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

[!@#$%]

One more thing, as a seller, I check out the feedback LEFT FOR OTHERS for EVERY bidder. I block and retract (in that order) dozens of bids a year. Some buyers have PERFECT feedback. Even 100%. BUT if you check the feedback they have left for their sellers, its FILLED with neutrals and negatives. One such buyer that slipped my screening sent a nice email wanting to know why I hadnt left feedback for him already. I checked his feedback, and he complained about more than 1/2 his transactions. Apparently he would ask the seller to leave positive feedback, then blast them with negative just for fun. I denied his request. I said "my descriptions states I leave feedback AFTER the buyer so i know were both happy with the deal" he never left any feedback.

 

[granmanh603]

Ok after reading these post what about sellers who don't leave feedback...even after positive feedback has been left and email sent saying item received. I would like opinions on that. Thanks

 

[brivers222]

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

Almost as widely discussed as the question of which came first the chicken or the egg

 

[mking624]

As a seller, I don't leave feedback until the transaction is complete. They may have been a fast payer, however that doesn't mean that something won't go wrong during shipment, etc. I wait until everything is absolutely finished before I say anything. But because I've experienced buyers never leaving feedback even though I've left it for them, I now mention in my auctions that I will not leave feedback if I don't receive feedback. I'm trying to build up my reputation just like they are.

As far as being a buyer, I will leave the seller feedback once I receive an item. As soon as I pay for something, I let the seller know that I will leave feedback as soon as it arrives...and I'd appreciate the same. I don't expect to receive any feedback until I actually leave it myself. But I am careful to look at the feedback history of the seller...if they get a lot of feedback but clearly have a poor habit of not leaving feedback, I won't leave any (nor will I send a note saying I'll leave feedback). This again goes back to me experiencing not getting feedback. In fact, I had one seller one time keep bothering me o leave her feedback...but she outright refused to leave feedback for me. Nice.

There really isn't a right or wrong answer to this. It's just how each individual feels about it.

 

[!@#$%]

This brings up another point. the chiese man I mentioned earlier who only left negative feedback for EVERYONE reguardless of what they left... I emailed ebay about him before the emails. Ebay said he could leave any feedback he wanted, reguardless of any situation. Basically said it was OK to leave everyone bad feedback without cause. Interesting. Typical of ebay.

 

[Skatermom23]

This just drives me crazy! I have been buying on ebay for 10 years and have 100% feedback. Never have I left a negative or neutral. I have been very lucky to have 800 plus good transactions. Recently I bought some pictures and everything went well. I emailed the lady and thanked her and told her I would leave feedback shortly. She emailed me back and said she wouldn't leave me feedback until I left mine??? WTH? First time in ten years I have come across that.

Personally, I fullfilled my end of the bargain first and if you are satisfied with my payment then you should leave feedback. This is why the feedback system isn't working anymore. People trying to work it....

 

[mking624]

This just drives me crazy! I have been buying on ebay for 10 years and have 100% feedback. Never have I left a negative or neutral. I have been very lucky to have 800 plus good transactions. Recently I bought some pictures and everything went well. I emailed the lady and thanked her and told her I would leave feedback shortly. She emailed me back and said she wouldn't leave me feedback until I left mine??? WTH? First time in ten years I have come across that.

Personally, I fullfilled my end of the bargain first and if you are satisfied with my payment then you should leave feedback. This is why the feedback system isn't working anymore. People trying to work it....

I don't consider that "trying to work it"...the reality is that way too many people skip out on leaving feedback and buyers & sellers alike are sick and tired of it...so they simply will not leave feedback until they receive it. That's how I handle any auctions I'm running. I'm tired of buyers conveniently "forgetting" that part.

 

[Skatermom23]

I don't consider that "trying to work it"...the reality is that way too many people skip out on leaving feedback and buyers & sellers alike are sick and tired of it...so they simply will not leave feedback until they receive it. That's how I handle any auctions I'm running. I'm tired of buyers conveniently "forgetting" that part.

Perhaps buyers are tired of sellers conveniently forgetting that they have their payment. They have completed their end of the transaction. If there is a problem and the buyer posts a negative about the product, you have the chance to respond. Serious buyers look at this and can tell a bogus complaint from a real one. What do you have to hide? If you have my money, then post that you received my payment.

 

[Kellydelly]

When I sell I don't give the buyer feedback until they have left it for me. When I buy I don't expect the seller to leave me feedback until I've already left it for them. You can get screwed with bad feedback if you don't wait and make sure the buyer is satisfied.

 

[Stein]

You are missing the point. Ebay is full of people who wait until the seller posts a positive. Then, they demand a partial or full refund and say they will leave a negative if you don't. Once the negative is left, it is on your record and will be there forever. You can respond, but you still have it.

It doesn't happen the other way around. You never have a seller demand more money or they will leave a negative.

I think it is perfectly acceptable to wait until the buyer leaves feedback. I buy and sell about 50-50 each and if I am the buyer, I always leave good feedback when I receive the item. 95% of the time, they seller leaves feedback almost immediately. I have no problem with that system as it is fair to all.

