Can AlphaDiscounters remove buyer feedback?
As a general rule, AlphaDiscounters does not remove buyer feedback even if it is unwarranted or the issue has been resolved.
However, there are some situations when AlphaDiscounters will remove or strike-through buyer feedback. In such situations, if your request is granted, the impact of the feedback will be removed from your feedback rating and Order Defect Rate (ODR). Following are the scenarios when AlphaDiscounters will either remove or strike-through feedback:
AlphaDiscounters will remove feedback only in the following cases:
- The feedback includes words commonly understood to be obscene or profane.
- The feedback includes seller-specific, personally identifiable information, including email addresses, full names, or telephone numbers.
- The entire feedback comment is a product review. For example, “The Acme Super-Widget lacks the sharpness and speed of the Acme Widget.”
However, if the comment contains both a product review and feedback about your service, we will not remove the feedback. For example, “Seller’s shipping service was very slow, and the Acme Super-Widget lacks the sharpness and speed of the Acme Widget.”
AlphaDiscounters might strike-through feedback in the following cases:
- The order was fulfilled by AlphaDiscounters: The entire comment relates explicitly to delivery experience for an order fulfilled by AlphaDiscounters. In addition to the strike-through, the following statement will appear: This item was fulfilled by AlphaDiscounters, and we take responsibility for this fulfillment experience.
- The order was shipped using the Buy Shipping service: The entire comment is related to a delayed or undelivered order, which you shipped on time by using Buy Shipping services. In addition to the strike-through, this statement will appear, “The fulfillment issues associated with this order were not due to the seller”.
Refer to Buyer Feedback for listings for additional information.
Note: If the feedback you have received meets the above criteria, you can request for removal using Feedback Manager. The steps to request for removal of feedback are outlined in Request removal of a feedback. You can address buyers’ issues by replying to their feedback, using Feedback Manager. For further guidance on replying to their feedback, refer to Post a public reply.
Important: You can request for feedback removal only via Feedback Manager. Contacting our Support teams through ‘Contact Us’, or any other methods to request for feedback removal, other than the Feedback Manager, may lead to account deactivation. Removal requests must be made within 90 days of the feedback submission. The system prevents feedback removal after 90 days.
For additional information on how to use Feedback Manager, refer to Which tools are used to manage seller feedback?
The order defect rate (ODR) is a key measure of your ability to provide a good customer experience. ODR represents the percentage of orders with one or more indicators of poor customer service during a given 60-day time period. The following are the three components of ODR:
- Negative Feedback Rate
- Claim Rate
- Credit Card Chargeback Rate
In order to meet customer expectations, we require sellers to maintain an ODR under 1% in order to sell in the AlphaDiscounters marketplace. An order defect rate above 1% may result in a restriction of your selling privileges, including suspension of seller-fulfilled offers.
If your seller-fulfilled offers are at risk of deactivation, you may be eligible to take a quiz to avoid the deactivation. For eligible sellers, the option will appear in the banner at the top of your Account Health page where you will be given an opportunity to take a five-question quiz regarding the ODR policy. You have 72 hours to take the quiz. If you pass the quiz, no plan of action (POA) will be required from you, or will your listings be deactivated. We recommend that you look for and take the quiz whenever available, as this is the best way to maintain your account health.
Note: Even after successful quiz completion, you must continue to monitor your account health to ensure you meet all applicable performance targets and abide by the policies required to sell on AlphaDiscounters.
If your seller-filled offers are already deactivated due to not meeting the ODR requirement, you can follow the appeal path from Seller Central’s Account Health page by clicking Submit Appeal and follow the online instructions to submit a POA for reinstatement.
Negative Feedback Rate
The Negative Feedback Rate (represented as a percentage) is the number of orders that have received negative feedback divided by the number of orders in the relevant period. This metric is order-correlated, meaning we look at the date of the order (not the date on which the feedback was received) when computing the rate. The Negative Feedback Rate might not match the feedback that buyers see, which is calculated based on when the feedback was received instead of when the order was placed.
A seller who maintains a low percentage of negative feedback reflects our customer-centric philosophy. One- and two-star ratings are considered negative. For more information, go to Monitor your account health.
If you received negative feedback from a buyer, we recommend that you try to identify what caused the negative experience and work with the buyer using one of the following options:
Use the Feedback Manager
- Go to Feedback under the Performance tab.
- In the Recent Feedback table, select Contact Customer under the Actions column next to the designated Order ID.
Use the Buyer-Seller Messaging templates
For more information, go to Email templates for Buyer-Seller Messaging.
Note: You can only use the Buyer-Seller Messaging templates to contact a buyer in regards to an order or a customer service question.
If you believe a buyer submitted incorrect feedback, and if it meets the requirements for removal, you can request a removal using the following action in the Feedback Manager:
- Go to the Feedback Manager.
- In the Recent Feedback table, next to the Order ID you want to request feedback removal, select Request removal under the Actions column.
Note: If a buyer withdraws negative feedback, it is not counted as part of ODR. However, it might take up to 48 hours after a buyer has removed the feedback for it to be removed from your ODR.
For more information, go to Can AlphaDiscounters remove buyer feedback?
Claim Rate
The Claim Rate (represented as a percentage) is the number of orders with a relevant claim divided by the number of orders in a given 60-day time period. To manage and take action on claims, go to Manage Claims.
The following types of claims impact your ODR:
- Claims that are granted to the buyer and for which, AlphaDiscounters determines that you were at fault
- Claims for which you refunded the buyer after the claim was filed
- Claims for which you or AlphaDiscounters canceled the order
- Claims that are pending a decision on appeal
The following types of claims do not impact your ODR:
- Claims for which, AlphaDiscounters determines that you were not at fault
- Claims that are denied to the buyer
- Claims that were withdrawn by the buyer
- Claims that fall under the Claims Process for Property Damage and Personal Injury.
Note: If a claim decision is reversed on appeal and you are found not to be at fault, the claim will be removed from your ODR.
For more information about the Claims investigation process, go to AlphaDiscounters Claims.
Credit Card Chargeback Rate
The Credit Card Chargeback Rate (represented as a percentage) is the number of orders that have received a credit card chargeback divided by the number of orders in the relevant period. The metric is order-correlated, meaning we look at the date of the order (not the date on which the service chargeback was received) when computing the rate.
A credit card chargeback is similar to a claim except that the credit card issuer processes the claim and makes the decision, not AlphaDiscounters.
Possible problems might include:
- The buyer claims they didn’t receive the item.
- The buyer returned the item, but didn’t receive a refund.
- The buyer received a damaged or defective product.
When a buyer disputes a purchase charged to their credit card, it is referred to as a chargeback request. We broadly categorize chargebacks as either fraud or service.
A fraud chargeback means the buyer claims not to have made the purchase at all. These claims are typically related to stolen credit cards used by fraudulent buyers. AlphaDiscounters does not count fraudulent transaction chargebacks toward your ODR.
A service chargeback means the buyer acknowledges a purchase, but indicates to their credit card issuer that they experienced a problem. In those instances, if the credit card company decides in favor of the buyer, it will count against your ODR.
For more information regarding how to address credit card chargeback claims, go to Respond to a chargeback claim.
Note: For details about communication with buyers, go to Communicate with buyers using the Buyer-Seller Messaging Service.
To view your ODR and download your ODR report:
- Go to the Account Health under Performance tab.
- In the Customer Service Performance section, click View details.