Change the feedback system!

[johnwash1]

One thing that I think should be acknowledged in this thread (and to my shame only occurs to me a few days late) is that feedback is an issue that new users naturally are far more concerned about than old-timers. My first few transactions, both on this and on other sites, I was quite uptight about getting my feedback, I wanted it clear to everyone that I had my running shoes on and was doing my best to get round the track.

After a while I mellowed, as no doubt most do eventually. Double figures even! Somehow one missing feedback is no longer a slap in the face. And then a neg arrives from some clueless idiot with all the communication skills of a caterpillar. Suddenly feedback is really important again. But the hurt fades.

Is there a moral? If there is, it's keep trading, stop worrying.

[ruth900]

Is there a moral? If there is, it's keep trading, stop worrying.

spot on John

try not to let feedback (or no feedback) get to you .....
I'm still trying to learn that lesson myself

[somersethedge]

Wouldn't it be fairer on buyers if the feedback system was changed so that sellers cannot leave retal feedback when a negative or neutral is given.

why not go the whole hog and say that sellers can not leave negative or neutral feedbacks at all and only give them the option to leave positive for a buyer.....

Oh wait a minuet another auction site already has that rule, which is why they lost sellers a while back

[camme6]

As a seller, I always wait until the buyer leaves me feedback before I leave fb. When the item is shipped out, I tell the buyer to examine it carefully when it arrives. If there is a problem, let me know so we can correct it immediately. If everything is OK, please leave me positive feedback and I will do the same for them. That is their way of telling me that the transaction has ended successfully and everything is OK.

I used to leave fb immediately when the auction ended, but after the powers-that-be at another auction site decided it was a buyer's market and seller's opinions didn't count, I quit. I sold 7 items to one person. She paid by PayPal, but refused to pay for shipping. When she didn't answer my emails, I refunded her money. She left me 7 negs because she said "she paid but I never shipped". They stood behind her and refused to refund my FVFs. At that, I left the auction site for quite some time. I am now back and am a Power Seller. But another problem like that, I will probably drop it forever.

However, as a buyer I leave fb immediately upon receiving the item.

[johnwash1]

As a seller, I always wait until the buyer leaves me feedback before I leave fb. When the item is shipped out, I tell the buyer to examine it carefully when it arrives. If there is a problem, let me know so we can correct it immediately. If everything is OK, please leave me positive feedback and I will do the same for them. That is their way of telling me that the transaction has ended successfully and everything is OK.

I used to leave fb immediately when the auction ended, but after the powers-that-be at another auction site decided it was a buyer's market and seller's opinions didn't count, I quit. I sold 7 items to one person. She paid by PayPal, but refused to pay for shipping. When she didn't answer my emails, I refunded her money. She left me 7 negs because she said "she paid but I never shipped". They stood behind her and refused to refund my FVFs. At that, I left the auction site for quite some time. I am now back and am a Power Seller. But another problem like that, I will probably drop it forever.

However, as a buyer I leave fb immediately upon receiving the item.

I see why as a seller over there you wait to leave feedback -- you only have one shot at it. But the system is different here on eBid, so for me the same logic doesn't apply.

"They stood behind her and refused to refund my FVFs" -- yes, well, that's yet another difference here on eBid. Over there you can guarantee you'll get the "Hello, my name is Fubar, I'm an expert cut+paster and I'm here to help you with your problem. You're a decent seller and you've caught a rogue buyer, but what the heck, I'm here to screw you over anyhow!".

Certainly many of us have seen that kind of mail from droneBay support and also know what a contrast it is with the support people here.

PS: I hope you followed up with a visible reply to each of her feedbacks, it can go some way to mitigate the effect of them. I have a lot of sympathy for you, I've had the same myself, and 80 characters is far too short to describe the situation adequately. It's worth making several drafts before finally hitting that irreversible button. And state facts only, no opinion of the buyer, let others draw their own conclusions.

[earthengirl]

One thing that I think should be acknowledged in this thread (and to my shame only occurs to me a few days late) is that feedback is an issue that new users naturally are far more concerned about than old-timers. My first few transactions, both on this and on other sites, I was quite uptight about getting my feedback, I wanted it clear to everyone that I had my running shoes on and was doing my best to get round the track.

After a while I mellowed, as no doubt most do eventually. Double figures even! Somehow one missing feedback is no longer a slap in the face. And then a neg arrives from some clueless idiot with all the communication skills of a caterpillar. Suddenly feedback is really important again. But the hurt fades.

Is there a moral? If there is, it's keep trading, stop worrying.

I totally agree with this johnwash1!

[marschenegger]

No feedback system is perfect. There are nasty buyers and nasty sellers. Both abuse the feedback system and there are no concrete ways of weeding out undeserved negatives from earned negatives.

I prefer having choice and freedom. The FeeBay system to eliminate negative feedback from sellers is not a good system on its own, so I don't think it should be imported here. It's unfortunate that giving some people more choice and freedom is akin to giving them more rope with which to hang themselves, but that's the perrogative of some silly people. Don't ban fingers if one fool pokes his eyes out with his own.

Mark

[johnwash1]

...The FeeBay system to eliminate negative feedback from sellers is not a good system on its own,

I agree it's not a good system, but I'm puzzling over the implication that it could become a good system if you added... hmm, what exactly?

[marschenegger]

I agree it's not a good system, but I'm puzzling over the implication that it could become a good system if you added... hmm, what exactly?

What makes the FeeBay system of eliminating seller negs work is the increased abilities of sellers to deal with buyers who don't pay. Tit-for-tat exchanges of negative feedback are often avoided if the seller uses the tools and follows the guidelines provided by FeeBay. I just dealt with a non-paying bidder who insisted that he be allowed to use PayPal and pay for regular mail even though his address is unconfirmed. This buyer was more dense than a monolith when it came to understanding why I was not willing to send anything to him by regular mail. I filed the NPB case after seven days and closed it with a strike against the difficult and insolent buyer in another 7 days. I don't think buyers are able to leave negative feedback after they receive a non-paying strike against them, and that's how it should work. Changing the feedback system by itself is futile unless eBid decides to do away with the ability to leave any kind of feedback for buyers. Seriously, why should sellers be allowed to rate buyers? What's the point?

Mark

[Idealproductsales]

If sellers cannot rate buyers, how the heck is a new member going to earn ANY feedback, and thus earn a little trust from other members?
it's a catch-22. Feedback is necessary, or how else are you going to earn the right to sell on FeeBay? would YOU buy a $150 LCD monitor from a seller with 0 feedback?