I have been using Ebay for more than 20 years now - often buying and sometimes selling on the platform - usually things like records, CDs, DVDs, books, and very occasionally other household items (but rarely).
However, my main issue of discontent is one which concerns simple plain courtesy and reciprocation from other users, whenever a transaction or purchase is made. Whenever I purchase anything or sell anything - and respectively receive the item or dispatch it - I leave feedback to the other party. Just what is so difficult about other buyers or sellers leaving feedback - a simple thank you or comment to let us know item was received or item was satisfactory, ideal, broken, not suitable - whatever - would not go amiss. It's not the hardest thing in the world to do..... Just plain human courtesy and decency.
I have bought more than 600 items since 2004, and sold around 180. Quite modest by anybody's standards. Yet my feedback rating to date stands at *just* 350 - a pathetic desultory tally, given than it should be at least double that by now. The past couple of years, purchasing around 90 items, I have only received 24 reciprocal feedbacks.....this despite me even politely requesting the sellers/buyers do the same, these earnest pleas go unheeded and they simply do not bother. Is that rudeness or laziness or indifference? I really do hope that I am not alone in encountering this problem but it really shouldn't have to be like this.
The fact I am missing so much feedback is also of concern because it completely distorts the truth of my Ebay (feedback) profile and as a result, I am all too aware that Ebay will probably be wondering why I have such a large deficit as it could / might reflect badly on me as a seller or buyer - all of which is untrue as I have never had any negative feedbacks anyway. The current total / tally is completely unrepresentative of the true number of purchases or sales I have made in the last 20 years and it should be far higher.
What can be done to alert sellers and buyers to the fact that leaving feedback is as integral and important a part of buying and selling on the platform (or indeed any platform) and that it doesn't take more than a few seconds or a minute to simply post back a few short words describing the transaction, as a simple gesture of courtesy. Unless of course this is merely an indication of the wider world at large where people are more predisposed to eschewing these simple - valuable - gestures that make the customer experience a little better for all of us.
For the record I have now had seven consecutive purchases since November - six of which I have not received feedback in return for, despite me leaving them feedback first.
Apologies if this post is very lengthy but I do ask that if people are to respond to this, they PLEASE do not resort to flaming or sarcastic replies as that merely confirms my fears about how courtesy among online communities is now an extremely rare commodity. Only constructive discussion and sharing of viewpoints here please. Thanks for reading this far.
