Comments on: eBay sellers to be banned from criticizing buyers

Online auction giant's move to ban seller feedback on customers is praised by buyers but criticized by sellers.

[Karendj]

Sellers won't leave feedback until buyer does.

I think it is about time E-bay changed some things on their site. The sellers will not leave feedback until you do and then if you tell the truth about them they leave you a bad feed back when you have paid and followed the rules. I know their are some people out there that does not follow the rules but must people do. Sellers should be forced to leave their feedback first.

[kloker]

Absolutely Correct!!

I agree 100%. If I, as buyer, buy an item or win an auction, and then I pay immediately, I have completed my end of the deal to perfection. The seller should be required to post feedback as sson as he is paid. But most sellers don't do this. Even though you have done your part, they will hold your feedback hostage, the implied threat being that you have to post positive feedback for them or risk retaliation from them in feedback. The problem here is that they get to do this even if they defrauded you or sold you junk or lied or misrepresented the item. And once you have posted positive feedback for them, you can't change it. So no matter what, they get off scot free. I've had this happen several times. I bought a cb radio from a seller. In the auction description he stated specifically that the radio was unmodified. An important consideration in radio equipment. When I received it, I found it MOST CERTAINLY HAD been modified. The modifications had been removed, and the holes from them were obvious indicators. He had flat out lied! He also said the radio was in perfect working condition. Also a lie. It had a bad tuner. My tech verified this. I had to locate and purchase the part, then pau my tech to repair that and some other things the modification removal had damaged. But when I emailed him about it, he said sorry, tough luck, and that I knew it was a used radio when I bought it from him. Ha! Funny. Then he said if I posted bad feedback he would retaliate. I had no choice, I was stuck. The money was gone, the radio was a boat anchor, and I had no recourse under eBay policy. This is only one of several auctions I've experienced that turned bad with the same result. I resent this, and I nearly quit eBay over it. They had better change it if they want to keep me as an eBayer. The policy also allows sellers to just never leave any feedback for you, even though you left theirs. Not fair at all! It's like eBay doesn;t value me enough to think my feedback is as important to me as the seller's is to him. Complete inequity! eBay needs to wake up on this. I'm the buyer, you know, the one with the money? You don't want to lose me. Once I'm gone I won't come back. Where will the sellers be if the buyers go away? I know where they won't be.

[SL-INC.]

It based on Ability to Pay and Deliver...

Feedback is based on two things, the buyers ability to pay and the sellers ability to deliver.

If a Buyer pays right away and contacts the seller ASAP, there is no reason the Seller should give a Buyer Negative feedback.

If a Seller is able to deliver the Item as described, then feedback should be nothing but good.

I think eBay need to make is MANDATORY for all Feedback to be left. What I mean by that is I have sales of people that pushed and pushed for me to leave Feedback on their account after they paid, but now I am here 6 Months later still waiting for them to return the favor. I tried contacting them and I get no response.

Any feedback that is not left 10 days after the item has been marked Paid / Shipped eBay should make it mandatory that feedback be left before any other account activity can happen.

[DakotaTrinity]

Ebay Seller / Buyer

I am an Ebay Seller and Buyer.

Most Sellers do not leave feedback for Buyers
- until the Buyer first provides feedback.

Why ?
- because many of them are lazy
- because they gauge their feedback based on the Buyers feedback

In the past... a Seller sent me an item
- that was literally a month late
--- (he literally forgot about the transaction)

- was used
--- (was advertised as new)

- and did not work
--- (because it caught on fire during use)

I spent 2 months trying to "fix" the issue with the Seller.

Eventually - I filed provide honest - negative feedback - to the Seller.

Seller in turn responded with negative feedback stating:

- I had never contacted him
- the item was new
- the item was deliver on-time
- the item never broke
- and that I had an obvious mental situation

From that point forward... my Ebay usage slow dramatically - and I never went through Ebay (or Paypal) to get my money back.

Instead - I went directly to the credit card company.

