Ebay sellers requesting feedback

[floridagirrl2]

LOL...This is EXACTLY what happens to me. It always amazes me how people find it after you send them an email showing the item was delivered. I have heard so many different excuses. I even had one buyer that claimed non-receipt on a rather large item, so I called her local post office, spoke to her carrier, and he remembered he gave it to her in person (it was a large box). I guess the carrier spoke to her because I never heard from her again.

I have had this happen as well--I now use delivery confirmation on EVERY item I sell.

I have also had several people insist they had paid me for auctions when they hadn't, and I have been threatened with negative feedback if I don't send the item because "I already paid." My answer is always the same: "If you can prove you paid me for the auction, I will refund your money and send you the item FOR FREE." I never hear back from them.

The partial refund scam is pretty big on Ebay. The winning bidder pays, the seller leaves positive feedback, then the buyer starts complaining about the condition of the item they have received and threatens negative feedback. I have also heard (on Ebay seller listserves) of a fairly frequent scam in which the buyer claims there is something wrong with the product and returns it, but actually returns a different item of the same model. (For instance, a person has a broken stereo receiver. They purchase the same model of stereo receiver on Ebay, "return" their broken one to the seller, and demand a refund. The scammer ends up with a new stereo receiver AND a refund).

Luckily, the items I sell (primarily books and ephemera) have a low fraud rate. However, as a seller, I never leave feedback first anymore--it's a set-up to be defrauded. I have no apologies for that. As a buyer, I always leave feedback first because I know how wary sellers have to be about feedback.

There is no "right" or "wrong" way to give or not give feedback--everybody makes their personal choice.

 

[jgates]

OK DMRick - what is emphemera - is that 'paper items/collectibles'? You had my curiousity going & I put it in on google and that's about the only thing I could come up with LOL.

I have not listed on eBay for about 6 months but last week I decided since I was FLAT BROKE and my Disney fun had $5.42 in it (seriously!), it was time to get my act in gear. I listed 8 items this week (including some Quill freebies such as DVD's), have bids on 5 of them and several watchers. So I am a happy camper right now - bids are up to $56.01 on these and from bidding history on sold items that have several watchers I expect higher bids tomorrow nite when they end. I also listed about 220 books on Amazon since it is so easy to do. I have only sold 2 in the week or so since they listed but it's easy and they stay on there for 60 days so before I send them to Goodwill, I'm giving it a shot, LOL.

As a seller I wait until I know they are happy also before I leave fb. It's just the way that I developed that I'm most comfortable with. 1 of my 2 negative's was from a NPB & the other from someone who screamed with his negative feedback that I had misrepresented the item. I still feel it was properly represented (he indicated a pair of antique glasses had been welded at the hinges, however they had not been) and would have been happy to have refunded his $$ had he even bothered to contact me. I sent a very polite email to him to that effect and instead of something saying - 'I'm sorry I didn't let you know first' he threatened that he was going to report me for harrasment to ebay. Had he even apologized he still would have gotten a refund, but since he was an AXXXOLE, he got nothing. But I still had that negative.

 

[mking624]

As others mentioned though, I like to wait until a transaction is absolutely complete until I leave feedback. I always make sure that I let my bidders know about this as well. I want to make sure the package has been received, the funds are not fraudulant, etc. Until all of that is confirmed, feedback has to wait. If the bidder has an issue with that, oh well. I want to make sure that everything is ok and any issues are resolved before I leave the appropriate feedback. Anything I send out will also include a note that politely reminds them to leave me feedback once they receive the package. That's me as a seller.

As a bidder, if everything has been confirmed (shipment was received, funnds are ok, etc), I don't like it when sellers wait until *I* leave feedback. Because that's happened to me and then I never got feedback in return. I don't care if they want to wait until everything checks out ok, but once it does, I wish they'd have some respect and leave feedback. Just like they are building their reputation...so am I. When I make a payment, I will let them know that I will leave feedback once the package is received and would appreciate the same courtesy. That said, I do understand why people wait. There are WAY too many people who just won't leave feedback...so more and more people are going to the "I won't leave feedback until you do" mentality. So I just don't strress over those sellers who choose to wait.

