Feedback from buyers

[14dawnie]

Hi there, 

Has anyone else noticed that buyers just can't be  bothered to leave feedback? Of the last 9 items I have sold and that have been delivered, only 3 buyers have left feed back. I always reach out to the buyer when an item sells, to thanks them for their order and to explain that I have left them feed back and that I would appreciate if they can leave feedback for me when they receive the item. Some even reply and say thanks, will do but then they don't.

Is there anyway eBay can make it more of a compulsory thing to do? For example with Vinted they send an email to the buyer asking you to accept that you are happy so that the transaction is completed. 

I just wonder if other sellers find it frustrating too or if i should just accept that buyers can't be bothered and assume they must be happy as long as they don't leave negative feedback.  For info; I've never had any negative feedback and am trying to keep it that way  by giving detailed clear and honest descriptions and photos.

Thanks

Dawn

[14dawnie]

Thanks for everyone's responses to my query.

I just received this lovely bit of feedback today, so I guess this is why I like to both give and receive feedback.

"Brilliant item. Stunning condition. Also seller extremely efficient. If everyone on ebay was like this. I'd be very very happy 😊 even the post office managed to get it here ahead of time. Thank you 😊."

[nigel_paul_wright7557]

I got asked 3 times to leave feedback for an item.

I got fed up of the harassment and left a neg for "Feedback harassment"

I am not obliged to leave feedback.

[gjalp]

As a seller, I have feedback left automatically for the buyer. When you conduct upwards of 100 transactions a week, its really impractical to leave feedback manually. And thats before I got to my purchases.  I literally didn’t have time, even more so when ebay made changes to it all.

[smashi26]

Feedback is a total waste of time. As a buyer, it can be used against you in a transaction. Leave positive feedback too early and sod's law the item will break or show defects. The buyer will then start screeching "but you left positive feedback!". 

Leave negative feedback for a big powerhouse Chinese seller and Ebay will remove it. They couldn't care less about protecting buyers, they only care about keeping top sellers happy.

It's not the buyers job to help you grow your business on Ebay. You wouldn't expect customers to leave 'Feedback' every time they go to the supermarket, so don't expect them to help a greedy, sprawling American corporation like Ebay attract more customers.

[davidninetynine]

I have been buying on ebay for about 22 years, mainly hobby items from private sellers.

During that time I have also used ebay to sell a few items when de-cluttering, but gave that up when they trashed the seller's experience with all the "it works fine, so let's break it" changes and complications they have brought in over the last few years.

I still leave basic descriptive feedback for sellers, ending with a "thank you" note.

But the feedback system is now worthless because they have made it so difficult to leave anything other than positive. I suspect a major reason for doing this is to create the impression that all ebay transactions are a perfect experience for both sides and that nothing ever goes wrong.

I'm sure a lot of buyers realise this and have decided that leaving feedback is just a waste of their time.

I had one bad transaction a few months ago - I bought a piece of electronic equipment described as "in perfect working order". I tested it when it arrived and it was obviously not working and couldn't possibly have been when it left the seller.

However, I'd been searching for one for a long time and it was in excellent cosmetic condition. So I repaired it - I have a small electronics workshop and a lot of experience in servicing such items and the faults were easily diagnosed - instead of sending it back. Also the packaging was so poor that I was surprised it didn't arrive damaged, so a return would have required a proper box etc.

Under those circumstances it is no longer possible to leave negative feedback, so I didn't leave any at all.

And of course a few weeks later ebay added their own automated feedback indicating that everything about the transaction was fine and dandy...

[kyanyama]

Feedback used to be really important - in the olden days when eBay was more of a community.  But now everyone has an a/c so it's different.

Never ever ask for feedback - it's like poking a sleeping dog!  They might just groan and go back to sleep or they might get annoyed and bite you in deboomboom!

eBay has responded to buyers exercising their right NOT to leave feedback by giving automated feedback.  I don't like it cos I don't always leave feedback as a buyer if I'm not 100% happy.  I respect the fact that buyers have the right not to leave feedback if they don't want to - it's a privilege not a right.

I'm not fussed if I don't get feedback as a seller - I am just happy there are no cases or messages - unless they just want to thank me - but those are as rare as hen's teeth!  As a buyer I usually leave feedback unless the seller hasn't been totally honest.

Every day is a school day!