Buyer feedback

[katanawales]

Why do eBay email me asking me to leave feedback, as a buyer, when the seller isn't leaving feedback. In each case, payment has been made within 5 minutes of an auction ending (actually, less than 2 minutes).
Buyer feedback should be automated in the same way as free postage feedback is automated for sellers. Sellers should be banned from selling if they have comments such as "positive feedback will be left once we have received your feedback". This is just a way to hold honest buyers to ransome and eBay should act in a responsible manner, not ignoring the problem.

[angelah1847]

You expect every seller to leave you feedback as soon as you have paid?

Leaving feedback is voluntary for both buyers and sellers.

Feedback should reflect the whole transaction. Alot of sellers will not leave feedback purely praising a buyer for paying, that is what they're supposed to do. A buyer could turn into the buyer from hell!!!

As a buyer I leave FB for the seller as soon as I receive the item and am happy with it. I don't expect them to leave it for me.

As a seller I leave FB for buyers once I know they have received the item and are happy with it, that is usually via them leaving FB for me confirming receipt and satisfaction with the item.  I don't expect it though.

As it is voluntary, please respect everyone's choice as to whether they leave it and when they choose to leave it.

[katanawales]

Yes, of course i do. I have OFFERED payment and they have ACCEPTED that payment, basic contractual obligations. No different from going into a store, handing over money, and the cashier saying "thank you".

A buyer completes their contractual obligations at the moment payment is accepted.

The buyer from hell is only likely to become this person because of poor service from the seller. As a seller, I leave feedback once funds have cleared through PayPal. Anything else would be discourteous. The buyer has paid me, any other matters that arise would be dealt with through ebay support, not by withholding feedback.

Maybe try thinking about your actions next time you make a high street purchase. Perhaps you feel that the cashier should wait for you to take your purchase home, confirm it functions, then return to the store before they should thank you for making payment. In reality, the average buyer isn't likely to feel this is either practical or acceptable.

You are correct, it is entirely voluntary and, as such, any seller who doesn't leave feedback on completion of a sale shouldn't expect feedback themselves. Any seller demanding feedback before they will leave feedback will be losing a sale and, if you look at the forums, I think you'll find I am not the only person who believes that this kind of blackmail is unacceptable.

[angelah1847]

"No different from going into a store, handing over money, and the cashier saying "thank you"."

Quite a big difference actually, when I buy something from a store I have the actual item in my hand so you can't really compare the 2 things.

I don't agree with any seller demanding feedback before they will leave any or even mentioning the leaving of feedback in their descriptions, that could be construed as blackmail. My decision not to leave a buyer feedback until I know for sure they have received their item and are happy with it could not be construed as blackmail and I fail to see how you think it could.

But hey, you do things your way and I'll do it my way.

[katanawales]

So, when you purchase an electrical item, for example, both you and the cashier are completely satisfied that the purchase is fully functioning and undamaged within the sealed packaging are you? You unpack your purchase at the checkout and plug it in, at the checkout do you? No, the cashier thanks you for your custom, as a reasonable and honest seller would on ebay. Anything less suggest the seller is disreputable.

Insisting that the buyer leaves feedback first is merely am indication that the seller is attempting to manipulate their profile to hide their poor service. Hopefully, more buyers will read the responses above and realise the truth of sellers attempting to blackmail positive feedback out of honest buyers and ultimately, drive these disreputable sellers off ebay.

I will do things my way which, in future, will be to leave feedback stating that the seller elicits positive feedback by blackmailing buyers into leaving positive feedback and, obviously, I refuse to make any purchase from a seller who makes statements on their profile demanding feedback from buyers. Hopefully, this will drive people who attempt this practice off ebay and out of business

[angelah1847]

Just a heads up that if you leave any form of feedback that says anything about the seller not leaving feedback they can probably get it removed.

[*vyolla*]

There've been a few threads wherein buyers think that they should receive an immediate positive feedback rating for making payment, but this one is certainly the most er....focused.

@katanawales I'd quit with the high street store analogy as it's way off course with the eBay feedback system. eBay is an online selling platform, buyers do not get their goods there and then on the spot. Sellers send them out.

As a buyer I leave feedback once I've received my item and am happy with it.

As a seller I leave it once my buyer has left me feedback, it signifies the end of the transaction.

Your mission to leave poor feedback for sellers calling them out for not leaving feedback is totally bizarre. There's something very wrong there.

Your comment "The buyer from hell is only likely to become this person because of poor service from the seller" is nonsensical. There are lots of bad buyers and scammers out there. 

[katanawales]

Well, from past experience, it appears that the sellers who responded on here all expect me to post feedback for purchasing from them, I'm the (often) vain hope that they may leave feedback, if they can be bothered. All too often, I've left feedback as a buyer, never to hear from the seller again. Hence, I will never leave feedback, after completing my obligations, until the seller has the courtesy to leave feedback on the first place.

For the few bad experiences I've had, in each case, I've had to open a complaint with eBay to remove negative feedback by sellers (contrary to the erroneous comments made previously - please be factual when making comments, sellers CAN and do leave negative feedback).

If you have a customer, thank them for their service, unless you have something to hide, of course. If you have any other issue, there are correct channels for resolving this, not by blackmail and manipulation.

[papso22]

Ebay says this about this particular forum:

"This is a special board where members questions are answered by our most active and experienced Community experts".

That should give you a clue that the members on here know what they are talking about, both as buyers and sellers.