 

[~Kathie]

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.

The old switcheroo. Very common. There are those people out there who try to upgrade their collections at other's expense.

I sell mostly new Disney collectibles and for a while I was getting a rash of buyers complaining that the item arrived broken or wasn't as described.

I have been told I pack good enough so that an "H" bomb couldn't open my packages, so I found it hard to believe that the item arrived broken unless someone stepped on it. The biggest request was for partial refunds which I never give.

I did 2 things. I require insurance on everything. It's built into my shipping costs. I also bought an invisible marker and mark all my items. The mark can only be seen with an ultraviolet light. I bought the marker and the UV light checker on ebay.

When someone emails that the item arrived broken, I tell them to take it to the PO and file a claim. I also let them know that they will have to take the original box, and wrappings, plus the item to be inspected and be prepared to give up the item. Most of the time I never hear from them again.
BUSTED!!!! It hardly ever happens anymore. I do have the information about my items being marked on my ABOUT ME page.

Easy for people to hide behind a monitor and a keyboard and try to scam other people. Guess they figure if they can get away with it......why not.

 

[mking624]

Perhaps buyers are tired of sellers conveniently forgetting that they have their payment. They have completed their end of the transaction. If there is a problem and the buyer posts a negative about the product, you have the chance to respond. Serious buyers look at this and can tell a bogus complaint from a real one. What do you have to hide? If you have my money, then post that you received my payment.

I have nothing to hide. But I'm tired of buyers skipping out on feedback. Not to mention that I'm finding more and more cases where buyers will receive their feedback...typically a positive...and they'll turn around with a negative or even attempt a scam. Yes you can leave a response, but by that point they've just hurt your score. Sorry, I'm not going to put myself in that position and chance. I'd rather have a mutual "no feedback" than fall into that mess. And when I sell stuff, I clearly state my feedback "rule" in my auction. If a buyer doesn't like it, they don't have to bid. Not gonna hurt my feelings. But as someone else said, many sellers (myself included) feel it's best to wait until the buyer is completely satisfied (including by leaving feedback) before they post their own feedback. I, like others, don't expect sellers to leave feedback for me until I've done it for them. I understand the position a seller is in with that.

What does a buyer have to hide that they can't go ahead and post feedback when they receive the item instead of waiting for the seller to leave it first? Really, every question you ask about the seller can be turned around to the buyer.

Like I said, there's no right or wrong. It's just what each person feels is best. Arguing about it or getting upset about it is pointless. With more and more feedback becoming retalitory and useless, most people are now doing the "I won't until you do." I'm not foreseeing it ever ending.

 

[brivers222]

Perhaps buyers are tired of sellers conveniently forgetting that they have their payment. They have completed their end of the transaction. If there is a problem and the buyer posts a negative about the product, you have the chance to respond. Serious buyers look at this and can tell a bogus complaint from a real one. What do you have to hide? If you have my money, then post that you received my payment.

Feedback is to be left by both parties when they are BOTH satisfied that the transaction has been completed. Through the buyer leaving us feedback, that signals that the transaction has been completed AND they are satisfied. At that point we leave feedback stating how we felt about the transaction from start (buyer paying) to finish (buyer satisfied with item). Until they [buyer] leaves feedback for us we assume there is still a chance they will want to return the item... by leaving feedback open we further protect ourself against needless "angry" unwarranted feedbacks.

There is this latest craze I am seeing now where these stupid foreign buyers with OBVIOUSLY fake mailing addresses and temp Ebay IDs are buying our product and then leaving positive feedback immediately after buying. They have not paid nor do I actually expect them to pay as they are obviously fake. See for yourself, here are their user names:
djfhejsk
jadhjkwa
adfdgfhkghj

I already reported them to E-bay... While they are leaving POSITIVE FEEDBACK... What is actually stopping them from leaving NEGATIVE feedback just for the hell of it.

The FEEDBACK system is whack... I withhold to CMOA.

 

[!@#$%]

If there is a problem and the buyer posts a negative about the product, you have the chance to respond.

No offence, but this thinking is NOT wise.
If they have a problem they should EMAIL YOU FIRST, BEFORE leaving feedback, and give you a chance to respond FIRST, THEN leave feedback AFTER the situation is resolved. That way everyone is happy, and you both come away with positive feedback.
If a buyer negs me, its OVER. I dont care what his story, I'm finished with him and he'll never see a cent, but he too will get a negative feedback. We both lose. Like another person here said, I leave feedback FIRST when I buy. Thats the only way.
HOWEVER, this argument is as old as ebay itself. I respect your point of view if you disagree. We just agree to disagree, and not argue about it. Its your ebay, you do it the way you like best, the way you choose. You can not leave feedback at all if thats what you want to do. Its not fair, but its your choice. I wouldnt argue with a buyer who refuses to leave feedback. I just move along to the next. If he/she paid then thats all hes ACTUALLY required to do. Feedback is voluntary. Kinda like the old cliche "You can lead a horse to the water but you cant make him drink."

