Anybody else notice a recent trend of sellers leaving positive feedback that when you read it is actually negative?

I came across it today when I closed a case where the buyer had not paid or responded to messages.At least three of his positive feedbacks from different sellers all had variations on "did not pay" in the comments.

Personally I would rather get the final valuation fee credit but I guess these sellers felt Ebay was not taking sufficent action against non paying bidders.

unfortunately it's actually against Ebay policy. If the buyer reports it, Ebay will remove the comments.

I've never understood why Ebay goes out of their way to protect deadbeat bidders.

I have noticed that the other day, Someone bought something off me and they were being such a hassle I checked there feedback and it was all positive. But when I read it all was negative comments but under positive.

Sellers can only leave positive feedback for buyers. They are not albl to select a neutral or negative rating.

I don't get that..a buyer CAN be bad and others need to be warned of that.

Feedback has gotton to be a joke! I've had winning bidders not pay, product gone stale and no way to warn anyone else. Thought that was what feedback was for.

My poor hubby got his first negative and we've been on enay since like EVER. It was for internal damage on a sealed product...which is diffucult to ascertain since ya know..it was SEALED But, he never contacted him or complained, jst left a negative. Doesn't seem fair.

I love it when potential buyers contact you and they say, "I have excellent feedback, you can trust me"

It has been 2 or 3 years now since ebay took away the option for sellers to leave negative feedback.

I had a buyer compain when I opened an Unpaid item dispute. He said I don't have it stated in my auction when payment has to be made.

I responded with all 99% of my buyers pay the same day the win an auction or or use the buy it now.

I don't get it, If buyers want the items shipped ASAP, they should make the payment ASAP.

There used to be a seller on eBay who noted in his auction descriptions that however long it took a buyer to pay would be how long it would take him to ship.

My auction descriptions state that people must pay within 24 hours. Sometimes it takes a few days, but I feel like I'm covered in case I have to file an unpaid item dispute.

quote:

I had a buyer compain when I opened an Unpaid item dispute. He said I don't have it stated in my auction when payment has to be made.

I don't get it, If buyers want the items shipped ASAP, they should make the payment ASAP.

This has happened to me recently, when I win an item I pay as soon as I know the shipping amount which is usually already known before I purchase the item. When I tried to make a no payment claim after 4 days ebay simply cancelled claim as buyer said he still wanted item, finally paid after 7 days. I usually get my listing to finish to coincide with my days off work so that I have the time to ship them otherwise it could take almost a week, then I'm sure buyers would soon complain.


I do not understand why buyers wait so long to make payment.

quote:

Originally posted by treksearcher:
I do not understand why buyers wait so long to make payment.

It could be because the bidding end date is off within his schedule budget or credit limit.

I had a few times this happpened to me when my credit limit maxed, but I informed the seller first and imediately paid for them the day my credit was cleared. When I have multiple items I want to bid from the seller I also inform them that I intend to pay once the bidding is done.


I had two sellers that shipped the item first before I paid for them, curiously, both were my first orders from those sellers. I did not anticipate that action especially for international shipment. Both sellers received a very nice feedback from me.

quote:

Originally posted by juke:
I had two sellers that shipped the item first before I paid for them, curiously, both were my first orders from those sellers. I did not anticipate that action especially for international shipment. Both sellers received a very nice feedback from me.

Wow, that's something I've never heard of being done before, must have been a mistake as it can't possibly be how they normally run their business.

A couple of years back I purchased a TV show on DVD from a seller, everything went off without a hitch. I received the DVDs a few days after purchase, left positive feedback and a week later received an identical copy of the exact same DVD set.
I contacted him to let him know I had received a duplicate and he told me that he had been babysitting his niece who was helping him out with writing the names and addresses on the packaging, and she must have written the wrong name. He told me it was a funny thing because he had had another buying complaining that they never received their copy of this DVD set, so I said I would just post it to the person who had not received it. Needless to say he was very happy that I was happy to help out and gave me a discount on purchasing any other DVD set I chose.

I pay for my ebay purchases straight away, unless I'm waiting on the seller send an invoice for updated postage charges.

My rule when it comes to this hobby and buying anything else off of ebay in general, I don't buy anything unless I have the cash to purchase it with. No credit cards, I use a debit card, which acts just like a credit card but only works when I put money on it I can't afford to be in debt over stuff apart from car and house payments.
I do miss out on alot of cards that I would love to have, but I sleep easier knowing I don't have huge credit card debt.

As someone who has never sold on eBay, I can tell you the downside of sellers being able to leave negative feedback. I have always tried to pay within an hour or so of auction end, and I try to leave feedback for every seller. I know it helps them build a reputation, and I think it is my responsibility, especially when they do a good job.

