Thread: Is leaving feedback becoming passe?

Originally Posted by WetShaveObsession

Much like Jamie pointed out as a seller he leaves immediate positive feedback for immediate pay and expects the same in return as a buyer. I agree with him. I suppose I will have to make sure I purchase from him rather than you! LOL

Buy what you please from whomever you please. My 327 + sales have all been satisfactory and I've never received a negative. We agree to disagree. I understand a buyer's perspective that all they are required to do is pay for the item. That is a given ........ indeed they are, and from a seller's experience I can say that they don't always do so. AFAIC a deal is a deal when it is consumated. Both parties having fulfilled their part of what ebay calls a contract. From my perspective the deal isn't consumated until both parties agree that the contract was fulfilled on both ends.

BTW, I recently paid for an item that cost $50.00 USD to ship. It was not as described. I notified the seller, who allowed returns, buyer pays all shipping, and said I expected a full refund including return shipping. Paypal will stick with the buyer on the intitial shipping but not on the return. The seller refunded the full amount + the $50 return shipping. I left them a positive feedback. The transaction was complete.

Originally Posted by WetShaveObsession

As a buyer I will not leave feedback until I have received the item and it is as it was portrayed. I am not even very fussy about the shipping time, within reason of course. Also I realize once the item has shipped it is out of the sellers hands.
I will say this - seller not leaving feedback until they get it from the buyer - the way i buy and pay that is bad etiquette IMO. If I am a buyer and I have paid you expeditiously for your goods, what more do you need to know to offer feedback on the transaction? I always pay immediately post win so I am speaking to that specific scenario.

As someone who buys 5 for every 1 that I sell, I never leave feedback until the buyer is happy solely because of the flakey buyers who think that a no-return auction somehow translates to amazon's return policy via ebay seller. As a buyer, I always do my feedback in bunches. when I notice i haven't done it for a while, I go and do it. I always eventually leave positive feedback for anyone who holds up their end of the deal.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Snip....
BTW, I recently paid for an item that cost $50.00 USD to ship. It was not as described. I notified the seller, who allowed returns, buyer pays all shipping, and said I expected a full refund including return shipping. Paypal will stick with the buyer on the intitial shipping but not on the return. The seller refunded the full amount + the $50 return shipping. I left them a positive feedback. The transaction was complete.

While that seemed like a win win and everyone walked away happy, I think that it might be a tad short-sighted.
And most definitely not the place to leave positive feedback at all.
After all, you tried to buy something you wanted and payed 50 bucks for it.
In the end you had to box the thing up, send emails or claims or whatever, head down the post office to return what you bought.
And sit there left with nada..

With the right seller, all you have achieved is give him the opportunity to find another sucker for that product.
I've seen that happen first hand.
It's not possible to change the world single-handedly, I know.
But if we all leave positive feedback left, right and center, we will always have the ebay we have today where every experienced user will warn almost all new people to stay away.
Not ideal imo.

Most any seller on the bay has 100% positive feedback.
On paper then it seems like the only place in the entire world that has such wonderful and standup people.
It feels safe to say that we all know how true that is..

Thank you Birnando, from Oslo, Norway.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

If a buyer pays for the item that is only the beginning of the transaction AFAIC. I have to fulfill the rest of my part by packing the item well, and by shipping it expeditiously.

All of which the buyer has paid for. Of course you have to fulfill that part as agreed upon or there is no transaction. I understand you have sold a lot and feedback is important to you but in my mind once the money and product are exchanged that is the end of the transaction. Anything else is a nicety. Cashiers and store managers don't wonder if people are satisfied with their products after they get home and use/open them. They don't have to because the buyer will either try to return the item or not.

Personally I would be much more inclined to leave feedback if I wasn't required to write something. As has been mentioned; most of the written feedback is generic because you have to write something. I think leaving a rating should be enough unless something unusual happens. Unusual meaning something unexpected. If an item is paid for and received; that is what is supposed to happen and is not unusual. As a buyer I am fine with not receiving feedback. It doesn't matter to me because I don't imagine the seller is looking at my feedback in order to decide whether or not to send the item that I have purchased.

That being said I wouldn't leave negative feedback without contacting the seller first to try to resolve the issue.

I don't mean any offense to those of you who hold the opposing view.

Just my take,an eBayer for around 14 years, with a 100% rating. One or the other has to go first with feedback. How to decide who goes first? Hmm, I say the first to complete their part of the bargain gets the first feedback. In my humble view when the buyer pays he has fulfilled his end of the deal, unless like some EBay sellers the fine print says they have to kiss my RRA before I leave feedback.

When I sell something the buyer gets my positive feedback just as soon as they have paid. When I buy and the item is received in good shape, timely, I check to see if the seller has left me feedback for promptly fulfilling my duty as a buyer - that is, pay up. If the seller has not, they. get none. And if their 'bot sends me a message demanding feedback, they get a carefully worded neutral.

I agree that feedback on both sides should jot be a requirement. I saw one seller who threatened repercussions to anyone leaving negative feedback. Really? If you are a pain on the groin then you should expect negative feedback and to avoid that you should try to do the best that you can. As a buyer and a seller. Don't demand that I leave you positive feedback. Remind me yes but it's not a requirement. Of course that's my opinion. I still do business with people who have 90% positive anyways. One or two bad transactions out of a thousand does not mean much to me. Two bad ones out of ten? Yeah I am not even looking any further.

I bought a Microscope for 450 dollars, and paid 50 for shipping and insurance. It arrived in a thin walled cardboard box, with a single strip of low density foam on the bottom for cushioning.
Scope was broken off at the base, and the optics were broken in 3 places too. Not only that, but the seller never bothered to insure the package.
No deal is done, until the merchandise is in the buyers hands, and in the condition expected. Plain and simple. Care to take a wild guess what kind of feedback I gave them?

Did you contact them? Did they refund your money?

All attempts at contact were ignored, and a dispute was opened. Eventually I got a refund, but I still had to pay to ship the scope back. Which, in my opinion was a really shi**y end of a stick for me to have to hold.

Originally Posted by tedh75

Did you contact them? Did they refund your money?