Off the subject slightly...
A scary thought... I once sold a full hood Halloween mask on Ebay. The buyer INSISTED that I NOT leave feedback, and that she wouldnt either. She insisted this BEFORE she bid. I checked her fdbk, and it was great. She had left equal to what she bought. I wondered... What will this mask be used for.... Maybe a robbery.... ya just never know.

 

[mking624]

Off the subject slightly...
A scary thought... I once sold a full hood Halloween mask on Ebay. The buyer INSISTED that I NOT leave feedback, and that she wouldnt either. She insisted this BEFORE she bid. I checked her fdbk, and it was great. She had left equal to what she bought. I wondered... What will this mask be used for.... Maybe a robbery.... ya just never know.

It's possible that this was a surprise or gift of some sort...and didn't want it to be spoiled by having the person see what was won by clicking the link in the feedback. A friend of mine did that once before when we won a pair of concert tickets...he requested that no feedback be left so that the gift wouldn't be spoiled in case the feedback was spotted.

 

[jessica52877]

It's possible that this was a surprise or gift of some sort...and didn't want it to be spoiled by having the person see what was won by clicking the link in the feedback. A friend of mine did that once before when we won a pair of concert tickets...he requested that no feedback be left so that the gift wouldn't be spoiled in case the feedback was spotted.

I get this every once in a while, mine always because they are going to turn around and sell what they just bought from me at 2x the price. I'll usually agree but don't understand. I don't have anything to hide if I were to do that, if a person wants it for the price offered then that is that. Shouldn't matter how much a person paid for it. Alot of them are on my disney stamps and a couple halloween costumes.

 

[sunny_]

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 agree with this. The entire transaction isn't over until the item is received and the customer is happy. If the customer is unhappy then the buyer has a chance to make it right.

Everyone has differing opinions though on when is the correct time to leave feedback, but until ebay makes a rule about the appropriate time, then they are all just people's opinions. I've been on ebay for 6 years and have had perfectly smooth transactions where the seller or buyer NEVER left me feedback although I left some for them. Oh well - I just move on. I don't even send an email reminder because I'm not losing sleep over one little feedback comment! But everyone is different!

 

[va32h]

Feedback is voluntary. You are not entitled to it. No one is required to leave feedback: neither the seller, nor the buyer.

Are you selling and buying merchandise, or feedback?

If you are happy with your purchase, who cares if you get feedback? Do we walk around with post-it notes all over our bodies from the grocery store or the mall, telling everyone what good customers we are?

Would Spiegel.com, target.com or disneyshopping.com publish a list of "good buyers" on their website?

People get so upset over things that, if they happened in any other selling environment, wouldn't even be an issue. Ebay is just a venue for selling stuff, if a seller doesn't leave you feedback, it isn't a personal rejection.

As an ebay buyer, your feedback is all but irrelevant anyway. Sellers can block you if you have a rating of -1 or more, but that's it. They could theoretically cancel your bid if they don't like your feedback, but that is very rare. Especially these days when sellers are beyond desperate for sales.

Feedback is much more important for sellers - which is why unscrupulous buyers play so many games with it. The most common being "Give me a refund or I'll leave you a negative."

 

[!@#$%]

They could theoretically cancel your bid if they don't like your feedback, but that is very rare. Especially these days when sellers are beyond desperate for sales.

I have thousands in my block buyers list. I cancel dozens of bids every year. Like you said: Feedback is more important to sellers, because buyers check OUR feedback MUCH more. So I check almost EVERY buyers feedback, and if they have LEFT lots of negative feedback, they are retracted and blocked. "I dont understand. Why did you cancel my bid???" "Because your what I consider a bad risk. You complain through feedback, rather than trying to work it out with the seller." I personally think more sellers should check their buyers feedback LEFT FOR OTHERS, AND recieved. Its a two way street.

If no sellers were required to have feedback at all, ebay would be (more) overrun with scoundrels and con artists, and Certain buyers would be trying to rip off all sellers. Feedback keeps people honest to a small degree.
True retail stores dont have feedback, but having worked in them years ago I can attest that they take a SERIOUS loss due to dishonest people. A good example is the $20 Radio Shack RC car I saw "reattached" in a $100 tyco box laying in the return buggy after Christmas. Someones child got 2 RC cars, so the thief mom or dad sticks the cheaper car in the more expensive box and returns it to Walmart for a store credit or refund. On ebay if a person does this, the seller leaves negative feedback and all other sellers (if they check) know the buyer is a con. The main problem with ebay and feedback is not enough sellers check. one word... Lazy

 

[DMRick]

The main problem with ebay and feedback is not enough sellers check. one word... Lazy

Wow, you must sell something that brings them out of the woodwork.

I'm not lazy, I just don't care about the buyers feedback. They pay me and that's all that is important to me. If they don't (and that seldom happens..I think a dozen or so times since '99), I file for my end of listing fees, and relist, and then resell..and I get back the second listing fee. I can't imagine having thousands in my blocked bidder list. That would be way too time consuming.