 

[kayeandjim00]

I don't sell a whole lot anymore on Ebay but when I did I always left positive feedback when I was paid and didn't wait for buyers to leave it for me. I was never burned by this. I appreciate some sellers not doing it this way but when they send reminder emails (which I get as well) it drives me nuts. I usually take the time to send them an email that says I received my item and it's as described however I don't leave feedback until feedback is left for me since my payment was received by YOU before the item was received by ME. When sellers then don't leave feedback for me I choose not to leave it for them. Just my opinion.

 

[mking624]

I've received reminder emails...I don't know, I guess they really don't bother me.

 

[madscrapper]

It's not the reminder email I mind..you know "I have left you positive feedback, please do the same for me." In my opinion, that's perfectly acceptable and I'm grateful for the reminder.

What bothers me is when I pay and contact the seller quickly, I receive the item and then almost immediately I receive an email " Please leave me positive feedback and then I will leave you positive feedback...blah blah better community... blah blah help each other."

Hey, that's their way of doing business. But I don't have to like it and it's then my choice to leave feedback - since I know I won't get any if I don't go first.

As a good buyer it's very frustrating. I liked it when if I forgot, oh well, if they forgot, oh well. Now it's like two little kids "You go first...no you go first."

Jeannine

 

[RichNKatHolly]

It's not the reminder email I mind..you know "I have left you positive feedback, please do the same for me." In my opinion, that's perfectly acceptable and I'm grateful for the reminder.

What bothers me is when I pay and contact the seller quickly, I receive the item and then almost immediately I receive an email " Please leave me positive feedback and then I will leave you positive feedback...blah blah better community... blah blah help each other."

Hey, that's their way of doing business. But I don't have to like it and it's then my choice to leave feedback - since I know I won't get any if I don't go first.

As a good buyer it's very frustrating. I liked it when if I forgot, oh well, if they forgot, oh well. Now it's like two little kids "You go first...no you go first."

Jeannine

You've hit the nail on the head with that one! It's like everyone is so worried about that feedback number - very annoying.

I have been screwed both as a buyer and big time as a seller, but still, I leave feedback when item is shipped (I use it to indicate the shipping date so I don't have to send an email, etc). I also leave negatives for non-payers. So far, I have not gotten a retalitory negative from that. Feedback will not work if people don't give negatives where they are due. It also doesn't work if people leave negatives where they are not due. Kind of a catch 22. I just don't sweat it anymore. There's so much more in life to worry about. Frankly, with my next batch of stuff I'm going straight to the ebay drop off place near me. Let them worry about it! I know they take 30%, but ebay has just become such a hassle with these things.

 

[horseshowmom]

When I'm the seller, I leave feedback immediately after I'm paid (or after the check clears if paid by check). When I'm the buyer, I leave feedback after the seller has.

I don't send out reminders when I'm the seller, and as a buyer I reply to those reminder emails with my policy on feedback. Sometimes they go ahead and leave it and sometimes they don't.

 

[DMRick]

You may not mind the reminder email, but eBay does:

************
Spam is not permitted on eBay.
Spam is email that is both unsolicited and commercial in nature.

Unsolicited: The email has been sent without the permission of the person who received it

Commercial: The email discusses buying, selling or trading of goods or services
Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:

Listing cancellation
Limits on account privileges
Account suspension
Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
Loss of PowerSeller status
******
I always leave feedback first, as a buyer as soon as I get my item and I am happy with it. It's not a matter of you go first, no you go first. I leave it first as a buyer and in response as a seller. I put a note in with my policy with each package I ship out. I don't write and ask for feedback to be left. It's up to the buyer (and when I'm a buyer I'll leave it first), and if they don't, then that's fine too.

Doris

It's not the reminder email I mind..you know "I have left you positive feedback, please do the same for me." In my opinion, that's perfectly acceptable and I'm grateful for the reminder.

What bothers me is when I pay and contact the seller quickly, I receive the item and then almost immediately I receive an email " Please leave me positive feedback and then I will leave you positive feedback...blah blah better community... blah blah help each other."

