Message from a seller regarding feedback...

[Joe777Cool]

"Thank you for shopping with us! Your tracking number is XXXXX. Once you receive your order please send us feed back so we know all is well. We will do the same for you at that time as well. Thank you for your speedy payment!"

Here is my opinion...as a buyer my job is done when I purchase the item and pay. I have completed my obligation, now leave me positive feedback. If I turn out to be a lying, thieving, pain in the butt its not like a seller can leave negative feedback anyways and the seller always has the option to reply/follow up on feedback.

This seems like a lose lose situation for the seller....there are many buyers (like myself) who will not leave feedback first - and we all know fb is more important to sellers. This tactic can also potentially piss off a buyer, leaving them open to bad feedback and/or low dsr's.

I'm not one to leave a neg/neut over not receiving feedback - but for some reason it does leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Thoughts?

BTW - looking at this sellers feedback is this neutral from earlier this year: "No feedback left. Paid same day Buyer: l***i ( 855)"

 

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[dieselram94]

I feel the same as you. Seems only half of buyers leave feedback and that's the best ratio a seller can get regardless of any tactics employed.


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[randazzo1]

It's not really a "seller" or "buyer" issue but rather an issue created by ebay over the last 5 years. Ebay's policies have engendered so much distrust in the community that every transaction is seen as a potential pittfall. Also -- IMO, the ability to leave feedback, petty though it is, is too much power for many people to wield responsibly. Given just that iota of influence, many exercise it like little tyrants. There's a great South Park episode addressing this issue in the Yelp context. Most negative feedback I've seen online (as in the S.P. episode) reflects more poorly on the "feedback leaver" than on the "feedback receiver". Comments like the one you quoted above demonstrate only the self entitled attitude of the speaker.

 

[Beans]

I only had one seller ask for feed back. They stated they just started and wanted to build up their feedback. That one I could understand why they asked. I of course gave pos feedback and did not mention they asked.

 

[Joe777Cool]

Randazzo - I dont view it as self entitled at all. The buyer has completed their end of the transaction and should receive what they paid for and positive feedback. This is the way that the majority of transactions are handled on ebay.

 

[mugsisme]

Joe, to me the transaction is not done until the buyer is happy. The only way I know 100% that they are happy is when they leave positive feedback. Suppose I leave + fb for paying, and then they decide to return the item. Except they send an empty box, or something different. Yeah, I can't leave a neg, but I can write, NOT +, buyer deceived, or whatever. I did it once to a newbie who left me negative feedback. She didn't like her junk box, and rather than contact me (I would have fully refunded her; we are talking $15 or something like that), she just left me bad fb. I never got a chance to make it right. I left her "positive" fb with a negative comment, sellers beware.

 

[Joe777Cool]

Joe, to me the transaction is not done until the buyer is happy. The only way I know 100% that they are happy is when they leave positive feedback. Suppose I leave + fb for paying, and then they decide to return the item. Except they send an empty box, or something different. Yeah, I can't leave a neg, but I can write, NOT +, buyer deceived, or whatever. I did it once to a newbie who left me negative feedback. She didn't like her junk box, and rather than contact me (I would have fully refunded her; we are talking $15 or something like that), she just left me bad fb. I never got a chance to make it right. I left her "positive" fb with a negative comment, sellers beware.

This is why eBay allows you to follow up to your own feedback and respond to buyer feedback. As I previously stated feedback is more important to a seller...to risk offending a buyer (by not leaving feedback first - as is the norm) possibly resulting in neut/neg feedback and/or low dsr's, just so that I can leave a false positive feeback in the relatively small likely hood that I am scammed or deal with a newbie/jerk, isnt a chance I am willing to take.

Plus there are a myriad of reasons why a buyer may not be happy - many of which are out of your control anyways. Shipping is slow, box is crushed, item left in the rain, item stolen, color of item is a bit different than what they expected, size of item is different despite your clear measurements, they found another items that was less expensive, buyers remorse etc etc etc. You have to take the return anyways so whats the point! Might as well be proactive in your approach.

 

[Bassmaster96]

As a seller I did that starting out, and I still have it in my listings. Following up on your feedback does no good for your rating. If a buyer leaves me a negative feedback that says I did not leave them feedback, then they are probably going to get reported. That is not why you leave feedback.

As far as the items being out of your control that make the buyer unhappy, that is true. Exactly why I wait. After the buyer sees how well I handle the situation, they will leave a better feedback.

I've had this discussion many times, and I don't think it is something worth getting mad over. A lot of people have that "bullied" feeling today, and I think that carries over to business in examples like you mentioned above.

 

[diggummup]

I agree with randazzo on this subject. Ebay created the whole dam-n thing themselves when they took away the sellers ability to leave deadbeat buyers negative feedback. Thus resulting in the conversation we are having now. This is a highly debated subject and one that will never be "fixed" unless eBay does the fixing. Sellers believe buyers should leave fb first and many buyers believe sellers should leave it first, blah, blah, blah.

Me personally, as a buyer when I receive something, I leave positive feedback if all is good. Whether or not the seller has left me feedback first does not even enter my mind. I could care less. I DON'T EXPECT AUTOMATIC FEEDBACK AS A BUYER. It's like tit-s on a boar hog, good for nothing. Just because a seller pays for an item isn't a good enough reason to leave positive feedback. After all, why should one be rewarded for doing something that is required anywhere in life when you purchase something? Ohh, ohh, look at me I paid for something I bought, I should be rewarded now? I don't think so. Yes, self entitlement enters my mind. If not leaving feedback first to a buyer is offending, then prepare to be offended.

Not to mention that buyers can still leave negative feedback even after they have returned an item and received their money back. I mean what the h ell is that about?

Having said all of this, for the most part I leave positive feedback several days after the buyer has received their item, whether I have received feedback from them or not, period.