There is a difference to being physically able to do something like leave a negative comment on a green positive dot, and not being allowed to do it under an ebay policy.

If you decide to never leave feedback until you have received it, then the only feedback you are likely to get in future is that from large sellers who leave some vanilla comment automatically as soon as you pay.

[*vyolla*]

@katanawales said: "Well, from past experience, it appears that the sellers who responded on here all expect me to post feedback for purchasing from them"

You're wrong, Sellers on here don't care if you leave feedback or not because we are all aware that it's a voluntary system.

And you keep going on about blackmail and manipulation. If a seller is blackmailing you, report them.

And sellers CANNOT leave a negative feedback rating for a buyer, eBay's software isn't even geared up to enable this option, so I've no idea where you're getting from. 

[corred]

@katanawales

"For the few bad experiences I've had, in each case, I've had to open a complaint with eBay to remove negative feedback by sellers (contrary to the erroneous comments made previously - please be factual when making comments, sellers CAN and do leave negative feedback)."


No they cannot....any seller may only choose the positive option on feedback....than means the buyer received a positive green dot & their positive feedback score increases

BAD SELLERS may choose to add a negative comment on a green dot........that is a serious policy violation & when reported by the buyer the comment would be instantly removed & the seller would receive a damaging policy violation strike against their account

Most sellers....myself included really do not care about feedback being left & would NEVER REQUEST IT........sellers realise that requesting feedback may well result in a negative comment sinmply because the buyer did not appreciate being asked....as I said not receiving feedback as a seller has the same effect on their account as receiving positive 5* feedback - I always leave feedback as soon as I'm happy as a buyer & as soon as I receive it as a seller (I buy more than I sell)

[katanawales]

@corred, your red comments are duly noted. I was under the obviously false impression that negative comments left by sellers actually existed. Obviously, you know better and, in future, I won't believe what actually appears on my feedback as, according to you, it doesn't exist!

However you wish to dress it up, if I leave negative feedback, I open myself to a seller leaving spiteful comments in response, which then necessitate a complaint to eBay. None of which gets flagged to future customers of that seller, other than the initial negative comment by me (if upheld, which all occurrences by me have been).

I understand that, as a seller, you don't want to leave feedback for your customers, when the buyer has had the courtesy of purchasing from you, because you don't have a second chance to leave your spiteful replies if the customer doesn't leave the positive feedback you demand.

You can shout and bleat as loud (or in whatever colour you choose) as you wish but if you're going to do so, please be factually correct. ON THE FEW OCCASIONS I HAVE HAD TO LEAVE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK, I HAVE HAD TO RAISE A COMPLAINT TP EBAY, SEPARATE TO THE INITIAL ISSUE, TO REMOVE NEGATIVE COMMENTS FROM THE OFFENDING SELLER. This is not fiction, it is not a fabrication or a figment of my imagination. It is fact. You wish to use customers becoming the buyer from hell as your benchmark for supporting your position when there is a perfectly functioning system for addressing this. I will point to the seller from hell, raising spurious accusations when they receive negative feedback. Ultimately, you come across as having something to hide by expecting positive feedback before you leave feedback. Your fellow sellers may disagree but it seems more and more buyers are raising this issue in various forums. And in response to your earlier comment, why should a buyer leave feedback for a seller who is just doing what they are supposed to by supplying what the customer ordered. Your idea of customer service shows a complete disregard for your customers. I consider myself well warned, thank you.

[corred]

@katanawales

Feedback for buyers is pointless as it can only be positive

Many sellers do not consider a transaction ended until the buyer has left feedback & they know the buyer is happy

All too often a seller will leave good feedback straight away only to discover the buyer is the buyer from hell making claims that the item is not as described, or not received even though the seller has proof of delivery.......

Feedback for buyers should actually be abolished entirely & instead replaced by something of value such as showing how many bid retractions have been made, cases open & lost, not received cases opened etc as this would actually serve a purpose.....buyers only being able to receive positive serves no purpose

Remember the feedback you leave for a seller is to assist other buyers rather than the seller.....most sellers will not care if you leave it as in selling terms....no feedback is good feedback

[redwick1]

Feedback is voluntary and no one has to leave it.

I am not sure why ebay is telling you to leave feedback but you dont have too .

Why you think it right a buyers feedback should be automatic just for paying for an item

When you buy you expect to pay should do as quickly as possible and nothing to do with feedback.

You are right that the seller should not be asking for feedback but it is up to you 

You dont have to leave it

As a seller I prefer buyers not to leave feedback and if I do not hear from them then I assume everything is OK

Feedback is a waste of time as a buyer can only receive positive so they all have 100%

[red_magpie]

comments such as "positive feedback will be left once we have received your feedback". This is just a way to hold honest buyers to ransome

No, it isn't. Feedback isn't just to say that you've paid for an item. It's about the whole transaction, and it isn't over until the buyer has received the item and is satisfied with it.

You're expecting sellers to leave you good feeback as soon as you've paid, but would you be prepared to leave your sellers good feedback as soon as they've posted your item?

No, of course you wouldn't, because you would want to be wait until the item arrives and check that it's as described.

Why is it different for sellers? A buyer may have paid, but some will go on to become the buyer from hell. There are buyers who will demand discounts, threaten bad feedback or try to return items that they've damaged themselves, or even switched for another one.

Be fair. Feedback comes at the end of the transaction when the buyer is satisfied and any problems have been sorted out. But how is the seller to know this unless the buyer confirms it by leaving feedback?