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| | | Author: | Krazee4Lego  | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2022 15:51 | | Subject: | Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 294 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| I had one buyer leave me negative feedback because a part was missing, which
they never contacted me about. I sent it out immediately but I thought that counted
as a violation of using the feedback system to send messages. BrickLink didn't
remove it and I got no response to a follow-up email. I've now had two buyers
leave neutral feedback because they didn't like the cost of shipping, one
for a completed order and one cancelled.
I only charge actual shipping + PayPal and minor ($1-2) handling fees, which
is clearly stated in my store policies. It's really frustrating to be getting
neutral feedback because buyers don't read the terms and then don't want
to pay. I don't control shipping prices and it's not my fault USPS charges
$8.75 to ship a GWP to California from the Midwest. I offer quotes and even encourage
buyers to contact me before ordering if they're concerned about shipping
but it seems like no one bothers to read it.
I don't want to be mean and open an NPB case for every buyer who wants to
cancel but I feel like I need to start doing that to protect my feedback rating.
BrickLink doesn't seem to care if people weaponize the feedback system so
I don't know what else I could do besides emailing every single buyer when
they place an order to make sure they've read the store policies.
Has anyone dealt with similar issues? How did you address them?
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| | | | | Author: | yorbrick | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2022 16:03 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 64 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, Krazee4Lego writes:
| | I had one buyer leave me negative feedback because a part was missing, which
they never contacted me about. I sent it out immediately but I thought that counted
as a violation of using the feedback system to send messages. BrickLink didn't
remove it and I got no response to a follow-up email. I've now had two buyers
leave neutral feedback because they didn't like the cost of shipping, one
for a completed order and one cancelled.
|
I don't think the negative is a violation. They were missing a part and they
left feedback saying that. Of course it would be better if they messaged you
but that doesn't mean the feedback is intended as a message.
| | I only charge actual shipping + PayPal and minor ($1-2) handling fees, which
is clearly stated in my store policies. It's really frustrating to be getting
neutral feedback because buyers don't read the terms and then don't want
to pay. I don't control shipping prices and it's not my fault USPS charges
$8.75 to ship a GWP to California from the Midwest. I offer quotes and even encourage
buyers to contact me before ordering if they're concerned about shipping
but it seems like no one bothers to read it.
I don't want to be mean and open an NPB case for every buyer who wants to
cancel but I feel like I need to start doing that to protect my feedback rating.
BrickLink doesn't seem to care if people weaponize the feedback system so
I don't know what else I could do besides emailing every single buyer when
they place an order to make sure they've read the store policies.
Has anyone dealt with similar issues? How did you address them?
|
Using instant checkout so that the full cost is known before an order is placed
really helps. Allowing cancellations and letting buyers know this rather than
trying to get people to pay once they find out can also help. If you file NPB
it doesn't necessarily protect you. It might make the buyer feel forced to
pay, then you cannot complete it. They can then still leave negative and cause
more trouble because you forced them.
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| | | | | Author: | yorbrick | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2022 16:06 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 52 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, Krazee4Lego writes:
| | I had one buyer leave me negative feedback because a part was missing, which
they never contacted me about. I sent it out immediately but I thought that counted
as a violation of using the feedback system to send messages. BrickLink didn't
remove it and I got no response to a follow-up email. I've now had two buyers
leave neutral feedback because they didn't like the cost of shipping, one
for a completed order and one cancelled.
I only charge actual shipping + PayPal and minor ($1-2) handling fees, which
is clearly stated in my store policies. It's really frustrating to be getting
neutral feedback because buyers don't read the terms and then don't want
to pay. I don't control shipping prices and it's not my fault USPS charges
$8.75 to ship a GWP to California from the Midwest. I offer quotes and even encourage
buyers to contact me before ordering if they're concerned about shipping
but it seems like no one bothers to read it.
I don't want to be mean and open an NPB case for every buyer who wants to
cancel but I feel like I need to start doing that to protect my feedback rating.
BrickLink doesn't seem to care if people weaponize the feedback system so
I don't know what else I could do besides emailing every single buyer when
they place an order to make sure they've read the store policies.
