Sadly Negative Feedback is something many eBay sellers encounter.  I was recently selling several CDs on eBay UK as part of my Auction Income Formula coaching and things seemed to be running smoothly… Until I logged on one morning to see how my auctions were going and noticed that my feedback rating had gone down rather than up.  I quickly checked my feedback and there it was – my first Negative Feedback: “Don’t work!”

I was confused. eBay Policy clearly states that buyers should contact sellers to discuss any problems before leaving neutral or negative feedback so I quickly checked my Messages Inbox in my eBay account but there were no new messages.  I double checked my feedback again and the comment was definitely there.  I searched back through my recent sales and found the buyers details.  Edson does provide a sample email to send to people who leave negative feedback as part of his Auction Income Formula eBay coaching program so I sent the email to my buyer and politely pointed out that I would be happy to help them sort out any problem and that everything I sell is covered by a 100% Satisfaction Money Back Guarantee.

After exchanging a few emails we were able to resolve the minor technical problem with the buyers computer, the buyer was impressed with my helpfulness and customer service, recognized the problem was with her computer rather than my CD, apologized for leaving the negative feedback and said she would be happy to revise the feedback but didn’t know how.

Assuming that your buyer has not left feedback which breaks eBay rules (i.e. it is not obscene etc – in which case you can apply to eBay yourself to have it removed without the agreement of the buyer) there are 2 ways a buyer can change feedback they have left:  They can either add follow-up feedback or they can revise their feedback.

If they choose to add “follow-up feedback” then people looking at your feedback profile will see two comments; your buyers original negative comment and their new favorable comment.  However, even if your buyer adds a favorable follow-up comment, eBay will still treat it as a negative feedback comment when assessing your performance.

As a Seller you can however send the buyer a feedback revision request.  If your buyer is happy to respond to this then their original comment will be deleted and they can leave a fresh comment, and mark it positive, neutral or negative, as if they were leaving feedback for the first time.  People who then view your feedback profile will not see the buyer’s original comment; just their revised feedback comment.  If the revised comment is positive then eBay will count it as positive when calculating your performance.

If your buyer is happy revising their feedback this is much more preferable to them adding follow-up feedback.

Useful Links:
Circumstances under which eBay will remove feedback
How to leave “Follow Up” feedback
How to request “Feedback Revision”

Ian Douglas is currently a student of the Auction Income Formula coaching program. To learn more about the Auction Income Formula coaching program click on the ad below: