NEGATIVE FEEDBACK FOR BUYERS

[merv9104]

FOR SOME REASON BEST KNOWN TO THEMSELVES EBAY DO NOT ALLOW SELLERS TO LEAVE BUYERS NEGATIVE FEEDBACK YET BUYER CAN LEAVE FOR SELLER. I UNFORTUNATELY HAVE FROM TIME TO TIME HAD NON PAYERS AND OBVIOUSLY THEY DESERVE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK BUT CAN’T LEAVE UNLESS UNDER “POSITIVE “ HEADING WHICH IS SIMPLY MISLEADING. IF YOU SEE BUYER HAD 100% FEEDBACK YOU ARE VERY UNLIKELY TO READ THROUGH TO SEE IF ANY ARE NEGATIVE 🙈🙈🙈🙈 IF YOU REPORT NON PAYER TO EBAY THEY CAN SEE YOUR FEEDBACK IS 100% TRUTHFUL. THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE. DON’T FORGET NO SELLERS NO EBAY, YES OF COURSE THAT APPLIES TO BUYER. WE NEED TO BE WORKING ON LEVEL PLAYING FIELD

[persephonelove]

I just had a seller do this (leave a positive rating but negative comment). It was done purely out of retaliation for a negative review I left, I reported it to eBay and the positive rating remains but her negative comments are gone.

I gave her the negative rating because her listing was SNAD (she sold me an acrylic sweater represented as cashmere and I buy for material and acrylic is useless for my purposes) and when I reached out to request a return I was calm, professional and polite and intended to get the item back to her. She issued a refund without a care for getting the item back, but was snarky and rude in her response - complaining about how if she was sure about the material she "would have sold it for more" (not relevant to me/my purchase at all) and then implied that the refund was "coming out of her own pocket" rather than "taking resources from them [the homeless in her area]". This was not a charity listing, so what she does with the proceeds is irrelevant to me and I was disgusted by the attempted guilt trip as if by asking to return the item I'm somehow draining resources from the homeless in her area... I replied letting her know her response was inappropriate and asked whether she wanted the item back and after no reply, she earned a negative feedback. So far, it remains. As it should. 

I was on eBay ~20-some years ago under a different account and retaliatory FB from bad sellers was rampant and if you had a bad experience you couldn't be honest about it for fear of retaliation. This seller was the most hostile one I've dealt with so far and I'm grateful that eBay protects buyers from this sort of abuse - that's why I'm comfortable buying here. 

I'm so sorry to all the sellers who have been abused.  At the same time, sellers using retaliatory FB - just as this seller did to me, despite my best efforts at being fair and professional -  is what got us here. 

[adey0070]

I agree. We sold a kitchen item just before xmas. The parcelforce tracking clearly showed an open door to the guys property, with the postie holding the parcel handing it over, with the date and time of delivery confirmed  too. The tracking on ebay obviously hadnt updated to this and was still showing as "in transit".i heard nothing from the buyer, until a not recieved case/ request was opened exactly 14 days after the item was paid for (the earliest date one could be opened?). He said he was "out of the country up in scotland all xmas and had just got back to realise he hadn't recieved it", but despite allegedly, being away, knowing it was due to be delivered in his absence, he made no effort or interest to find out where the item was, and all he wanted was a refund. It carried on for around a month, with the case going in my favour, then it got overturned when apoealed, giving his bogus reason claiming that i had "offered a refund but refused to give it". I then had to contact ebay and appeal it myself.

sorry for the long winded post! But sometimes sellers DO need to see feedback about buyers. It would make ebay a lot safer all round.

[adey0070]

I have started to look at buyers positive feedback lately, as a clue. I had a potential buyer wanting to buy an old ornament that my girlfriend had been left by her mother which we listed as collection only. The guy lived around 15 minutes drive away but kept asking if we would post it. I said it was too fragile and that no courier would insure it. It didnt put him off continually asking, and i decided to look at his positive feedback. The buyer had bought a lot of ornaments.  One seller had left a comment on there stating the guy had recieved the item damaged and that it was swiftly refunded. After reading this i suspect the buyer may have either recieved it damaged, got it refunded then repaired it, or even already owned a damaged one and then claimed the one bought on ebay as damaged, so getting a better one for free.

there must have been a reason for the seller to subtlely leave a feedback comment on there, to warn others. It was at that point that i ignored any further messages from the potential buyer.

