The following is my very recent Buyer experience with a (in my opinion) "Sneaky Seller" who has found a loophole in eBay's automatic computer system to evade eBay Policies for good, eBay member behavior.
This report is for educational purposes on the discovered method that one "Sneaky Seller" has found to utilize, to his advantage, a computer-auto-generated loophole in eBay's Policy, managed by it's auto-computer system, to artificially keep the "Sneaky Seller's" Feedback at 100% by removing any Negative Feedback that a Buyer might leave.
THIS REPORT IN NO WAY IS SUGGESTING THAT ANY SELLER/S USE THIS METHOD TO ESCAPE THEIR JUST DUE CAUSED BY NOT BEING A GOOD AND PROFESSIONAL SELLER AND MEMBER OF THE EBAY COMMUNITY.
My hope is that this guide will assist other Buyers to be notified that such a loophole exists and also to help to alert eBay's legal and web-technical teams to close this unethical loophole by allowing the Buyer a different link in which to respond to an unfairly issued Unpaid Item Report. I welcome comments from other frustrated Buyers who have experienced this same flaw in the automatically-generated, "Take Action" Policy System.
BACKGROUND OF CASE
• Seller is in States.
• Buyer is in Canada.
• Item (kitchenware cookware set) was marked to ship "Worldwide".
• Buyer had bought several other items, of same make, from several other USA Sellers and was very familiar with usual shipping costs & shipping method (UPS Ground).
• Seller's note said he was using UPS Ground to ship.
• Seller did not include eBay calculator to assist International Buyers.
• Seller also did not post the actual weight of the cookware set.
SELLER TRIES TO CHARGE EXCESSIVE SHIPPING COSTS, BUT BUYER BECOMES WISE TO DECEPTION
• After auction, & Buyer's 3 requests for shipping weight, Seller sends Buyer Invoice with different, more expensive shipping method (USPS International Priority rather than UPS International Ground).
• The shipping price invoiced was FAR higher than what it normally should have been (US$165.00 to ship the item... it should have been about US$104.00).
• This overcharging would constitute what eBay Policy calls "Excessive Shipping Fees".
CANNOT CONTACT SELLER, NO RESPONSE TO PHONE CALLS
• Buyer begins to think that it may be best to use UPS directly & have them pick up pots from Seller's shop... so tried to contact Seller 3 times by telephone, but Seller would not answer phone nor return calls.
• Seller would not respond to email requesting discussion about shipping.
UNPAID ITEM REPORT FILED BY SELLER
• Without trying to discuss the matter of shipping costs, Seller files Unpaid Item Report against Buyer on day 4.
• Unknown to Buyer, Seller also blocks Buyer from further Contact about the Item.*
*This is the "Sneaky Key" to Negative Feedback Removal automated by eBay computer.
EBAY COMPUTER AUTO-ISSUES UNPAID ITEM REPORT TO BUYER
• Buyer received Unpaid Item Report from eBay with Instructions to Try to Resolve the Issue.
• Buyer clicks on link to respond through "Take Action" link, thereby fullfilling eBay Policy of responding to Unpaid Item Report.
• Buyer is given 2 choices...
•• Choice #1: Pay for Item (with Excessive Shipping Charge)
•• Choice #2: Contact Seller
• Buyer clicks on Contact Seller Link.
• Buyer is taken to Purchased Item's page.
• Buyer Clicks on shipping link.
SELLER BLOCKS BUYER FROM CONTACT
• Buyer receives new page that states, "Unfortunately, this seller is not able to respond to your question."
• VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Blocking the Buyer from Contacting the Seller makes it APPEAR to the eBay Policy computer that the Buyer is NOT RESPONDING to the Unpaid Item Report!
BUYER LEAVES POLICY-CORRECT NEGATIVE FEEDBACK FOR SELLER, BUT TO NO AVAIL
• Seller already knows to expect Buyer to leave Negative Feedback, however, since the Buyer CANNOT RESPOND to the Unpaid Item Report, Seller knows this will cause a glitch in the eBay Policy System so that he can later AUTO-REMOVE the Negative Feedback.
HERE IS THE PARTICULAR POLICY WITH REGARD TO HOW A SELLER CAN REMOVE A NEGATIVE FEEDBACK POSTED BY A BUYER:
"eBay may remove or adjust Feedback ratings or comments if:
• A buyer fails to respond to a reminder about an unpaid item and the unpaid item is recorded on their account."
So! The Buyer *appears* to have failed "to respond" to the eBay/Seller reminder about the unpaid item ...because the Seller has BLOCKED the Buyer from responding.
Voila! There you have it. How to remove Negative Feedback from a Buyer... even if the Buyer was right. ;\
TWO IMPORTANT RULES TO *ALWAYS* REMEMBER WHILE BUYING THROUGH EBAY
1. Caveat Emptor... Let the Buyer Beware.
2. You can't judge a book by its cover... Not ALL Sellers with "100% Feedback" Profiles are Guaranteed to be truly "100% Good Feedback Sellers"!
Q: How many of you, as a Buyer, have run up against this loophole?
Comments & thoughts are welcome.
Thank you.
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