Has anyone dealt with similar issues? How did you address them?
|
PS I thought it was against PayPal terms for US sellers to charge buyers for
PayPal fees. If one of your disgruntled buyers reports you, you could be in trouble
with them.
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| | | | | | | Author: | peregrinator | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2022 16:10 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 52 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, yorbrick writes:
| | PS I thought it was against PayPal terms for US sellers to charge buyers for
PayPal fees. If one of your disgruntled buyers reports you, you could be in trouble
with them.
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I believe it's not a violation of PayPal's TOS if you charge the same
thing for all payment methods you accept, but it looks a bit sketchy if the only
payment method you accept is PayPal.
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| | | | | Author: | peregrinator | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2022 16:16 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 49 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, Krazee4Lego writes:
| | I only charge actual shipping + PayPal and minor ($1-2) handling fees, which
is clearly stated in my store policies.
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A handling fee of $1 might be minor but $2 really isn't in my opinion. Maybe
buyers seek to cancel because the handling fee you charge isn't really transparent
in your terms?
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| | | | | Author: | Gaston.La.Brick | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2022 16:16 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 61 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| I totally understand the frustration.
The problem can be fixed easily: we - the sellers - should stop focusing on achieving
a near-100% feedback score.
What's wrong with 95% positive reviews? Nothing! 95% positive reviews is
an excellent score! Why are we (the sellers) so focused on those few negative
reviews, when the majority is positive?
So my advise: stop worrying about a few negative reviews. If you feel you've
done everything you can to give a good customer service: let it go. Take pride
in the 95+% good reviews!
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| | | | | | | Author: | 1001bricks | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2022 16:52 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 57 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| | | The problem can be fixed easily: we - the sellers - should stop focusing on achieving
a near -100% feedback score.
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You mean -100% FB score?
LOL but that's pretty low 
| | What's wrong with 95% positive reviews? Nothing! 95% positive reviews is
an excellent score!
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No no - see top right of your shop, you're at 99% something, that's good.
But 95% isn't.
Which is one of the reasons that this appreciation system is bad.
Apart this, you're right, agreed!
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | TheBrickGuys | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2022 21:19 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 79 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, 1001bricks writes:
| | | | The problem can be fixed easily: we - the sellers - should stop focusing on achieving
a near -100% feedback score.
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You mean -100% FB score?
LOL but that's pretty low
| | What's wrong with 95% positive reviews? Nothing! 95% positive reviews is
an excellent score!
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No no - see top right of your shop, you're at 99% something, that's good.
But 95% isn't.
Which is one of the reasons that this appreciation system is bad.
Apart this, you're right, agreed!
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5% dose not sound that bad until you start looking at the math. Example, a store
with 5000 feedbacks would have a combination of 250 negative and neutral feedbacks.
That would mean that out of every 20 feedbacks received 1 would be bad - which
is just too much.
Jim
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| | | | | | | Author: | CapstoneBricks | | Posted: | Jan 28, 2023 13:39 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 49 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, Gaston.La.Brick writes:
| | I totally understand the frustration.
The problem can be fixed easily: we - the sellers - should stop focusing on achieving
a near-100% feedback score.
What's wrong with 95% positive reviews? Nothing! 95% positive reviews is
an excellent score! Why are we (the sellers) so focused on those few negative
reviews, when the majority is positive?
So my advise: stop worrying about a few negative reviews. If you feel you've
done everything you can to give a good customer service: let it go. Take pride
in the 95+% good reviews!
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I agree.
I think stores that have 100% feedback and have a lot of sales are probably bending
over backwards for difficult customers.
I don't bend too much for them.
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| | | | | Author: | jennnifer | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2022 16:26 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 66 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| Hello,
I charge actual Commercial Base postage, (or as close as IC will let me) a $1
handling fee and no Paypal charges. I've heard no complaints about the cost
of domestic postage. Knock on wood.
So, your customers buy one minifig from me and get charged $5. If you charge
them $8.75 then that's why they feel they are paying too much at your shop.
And Paypal fees are a big no-no.