[persephonelove]

It really is a bummer when buyers are scammers. In my case, the seller's comment was a clear violation of eBay's policy and for good reason. Her comment said, with lots of caps: "**SELLERS BEWARE** THIS ONE DOESNT READ THE TITLE OR DESCRIPTION of your listing just so she can leave you NEGATIVE feedback".

I just realized this is for eBay UK and I'm in the USA... what's the term you use over there? Load of tosh? Load of rubbish? This was an absolute load of rubbish. I did read her description - it was wrong. This was an auction so I didn't have time to ask otherwise I would have. Then when I tried to return the item to her so she could resell to someone who could use it, I get a refund along with a rude and nasty reply accusing me of taking away resources from the local homeless on what was not a charity listing. I was so shocked. I have never had a seller be so hostile and I was polite in my request and sincere in my desire to get the item back to her.

My feedback left for others is almost always positive, friendly and upbeat. This might be the second negative feedback I've left in ~10 years? The other was for a listing seller never shipped and never responded to a single message even 30 days later.  So at least in my case, I'm very happy eBay removed the horrible comment she left. It was completely inappropriate in this case. I was buying material for my sewing, not to harass anyone. The nasty behavior in this transaction was 100% her. And even in my negative feedback, I was very matter of fact. I described her behavior and used her own words. So far it is still there, as I follow policy pretty strictly. Other buyers deserve to know she blows her top over simple, polite requests due to her listing errors. 

[tressygirl]

Good Morning from the UK !

Your example of your seller leaving you that bad feedback is a good example why eBay have stopped this practise.  The feedback would have helped no one and was just a vengeful and untrue response which if allowed could have gone back and forwards , tit for tat ,  ( an English expression !!),  not helping anyone.

It was righlty removed as the ruling the UK,   is the same as you have in the States , that a seller cannot leave negative feedback for buyers,  and this always amazes me ,  that a seller can see there just is No Red dot to do so, hence surely showing,  it's not allowed.

[telf44]

Can I say as a Buyer, (I skirted around selling many years ago but it was all all a non starter), the policy of no negative feedback from sellers is correct in as much as it stops 'reciprocal' feedback where a seller withholds feedback until they have received positive from the buyer, so they can leave a negative response in retaliation if they get one.  BUT, this is very unfair for sellers in the cases you mention.  I'm all for transparency.  If a seller doesn't get paid, when the non payment strike is applied there should be a 'system' applied negative feedback put on the buyers account and their ability to leave a negative for that transaction should be blocked.  I'm all for the feedback system, it allows us to see if sellers aren't on the ball or have issues.  It lets us be more confident to make bigger purchases.  But yes absolutely it needs to be equitable.  And if eBay wants to attract sellers they need to make it feel safe for them too.  This is all part of why I haven't  'got back' into selling.  It just doesn't seem worth the hassle.  Hopefully eBay listens to you all.  Thanks. 

[insidethe93]

It doesn't stop a seller including a little 'thank you' note (handwritten or printed) in with the goods.

Occasionally the note includes "if you like it please leave me positive feedback and I will do the same for you". The actual words "and I will do the same for you" is what I particularly remember from the first such note, and I've since received variations on it several times from various sellers. But always worded in a polite way.

I myself haven't felt pushed by it, as I leave feedback for every purchase anyway.

[dwbeautystore]

I still think sellers should be able to leave honest negative feedback for problem buyers.

If nothing else, it should highlight these buyers and ebay should enforce their so-called seller protection when buyers have a long history of abusing the feedback system. 

Apart from one, every negative I've received this year was from someone with a long history of leaving negative feedback ie. claiming large numbers of their items never arrived/arrived damaged/had items missing from the parcel etc. 

I've noticed fellow beauty/skincare sellers with previous excellent feedback have also received higher number of negs these last few months.

I know I can't prove it fully to ebay but I always know what I send is brand new and genuine as described. I only buy from very large, reputable Uk companies.  I also photograph every order with the shipping label now so I can see if I've sent the wrong item or only posted one thing when 2 were ordered etc.

I've had so many customers either claim their padded envelope was empty (I also seal the tops with tape so nothing can cut through), it wasn't delivered when tracking shows it was, the product has leaked or the item 'doesn't look brand new'.

When I ask them to open a case & return, they ignore me and leave negative feedback or make every excuse not to.

It's such a shame as the vast majority of my customers are lovely and honest.

[dwbeautystore]

I should also add, I have sold over 3500 items this year and only 9 have left negative feedback, but because so many people don't bother with feedback (only a little over 1000 have this year) the percentages aren't a genuine representation of how many people were actually completely happy with their purchases. 

[persephonelove]

It seems like both bad buyers and bad sellers have ruined it for all of us. I'm more of a buyer lately and the nasty feedback my seller left was completely uncalled for... I was polite in every communication with her, I followed all of eBay's policies to the letter and people like me that are truly not bad buyers don't deserve retaliatory feedback for being honest about a seller having been rude. She accused me of not reading her description - I read it more closely than she did, because it was wrong. I want sellers to be protected from bad buyers but I also don't want buyers like me who behave politely to have bad sellers abusing the feedback system and leaving retaliatory feedback -honest reviews are a buyer's only protection against bad sellers and that shouldn't be taken away. I can't think of any other platform where sellers rate their customers... not only that, but until a buyer commits to buying your item, they are anonymous anyway. 

The ability the block buyers with unpaid item strikes was a good step in the right direction for sellers. If they don't allow you to auto-filter buyers who retract bids, perhaps they should consider adding that option. That's so much easier. In order to filter out scammers, they could even consider deciding what a fair level of using eBay's MBG is. The retaliatory feedback though... I'm glad eBay isn't going back. Lots of sellers have gotten glowing, positive feedback from me and quick payments and not left feedback and that is okay, I totally accept sllers withholding feedback and/or forgetting to leave it for good buyers. I won't accept negative feedback from a seller though when I followed policy to the letter and was polite and the comment was just nasty and uncalled for. 

[insidethe93]

More might leave feedback, especially if they've made multiple purchases in an order:

1. eBay made it easier and quicker to leave feedback e.g. a one-click response from a drop-down menu (with option to write text if wished, as now) rather than having to click for up to five categories. Or possibly, as discussed on the eBay discussion boards, default feedback if the customer doesn't say they're unhappy.

2. There's review-fatigue. You're being constantly asked for feedback, anywhere and everywhere, for Every Single Purchase, online, offline (the sales assistant gives their name and says "when you get home, go to the address on your receipt and please leave feedback"). Recently a 'The Grauniad' online newspaper columnist wrote an article on review-fatigue, titled: "How do I rate a tea towel?" to which a reader replied: "Leave a review on Drip Advisor".

[studiomaster_uk]

You asked: "Why on earth would you want to leave negative feedback? What would it achieve?"

Quite simply for the original purpose it was created and existed in the early days of ebay - as an indication or warning to other members that the transaction did not go as smoothly as it should have done. It might still fulfil that function today was it not that it was abused. But the imbalanced withdrawal for one party and not the other has to be seen as somewhat unfair. Although I do accept other system alternatives do now exist these are invisible and it is hard for anyone to see how effective they are.

As an example issue, let's say a buyer opens a return (particularly where distance selling rules don't apply) either because they are suffering buyer remorse or because they are trying to get a discount or money back. The return is without merit because there is nothing wrong with the item, they may have just used it for a job they wanted to do for a while and have finished with it or it might be something they get to keep anyway even if it's returned (like a computer program - software). OK they could re-sell, but they can't be bothered and it's easier to go for a return because ebay pretty much guarantees a successful outcome for the buyer at the expense of the seller. Or a case where the buyer has damaged the item themselves but it's so very easy to pass the buck back to the seller because ebay facilitates this. With a little seller diligence getting to the truth can be quite easy. (Some buyers can be quite blasé.) Any respectable seller may feel thay have a moral duty to others to draw attention to buyers who behave in such errant ways. For that reason a seller may consider negative feedback would be appropriate. Having facilitated the opportunity, ebay generally take a neutral position, so they are not really any help in conspicuously stamping out these kind of issues or providing any warning to others.

For sellers today there is limited reason to review a buyers feedback and I'll wager most of them don't bother. But some of us still do as we try to weed out the bad actors in order to try to avoid the headaches they create. The prohibition of negatives and neutrals doesn't make that job any easier!

To sum up, the feedback system was created for good reason and that included neutral or negative. That the only seller option is 'positive' is imbalanced. Perhaps the 'pos, neutral, neg' should be removed now leaving only the comment. That would restore the balance a bit.

