Slight Ebay Rant - Maybe some regular ebayers can help me out.

[WDWorBUST]

Okay - I don't bid a whole lot on ebay - In fact before this past week I had feedback of 15 (100% positive - but still). I am a good ebayer. I read the whole listing and try to be online when an auction I have the potential of winning ends. I usually pay with 5 - 30 minutes of the auction ending. Why is it that I can pay and yet the seller holds off on giving feedback. Granted one I'm waiting on is just from today and that's understandable. But I have one where I have communicated with the seller after the auction end - paid immediately and still no feed back. Are sellers waiting to give feed back after the buyer does? As a seller what is there to wait on?? The person paid and is waiting on their item. Is it just me - Is there something I'm not getting? A buyer pays - seller leaves feedback - what more can you do besides pay and pay quickly. As a buyer I wait until I receive the item and try to leave feedback immediately. Is it because I still have so few that I'm even noticing??

 

[HayGan]

From a sellers prespective, I think that it is best for everyone to leave feedback when the transaction is fully completed. That way if there are any problems with the transaction, each party can leave relevant feedback at the end.

You might be a quick payer but might say that something was damaged or not as described (when it really wasn't) and if the seller has already left feedback they have no way of alerting other people to potential problems with you.

There are alot of problems with ebay's feedback system but unfortunately it is what it is.

 

[irishbosoxfan]

I never got this either! If I paid what more does the buyer need from me?
All I can think is they are waiting for my feedback to make sure its positive and if it isnt they can leave neg for me because once feedback is there it is there---BUT then that is not fair because as a buyer I did what I was supposed to do when I was supposed to and if they got it wrong somehow its not my fault.

 

[WDWorBUST]

I never thought of it that way. Out of my whopping 15 I think 3 or maybe 4 I was a seller - I left feedback as soon as they paid me for it because they had followed through on their end. It never crossed my mind that they might decide something wasn't presented correctly.

 

[lisabarr]

I don't leave feedback as a seller until the buyer leaves for me 1st. Otherwise buyer could say item never came, was damaged, not as described then I have no recourse.

 

[brivers222]

From a sellers prespective, I think that it is best for everyone to leave feedback when the transaction is fully completed. That way if there are any problems with the transaction, each party can leave relevant feedback at the end.

You might be a quick payer but might say that something was damaged or not as described (when it really wasn't) and if the seller has already left feedback they have no way of alerting other people to potential problems with you.

There are alot of problems with ebay's feedback system but unfortunately it is what it is.

I note if the person is a fast payer... But we DO NOT leave feedback until the other person is satisfied and leaves us feedback.

For instance, we shipped out the product NEXT DAY and the person received it. They left us a NEUTRAL because they expected the size to be different (it was a nascar flag) EVENTHOUGH the auction description had the exact size of the item they were buying.

Here is their actual NEUTRAL FEEDBACK and my response to them:
NICE FLAG BUT I THOUGHT I T WOULD BE BIGGER I SHOULD HAVE LOOKED AT THE SIZE
My response to this feedback:
You can't READ so you give us a Neutral? NOTHING We did deserved this rating

Our feedback to them (neutral but really should have been negative as we are NOT happy with the overal transaction now):
Gave us a NEUTRAL b/c THEY couldn't read the dimensions... NOT COOL!

If someone gives us feedback we will immediately give them feedback (signalling to us that the transaction is 100% done). More often than not it has been FAST PAYMENT comments we have left.

 

[disneysnowflake]

I started buying and selling on ebay in 1998.
From 1998 until 2004 I'd leave feedback for a buyer as soon as I got payment.
1/2 of the time buyers would leave feedback for me in return. Most just forgot to leave it, but that's okay. It was great on ebay.

In 2004 that changed. I had a few unsavory buyers who attempted to force me to give them 1/2 to all of their money back. I had already left feedback for them since they purchased. My items were like new and just as described, yet they wanted 1/2 or more of their money back. I was told I'd get a negative if I didn't.

One lady filed a claim with paypal stating the item wasn't as described. Paypal froze my account until they "investigated". I did my own investigating and found out this lady contacted almost all the people she bought from and wanted partial to full refunds on ALL of them. She wanted the refund and wanted to keep the item she bought. I was surprised how many people gave her the money since she threatened a negative. That's sad.
It worked out in my favor, but from then on I won't leave feedback for any buyer unless they leave me feedback first.

Another lady bought something around Christmas and contacted me a month or 2 later wanting a refund since her credit card bill came in. I said no. Once again she threatened a negative since I left her a positive already. I told her no. She went away, but it's so not fair for a seller to get a negative because of a scammer.

There are some really shady buyers out there. A majority of buyers are great (me included since I buy more than sell), but it's those one or two shady people who make it bad for everyone else.