Visa / Mastercard may you wait 90 days for the dispute to be resolved - and you may not get your money back.

American Express has always provided me with an immediate credit. Amex would then use their weight and influence to get the money back... - then would follow up with a resolution letter to me. I have yet to be turned down by Amex.

I only use Amex now - to pay for Ebay items.

[BCCM]

CENSORSHIP

If enough people send eBay a nasty message they will generally bend to your request. I remember they censored our meteorite project from auction based on the crying foul from certain greedy, racist, chronic underachieving, fraudulent scientists funded by NASA. An eBay does not respond to messages from the seller or makes it difficult to navigate your way to them for open discussion. This is the same problem with WIKIPEDIA, it has no credibility. Luckily on that one I caught a GRF scientist censoring factual information and he apologized for his conduct. There are many more legitimate auction sources than eBay which one can use.
S. Ray DeRusse
http://www.bccmeteorites.com

[quarky42]

yes, it is fair....*IF*

IF:
1. Sellers are better protected against fraud.
2. Non-paying buyers are treated much more harshly.
3. Sellers and buyers both can already post replies to feedback that they have received and to feedback they have left.

There is no reason that a seller who takes 2 weeks to ship a 2nd day air item deserved positive feedback... however when I left NEUTRAL feedback for the guy taking 2 weeks to ship an item I paid 2nd day air shipping for,I received my 1 and only NEGATIVE feedback. Since then I have been ripped off once and screwed a couple times. I haven't left negative feedback because I didn't want to receive a negative. It isn't reasonable that I should receive negative feedback just because I left a neutral feedback for the guy.

[marvinsolano]

Feedback change simply not realistic!

I don?t think any of you have any idea what it is to be a professional seller on eBay. I have sold over 6 milling dollars worth of product on eBay since 2001. The frequency of buyers give negative feedback without communicating with sellers is astronomical. When I sell low ticket items I used to use USPS but for some reason maybe 3%-10% of the product gets lost or simply arrives late. Guess what the buyer assumes? Even if you ship the same days there are so many reasons why a product can arrive late or even damaged. Guess who gets blamed. I had to resort to only shipping products via FedEx or UPS. They are simply more reliable. The problem is that it cost much more to ship and many buyers complain about that too. Do you guys have any idea how many people want their money back simply because they changed their mind? Guess what they are going to do when they don?t get their way. On the other hand, for sellers that sell high ticket items feedback is extremely important as this is one of the major tools a buyer will make a decision on buying or not. As a buyer, you can create a new eBay account in a minute and have your perfect feedback rating in just a few minutes. That is simply not the case for eBay sellers. When you sell a product worth over $10K your business will literally stop for about 3 to 4 weeks for one negative feedback. I assure you that I tried my best to please the customers but it seems some people simply not be pleased. If you strip the power for sellers to give negative feedback, I assure you many good reputable sellers will simply be forced to leave the site. For those of you that sell occasionally, I don?t think the change will matter much.

[trackie4u2]

maybe stars for the buyer??

There should be balance. If a customer truly is difficult to work
with you should be able to rate him/her just as s/he can rate
you. Easy to get along with to difficult, paid immediately to had
to wait for money. The problem is in the way to implement
it......... maybe payment feedback seperate from transaction
feedback.

I look at feedback closely, what was said on both sides. It's not
that difficult to see a bogus negative. It was chipped, take a look
at the photo in the item description, yes it was and it was
described as used with a chip too. (Duh) Buyer not actually look
at the photo or read the decription? Unfair negative? Definately.
But I've also seen feedback that resulted in my not bidding or
buying. Neutrals where a customer was happy with the item it
just took an onslaught of e-mails and two months to receive it,
followed up with a negative, buyer unreasonable. Hate to say it,
but after two months I might be a little unreasonable too. Yes I
know, that's what item not recieved is for. It's also what tracking
numbers are for. I've had an item take 6 or 7 weeks to arrive,
but I knew where it was at at all times so I wasn't upset. Seller
can't control USPS putting it on the wrong truck anymore than I
can.