Good luck,
Jen
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| | | | | | | Author: | Krazee4Lego | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2022 18:00 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 51 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, jennnifer writes:
| | Hello,
I charge actual Commercial Base postage, (or as close as IC will let me) a $1
handling fee and no Paypal charges. I've heard no complaints about the cost
of domestic postage. Knock on wood.
So, your customers buy one minifig from me and get charged $5. If you charge
them $8.75 then that's why they feel they are paying too much at your shop.
And Paypal fees are a big no-no.
Good luck,
Jen
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Thanks to everyone for the advice. I didn't realize it might be against PayPal's
terms of service to charge for their fees, so I'll look into that and stop
it immediately if that's the case. I outline everything pretty clearly on
my terms page and I encourage quotes/messages for shipping costs, but buyers
seem to choose not to read the terms. Maybe I'll just increase prices across
the board. I'm pretty frustrated at the moment though since I just had this
buyer admit to weaponizing the feedback system and leaving me neutral just because
I left him neutral, and I feel like BrickLink needs to address these situations
instead of ignoring them.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | yorbrick | | Posted: | Dec 16, 2022 04:24 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 59 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| | |
Thanks to everyone for the advice. I didn't realize it might be against PayPal's
terms of service to charge for their fees, so I'll look into that and stop
it immediately if that's the case. I outline everything pretty clearly on
my terms page and I encourage quotes/messages for shipping costs, but buyers
seem to choose not to read the terms. Maybe I'll just increase prices across
the board. I'm pretty frustrated at the moment though since I just had this
buyer admit to weaponizing the feedback system and leaving me neutral just because
I left him neutral, and I feel like BrickLink needs to address these situations
instead of ignoring them.
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I don't think you've solved anything with the change in terms. Adding
on the extra 4% / 5% as a handling fee is still adding fees for apparently nothing
from a buyer's view. I imagine you will still get complaints from buyers
that don't read your terms and least favourites from buyers that do. Just
add the 5% to your prices like most other sellers. Adding on percentage fees
after the event just looks shady.
If BL needs to address anything, they need to address the issue of making sure
buyers know order costs before they agree to the purchase.
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| | | | | | | | | | | Author: | Krazee4Lego | | Posted: | Dec 16, 2022 12:44 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 71 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, yorbrick writes:
| | | |
Thanks to everyone for the advice. I didn't realize it might be against PayPal's
terms of service to charge for their fees, so I'll look into that and stop
it immediately if that's the case. I outline everything pretty clearly on
my terms page and I encourage quotes/messages for shipping costs, but buyers
seem to choose not to read the terms. Maybe I'll just increase prices across
the board. I'm pretty frustrated at the moment though since I just had this
buyer admit to weaponizing the feedback system and leaving me neutral just because
I left him neutral, and I feel like BrickLink needs to address these situations
instead of ignoring them.
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I don't think you've solved anything with the change in terms. Adding
on the extra 4% / 5% as a handling fee is still adding fees for apparently nothing
from a buyer's view. I imagine you will still get complaints from buyers
that don't read your terms and least favourites from buyers that do. Just
add the 5% to your prices like most other sellers. Adding on percentage fees
after the event just looks shady.
If BL needs to address anything, they need to address the issue of making sure
buyers know order costs before they agree to the purchase.
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Thanks, I'm still trying to figure out what to do and had thrown that on
there but decided against it. I really prefer to price my items low and just
charge the fees, but if it's causing this much headache for me and my buyers
I'll just raise my prices. I think a quick fix on BrickLink's side would
be to make you click "I agree to the store terms" before placing an order, because
they show them at checkout but you can blow right past them. But I'm not
sure how much they care about that.
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | Author: | SylvainLS | | Posted: | Dec 16, 2022 14:11 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 46 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, Krazee4Lego writes:
| | […]
Thanks, I'm still trying to figure out what to do and had thrown that on
there but decided against it. I really prefer to price my items low and just
charge the fees, but if it's causing this much headache for me and my buyers
I'll just raise my prices.
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Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes: you’re advertising a price and then it’s 5%
more. It feels like bait & switch.
So, if the buyer sees it before placing the order, they are unhappy for the time
wasted checking your store and will least favourite you so you won’t appear in
searches any more (with EasyBuy / WL Auto-select).
