eBay feedback - Sellers post first

This is a pet peeve of mine. I've been an eBay user for over a decade, more often a buyer than a seller, but I've sold quite a few things there. It frustrates me to no end when a seller withholds feedback until they receive it.

First, you are the seller. eBay puts you at a disadvantage in general. Everything is geared toward buyer satisfaction. Your provide the product. Your feedback is not as important and the buyer's satisfaction.

Second, the buyer has bought the item. Paid for it. They've done their part. That's what you're rating. So rate it. You are not rating how annoyed they get when you screw up the order, or how nice they are when you take two weeks to ship the item. Waiting until you've received your feedback is holding their feedback hostage until you get what you want.

Agreed.
I will not leave feedback until one has been received!
My part is over the second I make payment, so there's really no reason not to give the appropriate feedback at that time

I have a system:

If I get feedback as soon as I pay, I leave exceptional feedeback/ along with a "Thought" out response if warranted (I really have never had and eBay seller rip me off)

If they hold me hostage, they get the canned response basically " Item sent as advertised" and I do not do anything else...


I agree, as a buyer my feedback is dependant on how fast I pay (for me within 1 hour of winning, ALWAYS) everything else is up to the seller to provide...

I have never sold anything on eBay perhaps my response would be different if I had..

Thanks guys, I really haven't given it much thought, but that ended right now........:)

Personally, I've been burned when leaving feedback before the seller received the item. This happened at least twice. That being said, after reading this, I may change my ways. It's been a long time, so I should move on.

This used to get my goat too. However, I have now been a registered user of ebay for 7 years and have bought in that time 6 items (and sold nothing). The whole feedback thing just doesn't bother me anymore - if you are solely a buyer like me, what does it matter anyway?

James.

I haven't sold much on eBay, and admittedly haven't read the rules - and am not experienced enough to undestand the conventions.

I always thought the feedback was regarding the transaction as a whole; not just the payment part of it - as such, as a seller I've always waited to give feedback until the buyer gives feedback, as that is what indicates to me that the transaction has been completed.
If there is no feedback from the buyer, I don't know if they have received and are happy with the product I sold.

I dunno.... Maybe I've been doing it wrong.

I buy more than I sell, but when I do sell I always give immediate feedback once I receive payment. If a buyer leaves negative feedback the seller is given an option to leave an explanatory remark attached to the negative feedback.

Well at least you guys are leaving feedback, whether it be as the buyer or seller. As primarily a buyer, I know of at least 4 auctions I have won, paid immediately for the item and left positive feedback for the seller only to never have received ANY feedback from the seller. Am I suppose to email the seller and ask them to please leave me feedback, I don't think so. Not that I lose any sleep over it, but my ebay rating technically should be higher than what it is.

If I buy, I wait until the item arrives and am satisfied to leave feedback. If I sell, I wait until the item is recieved and seller has no problems. If a bad situation is encountered, it is best to resolve it and leave no feedback at all. Some buyers delight in getting their money back and still bashing feedback. In a nutshell, it (feedback)seems to not be as important as everyone being satisfied.

A buyer can give a negative feedback, they also can screw up your ebay discount by giving you a low rating on shipping and other catagories. The Seller can no longer give negative feedback. Ebay is for the buyer and not the seller who is making the money for ebay. Sort of strange relationship. Everyday ebay looks for more ways to keep the seller from getting all of the discounts, the latest is that you must ship in 1 day( I always do) and you must give 14 day -no question- returns. Getting the numbers is no longer important to me as my fb is 4000+ but I do like to know that it arrived and was in good shape. I do not want for someone to bitch because you charge 10cents more than the actual postage. Many buyers do not know that ebay collects a percentage of the shipping and Pay Pal also collects a percentage and thus a $6.30 cent priority mail charge by the seller nets zero to the seller.