Dana

[jboroman]

It's a quandary

I understand both sides, kinda. I had a negative feedback once,
out of about 50 purchases. The item received was a totally
different quality than described (item was plastic instead of
described brushed aluminum). When I asked for a refund, I was
rudely denied. EG not, "I'm sorry but..." or words that effect.
The immediate response was something like, "..you shouldn't
have bought it if you didn't want it...you're an idiot if you think
I'll take it back.." So, I left neg feedback, stating exactly that the
item was inferior, nothing else, no invectives, no cheap shots.
(And out of 50 purchases, that's the only neg feedback I've left.)
Well, the seller left neg feedback for me saying I was "ignorant,
rude, untrustworthy..." This, even though I had paid within mins
of end of auction, had not bugged him or anything, etc. But I
see sellers' points of view too. I guess in the main, they should
continue to allow neg feedback from sellers and we should read
the comments and responses, not just total scores.

[paperboyNC]

Very good change

I buy and sell on Ebay and my only 2 negative feedbacks have been retaliatory from sellers. It ruins my perfect feedback record as a seller. For the guy who says that 3-10% get lost in the mail and that's not your fault? No wonder buyers leave you negative feedback.

[SirPhobos]

Good

This is a good move. My ebay profile has two negative feedback, and both are retaliatory feedback from sellers I left negative feedback for. One I left negative feedback because he didn't respond to my emails and took over a month to ship the item, the other I left a negative because he lied about how he would ship the item and the item arrived damaged. Neither of these negative feedback were deserved by me and are blemishes on my otherwise perfect record.

[moccoo]

as an Ebay buyer

This is true of sellers that are sensative of critical remarks made against them.I also got bad feedback from these insensative sellers.If they are bad and you let them know it,they retaliate with bad feedback even when you were not at fault.I get a lot of excuses from sellers as to late shipping and bad packing.When I make a purchase the seller should imediatly leave posative feedback after receiving payment.But no,they wait till you leave yours.If it's negative because of thier mistakes,they retaliate childishly.MIKE

[fiveliters]

Been on both ends

I have been buying from eBay for about 5 years,and only recently began selling this past month. The only neg. feedback I received as a buyer was winning an auction for an expensive item at a comparatively low price. I paid for it within minutes of the auction end,and heard nothing from the seller for 3 weeks. I tracked down a relative of the seller,as the info listed on eBay for them was a dead end. The relative also sent the seller a message,and still no response. Finally,I contacted PayPal and began proceedings. ONCE I did that,suddenly the seller was in contact with me (nearly a month after the auction) saying that they shipped the item,but it was "returned to them damaged by the shipper,and they didn't think I would want it" (never emailed me to tell me this,and never offered to refund me,if that was the case,either) Basically,they got a higher price for the item outside of eBay and chose to sell it there. So I left neg. feedback detailing all the crap I had to go thru just to get to that point. I then get an email from them:"I CAN LEAVE NEG FEEDBACK TOO!!!" So I get zapped for...what? Paying on time? Expecting the item within,I dunno,a month? A response? So as a seller,I email every time I do anything, whether replying to a buyer email,shipping, whatever. No negs so far,and only one non-paying bidder (a buyer who,incidentally only has 1 feedback,which is neg. for non payment-again).

So...can/should I leave them neg. feedback???

[trackie4u2]

your non-payer

I would use your current system of what sounds to me to be
excellent communication. If that doesn't work, move on to unpaid
item dispute with a negative as your last resort.

You have 30 days for unpaid item and 90 for feedback.
Dana

[gtrvic]

wow...