[*devils.advocate*]

To sum up, the feedback system was created for good reason .....

Indeed it was - and it was abused to such an extent that we've had the present system for I forget how many years (12 years?) so unlikely to change.

Affected buyers didn't continue to buy things on eBay because of those pathetic sellers - to the detriment of all other sellers.

On the other side of the coin, if I (as a buyer) have say 500 buyer's feedback but then decide to start selling - isn't the feedback number shown to buyers deceiving - it doesn't prove anything about me as a seller?

IMHO, buyers don't need feedback, it's redundant now - in any event, where else would I, as a buyer, receive feedback which actually matters?

[insidethe93]

If a new seller's feedback score is high but due mostly to buying, I expect potential new buyers would find out.

Many (or most?) buyers are probably like me, in that if I want to buy from someone I've not bought from before, assuming a 100% feedback score or very nearly, I look up their profile and select "(feedback) received as seller".

I'll click on the total negative figure to read those buyers' comments and any reply from the seller. Ditto the total neutral figure.

I'll also glance through a page or two of the latest feedback to get an idea from how glowing the buyers' praise is.

The higher value the item a buyer wants, the more likely they are to do the above research.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

as a buyer i use the feedback to check on negatives and my decision can be prompted by a) the amount and type of complaints and most importantly  b) any responses the seller has left, so many are rude and abusive i would not touch them with a bargepole!   The ones i like are the reasoned replies which can shed a whole new light on the negative.  Also helps to see how many negs the buyers have made.

[maisiemoo1522_0]

As a seller & occassional buyer first thing I do before deciding wether to buy I also scroll through a few pages at all reviews, it doesn't necessarily stop me from buying but it depends what the comments are actually saying. Likewise if sometthing sells I also scroll a few pages of reviews ignoring that sellars arn't allowed to give negative feedback but some get through on the postive but highlight it as a negative. Not that I would cancel because of the review but allows me to know if there's a chance of non payment

[studiomaster_uk]

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@*devils.advocate* wrote:

"On the other side of the coin, if I (as a buyer) have say 500 buyer's feedback but then decide to start selling - isn't the feedback number shown to buyers deceiving - it doesn't prove anything about me as a seller?"

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Buyer and seller feedback is separately shown. One should have enough sense to look beyond the number, one would hope. Feedback is not "proof", it is opinion.

"Affected buyers didn't continue to buy things on eBay because of those pathetic sellers"

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I don't believe that was generally the case, regardless of your poor adjective choice.

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"in any event, where else would I, as a buyer, receive feedback which actually matters?"

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Your point, if there is one, is quite lost on me there, sorry. Perhaps you may wish to redraft the question even if it was intended to be rhetoric.

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[dwbeautystore]

You can actually receive feedback as a consumer on places like VRBO so people letting out their property can see if a potential customer has a history of looking after holiday rentals.

It needs to be a 2-way street to be fair.

I can see how most buyers behave by checking the feedback they leave other sellers, but even cancelling the sale and blocking them doesn't protect me any more as they're still able to leave untrue malicious feedback and ebay do nothing about it now.

I always respond with what actually happened but the buyers can also come back to that with more rubbish. I swear some people are just out to be spiteful.

Once upon a time they'd remove it if they could see a buyer had a history of causing trouble but they just don't give a damn now.

They've already told me they're trying to get rid of 'side hustles' and only want actual businesses on the site, yet are allowing thousands of so-called private sellers to sell hundreds of brand new items and avoid higher fees and/or providing consumers with their legal rights.

I'm currently holding quite a high volume of stock but once it's sold I'm leaving. eBay has no respect for the sellers that pay the fees which keep the company going.

[dwbeautystore]

While I'm on here, can anyone please tell me a legitimate reason for hiding their ebay feedback?

I'm genuinely interested to see if I'm missing something.

Apart from being a regular buyer of embarassing or questionable items (and specific items aren't shown in feedback history), I can't think of one honest reason and my very many years experience have taught me that people who do hide their feedback nearly always make false claims/leave bad feedback regularly/have received lots of negs etc.

[*guinevere*]

In my experience having private feedback isn't to cover up excessive leaving of negs, but simply a desire to keep one's privacy.

Some people object to having their purchases shown publicly, especially if they post on the boards, and that's fair enough in my opinion.

In case you are unaware you cannot  have private feedback if you are a seller.