The great ebay feedback debate. Your opinion?

[cicy33]

Same here, I buy regularly and sell seldom. I always leave feedback first if I am the buyer (most of the time) once I receive the item. Now that may take a few days as like most people have said, I have a life! As a seller, I also wait to leave feedback as I agree, the sale is not over until I know the buyer has received the item.

[disneysteve]

I once received a note from a seller stating something to the effect of "I will not leave feedback for you until you leave it for me - and if it's negative, you'll get the same".

I would ignore that and not leave feedback. They don't deserve it.

The note I send says, "Thank you very much for your purchase. I hope you are pleased with the item. Please leave me feedback to let me know it arrived safely and I will leave positive feedback for you."

I think that is pleasant enough. I hate the sellers who sound rude and threatening. In fact, I've declined bidding on several items because the seller listed all kinds of ridiculous conditions or just had a very unfriendly tone in his listings.

[Snowgirl]

Thanks. This is exactly the usual source of debate.

As a seller, I don't feel the transaction is complete when I get the buyer's payment. As far as I'm concerned, the transaction isn't complete until the buyer receives the item and is satisfied. I don't want to leave feedback mid-way through the transaction.

The only way I know the buyer has received the item and is satisfied is by the buyer leaving me feedback. That's why I wait until I get feedback to post feedback for the buyer. I'm not trying to hold anyone hostage over their feedback. I'm trying to be sure the buyer is happy and the transaction is finished before leaving feedback.

And I know that not every seller is doing hostage feedback, hence the sorry Steve . Just how it feels sometimes. But really, someone has to give it first, and the buyer usually completes his end first: paying. I can't do more than that to make a seller happy, that's why I think I deserve a positive at that point. Well, maybe I could be an argumentative, annoying person who'd complain that shipping was to slow because it took 3 days to get here, so I understand a bit how you could get unhappy thereafter.

I think it should be a 3 steps process: seller give a "temp hidden" positive if buyer pays promptly, buyer give a feedback when he receives item, and then seller get the chance to append a new comment and +/- to their first if needed before it is made "public". So in total, buyer would get 2 points from a seller, one before, one after.

[Rick01]

I agree that the eBay sellers have to protect themselves. As a buyer, I leave feedback first, but I contact the seller if they don't follow suit.

[krayziebone33]

As a buyer, I always leave feedback after I received the item, inspected it (really sealed, brand new is brand new, not used a bit, minimal damage, ...), and tried it. Nowadays, most sellers wait before I give feedback to replicate, which I doesn't like very much (sorry Steve!), but 3-4 years ago most did give feedback right after I've paid.

I really equate the feedback "hostage" by the sellers as a "If you give me a negative, then you will get one for complaining!". I know not all sellers think like that, but that's what it feels like sometimes, and it makes me wary to put a neutral or less stellar comment on transactions where the item was not in that "perfect" condition but otherwise OK.

On the other hand, I like very much the new 5 stars system with specific points that is anonymous, and I check it out if available on a seller. There I can say that communication was only 3-4 stars if answers took a few days, or I got answers when enquiring after shipping data (I know it can take a while, but I like to know that "it's in the mail!").

I feel the same. I think this leads to many inaccuracies with the feedback system. I guess it, like most other things, is not 100 percent foolproof.

[NancyInADaze]

Nothing more annoying than...

I always pay with PayPal within an hour of the auction's end. Sometimes, a seller will promptly leave feedback, which I appreciate.

Then there are the ones who don't feedback until I leave feedback.

Well, hey, so you give me positive feedback ONLY after I pay AND leave you feedback that is positive??

Lots of time I do not leave a seller feedback if they are obviously just waiting for me to leave them positive feedback. They got my money (and usually some extra in the form of jacked up shipping fees), so what is the point?

[krayziebone33]

I always pay with PayPal within an hour of the auction's end. Sometimes, a seller will promptly leave feedback, which I appreciate.

Then there are the ones who don't feedback until I leave feedback.

Well, hey, so you give me positive feedback ONLY after I pay AND leave you feedback that is positive??

Lots of time I do not leave a seller feedback if they are obviously just waiting for me to leave them positive feedback. They got my money (and usually some extra in the form of jacked up shipping fees), so what is the point?

I know what you mean.

[disneysteve]

I always pay with PayPal within an hour of the auction's end. Sometimes, a seller will promptly leave feedback, which I appreciate.

Then there are the ones who don't feedback until I leave feedback.

As I said, as a seller, I don't leave feedback until the transaction is completed. It isn't completed when the buyer pays. It is completed when the buyer receives the item and is satisfied with it. The only way I know that is by the buyer leaving me feedback. Once I know the buyer is happy, the transaction is over and I leave feedback.

[atomicrc11]

Well disneysteve, this whole debate is now moot. According to this article:
eBay's new feedback policy: no real feedback
ebay is no longer allowing sellers to rate buyers. This is mainly due to the fact that when the seller gets a negative feedback, they retaliate with negative feedback on the buyer. Yay, now there is no recourse for a negative seller rating or a way to warn people of buyers who don't pay!

[sweeps]

Well disneysteve, this whole debate is now moot. According to this article:
eBay's new feedback policy: no real feedback
ebay is no longer allowing sellers to rate buyers. This is mainly due to the fact that when the seller gets a negative feedback, they retaliate with negative feedback on the buyer. Yay, now there is no recourse for a negative seller rating or a way to warn people of buyers who don't pay!

Boo. Ebay sticks another knife into the seller.

[Rick01]

Well disneysteve, this whole debate is now moot. According to this article:
eBay's new feedback policy: no real feedback
ebay is no longer allowing sellers to rate buyers. This is mainly due to the fact that when the seller gets a negative feedback, they retaliate with negative feedback on the buyer. Yay, now there is no recourse for a negative seller rating or a way to warn people of buyers who don't pay!

I was wonder if someone was going to bring that up. I think this will only cause serious problems for sellers and open ebay up to a slew of "bad buyers". Actually, you can leave feedback, but only if it's positive. How crazy is that?

[vinnieg24]

I enjoy leaving feedback, I think it can really help other buyers out or help sellers improve. I try to leave accurate feedback though, some people trash other buyers just because and it ruins their reputation and i dont think thats right.

[sweeps]

Ebay sucks. It's time for some real competition in this space.

[disneysteve]

Well disneysteve, this whole debate is now moot. According to this article:
eBay's new feedback policy: no real feedback
ebay is no longer allowing sellers to rate buyers. This is mainly due to the fact that when the seller gets a negative feedback, they retaliate with negative feedback on the buyer. Yay, now there is no recourse for a negative seller rating or a way to warn people of buyers who don't pay!

Yep. I'm well aware of that. This thread started before I knew about those changes.

Ebay has eliminated the point of feedback. As a seller, I can no longer leave negative feedback for a buyer who wins an auction and never pays. I can no longer leave negative feedback for a buyer who claims an item was damaged or defective when it wasn't. I can no longer leave feedback for any fraudulent behavior to warn other sellers. Great system, isn't it.

[krayziebone33]

Ebay is doing themselves in with some of their policy changes. There are a bunch of ebay-like sites coming out that I'm sure will quickly close the gap on Ebay.