 

[vsimeone]

When I sell on e-bay, I leave a feedback as soon as I ship the item. I thank the buyer for their quick payment (it almost always is - if it isn't "quick" I just thank them for their payment) and include the date that I shipped the item so the buyer will know to watch for it. If I happen to ship other than USPS, I leave the tracking number.

Sometimes the buyer doesn't leave feedback for me but most of the time they do. I've bought and sold on e-bay since 2000 and have only had one bad experience.

Best of luck!

 

[ceecee]

I don't leave feedback as a seller until the buyer leaves for me 1st. Otherwise buyer could say item never came, was damaged, not as described then I have no recourse.

I agree completely. I used to leave feedback as soon as I got payment, but now I do it when the buyer leaves feedback for me. It tells me it arrived and they are satisified. The buyer can suddenly get buyer's remorse and not be happy. Several power sellers I know told me this is the way they do it and that's the reason. So now as a buyer, I leave feedback and then expect it in return and mostly that's how it works. I don't expect a seller to leave me positive feedback until they know the transaction is complete!

 

[~Kathie]

Every seller makes their own policy regarding feedback and everyone has their own opinion.

What works for one seller might not necessarily work for another.

Ebay has a Feedback Discussion Board. Go take a look when you have time.
Interesting reading.

And just to add my 2¢. I agree with Hay/Gan. I don't consider a transaction completed until the buyer has received their item and is happy with it. I ask buyers to email me when the item arrives and all is well.

When I receive the email, I post feedback. Most of the time buyers post for me first without emailing. That's fine. Sometimes, they let me know the item arrived, I post feedback and then they post for me. That's fine too. I have had a few new buyers email me to tell me the item arrived, I post FB and they don't post for me. Whatever floats your boat.

If you are really concerned about it, why not email the seller and ask what their feedback policy is?

 

[jessica52877]

I used to leave feedback right away but I am tired of the negatives and neutrals for people not reading and on top of that never asking to return an item. So I too now will wait. Very similar to the examples above.

My first couple of negatives were after I left a negative or a neutral, once for moldy books with no mention of it. So I take the whole feedback thing very lightly and it isn't a big deal to me, the #'s mean nothing since they are so skewed due to these things.

I agree my transaction goes sour after someone leaves me negative for nothing I did. Two weeks ago fedex switched the labels and the people were furious when they got the wrong packages, then they sents me nasty emails (after I had already emailed the one guy, since the first let me know they got the opposite thing). I spent hours on the phone with fedex straigtening it out even though I was not at fault, I did feel it was my responsibility to get it right. Well lo and behold I have already been warned I'll be getting negative. Oddly enough I got the one package back, because fedex still couldn't get it right, and right under their label is my correct label. Just irks me to no end! It was the like the buyer didn't believe and on top of it wasn't reading their emails!

 

[WDWorBUST]

You've all made some really good points - I guess I just don't understand what the feedback system is really worth if both parties are always waiting on the other to leave feedback first. I guess I've just been lucky in my small number of transactions to have good experiences. As far as contacting the seller about their feedback policy - it isn't really that big of an issue - I just don't see what else they could be rating me on other than them being paid and quickly. But I guess I've just been naive about how some buyers operate. I always make a point of leaving feedback as soon as I receive the item regardless of whether I've received feedback so if they don't respond then I'll contact them. I plan on ebaying more and I'm looking at maybe selling to get rid of some clutter so since I'm so new at this point feedback is pretty important to me if I want to pursue it further.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I agree with HayGan. I give feedback when the transaction is complete.

 

[Stein]

Yes, it is unfortunate that a few people who attempt to hold you hostage ruin it for the rest of us. I also wait until the buyer either sends me an e-mail and says they received the item and it looks good, or leaves me feedback.

The last 12 auctions I did, I left feedback and 1 has returned it.

One lady wrote this big long e-mail ragging on me because she hasn't received the item. I shipped 2 hours after payment and when I looked up the tracking number, it said USPS tried to deliver (signature required) three times and left a not saying it was at the local post office. She wrote back saying she was sorry, she missed them because she was out of town....

I wish I could leave feedback earlier, but with 100% positive (208), I would really be up a creek if someone wanted to hold me hostage. I have well over 400 transactions, but some people just don't care to leave feedback.

 

[Hedy]

There's always that one weird buyer who requires extra help. If you're going to get your feedback eventually, why worry?

 

[TravelinGal]

I do it for the reasons mentioned above and also as incentive for the buyer to give me feedback. Many don't understand the feedback system and while you have 10 great sales, you might get 5 feedback. I want all my positive feedback! I'll kindly contact the buyer after a month of no feedback left and mention that I would love to leave feedback for them to increase their score, but that they have not left feedback for me yet. Only 1 person has never responded. And they never got feedback from me either. Why should I build up someone else's score if they don't build up mine?