I leave feedback as soon as I receive the item.
That way I am being as fair as I can be about the whole experience.
It also gives us both a chance to rectify any issues with the transaction, if there is any.
Just my $0.02 as a buyer

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Originally Posted by sharptonn

If I buy, I wait until the item arrives and am satisfied to leave feedback. If I sell, I wait until the item is recieved and seller has no problems. If a bad situation is encountered, it is best to resolve it and leave no feedback at all. Some buyers delight in getting their money back and still bashing feedback. In a nutshell, it (feedback)seems to not be as important as everyone being satisfied.

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As a seller I don't leave feedback until I've received it. I've got 1500 positive individual feedbacks as a buyer and a seller. Early on I left feedback first but having over 100 who never reciprocated changed my mind. I also believe the transaction isn't complete until the buyer expresses their satisfaction with positive feedback.

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Originally Posted by Havachat45

I leave feedback as soon as I receive the item.
That way I am being as fair as I can be about the whole experience.
It also gives us both a chance to rectify any issues with the transaction, if there is any.
Just my $0.02 as a buyer

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So. If there is a problem, you leave bad feedback before you attempt to get the seller to cheerfully refund your money? How would you feel as the seller?
If you send back and get full refund(shipping included), how would that be a bad experience? Buyers bear some moral responsibility as well. No sale, no feedback, no harm, no foul! IMHO.

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Originally Posted by sharptonn

So. If there is a problem, you leave bad feedback before you attempt to get the seller to cheerfully refund your money? How would you feel as the seller?

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Yep, I see no problem with that, given the right situation.
If I feel an item has been willfully made out to be what it is not, or if there are grave issues with it that wasn't disclosed, then yessir, I will leave a negative feedback.
How the seller feels about that is no concern of mine.
Returning the product will only allow the seller to pull the same stunt all over again.
So, as long as I feel the amount in question isn't all that high, I'm willing to take that loss.
How else are those kind of sellers ever gonna learn?

Yesterday,I revieved a lot of 7 razors. The description of the razors was accurate but the photo wasnt so great. (basicially listed makers)
I was suprised when I recieved them to see the seller had used sandpaper on a couple of the razors (maybe 240 grit) to take some of the rust off, and ruining the etch on one of them.
I wont be sending them back, but I sure am not entirely happy (one of them was a good score anyways)... what sort of feedback would you guys leave for this item?
I am thinking "item as described", im pretty sure this is a case of me being a neglegent buyer.

I've been in this sort of gray area before, too, and take them on a case by case basis. If the condition was described as used and anything short of mint, excellent, great, whatever, I'd take my lumps and post positive feedback. If you fealt you were mislead and could qualify it, I'd post nuetral and describe the situation in the comment.

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Originally Posted by Birnando

Yep, I see no problem with that, given the right situation.
If I feel an item has been willfully made out to be what it is not, or if there are grave issues with it that wasn't disclosed, then yessir, I will leave a negative feedback.
How the seller feels about that is no concern of mine.
Returning the product will only allow the seller to pull the same stunt all over again.
So, as long as I feel the amount in question isn't all that high, I'm willing to take that loss.
How else are those kind of sellers ever gonna learn?

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I have bought tons of stuff on ebay. I cannot recall but a few times when some seller has tried to "pull a stunt" on me. Sellers know they must stay true to the facts as they know them, or feedback and sales will suffer. Learning to ask questions and look and read several times has helped me eliminate misrepresented items. Not all sellers know anything of what they are selling and some admit it on the listings and some become obvious as they describe it. In those cases, I feel I cannot tust their descriptions, but their photos, if good, will make my decision. If photos are bad, I pass. If it looks shady, I also pass. If it looks shady AND sounds shady, it probably is! That in it'self tends to eliminate the need to leave bad feedback, for me, anyway! :D Out!

Getting back to my original point, the problem I have with the seller waiting until the transaction is complete, including the buyer leaving feedback, is that the buyer's satisfaction and their willingness to work with the seller on any remedy they might sugest is not basis for the feedback.

