Feedback / Review observation.

[books-from-sharon]

I don't know if I'm the only one but I quietly fume to myself when buyers leave feedback such as ' haven't read it yet' or 'really like / dislike this author', etc.  

I do a lot of mumbling under my breath about why buyers can't tell the difference between a review and feedback.   But as someone who rarely buys from ebay, and having just left my first feedback in a long time for another seller, I now understand the issue.

ebay provide a box for us to write our feedback but title it   TELL US WHAT YOU LOVED ABOUT THIS ITEM.  No wonder buyers get confused.  The box should say 'tell us what you loved about this SELLER'.

Rant over - happy selling to you all.

[robbtyke132010]

Try selling DVDs - "this film is poor" or "dreadful acting" or "not worth watching" & then trying to get the negative feedback removed. It is like pulling out teeth with a claw hammer....

[lucy_farmer · Accepted solution]

Yep, absolutley agree with you.

I recently left a feedback saying something along the lines of :

' I can't rate this *item* because I haven't read it yet. The *seller* on the other hand gets 5 stars as everything was exactly as it should be. (note to ebay; this is a stupid new way for leaving feedback. I just want to know the seller is a good 'un, not whether or not somebody enjoyed the book they just bought!!)

Daft feedback idea 😞

[*guinevere*]

Totally agree with everything that has been said.

[m25jet]

If eBay really wanted buyers to tell them what they loved about the item then perhaps they should have set the old system up slightly differently, leaving the original box as it was where you could leave feedback in relation to the transaction to give potential buyers some idea as to whether you feel that the seller is worth buying from or one to avoid, and a second box with the option to leave feedback specific to the actual product purchased.  If eBay had set the system up that way then although some people may not have felt inclined to leave two separate lots of feedback per transaction,  resulting in them leaving either one lot or none at all, it would have at least given buyers the chance to leave feedback for the seller and a separate box to leave feedback about the actual product purchased, rather than confusing matters as eBay have done with their current ill-thought out "improvements" to the feedback system.

[the-nutwood-collection]

I always check the one and two star reviews on Amazon.  Lots of them say 'Haven't read it yet' or 'Haven't used it yet' or even 'Haven't opened the package yet'.

I find it really odd that the buyer feels compelled to leave a review just because they get an email from Amazon telling them to do so.

[*guinevere*]

I don't leave very much feedback these days because I find the whole process such a nuisance. I go to leave feedback and am confronted by a "demand" to rate my product. It might be a pair of socks or a second hand book, what can you honestly say about such a product? I leave book reviews on Amazon but I never see the point of leaving them on ebay where I doubt very much anyone would ever look for them.

And besides, I object to being "forced" into leaving a rating/review that I don't want to leave.

[iposters]

The whole feedback system is a joke. We had one tonight, the Driver of the deliveries was literally involved in a crash where the van caught fire, I explained this to the buyer (Still within the est time) and I said I can get a replacement sent and it will most likely arrive on time, he said No can he just have a refund, I asked him to Cancel the order but it wouldn't allow him too, I then refunded him as requested. Tonight I have been left Negative Feedback, despite him asking to be refunded. It's a joke. 

The % System needs to go. It's unjust, unfair and outdated the whole system is wrong. Buyers (even non buyers) are 100% Protected at all times.  The whole feedback system has to go. Buyers are fully protected by eBay. Keep the Scores number but the feedback and % has to go, the whole system is a joke

[snow_dog_team]

I completely agree with you.
So far I've not sold anything, but when buying I always try to write feedback on the 'seller'. How well the item matched the description/photos, whether they shipped it promptly and how well wrapped it was for shipping.

What the item is, and whether I liked it are irrelavant in the context of reviewing an ebay purchase.

However, I'm equally frustrated by the opposite being true on Amazon...
"5 star, amazing!  it arrived within 3 days. I haven't got it out of the box yet"

The difference being. On ebay I'm reviewing a person's/company's ability to describe and ship mostly one-off 2nd hand items. So the only thing I'll have in common with another buyer is the process.
On Amazon, I'm reviewing a product, and that's what another buyer might want my opinion on.Not how well Amazon/DPD etc shipped it to my door...

[ed_58611]

Amazon offers the option to both review the item "Write a product review" and "Leave seller feedback", yet I am often irritated by the buyers' frequent inability to distinguish between the criteria of the two.