Been a member since ebay site opened. Didn't do a transaction for first 2 yrs just watched the site and checked out what things sold for then became active selling small items and it was very nice to communicate with normal people with similiar goals, buy and sell items at fair prices...very sad to see a garage sale mom and pop website (which was a very good idea in the beginning) become an overhyped overmarketed corporate engine. If you buy a Harley Davidson, yes they are expensive today, but you get the same quality as you did 50 years ago. Ebay has forgotten this ethic and unfortunately the site doesn't remotely resemble what they once were except the logo and yellow highlighting. I remember getting 30-60 or 90 day histories to find out what older antiques might sell for (some antiques are so rare they only come up once every few months making them hard to find info on). Now its just a few weeks, unreal...As someone living 20 minutes from where they were founded in San Jose Ca, all one needs to do is look into the local uptight and much overragulated political climate in SJ to find the answer. Ebay believes the same thing many extreme bay area liberals do. Expansion is key, more everything, more rules, more taxes, more infrastructure, more worrying and regulation of every meticulous detail is the system "supposedly" to benefit everyone. The flaw in this belief is eventually if the ship is too full, it will capsize!! You need balance in every system. I absolutely can't recognize ebay anymore as a tool I would like to use. It's too expensive, complicated and nonusefriendly. The buyers are increasingly agressive, impatient and unrealistic . I was doing dozens of auctions a month a few years ago. I haven't even done one in three because I literally do better at garage sales and craigslist ads. thanks for reading thru my long winded rant. V

[Angelbrat1]

This is Great!

About one week ago I received my first negative feedback as a buyer after using Ebay for around 7 years! The reason I received this negative feedback was because I left the seller neutral feedback because I couldn't use the product as they had left out a major detail in their listing. And their return policy is such that I would have lost money to return the product. They immediately left me neg feedback. I was very upset because there was nothing I could do about it. I contacted them and told them I thought it was unfair and they put through a request to withdraw the feedback... but to do so I had to withdraw my feed back about them too. I have seen many sellers who leave feedback for buyers just because the buyers leave them negative feedback.

[jw1ls5n0129]

Ebay "THIS IS GREAT"

I to have have got away from ebay ,its the sellers market and not the buyers market ,even the PayPal is wrong so I will not use Ebay and a lot is a con but, try and get your money back !or ask for help ? I have not gone on the site for the last two years and do not miss it one bit. I am with you all the way . x Ebay buyer.

[W2Kuser]

Never, ever defrauded by eBay again

This is a long-overdue change by eBay. I had a highly distateful and frustrating experience several years ago - so bad that I have never even considered being ripped off by eBay again.

The short story:
1. Classic scam of seller never shipping my purchase.
2. Wasted TONS of time following eBay's complaint process, only resulting in automated e-mail replys.
3. Contacted several people who posted negative comments about seller and confirmed seller had a pattern of scams.
4. Posted my own negative feedback about seller, recounting the basic facts.
5. The seller then posted feedback about me saying that I was a homosexual, etc, etc.

I am continuously amazed that eBay was even stay in business by actively supporting such blatent fraud and doing nothing tangible to protect buyers (except subject complaining buyers to extensive, pointless "processes")

Once again big business wins and consumers lose; eBay has built a very profitable business model on, in effect, being active partners in defrauding the public.

This common-sense change in their policy is far too little, far too late for me.

[calford]

Could not agree MORE

I was scammed out of money about 3 years ago and agree completely with this post. The "Don" of Ebay Meg, should never be able to resign to her wealthy living after leaving a legacy of defrauded victims. No matter what the whinny sellers say, buyers are the main victims of ebay. Sellers always have their money making interests in mind so their comments are purely self centered. Buyers comments on this subject are simply sincere.

[kingofgrills]

A different solution is needed

I've been using Ebay consistently for 6 or 7 years, predominately as a buyer but sometimes as a seller. All throughout I've maintained a 100% positive feedback rating. I have seen the rash of increased retaliatory negative feedback from sellers, and it does need to stop. However, omitting any negative seller feedback is probably not the right solution.

