So I bought a used PowerBook on eBay, advertised as last-model PowerPC 1.67 Ghz, 512 MB RAM, hi-rez 1680 x 1050 screen, dual-layer SuperDrive. Seller sent it to me on the back of a slow turtle and when it finally arrived it was a 1 GHz, 768 MB RAM, 1440 x 960 or somesuch screen, single-layer-only SuperDrive. Not what I wanted.
So far so bad, but seller was apologetic, agreed to have it shipped back at their cost, had an explanation I found credible (the RAM discrepancy, which was actually in their favor, convinced me they had not acted in bad faith, and sure enough they had other computers that did match advertised specs, but were not selling those).
They’ve told eBay and PayPal to accept my chargeback w/o question, essentially refunding bid price w/o any red flags.
If it were you…
• would you vote them a positive or
• vote them a neutral? I’m assuming not a
• negative but if you’d do a neg say so
I don’t want to be unnecessarily vindictive to the seller, I think it was an honest mistake, but I am having difficulty justifying better than a neutral feedback when item wasn’t what I bid for, wasn’t what was advertised. It took awhile to find another such item, and it cost me quite a bit more, and while that, too, is not seller’s fault it still burns my butt.
I’m not sure if I would leave positive or neutral. Most likely, neutral, with as detailed an explaination as I could fit in the line. I would make sure to note that they were helpful in accepting the return and giving you a refund and stuff.
I think this is specifically the type of situation that brought about the neutral feedback. There is no way it warrants a positive even with the seller cooperation, but if you do believe it was an honest mistake, they don’t deserve a negative either. It’s an annoyance to you for sure, but in a month you’ll be over it and most likely have forgotten about it. However, that negative feedback will last forever, and that is probably not what either of you want.
Trouble is that even neutrals are perceived as negatives by many potential buyers - it’s not the way the system is supposed to work, but in practice, perception wins the day.
If it were me and I really was satisfied that it was an honest mistake and the seller had bent over backwards to resolve it, that’s probably a positive description of the whole transaction, so I would leave a positive, but make sure the text mentioned the error and the resolution.
I would also take into account the seller’s history - if there are a number of other incidents similar to yours mentioned there, it could still be that the seller is a scammer, just a polite one, and I would then consider a neutral. Maybe a neg, but I can’t really see how I’d be able to justify it.
Or I might not leave any feedback at all, if I could not adequately decide on an appropriate rating and comment. It is optional.
An honest seller made an honest mistake, and without hesitation apologized for the error, and fully reimbursed you for all costs, and you’re considering neutral or negative feedback?
I think the seller deserves positive feedback for taking care of a problem with honesty and alacrity. If you want to leave a neutral because you feel put out that’s a bit petty, but whatever … but to seriously contemplate leaving a negative to punish him for … what exactly … oh that’s right making a mistake and taking care of it… that’s simply vindictive and bad faith dealing.
If you bought an item in a store and had a problem and returned it wouldn’t your perception of the store be based on how that was handled? The feedback is primarily for the seller not the item. From what you described the seller acted the best way a seller could in those circumstances. I’d leave positive feedback and the note would be along the lines of “Problem with merch. Seller refunded promptly” rather than “Awesome A++++”
Besides, I haven’t tried lately but when I did it was really difficult to leave neutral or negative feedback.
I think that the item wasn’t as advertised is perfectly acceptable grounds for neutral feedback. I expect sellers to know what they’re selling, particularly when it comes to computers and gadgets where specs do make a difference. You don’t need to be a genius to figure out a laptop’s specs, especially if (correct me if I’m wrong on this) you are the original owner of the machine. Honest mistakes happen, yes, but it still did not make for a positive experience.
I’d probably put something like:
Neutral-- Item not as described; seller was apologetic & eager to resolve.
I would leave a positive if the seller has been cooperative and is resolving your issue. The feedback, IMO, is a tool to let me know about the seller. If they have bent over backwards, as it looks to me they have, the transaction deserves a positive feedback. YMMV.
I decided to leave positive but with a note explicitly saying item NOT as advertised.
People who just take a quick peek at the ratio of positive to all comments will see the seller rated positive but those who take the trouble to read the comments will get more info.