And if they see it after placing the order, they are angry, and angry at you
because it’s easier than being angry at themselves for not having seen it before.
And you get a neutral or negative.
| | I think a quick fix on BrickLink's side would
be to make you click "I agree to the store terms" before placing an order, because
they show them at checkout but you can blow right past them. But I'm not
sure how much they care about that.
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Comment from someone who lives in a country where such a checkbox is mandatory:
no one reads the terms anyway.
OTOH, terms here are all the same because the laws prevent sellers to write stupid
things¹². Laws also say that an order isn’t binding until the total & final
price is known, so buyers don’t feel as constrained as on BrickLink and don’t
end up as angry.
–––
¹ Not saying what you wrote is stupid, just that some sellers do.
² Talking about big sites. French BL sellers somehow sometimes think laws don’t
apply to them. Germany has similar laws (because EU) and/but German sellers
do have very similar terms because there’s incentives to enforce the laws.
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| | | | | Author: | 1001bricks | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2022 16:45 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 58 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| TL;DR
| | Has anyone dealt with similar issues?
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Sure!
| | How did you address them?
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Set up auto checkout and instant payment.
Refund for any problem, or find a solution the buyer is happy with.
Consider you'll lose a bit whatever happens and the best you do.
Forget Feedbacks page - you're the only one to consider it, Buyers don't
care/comprehend the numbers and can hardly correlate with the other shops (oh
96% is a nice score!) - no, it's not.
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| | | | | | | Author: | pcthurman | | Posted: | Dec 18, 2022 01:48 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 58 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, 1001bricks writes:
| | TL;DR
| | Has anyone dealt with similar issues?
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Sure!
| | How did you address them?
|
Set up auto checkout and instant payment.
Refund for any problem, or find a solution the buyer is happy with.
Consider you'll lose a bit whatever happens and the best you do.
Forget Feedbacks page - you're the only one to consider it, Buyers don't
care/comprehend the numbers and can hardly correlate with the other shops (oh
96% is a nice score!) - no, it's not.
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I beg your pardon but as a buyer, store feedback scores are something I look
at before reading the terms. I will not buy from a shop that has less than a
98% feedback score and usually not lower than 99%. I also read those neutral
and negative feedbacks if I am overly concerned. I will not buy from a shop that
charges x% of the total nor any shop that states they charge x amount for Paypal
/ Bricklink fees, and there are a lot of stores that do. I will not buy from
a store that charges anything per lot above a certain number of lots nor will
I pay an exorbitant amount for handling.
I feel sorry for you that you have such a low opinion of buyers as they are your
source of income on this site!
Cass T
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | wildchicken13 | | Posted: | Dec 18, 2022 11:16 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 47 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, pcthurman writes:
| | I beg your pardon but as a buyer, store feedback scores are something I look
at before reading the terms. I will not buy from a shop that has less than a
98% feedback score and usually not lower than 99%. I also read those neutral
and negative feedbacks if I am overly concerned.
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I beg your pardon, but you've 1000+ feedback and 18+ years of experience
on the site. Many buyers are coming here for the first time and don't understand
how serious negative and neutral feedback is treated here.
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| | | | | | | | | | | Author: | 1001bricks | | Posted: | Dec 18, 2022 11:39 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 40 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, wildchicken13 writes:
| | In Feedback, pcthurman writes:
| | I beg your pardon but as a buyer, store feedback scores are something I look
at before reading the terms. I will not buy from a shop that has less than a
98% feedback score and usually not lower than 99%. I also read those neutral
and negative feedbacks if I am overly concerned.
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I beg your pardon, but you've 1000+ feedback and 18+ years of experience
on the site. Many buyers are coming here for the first time and don't understand
how serious negative and neutral feedback is treated here.
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^this
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| | | | | | | | | | | Author: | pcthurman | | Posted: | Dec 18, 2022 15:11 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 69 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, wildchicken13 writes:
| | In Feedback, pcthurman writes:
| | I beg your pardon but as a buyer, store feedback scores are something I look
at before reading the terms. I will not buy from a shop that has less than a
98% feedback score and usually not lower than 99%. I also read those neutral
and negative feedbacks if I am overly concerned.
|
I beg your pardon, but you've 1000+ feedback and 18+ years of experience
on the site. Many buyers are coming here for the first time and don't understand
how serious negative and neutral feedback is treated here.
