempt to communicate. It sets the wrong tone RIGHT out of the gate.

If I have problems with the condition of merchandise, I contact the seller and explain what the problem is, and if possible I provide high-resolution pictures highlighting the issue(s). A picture is worth a thousand words, and also helps to prove to the seller that it's not just a buyer trying to pull a fast one (yes, there are plenty of those out there). Also, and this is important: I am polite... not demanding or confrontational.

The seller may come back with any of the following responses:

1. No reply at all (worst case scenario; then you deal with it through eBay/PayPal)

2. Seller disagrees and/or doesn't want to allow return (see above)

3. Seller allows return

4. Seller offers partial refund for you to keep the item

5. Seller says keep the item and gives you a full refund

Ok, granted, #5 is unlikely, but I've had all of the above happen, and #4 more often than you would think. It's less of a hassle for a seller to do a partial refund and be done with an item than to have to wait for a return, do a refund, relist it, and wait for it to sell again.

Again though, the response you are likely to get from a seller depends largely on how you as the buyer set the tone... and firing the first shot with nonpositive feedback is not the best way to achieve the optimal result, at least in my opinion.

Take the time to talk first... you've got 60 or 90 days to leave feedback.

I agree but, of course, this does not always happen as we think it should.

I myself once had a stamp listed on ebay with a slightly hidden fault that I hadn't noticed as I was sick at the time and muddling through things as best as I could.

It sold, and the buyer, after receiving it, gave me a neutral feedback, as he should have.

Whether or not a seller notices and describes a fault is besides the point here. Also whether he did it with ill intent or it was just a mistake due to circumstances at the time.

The point of neutral and negative feedback is not only to point out to future buyers of this seller's wares the potential pitfalls a transaction could have but also to let the seller know that he should pick up his game and try harder and do better.

It is much harder to learn something if you don't make mistakes in the doing of it and then pause and reflect on your actions. On ebay the feedback is there so you can make mistakes and have that chance to pause and reflect and learn.

Having the chance to learn, or the opportunity to learn, does not, of course, mean that everyone will choose to do that. But it provides the chance.

This one listing, as described, is a mistake. Whether you call attention to the faulty description is your choice as are the words you choose to use. I think a neutral is a fair call, whether done before, as you did, or after the final business was concluded.


All that being said, there is still one idea that people on either side of a transaction sometimes miss in the heat of the moment. That is that the expectations of either party are sometimes unrealistic and that it takes someone with good skills of diplomacy and friendship and perhaps salesmanship to overcome the sudden natural human urge to defend one's self and strike back when seemingly attacked.

In a conversation between two people there are actually six points of view. There is what you think you have said, what the other person thinks you have said and what you have really said. And the same for the other person. A bit simplistic but true.

The consensus by a narrow margin was that I should not have left neutral feedback unless the seller wouldn't refund my money. I contacted the seller, he offered to refund my money and for me to keep the stamp. Pretty fair I guess so I did change the feedback to positive.

That still leaves the question on how to treat those sellers who mis-describe their items. To be honest, I'm getting pretty tired of sellers leaving faults off their description or otherwise mis-describing the stamp, I suspect that's hoping the buyer won't say anything. If the feedback system is to be accurate and to be believed then the buyer should also be honest about the feedback and not change it. Its the sellers responsibility to place accurate descriptions and to verify each and every item they sell. If they are wrong, intentional or otherwise, they should bear the burden.

Negotiating a refund should be part of the feedback system. When a negative or neutral feedback is received then that would indicate how that part of the transaction was handled. Thus, giving the buyer a chance to see the integrity of the seller. And might cause the seller to be more careful on their description. All this said, ebay will not likely change their current methods.

I still have to figure a way to remove the mold without making an otherwise nice VF MNH stamp FUBAR.

Art

first, I think maybe you should've contacted the seller before leaving a neutral. it may well have been an honest mistake.

second, you state:


yes, but it also the buyers responsibility to know what they are paying for. ask questions, ask for better pictures, ask for more details, etc. I don't mean to be devils advocate here, but if that was the sellers picture (I don't know, maybe it was yours after receipt?) then the larger spot is obvious.

A good seller will stand behind their offering and provide a no questions asked refund in most circumstances. The problem is that the dud sellers do this too.

I believe that the image shown is part of the description, the fault you mention is clearly visible.

I would be inclined to provide positive feedback once the refund is complete.

May I say, no wonder this forum is popular,
lots of great temperate advice, on a tricky chicane.
I think we all learn from reading these experiences.
Kudos to Art for accepting advice.

Also consider the fact that many people selling Stamps are not actually experts in the field. I know of quite a few sellers that simply post good clear and crisp High resolution scans to let the buyer decide the condition. Also many sellers simply don't want to chance providing an inaccurate description, so again a scan can clearly let the buyer decide.

yes Stallzer, I'm one of those! I'm also new to selling on ebay. I confess I've been intimidated on both ends. I've tried to be as accurate as possible but I heavily rely on my scans to speak for themselves. Perhaps as I become wiser in the world of philately and ebay I'll be braver. Meanwhile I trust in what I'm sure of and on the expertise of the collectors out there.