Hey, that's their way of doing business. But I don't have to like it and it's then my choice to leave feedback - since I know I won't get any if I don't go first.

As a good buyer it's very frustrating. I liked it when if I forgot, oh well, if they forgot, oh well. Now it's like two little kids "You go first...no you go first."

Jeannine

 

[mking624]

You may not mind the reminder email, but eBay does:

************
Spam is not permitted on eBay.
Spam is email that is both unsolicited and commercial in nature.

Unsolicited: The email has been sent without the permission of the person who received it

Commercial: The email discusses buying, selling or trading of goods or services
Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:

Listing cancellation
Limits on account privileges
Account suspension
Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
Loss of PowerSeller status
******
I always leave feedback first, as a buyer as soon as I get my item and I am happy with it. It's not a matter of you go first, no you go first. I leave it first as a buyer and in response as a seller. I put a note in with my policy with each package I ship out. I don't write and ask for feedback to be left. It's up to the buyer (and when I'm a buyer I'll leave it first), and if they don't, then that's fine too.

Doris

In the case when someone is "reminding" another regarding feedback, it is *not* considered spam by ebay, and ebay does not "mind" it. They are emails regarding a specific transaction in which both parties participated, and ebay DOES allow emails to be sent back and forth between buyers and sellers regarding a transaction those both have participated in....even if it's about feedback. Once a transaction is in place, any correspondance regarding that specific transaction is not considered spam.

 

[DeirdreTours]

The difference between 100% positive feedback and 99.6% positive feedback is HUGE in seller credibility.

I have an ebay rating of 396. This rating reflects 550 positive feedbacks (multiple positives from the same buyer only earn one point) and 2 negatives. The 2 negatives are from the same buyer. That buyer attempted to blackmail me into a partial refund. I offered A FULL REFUND (just as my ad states) if the item is returned. The buyer refused to return the items and left a vague negative "beware of this seller" instead. Why did the buyer do this? Because they wanted the items and some money! Dishonest? Yes! Rare? Thankfully yes! But--that one buyer now causes every potential buyer to think that I may rip them off.

I then began the Square Trade process of negative removal. Totally worthless. Square Trade can only remove negative feedback if the other party agrees or never responds at all. If they send back one response (in my case they sent a single email stating they were open to "negociation" then never sent/responded to any other emails)-- you are out of luck.
And out $20, too (the fee Square Trade charges).

So, although I left feedback first for the first 350 buyers--Now I never leave feedback until after a positive is left.

 

[drakethib]

Then why discriminate the majority or good buyers for one nut? Also, if you show the transactions on eBay they can retract the negative feedback.....

Agree here.

I can see both sides here but I believe once payment is made and cashed the buyer has held his/her end of the bargain.

 

[CheapMom]

I can see both sides here but I believe once payment is made and cashed the buyer has held his/her end of the bargain.

I agree. As a seller- I leave feedback once the buyer has fulfilled their obligation.

 

[floridagirrl2]

Agree here.

I can see both sides here but I believe once payment is made and cashed the buyer has held his/her end of the bargain.

I think the point some of us are making here is that everyone makes their own policy regarding when they leave feedback. There is no "right" or "wrong" time to leave feedback.

I don't believe the buyer has held his/her end of the bargain until they have communicated with me that they've received the item and are satisfied with it. Also, I always check the feedback the buyer has left for others--if they don't leave feedback for others,I don't leave feedback for them. This goes for the sellers I buy from, too.

 

[DMRick]

Are you sure? People on the eBay boards have been reported by sellers for this very thing, and gotten messages from eBay saying spam is not allowed (asking for feedback). Can you point me to someplace that says you may continue to send email to a buyer? I would think (and have been told) that this is considered unsolicitated email.

Are you saying that if I have a transaction with someone, I can then send them emails when I have another "like" item up? What happen to the opt in that ebay has, that allows you to then send email to your buyer?