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Yes, I do have 18+ years' experience and 1000+ feedback but once I was a
new user and still, I looked at store feedback scores and read feedback and all
store terms even then. My practices in buying have not changed much in the almost
20 years I have been buying on Bricklink.
What has changed drastically in those 18+ years is the number of stores that
make mistakes in pulling my orders because they do not read the description of
the piece, the color of the piece, inspect the piece for damage, or list a part
as something else simply because they can sell it for more ("The buyer will never
notice this rubber band is actually a belt"), and the "I should list this part
at 5x the 6 month average or more".
But that was not the point wildchicken13, 1001bricks said that "Forget Feedbacks
page - you're the only one to consider it, Buyers don't care/comprehend
the numbers and can hardly correlate with the other shops (oh 96% is a nice score!).
That was a very derogatory statement to make about all buyers. I believe there
are far more new buyers that do read store terms and store feedback scores then
there are new buyers who jump right in. The human mind will remember the bad,
and ugly before they recall the good.
Cass T
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | Author: | 1001bricks | | Posted: | Dec 18, 2022 15:38 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 61 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| | | That was a very derogatory statement to make about all buyers. I believe there
are far more new buyers that do read store terms and store feedback scores then
there are new buyers who jump right in.
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I also believe I'm a quite experienced seller for:
* 16+ years
* 65000 orders
* 30000 different buyers
But we can disagree, of course.
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | Author: | wildchicken13 | | Posted: | Dec 18, 2022 18:59 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 51 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, pcthurman writes:
| | I believe there are far more new buyers that do read store terms and
store feedback scores then there are new buyers who jump right in.
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I believe you are mistaken. 
To give an anecdote: I once showed by BrickLink store my friends and they were
impressed by my near-perfect feedback score. I then showed them Carol's store…
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | 1001bricks | | Posted: | Dec 18, 2022 11:38 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 45 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| | | I feel sorry for you that you have such a low opinion of buyers as they are your
source of income on this site!
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I do have a high opinion on buyers; but the fact is they are rare those from
2004 with 1000+ feedbacks and who do post or even read in forum.
A vast majority of them would see 95% as a relatively high rating - while it's
probably one of the worse. That was my point, and you're an exception.
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| | | | | Author: | wildchicken13 | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2022 18:13 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 46 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, Krazee4Lego writes:
| | I had one buyer leave me negative feedback because a part was missing, which
they never contacted me about. I sent it out immediately but I thought that counted
as a violation of using the feedback system to send messages. BrickLink didn't
remove it and I got no response to a follow-up email. I've now had two buyers
leave neutral feedback because they didn't like the cost of shipping, one
for a completed order and one cancelled.
I only charge actual shipping + PayPal and minor ($1-2) handling fees, which
is clearly stated in my store policies. It's really frustrating to be getting
neutral feedback because buyers don't read the terms and then don't want
to pay. I don't control shipping prices and it's not my fault USPS charges
$8.75 to ship a GWP to California from the Midwest. I offer quotes and even encourage
buyers to contact me before ordering if they're concerned about shipping
but it seems like no one bothers to read it.
I don't want to be mean and open an NPB case for every buyer who wants to
cancel but I feel like I need to start doing that to protect my feedback rating.
BrickLink doesn't seem to care if people weaponize the feedback system so
I don't know what else I could do besides emailing every single buyer when
they place an order to make sure they've read the store policies.
Has anyone dealt with similar issues? How did you address them?
|
The buyer is not "weaponizing the feedback system." Buyers are well within their
right to leave any feedback for any reason, whether it be positive, negative,
neutral, or even no feedback at all.
Regarding fees, buyers do not like the feeling of being nickel-and-dimed. It
is better to lump all of your fees into your shipping costs than to tack them
on individually. Better yet, implement instant checkout so that your buyers can
see the final price before they place the order. Few buyers bother to
read store terms.
Buyers don't like high shipping costs. But opening an NPB for those who want
to cancel is a surefire way to lose customers.