 

[mom2my3kids]

As a seller, I always wait until the item is received and they are happy and leave me feedback. Then I will leave feedback.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Who leaves feedback first, buyer or seller, is one of the most discussed tropics on the eBay discussion boards.

When I first started on eBay (9 1/2 years ago), I always left feedback as a seller as soon as I received payment. Now I do not leave feedback unless the buyer leaves me feedback first. Why? The transaction is not completed until I know the iten has been received and the buyer is happy.

I also do not leave feedback for buyers who did not pay until I started the unpaid item process, for buyers who never leave feedback themselves (yes, I check feedback left), or for sellers who do not ship promptly. I don't feel these are worth a negative comment and neutrals are worthless (plus many people will leave you negative feedback if you leave them a neutral).

Keep in mind that feedback has ALWAYS been voluntary and don't worry too much over those who do not leave feedback.

 

[Aristomommy]

I have felt in the last 2 years or so that the feedback system has gotten more complicated. Sellers don't want to leave feedback until the buyer does fearing an undeserved negative. Buyer doesn't want to leave feedback first because a busy seller may not return the favor. I have chosen not to worry about it so much, but will request positive feedback when I receive a purchased item or as I give positive feedback to a buyer.

Recently I got my first negative. I never received an item that the seller was supposed to have purchased delivery confirmation for. I pursued a refund since he couldn't provide a tracking number and I paid for one. He left me a neg. for being a "pain" to work with. I received my refund from Paypal and returned the neg. feedback favor. I don't think I deserved a neg. but got it anyway. In the long run, someone can look at my overall feedback and one transaction out of 300 shouldn't make a difference.

 

[!@#$%]

I sell specialty clothes among other things. I put in the description the size/sizes being offered, and the color. All the info a person could want to know is there. My auctions are long so I dont leave the buyer guessing.
NOONE READS IT!!!
They bid (especially the spanish speaking ones) and they ask me after the auction for a color not listed, or a size not listed. darn! I put it in the biggest font available on ebay in BOLD RED. Thats not good enough.
Then theres shipping. I can package a package to go through the civil war, but if UPS drops a piano on it its my fault??? The buyer thinks so.
If it dont fit... Its my fault.
Then theres the scams. Ever heard of uptrading? Theres a specific word for it, but I cant remeber it. Its when the buyer buys a vintage/antique item EXACTLY like they already have. They complain about the quality of the item, you offer a refund if they ship it back. They ship you the one they had, they just upgraded for free.
Theres the Dish scam too. Buyer buys a satellite receiver with card, demands that the receiver is bad, but wants to keep the card. This is a VERY common scam. I sold a receiver to a guy on ebay. I had it sitting beside my computer for about 2 weeks before I sold it, plugged in. (I had forgot to unplug it after taking pictures.) the buyer claimed that when he cut it on it started smoking then caught fire and nearly burnt his house down. He was FURIOUS! I offered him a full refund if he shipped the CARD ONLY back in a envelope. He refused and left me positivve feedback. BUSTED! A buddy of mine sells/installs dish for a living. Both him and his friend said thats the oldest trick on ebay. They only want the card so they can fix it illegally for "free" dish.
Theres the "we dont agree on condition" scam. Thats the one that I stopped selling the kids clothes because of. you list the clothes and sizes and you can even clearly state the condition of every piece of clothes. But its never good enough. the buyer apparently thinks if its not NWOT its too used. I once listed some as PLAY CLOTHES, ranging from HORRIBLE condition to new. I stressed that these were JUST for playing in the mud and such (kids still do that in some rural areas despite what some of the pickier moms think) and she still gave me negative feedback. She just wanted money back. It wanst about the clothes.
Those of you who sell and leave feedback immediately... Have you ever negative feedback skimmed??? Thats where you spend about 20 minutes goind from one buyers feedback to anothers negative feedback to anothers just to see what people complain about. it can be quite addictive actually. Like channel surfing on ebay. I see so many unfair feedback. New buyers complain because it took 4 days to get from NC to CA instead of 2. Be realistic people!

Any seller who leaves it first hasnt experienced some of the con artists I have and hasnt experienced some of MY customers!!!
But it DOES go both ways. I once found a chinese seller who didnt understand the system. He was leaving EVERYONE negative feedback. Thousands of negative feedbacks. I emailed him. He was clueless. It took about 12 emails back and forth before he finally got it. I checked it again about 6 months later and he was only leaving positive.
Ebay is full of deceitful people. I prefer to protect myself. Have you ever been in a department store and watched some pigheaded person argue down the cashier and demand a refund over something they hooked up wrong? I have. Those people shop ebay too!