My experience before the rule went into place was that I had several disreputable sellers not leave feedback for me until I left theirs. They basically held my reputation hostage even though I had held up my end of the deal. eBay's process had no help available for this. I even had a seller tell me on my personal email that they would destroy my feedback if I did not leave them 5 stars on all...

Having said that, the vast majority of my experience has been very good. Most sellers are eager to take care of any problem and value honest feedback, preferably via communication channels first.

^I totally agree. Also, as a courtesy, in my opinion the seller should be the one who post a feedback first. It' like saying thanks after a buyer pays for your item.

feddback is left for the entire transaction, not just for the payment. I will usually wait (unless it is a repeat customer) until a buyer leaves feedback before leaving them feedback.

It is not holding FB hostage, it is waiting until the transaction is complete. I do not view the transaction complete until the item is in the buyers hand, and they accept it.

A lot of people think the buyers part is over once they pay. I am on the other side, believing their part is not done. They need to communicate the item has been received and is acceptable.

As STCardGeek pointed out, they recently received a negative from a buyer when it was not their fault. There was no communication from the buyer about an issue, just a negative left. Had the buyer contacted STCardGeek, maybe they could have worked out a solution for the issue. But since there was NO communication from the buyer, why would the buyer deserve positive FB? I know you can no longer leave neutral / negative FB for a buyer (and that is a seperate discussion), but in this case, no FB would be appropriate for this buyer, as opposed to positive.

quote:

Originally posted by Juelle Lou:
Wow, that's something I've never heard of being done before, must have been a mistake as it can't possibly be how they normally run their business.

I don't think they were mistakes. The first one only has that one ad that I purchased. He took so loooong to respond for each message though, could be his way of apologetic gesture. The other one, has around 3-5 more items for sale. The one I purchased was the only card in his ad so I doubt it was a mistake either. So, thumbs up for both of them and very deserving of the nice feedback. I didn't receive a feedback from one of the sellers though, he's probably very busy.

Feedback, for the buyer and seller is all about reputation. I don't believe that a buyer should have to wait for feedback until they've given it. The buyer's obligation - paying - ends there and then. What's been said here, is that the seller doesn't feel any responsability for the goods until the buyer says they've got them. Bull If that was the case, there wouldn't be any process in place to claim if the goods are not delivered or not as discribed. Once cash has been exchanged, the onus is purely on the seller. The buyer has done all they can. They paid. That is all the seller should expect from the buyer. However...
We should also focus on shoddy sellers that don't leave feedback. In my experience, they are either those that have had repeat custom from you and believe that once is enough (30 transactions from one seller in a year, one feedback mark, dispite requests for acknowledgement) or those who just don't bother. I was turned down from one auction because I hadn't had feedback for 3 months. I was at the mercy of 5 sellers that I'd left feedback for, only to recieve nothing. This particular seller said that having reviewed my previous feedback, I seemed to have dropped off the radar, therefore couldn't risk selling to someone who may have had problems paying. This seller is now on my blocked list.
I would love the reinstatement of the neutral and negative feedback for the seller. Someone could be brilliant at selling, but useless at buying ( or vice versa ). You can't make an informed choice until there is a full picture from both sides.

quote:

Originally posted by glen87:
feddback is left for the entire transaction, not just for the payment. I will usually wait (unless it is a repeat customer) until a buyer leaves feedback before leaving them feedback.

Why not step up and be first? It's a 'Thank you'. Why should I be the first to leave thanks when you've been paid to do a job (send the goods)?

Am i the only person that never even looks at feedback? If i see something i want i just bid on it, never had any problems ever. This constant searching to see if someone said something bad about someone at some time so therfore i won't bid would drive me nuts.

Just for the record, feedback of any kind on eBay is purely voluntary. Nobody has to leave it for anyone at any time.

Who should leave feedback first is on a par with asking: 'who came first, the chicken or the egg'.

My rules for leaving feedback are very simple:

As a buyer, I post feedback when I have received the item I bought and I'm happy with it. If the seller has already left me feedback, that's nice but totally irrelevent to when I post mine as a buyer. If there is a problem with the item I've bought, I contact the seller. Once the problem is resolved, I post feedback. Again, it is irrelevent whether the seller has posted feedback for me at this point.

As a seller, I post feedback once the buyer has let me know that they have received the item they bought and are happy with it. This can be through an eBay message, a direct email or by posting feedback. If I do not receive notification that the buyer has received their item, then I do not leave any feedback as the transaction has not ended.

With buyers not wanting to pay for any kind of tracking, the only way a seller knows that the goods have arrived is if the buyer has the courtesy to let them know. Unfortunately, good manners appear to be an increasingly forgotten custom.