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| | | | | | | Author: | Krazee4Lego | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2022 21:01 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 66 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, wildchicken13 writes:
| | In Feedback, Krazee4Lego writes:
| | I had one buyer leave me negative feedback because a part was missing, which
they never contacted me about. I sent it out immediately but I thought that counted
as a violation of using the feedback system to send messages. BrickLink didn't
remove it and I got no response to a follow-up email. I've now had two buyers
leave neutral feedback because they didn't like the cost of shipping, one
for a completed order and one cancelled.
I only charge actual shipping + PayPal and minor ($1-2) handling fees, which
is clearly stated in my store policies. It's really frustrating to be getting
neutral feedback because buyers don't read the terms and then don't want
to pay. I don't control shipping prices and it's not my fault USPS charges
$8.75 to ship a GWP to California from the Midwest. I offer quotes and even encourage
buyers to contact me before ordering if they're concerned about shipping
but it seems like no one bothers to read it.
I don't want to be mean and open an NPB case for every buyer who wants to
cancel but I feel like I need to start doing that to protect my feedback rating.
BrickLink doesn't seem to care if people weaponize the feedback system so
I don't know what else I could do besides emailing every single buyer when
they place an order to make sure they've read the store policies.
Has anyone dealt with similar issues? How did you address them?
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The buyer is not "weaponizing the feedback system." Buyers are well within their
right to leave any feedback for any reason, whether it be positive, negative,
neutral, or even no feedback at all.
Regarding fees, buyers do not like the feeling of being nickel-and-dimed. It
is better to lump all of your fees into your shipping costs than to tack them
on individually. Better yet, implement instant checkout so that your buyers can
see the final price before they place the order. Few buyers bother to
read store terms.
Buyers don't like high shipping costs. But opening an NPB for those who want
to cancel is a surefire way to lose customers.
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Thank you for replying, I see that I've been a bit harsh and I'll be
taking a much less severe stance in the future. I've already consolidated
my fees, I think I was breaking everything down too much and I agree that no
one wants to feel nickel-and-dimed, so hopefully I won't be giving buyers
that feeling in the future.
Maybe weaponizing was too strong of a word, but I find it very petty to leave
neutral/negative feedback just because someone did it to you. I have not done
that to other buyers or sellers but I have had both buyers and sellers do that
to me, which makes me wonder what the point of the feedback system is. If I'll
receive poor feedback just for voicing honest concerns with other users, I won't
be leaving feedback anymore, which seems to defeat the purpose of the system.
It may be true that few buyers bother to read store terms, but in my opinion
I shouldn't have to bend to a buyer's every whim to preserve my feedback
rating because of their irresponsibility. I'm more than happy to work with
buyers and cancel orders as soon as possible if shipping is too expensive, but
when they've been wasting my time for days only to cancel and leave me neutral
feedback in retribution it rubs me the wrong way.
I do think maybe I care too much and I shouldn't let one or two negative/neutral
ratings bother me, but when I feel it's undeserved I do get upset. In the
future I think I'll avoid leaving feedback at all if I don't have anything
positive to say, but I shouldn't feel the need to do that when the buyer
behaved poorly.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | wildchicken13 | | Posted: | Dec 16, 2022 09:21 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 50 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, Krazee4Lego writes:
| | Thank you for replying, I see that I've been a bit harsh and I'll be
taking a much less severe stance in the future. I've already consolidated
my fees, I think I was breaking everything down too much and I agree that no
one wants to feel nickel-and-dimed, so hopefully I won't be giving buyers
that feeling in the future.
|
No worries. Selling on BrickLink is a learning process. If you look at my own
feedback, you'll notice that I have a neutral from a few years ago complaining
about high shipping costs (which were also stated in my store terms). After that,
I changed my policies, rewrote my terms, eliminated PayPal and packing fees,
and implemented instant checkout. And I haven't had any more negative or
neutral feedback since.