In the case when someone is "reminding" another regarding feedback, it is *not* considered spam by ebay, and ebay does not "mind" it. They are emails regarding a specific transaction in which both parties participated, and ebay DOES allow emails to be sent back and forth between buyers and sellers regarding a transaction those both have participated in....even if it's about feedback. Once a transaction is in place, any correspondance regarding that specific transaction is not considered spam.

 

[DMRick]

The difference between 100% positive feedback and 99.6% positive feedback is HUGE in seller credibility.

While mine is 99.9, it doesn't take much to get to 99.6%, and I would have no porblem buying from a person with 99.6%. I just assume no one is perfect, and that's still a good amount of satisfied people.

 

[hkite]

I just wanted to add my two cents on this subject. I always used to leave feedback for buyers as soon as I got their payment. However, I sold a bra to a woman once who left me a neutral because it didn't fit! I also had a woman demand money back on a package of underwear (unopened at the time I sold it) because it didn't fit. In my opinion, a buyer that blames the seller for an item that doesn't fit doesn't deserve a positive. So, I wouldn't leave a buyer like this any feedback at all.

Now I send an e-mail to the buyer after I get their payment. It goes something like this "Thanks for your purchase! I'll mail your item out today. Please let me know when you receive it." As soon as I get an e-mail from them that they got the item, I'll leave them feedback. I don't wait until they leave feedback for me, but I do require they let me know that the item arrived in one piece.

 

[my3kids]

I'm in a situation now where I will probably end up with negative feedback. I purchased an item a while back as a 'Buy it Now." Of course I paid instantly...even overpaid because I wasn't sure on the shipping fee. The feedback number of the seller was huge.....and probably 99.5 or so. Well, I didn't read the feedback (first time!) but sure wish I had. The negatives have all been pretty recent. I've not received my items despite a numer of emails to the seller. Never got a note with a shipping date nor any response to my requests to get the date the item was shipped. I'll go through eBay to file a complaint this week and hope perhaps this seller will contact me then. If not, then I'll leave a negative and they will conter negative I'm sure...even though I did everything right and nothing wrong.

 

[drakethib]

I think the point some of us are making here is that everyone makes their own policy regarding when they leave feedback. There is no "right" or "wrong" time to leave feedback.

I don't believe the buyer has held his/her end of the bargain until they have communicated with me that they've received the item and are satisfied with it. Also, I always check the feedback the buyer has left for others--if they don't leave feedback for others,I don't leave feedback for them. This goes for the sellers I buy from, too.

Fair enough.

 

[mking624]

Are you sure? People on the eBay boards have been reported by sellers for this very thing, and gotten messages from eBay saying spam is not allowed (asking for feedback). Can you point me to someplace that says you may continue to send email to a buyer? I would think (and have been told) that this is considered unsolicitated email.

Are you saying that if I have a transaction with someone, I can then send them emails when I have another "like" item up? What happen to the opt in that ebay has, that allows you to then send email to your buyer?

It has nothing to do with another "like" item. It is regarding a specific transaction that you had with a buyer or seller. If a seller sent you an email regarding a like item, that would be considered spam. But sending you an email regarding a specific transaction that you participated in is not considered spam because the email is specifically regarding an aspect of that transaction. I think you're confusing it with putting someone on some sort of mailing list where you continue to email a buyer about various items or upcoming things, etc. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about a very specific transation where a seller would email a buyer (or vice versa) about a specific transaction. If you sold item x to a buyer, it is not wrong of you to send an email to the buyer about item x. Now if you sold item x to a buyer and continued to send the buyer emails about items a, b, and c...THAT would be spam because the buyer did not give you permission to keep contacting them about other items you're selling. They only gave permission to be contacted regarding the item you DID sell them (winning an item automatically gives permission for the buyer to be contacted about that specific item sincee contact usually needs to be maded about the transaction). But emailing a buyer about the very item you sold to them...that's not spam. While it's not considered proper ebay etiquette to email a buyer or seller reminding them of feedback, it's not uncommon either...and it's not considered spam. In fact, ebay provides you with the buyer's email so you can contact them about the transaction. Using the email for any other purpose aside from contacting them about that specific transaction without their permission is a reportable offense.