Negative ebay feedback; When is it justied leaving some?
Nov 24, 2013 at 1:52 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 16
Jasper9395

Jasper9395

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I bought a 2nd hand Goldring Eroica LX from an ebay seller. When it arrived the cantilever turned out to be bent (this basically means its useless). I asked the seller for a refund. He said OK but I had to send the cartridge back to him so he could 'examine' it. After I send it back he did give me a full refund. Now I left him negative feedback but he is asking me to change it. I told him I am not going to. The reason for my negative feedback is that in my view the add was misleading. It did not say the cantilever was bent only that 'everything looks OK under the spy glass'. The pictures of the cartridge were taken from the side so it was impossible to tell if it was aligned form them. Also, this seller sells a lot of 2nd hand gear including some high end turntables so he knows that a bent cantilever is a serious problem. I do not believe his claim that he did not know that it was bent. It was well packaged with bubble wrap and actually came in a kutsu box (which is kinda cool). It could not have bent during postage and I definitely did not bend it either.
 
So it is the first time that I have left negative feedback while having bought nearly 100 items on ebay. I am curious to see what people would say about here. Is leaving bad feedback in this situation justified?
 
Have you ever left negative feedback and for what reason?
 
Nov 24, 2013 at 2:12 PM Post #2 of 16
I would have probably left neutral feedback in that situation, since the seller did give you a refund. Negative feedback would be more appropriate if he didn't give you a refund. However, you make a good point about the misleading description and likely purposeful omission. It's good that you wanted to warn other buyers about this through feedback. 

I once bought a cheap book on Ebay. When I got it, it absolutely reeked like old cigarette smell. I paid about 3 dollars, so I didn't want to go to the trouble of getting a refund. I just wanted to warn other buyers that the description wasn't really complete. However, the seller flipped and left me negative feedback for not contacting them about it first. Whatever. I didn't want anything from them, I just thought they were a little dishonest and wanted to say so publicly. Kind of a similar situation. Except yours involved a more expensive item. 
 
Nov 24, 2013 at 2:22 PM Post #4 of 16
If you felt he was courteous about it, maybe change it to neutral? On the other hand though, the guy would have to be an idiot to not notice that such an important part was bent. So it does seem like he was intentionally dishonest, especially since he said it looks ok. You should also consider what feedback he's leaving you, whether or not you care, and whether or not he'd change the feedback he left you if you changed the feedback you left him. IDK. Your situation seems more worthy of negative feedback than mine. I don't think you are being a dick for leaving negative feedback. 
 
Nov 24, 2013 at 2:23 PM Post #5 of 16
If the seller was apologetic and professional and gave a no-hassle refund, I feel the worst feedback I would give would be a neutral, but normally I give them a positive despite how disappointed I initially was.  I resort to negative feedbacks if the seller sells something listed as new when it's clearly not, and/or if the seller either refuses a refund or ignores my inquiries and refund request where I need to resort opening a case to get my money back. Often times, the sellers are not experts with the products they sell and sometimes their interpretation with product condition may not always match that of the buyer with a very keen eye and who may know more about the product than the seller.  
 
Nov 24, 2013 at 2:47 PM Post #6 of 16
I felt like his messages were all very rushed and not very apologetic although they were prompt. The longest message he sent me is the one asking me why I left negative feedback. The, return process was hassle free but then again in this case there was also no question that the seller knew what he was selling. For me it was a pain to spend time and money on sending the item back when it seemed the seller knew he should have mentioned the bent cantilever in the add.
 
 

 
Nov 24, 2013 at 2:57 PM Post #8 of 16
I just wanted to warn other buyers that the description wasn't really complete. However, the seller flipped and left me negative feedback for not contacting them about it first. Whatever. I didn't want anything from them, I just thought they were a little dishonest and wanted to say so publicly. Kind of a similar situation. Except yours involved a more expensive item. 
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I really think this is bad practice by many ebay sellers. I have also found that if you say something just a little negative they will refuse to leave me feedback. It seems the system creates an incentive from both sides to be more positive about a transaction.
 
Nov 24, 2013 at 3:25 PM Post #10 of 16
Just want to see the "other" side of the story, that's all.  Now a days with ebay, the buyer always has the upper hand and I'm not sure when it was with manbear's case with the seller leaving a negative feedback, but seller's can no longer give negative feedback to buyers.
 
Nov 24, 2013 at 5:29 PM Post #13 of 16
WOW I was about to change the feedback to 'neutral' but when I went into my inbox I saw this message from the seller.
 
"What a loser you are a disgrace to ebay as if I knew it was bent, just because I buy and sell hifi it does not mean I know anything about it .Im not to £110 pounds its obvious that you are jealous of my feedback for some reason I wish I had not refunded youn the money but as a loser that is what you are good at.A merry xmas to you regards David"
 
This is absolutely absurd.
 
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