For example: a month or two ago I bought a pair of razors from a mom and pop antique shop on eBay. I sniped them at auction end and immediately paid using PayPal. The seller listed three days handling time. She didn't mark the item shipped, she didn't send any sort of message to me, and the package arrived (from Ohio to Pennsylvania) a week later. In the mean time I had sent a message making sure all was well. This was not a negative transaction to me, but there were plenty of things that could have been improved. I left positive feedback, I didn't ding the sellers shipping or communication stars out of sympathy for the effect that would have on their discounts and selling frequency, and I said something about better communication and shipping times on her positive feedback, which I left first. She left nuetral feedback for me and wrote that I took a long time to pay. I wrote her a long message to explain what was wrong with the transaction and that she outright lied in my feedback. She replied that "a long time" is relative, and since I ad been unreasonable in my shipping time expectations, she was unreasonable about her paying time expectations.

See the problem? Whether she or I was in the wrong, I paid within 30 seconds of auction close. I should have received positive feedback. My expectation of her communication or shipping time or my comment about it have nothing at all to do with the execution of my part of the transaction.

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Originally Posted by DFriedl

See the problem? Whether she or I was in the wrong, I paid within 30 seconds of auction close. I should have received positive feedback. My expectation of her communication or shipping time or my comment about it have nothing at all to do with the execution of my part of the transaction.

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I would report her to ebay with all of the correspondence included. I don't know if that would get your neutral removed , or cause her any consequences, but I would give it a try. People like her are why ebay doesn't allow sellers to leave negative feedback at all anymore.

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Originally Posted by DFriedl

See the problem? Whether she or I was in the wrong, I paid within 30 seconds of auction close. I should have received positive feedback. My expectation of her communication or shipping time or my comment about it have nothing at all to do with the execution of my part of the transaction.

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Sounds like they should have received a negative on their account. That's when I would go back in and buy something cheap from them a month or two later and leave negative for it just as the feedback window was closing.
I don't mind having a seller wait to post feedback for me. Sometimes they just have forgotten and a quick email to them will remind them. When a seller has sent me something that was misleading by the photos, I usually ask them to leave feedback before I take up issue with them.

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Originally Posted by DFriedl

See the problem? Whether she or I was in the wrong, I paid within 30 seconds of auction close. I should have received positive feedback. My expectation of her communication or shipping time or my comment about it have nothing at all to do with the execution of my part of the transaction.

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To be fair - you could also have the same problem as a seller; a buyer leaving negative feedback for things having nothing to do with the transaction. Irrespective of who leaves feedback first, that risk is still there for one party or the other.

You were unfortunate to have had to deal with a jerk.
What goes around comes around, and I'm sure that kind of behavior will come back to bite her at some point.

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Originally Posted by DFriedl

Getting back to my original point, the problem I have with the seller waiting until the transaction is complete, including the buyer leaving feedback, is that the buyer's satisfaction and their willingness to work with the seller on any remedy they might sugest is not basis for the feedback.

For example: a month or two ago I bought a pair of razors from a mom and pop antique shop on eBay. I sniped them at auction end and immediately paid using PayPal. The seller listed three days handling time. She didn't mark the item shipped, she didn't send any sort of message to me, and the package arrived (from Ohio to Pennsylvania) a week later. In the mean time I had sent a message making sure all was well. This was not a negative transaction to me, but there were plenty of things that could have been improved. I left positive feedback, I didn't ding the sellers shipping or communication stars out of sympathy for the effect that would have on their discounts and selling frequency, and I said something about better communication and shipping times on her positive feedback, which I left first. She left nuetral feedback for me and wrote that I took a long time to pay. I wrote her a long message to explain what was wrong with the transaction and that she outright lied in my feedback. She replied that "a long time" is relative, and since I ad been unreasonable in my shipping time expectations, she was unreasonable about her paying time expectations.

See the problem? Whether she or I was in the wrong, I paid within 30 seconds of auction close. I should have received positive feedback. My expectation of her communication or shipping time or my comment about it have nothing at all to do with the execution of my part of the transaction.