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| | | | | | | | | | | Author: | Krazee4Lego | | Posted: | Dec 16, 2022 12:40 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 50 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, wildchicken13 writes:
| | In Feedback, Krazee4Lego writes:
| | Thank you for replying, I see that I've been a bit harsh and I'll be
taking a much less severe stance in the future. I've already consolidated
my fees, I think I was breaking everything down too much and I agree that no
one wants to feel nickel-and-dimed, so hopefully I won't be giving buyers
that feeling in the future.
|
No worries. Selling on BrickLink is a learning process. If you look at my own
feedback, you'll notice that I have a neutral from a few years ago complaining
about high shipping costs (which were also stated in my store terms). After that,
I changed my policies, rewrote my terms, eliminated PayPal and packing fees,
and implemented instant checkout. And I haven't had any more negative or
neutral feedback since.
|
I can be sensitive to criticism but in this case it's really nice to hear
from other sellers and see what I'm doing wrong. This is just a hobby for
me so I haven't changed my store terms in years, but now that I'm selling
a lot more I see what changes need to be made. I've always been resistant
to instant checkout but I'm going to figure it out now since so many people
are recommending it, and I do see how much easier it would make things. Thank
you!
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| | | | | Author: | TallyToyBricks | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2022 18:23 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 69 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| Hi,
There is something wrong with how you are doing customer service or your postage
pricing is out of wack.
You have left 23 Negative and 4 Neutral out of 309 orders.
My store has left 19 Negative out of 4,416 orders (most were pre instant checkout,
so maybe 15 out of 2,500).
Your terms include; "I will not cancel orders because shipping is too high for
you." - but BrickLink specifically allows a customer to cancel an order for just
that reason.
One way to solve the high cancellation rate is clearly show the customer box
dimensions and weight and where you are getting the pricing on your invoice.
As an example; "xyz set is shipping in a box that is 16x12x4 that weighs 2lb
6oz. I used usps.com to calculate the shipping cost of $xx.xx for Priority Mail".
I would cancel (not NPB) an order for a customer that complains about shipping
cost - but that is your call.
Joe
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| | | | | | | Author: | 1001bricks | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2022 18:33 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 61 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| | | You have left 23 Negative and 4 Neutral out of 309 orders.
My store has left 19 Negative out of 4,416 orders (most were pre instant checkout,
so maybe 15 out of 2,500).
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Yep, 23+ on 309 is very high.
Here approx 1/1000 orders, on which 99% maybe are for NPB completed and zero
communication, and many of them are since stuck at -1, -2, or -xxx FB rating.
Here also, AC/IP solves/reduces A LOT the problems.
When people click seeing an amount, they generally aren't very unhappy.
PS: I still receive a few OCR "System Problem" and buyer says "I didn't click
to place the order" - which could be true 
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | Krazee4Lego | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2022 20:35 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 59 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, 1001bricks writes:
| | | | You have left 23 Negative and 4 Neutral out of 309 orders.
My store has left 19 Negative out of 4,416 orders (most were pre instant checkout,
so maybe 15 out of 2,500).
|
Yep, 23+ on 309 is very high.
Here approx 1/1000 orders, on which 99% maybe are for NPB completed and zero
communication, and many of them are since stuck at -1, -2, or -xxx FB rating.
Here also, AC/IP solves/reduces A LOT the problems.
When people click seeing an amount, they generally aren't very unhappy.
PS: I still receive a few OCR "System Problem" and buyer says "I didn't click
to place the order" - which could be true
|
I've had a lot of NPB cases for buyers simply going dark on communication
after placing an order, 4 of which have happened in the last month for some reason.
I always leave negative feedback after an NPB is completed. I feel like my terms
are laid out clearly in my store but if it's that confusing for buyers maybe
I should try implementing instant checkout because I also don't want to have
to keep dealing with this.
I've already cleaned up my fee system, I do think it was needlessly confusing
and it should have been fairer to the buyer, so hopefully that will mitigate
issues in the future.
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| | | | | | | Author: | Krazee4Lego | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2022 20:38 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 57 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
|
| In Feedback, TallyToyBricks writes:
| | Hi,
There is something wrong with how you are doing customer service or your postage
pricing is out of wack.
You have left 23 Negative and 4 Neutral out of 309 orders.
My store has left 19 Negative out of 4,416 orders (most were pre instant checkout,
so maybe 15 out of 2,500).
