Comments on: Caveat venditor?

By: Seller

Seller — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 07:33:11 +0000

Horrible idea, the old feedback system was much better. Looks like ebay didn’t think about the incentive on each side. Now when the buyer leaves feedback, there is No incentive for the buyer to resolve the issue since the feedback can no be remove. Some buyers can extort money by threatening to leave a negative feedback that can not be remove for 12 months. At least ebay show leave the option of feedback withdraw. But now there is nothing. It will be harder for new sellers to create a online business now because the feedback system is so complicated.

All sellers should send a letter to ebay’s president about it.

By: John

John — Fri, 02 May 2008 22:29:13 +0000

Heres the underlying problem…

I was fortunate enough to do over 300 ebay transactions (as a buyer) without any major problems that weren’t worked out between myself and the seller…I recently purchased an item from a Hong Kong seller-it was defective-I emailed the seller that day(no reply)..emailed again a week later..and sit here 5 more days later-still no reply-then an email finally-reminding me to leave positive feedback-yeah-go figure,,The sellers feedback rating was 99.5+-buttttttttt (yeah – there’s a but)..upon reviewing several pages of his feedback-there were alot of “mutually withdrawns”-seems his conflict resolution was to use retaliatory negs
-(they all had the same complaint-defective/no item-doesnt respond to emails) which he replied to with a (possibly automated) “thank you” negative..and the vast majority of these people were 100% positve feedback prior to his neg.These are the people that are ruining it-since the majority of us buyers do(especially after several buying transactions),for the most part, intend one day to sell items on ebay- part,intend to or plan on being sellers-we don’t like the idea of unfair negs-but we live with it.

Ebay used to be ,a few years ago,largerly-a place where sellers posted positive feedback upon (timely)payment-now -or up until now(as of this post)..it shifted-the sellers (largely)don’t post feedback until the buyer does-if at all-Ebay had canted itself toward the powerseller-leaving buyers frequently,unfortunately,on occasion, with defective,or misreprested items -or no items-only to be left with negative feedback for their
money and effort.

I realize there is fraud on ebay on the part of “buyers” with fudged Paypal claims etc.This is unfortunate-however,there is one golden rule in retail business-like it or not(I worked several years in retailing)-the customer IS always right…and ,up until May 1,the Ebay system for feedback was being exploited by sellers with the “No-I’m right and you’re wrong-here’s a neg to prove it” mentality.

I still intend to post my items for sale-I’m a little leary of thses sellers that speak of boycotts etc. over this policy-I think it’s a good idea,and one that is overdue.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 02 May 2008 04:24:25 +0000

Ron, I have to disagree. Whether its a new site or one of the gazillion existing sites where sellers can post negatives, buyers will prefer ebay’s customer focused rules. Think of it as the Nordstrom of websites. Some sites may take the Wal-mart approach, but lousy service requires some kind of incentive such as lower costs and I doubt the sellers will sooo gung ho about negative feedback that they will lower their margins.

In the end, the remaining ebay sellers will become more customer focused and gain marketshare. The others will have garage sales every other weekend and talk about the good ole days.

By: MARY

MARY — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 01:14:22 +0000

Give me a break. How unfair that sellers cannot leave anything but positive…I am an excellent seller but when I put a specific thing such as “I don’t accept paypal from overseas buyers since paypal does not protect us” I expect the buyer to read the conditions and follow the method of payment that was listed.
I was happy I could at least answer the neg. that I received when apparently he could not read.
UNJUST AND UNFAIR FOR E-BAY TO CHANGE THE POLICY.
My son is a seller also and a buyer recieved the item and was reimbursed twice out of paypal!!! Was that fair? The buyer was a total flake so e-bay wishes to tie our hands when we are honest sellers???? Does not make feedback fair at all.

By: Leighsa

Leighsa — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 00:44:50 +0000

I don’t see why buyers can’t get ANY negatives. Even if they do get a negative (justified or not) it doesn’t effect their ability to bid on auctions. Negatives for sellers can cost potential sales as buyers loose confidence in them. IMO, it seems Negative feedback mainly hurts sellers not buyers anyway. I wish that it was MANDATORY for buyers to contact sellers with their concerns BEFORE leaving negatives. (the waiting 3 days doesn’t seem effective)

As a seller, i don’t leave feedback until AFTER I get feedback or receive notification that the item has arrived and the customer is satisfied…because to me THIS signals the end of the transaction. I will continue to do the same despite the change in feedback policy.

By: NatalieMac

NatalieMac — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 05:00:21 +0000

I guess my mom will be happy to hear the eBay is enforcing her rule: “If you don’t have anything nice to say…”

I’ve used eBay as both a buyer and a seller for years. I have one negative feedback received after I rightly left negative feedback for the seller. The item pictured on the auction was not the item being sold, the description was incorrect about both the item and the condition it was in, and yet the seller absolutely refused to allow me to simply return the item for my money back. It was a nightmare. And I have a negative feedback to show for it, despite the fact that I paid in full for the item within minutes of the end of the auction and only ever wanted to return the item for a refund.

That wasn’t fair, but there *are* bad buyers on eBay, who send fraudulent money orders, or dispute the charges with PayPal or their credit card companies even when the item is received on time and in the correct condition. It’s too bad that sellers won’t be able to identify these buyers for one another any more.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 05:47:25 +0000

I’ve never had a problem with getting negative feedback from eBay users, buying or selling.

However, I’ve sold a lot of my used college textbooks on Half.com and I have had a horrible time with the users of that site. I’ve gotten negative feedback because users expected me to use priority shipping when they didn’t pay extra for it. I’ve gotten negative feedback for “being snippy” (yes, really), when a user asked that I cancel her purchase (after I very politely explained to her that it was an inconvenience, but I would do it). I swear the only thing that kept me from getting 100% negative feedback on half.com transactions (despite my best efforts and being an excellent seller!) was that I could leave negative feedback in retaliation.

Basically, this decision just means that I will never, ever, ever sell anything on Half.com ever again. I don’t need those transactions bringing down my eBay feedback any more than they already have. For textbooks, I will use other sites and would encourage others to do the same. The people who buy books on Half.com are rude and awful, which is not at all typical of your average eBay user.

By: kurt

kurt — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 17:17:52 +0000

When I sell, I always leave feedback as soon as I get payment (so before I send the item and before they leave feedback). Maybe I’m too trusting.

By: Colin

Colin — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:42:24 +0000

I was a first time buyer on ebay and had no clue how the feedback system worked. I purchased a widget (can’t remember now, wasn’t more than $25) and paid promptly for it (via PayPal). I guess whoever I bought it from (bcf store) would be considered a ‘powerseller’.
Well i didn’t leave feedback and they took two weeks to ship the item. A few months later i was browsing ebay and noticed i had a negative rating. They considered me a “bad buyer, no comments BEWARE!!!” were their exact words. I did nothing wrong except pay them! what a bunch of hacks, ebay will be better off with their new system.

By: a consumer

a consumer — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:08:53 +0000

I have used ebay as a buyer for many many years. Though not all interactions have been 100% positive I was able to work with the seller to have a satisfactory outcome. For the first time I left a negative feedback for a seller, whom would not resolve a situation (selling an item that was defective). I didn’t do it lightly, as I was aware of the possible response. Of course as soon as I did the seller retaliated by leaving a negative feedback for me even though I paid promptly etc, because I dinged him. For the first time I have a negative feedback in my score. I wish I knew about this, and then would have waited just a little longer before leaving feedback! I have to say that 95% of the sellers are good, but the 5% that aren’t can make the ebay experience suck.