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The policy has changed no neutral or negative feedback can be given by a seller, I thought that changed way, way back "While sellers can leave a positive Feedback rating and a comment for buyers, they can’t leave negative or neutral Feedback." that quote from ebay

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Originally Posted by ReardenSteel

Well at least you guys are leaving feedback, whether it be as the buyer or seller. As primarily a buyer, I know of at least 4 auctions I have won, paid immediately for the item and left positive feedback for the seller only to never have received ANY feedback from the seller. Am I suppose to email the seller and ask them to please leave me feedback, I don't think so. Not that I lose any sleep over it, but my ebay rating technically should be higher than what it is.

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That goes both ways. I sell more than buy and I have left feedback for quite a few that have never left feedback in return. What's better yet is that some of the items they bought were in exceptional condition and I know they got them because they were items that I sent with "must sign" for delivery to cover myself seeing they were quite expensive items.

Dude. its just ebay. who cares? you get what you want. its not life or death.

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Originally Posted by FDR

That goes both ways. I sell more than buy and I have left feedback for quite a few that have never left feedback in return. What's better yet is that some of the items they bought were in exceptional condition and I know they got them because they were items that I sent with "must sign" for delivery to cover myself seeing they were quite expensive items.

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Originally Posted by bokerblade

Dude. its just ebay. who cares? you get what you want. its not life or death.

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I think FDR was referring to the lack of common courtesy that seems to be running rampant in society these days. It's amazing how much more polite people tend to be using such simple phrases such as "Please" and "Thank-you."

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Originally Posted by DFriedl

Getting back to my original point, the problem I have with the seller waiting until the transaction is complete, including the buyer leaving feedback, is that the buyer's satisfaction and their willingness to work with the seller on any remedy they might sugest is not basis for the feedback.

For example: a month or two ago I bought a pair of razors from a mom and pop antique shop on eBay. I sniped them at auction end and immediately paid using PayPal. The seller listed three days handling time. She didn't mark the item shipped, she didn't send any sort of message to me, and the package arrived (from Ohio to Pennsylvania) a week later. In the mean time I had sent a message making sure all was well. This was not a negative transaction to me, but there were plenty of things that could have been improved. I left positive feedback, I didn't ding the sellers shipping or communication stars out of sympathy for the effect that would have on their discounts and selling frequency, and I said something about better communication and shipping times on her positive feedback, which I left first. She left nuetral feedback for me and wrote that I took a long time to pay. I wrote her a long message to explain what was wrong with the transaction and that she outright lied in my feedback. She replied that "a long time" is relative, and since I ad been unreasonable in my shipping time expectations, she was unreasonable about her paying time expectations.

See the problem? Whether she or I was in the wrong, I paid within 30 seconds of auction close. I should have received positive feedback. My expectation of her communication or shipping time or my comment about it have nothing at all to do with the execution of my part of the transaction.

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Didnt happen my friend, i been a member since 1997, a seller cannot leave a negative or neutral feedback,and its been like that for quite a while.

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Originally Posted by DFriedl

Getting back to my original point, the problem I have with the seller waiting until the transaction is complete, including the buyer leaving feedback, is that the buyer's satisfaction and their willingness to work with the seller on any remedy they might sugest is not basis for the feedback.

For example: a month or two ago I bought a pair of razors from a mom and pop antique shop on eBay. I sniped them at auction end and immediately paid using PayPal. The seller listed three days handling time. She didn't mark the item shipped, she didn't send any sort of message to me, and the package arrived (from Ohio to Pennsylvania) a week later. In the mean time I had sent a message making sure all was well. This was not a negative transaction to me, but there were plenty of things that could have been improved. I left positive feedback, I didn't ding the sellers shipping or communication stars out of sympathy for the effect that would have on their discounts and selling frequency, and I said something about better communication and shipping times on her positive feedback, which I left first. She left nuetral feedback for me and wrote that I took a long time to pay. I wrote her a long message to explain what was wrong with the transaction and that she outright lied in my feedback. She replied that "a long time" is relative, and since I ad been unreasonable in my shipping time expectations, she was unreasonable about her paying time expectations.

See the problem? Whether she or I was in the wrong, I paid within 30 seconds of auction close. I should have received positive feedback. My expectation of her communication or shipping time or my comment about it have nothing at all to do with the execution of my part of the transaction.