Your terms include; "I will not cancel orders because shipping is too high for
you." - but BrickLink specifically allows a customer to cancel an order for just
that reason.
One way to solve the high cancellation rate is clearly show the customer box
dimensions and weight and where you are getting the pricing on your invoice.
As an example; "xyz set is shipping in a box that is 16x12x4 that weighs 2lb
6oz. I used usps.com to calculate the shipping cost of $xx.xx for Priority Mail".
I would cancel (not NPB) an order for a customer that complains about shipping
cost - but that is your call.
Joe
|
Thank you for the advice, I really appreciate it. Going forward I'll explain
precisely how I got the shipping price in my invoices and with my simplified
handling fees hopefully buyers won't feel like they've had hidden charges
sprung on them. I've had some pretty bad experiences with buyers in the past
which caused me to add that cancellation disclaimer, but I should pick my battles
and take a less severe stance.
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| | | | | Author: | Adjour | | Posted: | Dec 16, 2022 17:22 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 59 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| I'm going to be blunt here. Its the time of year.
I get more complaining problem buyers at xmas than any other time. In fact, since
2015, I pulled my ebay listings and later my bricklink store for at least two
weeks leading up to xmas and sometimes for the whole month of December after
dealing with impatient and unreasonable buyers in December.
This year I am trying to liquidate before a move, so I stayed open and I'm
already regretting it. I've had at least 5 "It's been 3-5 days where
is my package???" emails this week alone. People are inside, bored, and staring
at computer screens and tracking all day it seems, and of course there's
the amazon expectation, where things are delivered before you even order them
Negs and neutral suck, I personally reply to them, to kinda show that I'm
reasonable and willing to fix things, so hopefully a buyer contacts me instead
of just leaving a neg.
Crystal
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| | | | | | | Author: | zorbanj | | Posted: | Dec 17, 2022 19:02 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 62 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
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| In Feedback, Adjour writes:
| |
I get more complaining problem buyers at xmas than any other time. In fact, since
2015, I pulled my ebay listings and later my bricklink store for at least two
weeks leading up to xmas and sometimes for the whole month of December after
dealing with impatient and unreasonable buyers in December.
|
I leave my BL store open but I've been sorely tempted to pull my ebay listings.
The economics haven't worked though. Wish i could do what you did as I have
the same issue.
| | This year I am trying to liquidate before a move, so I stayed open and I'm
already regretting it. I've had at least 5 "It's been 3-5 days where
is my package???" emails this week alone. People are inside, bored, and staring
at computer screens and tracking all day it seems, and of course there's
the amazon expectation, where things are delivered before you even order them
|
Ha!
Lots of inexperienced buyers roaming e-commerce Legoland at this time of year.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | Adjour | | Posted: | Dec 18, 2022 00:54 | | Subject: | Re: Neutral/Negative Feedback | | Viewed: | 50 times | | Topic: | Feedback | |
|
| In Feedback, zorbanj writes:
| | In Feedback, Adjour writes:
| |
I get more complaining problem buyers at xmas than any other time. In fact, since
2015, I pulled my ebay listings and later my bricklink store for at least two
weeks leading up to xmas and sometimes for the whole month of December after
dealing with impatient and unreasonable buyers in December.
|
I leave my BL store open but I've been sorely tempted to pull my ebay listings.
The economics haven't worked though. Wish i could do what you did as I have
the same issue.
| | This year I am trying to liquidate before a move, so I stayed open and I'm
already regretting it. I've had at least 5 "It's been 3-5 days where
is my package???" emails this week alone. People are inside, bored, and staring
at computer screens and tracking all day it seems, and of course there's
the amazon expectation, where things are delivered before you even order them
|
|
| | Lots of inexperienced buyers roaming e-commerce Legoland at this time of year.
|
Yeah, it sucks, I didn't have any xmas sales for years. Not the best move
financially, but I just couldn't deal with it and my day retail job, plus
the holidays, mentally
Hopefully after this year I can close for December again. I'm at a point
in life where I'd rather miss out on the cash than be stressed out by people
with no patience.
January is usually pretty good, so I justify it that way.
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USA, California
United Kingdom, England
Belgium
France, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Canada, British Columbia
