A lot of buyers dont leave feedback. Why?

[luvmystorm]

I have 100% good feedbck and i dont always get feedback left after i sell something to a buyer. I leave feedback for every transaction as a seller and as a buyer. I think it's a good policy to do so. How come people dont return feedback after they recieve the item? I would have a much higher score then i do if everyone would leave feedback.  I dont think the reason they left no feedback was because an item was bad cause they would of filed a complaint. So is it bad practice to remind or ask  a buyer to leave feedback if they havent?   Or can that cause me to get negative feedback you think?  or is it just plain tacky?

thanks 

[km181177]

The problem with feedback is every business out there now wants feedback.  If you buy a lot online, like I do, it gets ridiculous!  I buy a toilet seat from Home Depot, get an email wanting feedback.  I buy a part for my truck, get an email wanting feedback.  Buy a toy from Chewy and get an email wanting feedback.  Finding the log in, logging in, and leaving feedback for everything is time consuming.  The ONLY time feedback is important is when someone on eBay purchases a product from me and is super happy with it.  Then they need to leave feedback.... hahaha.  But seriously, it gets to be a pain.

[darkofthematinee]

Oy! Just when I thought it was safe to come back to the boards.

Way back when, and for a number of l years, I would  start my day with a cup of coffee and a visit to Seller Central, as it was once called.    I stuck around until maybe a year or so ago when it seemed like every 4th topic someone started another thread that turned into a lenghty debate over the relevance of feedback and who should leave it first.  For the life of me I couldn't understand why that one poster in particular was so utterly phanatic about pheedback  that he/she would dominate every thread.   

It got sooooo tedious I gave it a rest and only came back maybe a week ago to research a specific issue.  I  was quite pleasantly surprised at the absence of a feedback thread.... until today.  I guess some things just never change. 

[darkofthematinee]

Responding to the original question ... I randomly came accross this post in the Q&A section.... clearly there are buyers who actually don't know how to leave feedback 

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Member-To-Member-Support/Wating-to-thank-Donna-Drutis-of-mylittleheidi...

[phanoto]

 "I stuck around until maybe a year or so ago when it seemed like every 4th topic someone started another thread that turned into a lenghty debate over the relevance of feedback and who should leave it first. "

I wish I could have read those threads where they debated feedback.  I have never seen anyone disagree about what feedback does for buyers and sellers.

I have seen many people say they WANT the other party to leave feedback first.   But I don't remember seeing anyone argue about it.  They just stated what they PREFER. 

I think all sellers agree that it is best for sellers to use feedback for buyers in such a way that will benefit the seller who leaves it.  If it causes most buyers to be dissatisfied when a seller leaves feedback first, they obviously it would benefit the seller to NOT leave feedback first. 

[stop-and-shop]

i quit leaving feedback for buyers until they leave me feedback.  for years i would always leave the buyer feedback forst but since buyers rarely leave feedback, i don't either until they do

[phanoto]

We occasionally see a seller say that he/she does not leave feedback until the buyer leaves feedback. 

I suppose the seller gets some kind of benefit or advantage by not leaving feedback first.

Several years ago,  some sellers said they got more positive feedback from buyers when the seller did not leave feedback first.  I wonder if that is still the reason why a seller does not leave feedback first?

[phanoto]

 "I stuck around until maybe a year or so ago when it seemed like every 4th topic someone started another thread that turned into a lenghty debate over the relevance of feedback and who should leave it first."

We had a feedback board several years ago where the only topics posted were about feedback.  More people read and posted in those threads about feedback than any other topic on the discussion boards.

I agree that eBay did what was best when they eliminated the feedback board because it was not needed.  But, we need to have at least one thread about feedback on the first page of the board because the subject is important enough to have one thread. 

My objective now is the same as it was many years ago, and that is to help cause more buyers to leave feedback and to cause all buyers to be happy with the way sellers use feedback for buyers.