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I relaized today that Ebay has a policy for sellers that if they don't charge for shipping and the item is shipped in a certain period of time, the buyer cannot leave feedback for those items. Also, if there has been no communication between the seller and buyer, you cannot leave feedback for that item either. Seems to me that if a buyer pays within a certain period of time, certainly within an hour of an auction should qualify, the seller should not be able to leave feedback for the buyer regarding payment.

I have never sold an item on Ebay and only been a customer about 90 times. But I always proceed with "Caveat Emptor."

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Originally Posted by Martin103

Didnt happen my friend, i been a member since 1997, a seller cannot leave a negative or neutral feedback,and its been like that for quite a while.

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I went back to look, and you're right. I thought it was neutral with a negative comment. It was positive with a negative comment:

Attachment 100525

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Originally Posted by Mvcrash

I relaized today that Ebay has a policy for sellers that if they don't charge for shipping and the item is shipped in a certain period of time, the buyer cannot leave feedback for those items. Also, if there has been no communication between the seller and buyer, you cannot leave feedback for that item either. Seems to me that if a buyer pays within a certain period of time, certainly within an hour of an auction should qualify, the seller should not be able to leave feedback for the buyer regarding payment.

I have never sold an item on Ebay and only been a customer about 90 times. But I always proceed with "Caveat Emptor."

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The buyer can leave printed feedback. A positive immediately and a neutral or a negative after a one week "cooling off" period. If it is free shipping, or if there is no PM sent either way , the buyer cannot click on one of the stars that evaluate that portion of the transaction.

If the buyer paid for shipping and if there is communication between the buyer and seller via ebay , the buyer can click those stars. The seller can only leave positive feedback. No neutral or negative regardless of their experience with the buyer.

I recently bought a 1985 Ryrie Study Bible in the New King James version with genuine leather cover. It was virtually NOS, rare and OOP in that translation, and I was very happy with it. I wanted to cap the transaction off with a very positive feedback but went through my usual procedure and checked the seller's "Feedback Left For Others." He has 3429 total feedbacks and has left 757 for others.

What kind of person does this ? I am not wired that way. I started to message them to ask that question but decided that if I had to ask they wouldn't understand the question. As an infrequent ebay seller , who has left a hundred positives more than I've received, I still do not leave feedback for the buyer until I receive it. If I am the buyer I'll leave it first if the seller has a track record of reciprocating. YMMV.

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Originally Posted by DFriedl

I went back to look, and you're right. I thought it was neutral with a negative comment. It was positive with a negative comment:

Attachment 100525

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I believe that giving a Positive feedback( a seller) but with a negitive type of comment is also not within the rules of e-bay and the seller can be dinged if the buyer brings up the issue. I would search for the reference in ebay but it is so damn hard to find specific items for me as many are hidden. I usually just ask my friend with 18K feedbacks, where to find it.

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Originally Posted by ReardenSteel

I think FDR was referring to the lack of common courtesy that seems to be running rampant in society these days. It's amazing how much more polite people tend to be using such simple phrases such as "Please" and "Thank-you."

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You're correct. I could care less really and was simply giving an example regarding the topic of the thread. If things like that worked my up I'd never get anything done. That said, I have never received negative feedback by any stretch and gave it on one occasion when three weeks went by and I didn't receive what I paid for. Weeks went by and I finally got my money returned. As buyer it really doesn't matter about feedback but on the flip side having negative ratings as a seller can really impact your sales. Most don't dabble enough to see that but I spend quite a bit of time researching before I sell for various reasons but the most important is that I don't put an item up when there are many others of the same recently or at the same time. I often see sellers with good stuff get dirt money for something and it can only be attributed to their negative feedback ratings seeing their items are well presented. Long and short of it is....you get out of it what you put in as is the case with most things.

Now I am really confused......................

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Originally Posted by DFriedl

I went back to look, and you're right. I thought it was neutral with a negative comment. It was positive with a negative comment:

Attachment 100525

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Thanks for clearing that up! I wouldnt worry about it to much, when dealing on ebay you are bound to deal with
a least one smuck!