As a buyer, there are simple guidelines I use. I don't buy from anyone with an Ebay ID less than two years old, fewer than 10 feedback records, and with a positive feedback rating of less than 97%. The other big thing I do is evaluate the feedback sellers leave for others. If I see any of that retaliatory feedback crap I steer clear of that seller and move on. Given the huge increase in retaliatory crap out there, I've greatly reduced my Ebay usage. I always pay immediately, say "please" and "thank you," but I'm leery about leaving negative feedback for fear of receiving retaliatory feedback. I don't want to risk the 100% positive feedback rating I've worked hard to build up.

Allowing Sellers to leave negative feedback about buyers in the systems current state does provide an opportunity for retaliation against a buyer's negative feedback. The system needs to change to prevent this, but there should still be a way to leave a negative rating for a buyer in the process. One solution might be for Ebay to allow a way to report this abuse so abusive sellers are BANNED FROM EBAY. Another solution might be for sellers to only be given specific categories such as payment timeliness to rate on a 5 star system - without giving them space for open comments.

All of the a-holes who abuse the system as sellers need to be banned from Ebay. Until Ebay polices this with a hard hand, the abuse of sellers on buyers will continue. It will continue to drive potential buyers such as myself from the system.

[mthoren68]

Feedback solution

Feedback both ways should just be 3-4 questions for each side to answer re: timing of payment, receipt of item, was it as advertised, etc. For the fees that eBay collects, it should act as a clearing house for this process, ensuring feedback is left instead of making the parties chase each other. If you don't leave feedback within a certain period of time, you should be prevented from conducting any further transactions until the situation is rectified. Some meaningful feedback system is necessary for buyers to have any confidence in making a purchase.

[Madjack2]

Been there

I have never received negative feedback from a
buyer - however - a couple of sellers who had
dishonest ads - threatened me - if I gave negative feedback after they refused to let me
return the merchandise and give me my money back.
I gave the negative feedback anyway as I felt other buyers should be aware. I was then given
undeserved untrue negative feedback, and told that
"that's alright, your negative will be buried in a couple of days". That undeserved negative is still on my record.

[Madjack2]

Agree

Over years, I only had two problems with sellers,
and one problem with a buyer (who just could not
afford the things she bid on.) However if you are
on the other end of a "bully" - its pretty bad.

[chuck.wankler]

eBay "doesn't have enough buyers?"

A company as big as eBay hasn't figured out a key part of doing
business. If you **** off the SELLERS, then there's nothing for
BUYERS to buy! Hmmm....

eBay reminds me of a fat kid that trips a lot. They're so big they
can't see where they are going or coordinate their body parts.

[jefflyngo]

http://www.elfingo.com

A highly recommended site is elfingo.com for online auctions. They are the new ebay. Many smaller sites like this offer buyers far better deals than ebay ever could. Buyser also save a ton because this site charges little or nothing depending on the day. One more reaso I like elfingo.com is because they don't take a part of the sale at all. No commissions or final value fees. A+++ http://www.elfingo.com

[jefflyngo]

http://www.photoshoptutorials.dk

I just discovered a friendly new website called Photoshoptutorials.dk which tracks the latest tutorials from around the internet, and provides you with a single source to find and use tutorials. http://www.photoshoptutorials.dk

[sdownes_2000]

Banned from criticizing a bad seller

We purchased what we believed to be an original copy of a DVD, only to find it was a copy. It was advertised as original. When we complained about our treatment, the seller did not get a comment from eBay, but instead they banned us.

In my opinion, eBay will protect their business and protect their sellers, but this is an appropriate first step to rectify the system that hurts the buying public.

[amelia jade]

Had a seller make negative comments

I bought 2 identical items from a seller. The shipping & handling were outrageous (that was how he made his money). I asked him to combine the shipping. He refused. What did I receive? I got 1 box containing the 2 items, but I was charged for 2 separate deliveries. I left a negative comment about the shipping costs - nothing too bad. The seller's feedback was nasty, untrue, and upsetting. I agree with eBay's decision to not allow sellers to leave feedback. As a buyer, I am very reluctant to leave neutral or negative feedback about a seller even if they sucked.