Buyers not leaving feedback

[camille46]

I have about nine buyers who did not leave a feedback.  I even emailed them and politely reminded them to do so.  I take pride in how I wrap the items I ship and I am very descriptive about what I am selling.  So I do not understand if this is a regular problem.  I leave my feedback immediately for them upon receipt of their funds and my shipping.  I even tried delaying my feedback for a few to see if they responded first.  I have had not complaints from any of these buyers.  What's up??????

[thenatural56]

Did you leave the buyer Feedback right after he/she paid you....If not, you will be waiting forever if i was the Buyer.....The buyer did his/her part by paying you pronto...How about some feedback that they did instead of waiting for him/her to fire feedback first....

[thenatural56]

Did you leave them immediate feedback as soon as they paid...If not, you may want to reconsider....

[thenatural56]

Then as a Buyer, you will be waiting for ever....i will only leave feedback if the Seller has left me the buyer one immediately after i paid them....If not, I will never leave them anything....Now if the product is bad, i will have no issues leaving them what is due.....My only obligations is to make sure you are paid....Your obligation is to make sure i get what I paid for....

[thenatural56]

I 1000% agree....These sellers don't get it.....I do exactly that....I give them no issues with their number one problem...."I pay".....I pay fast".....The seller don't get it....Of course they will not comment on this. because they know are thought process is right.....

[marraloo]

The requirements for FB on eBay are exactly the same for buyers and for sellers.  It's optional and voluntary.  Some eBay trading partners leave it immediately, some leave it in batches, some never leave it at all.  Any and all of these are perfectly okay with eBay.

As mentioned, requesting FB is not a good idea -- you could get something you don't really want to hear.  Sometimes a transaction is not 100% perfect, maybe some minor issue, but the buyer does not want to trash the seller's scores, so leaves nothing at all.

I realize that feedback is much more important for a seller than for a buyer and that many sellers don't bother with leaving FB for their buyers because buyers can only receive positive so what's the point.

Perhaps in the near future, we will see Ebay do away with feedback altogether.  

[ht_addict]

I agree that prompt payment warrants seller leaving positive feedback first.  Here's what I do differently though.  Since people forget (even I have at times, especially considering I get so much junk mail that ebay feedback reminders are burried under 2000+ unread emails), I wait until I see that the post office has delivered package.  Then within 24 hrs I send an very nice email to contact me if any problems but if I don't hear, I look forward to positive feedback.  This way they can reciprocate right then, since they've already received package rather than expecting them to remember after a week that I've already left feedback for them.  It seemed to help at first, but lately in spite of everything I do (carefully package, ship out within 24 hrs of payment, multiple communications, a thank you note in box and painstakenly detailed description of item in listing), I not getting any feedback lately.  It's terrible for paypal to withhold funds based on such a flawed system.

[mcbaldy]

I think you are right about the feedback from buyers, I will do my part and leave feedback and let the rest take care of itself.

Thank you

mcbaldy

[friendly-wizard]

I just want my buyers to communicate - even a little.  If I did something wrong, I don't want to wonder about it.  I want to know about it and take corrective action.  The problem I'm having is that I want to build my reputation, but I don't really sell very often.  Therefore, when I do sell, I only know if all is OK when the buyer lets me know.  I do want the FB because it helps build my reputation (and theoretically I can get funds more quickly).

I understand it's voluntary, but I disagree with not asking for it (e.g. no news is good news).  If the buyer is so upset about the transaction that they don't want to say anything, then I am *REALLY* doing something wrong.  I need to know what I did in order to correct it, and that requires communication.  Not communicating on eBay is absolutely not acceptable.  I agree thay there needs to be incentive for the buyer to communicate.  Right now, I have a buyer who won't communicate AT ALL.  Doesn't leave FB, doesn't reply to email, won't return phone call.  All I want is to know what's wrong or that everything is okay.  Just communicate.  What I do *NOT* want is to get hit with a big surprise in a few weeks if the seller is unhappy and something went drastically wrong - which I doubt.  Unfortunately, I can't know until the buyer says something one way or the other.  I feel like I'm being given 'the silent treatment' for no apparent reason.  Regardless of how I may feel about it subjectively, it has the effect of leaving me with far less information about what is actually going on.

To me, It is *not* too much to ask, and it is *NOT* acceptable in my book for eBay members to refuse to communicate if they do business with each other.

[multimedea_media]

---

@marraloo wrote:

The requirements for FB on eBay are exactly the same for buyers and for sellers.  It's optional and voluntary.  Some eBay trading partners leave it immediately, some leave it in batches, some never leave it at all.  Any and all of these are perfectly okay with eBay.

As mentioned, requesting FB is not a good idea -- you could get something you don't really want to hear.  Sometimes a transaction is not 100% perfect, maybe some minor issue, but the buyer does not want to trash the seller's scores, so leaves nothing at all.

I realize that feedback is much more important for a seller than for a buyer and that many sellers don't bother with leaving FB for their buyers because buyers can only receive positive so what's the point.

Perhaps in the near future, we will see Ebay do away with feedback altogether.  

---

Hear, hear.

I will never, never get why people get so wrapped up in the numerical Feedback rigamarole. For buyers, it's nothing but an ego-boo. For sellers (after they're no longer new and have established a cushion of good FB/DSRs), you are WAY better off resting on your good stats and hoping only enough customers leave you good stars to maintain it. That's just the way the Ebay numbers game is played. It's a cynical but true saying here: no feedback is good feedback.

We sellers really, really must keep our eyes on our Detailed Seller Ratings if we want to build and maintain a healthy business on Ebay. Most especially with the new Seller Requierments being implimented in August (and already being counted against us now.) The numerical Feedback number will be even more superfluous after then. From the Seller Update:

The current 98% positive feedback requirement for Top Rated Sellers will no longer apply as a requirement, though buyers will still be able to see your positive feedback percentage.

In general, the lower your defect rate, the better your position in Best Match search results

• By focusing squarely on what matters most to buyers, the new transaction defect rate allows eBay to recognize and reward sellers who consistently deliver the great service buyers expect—and to identify and respond to the experiences that erode confidence and drive buyers away.
• Buyers won't see your defect rate. Buyers will continue to see what they see today. But if you maintain a low defect rate, eBay will reward you with an enhanced position in Best Match search results, so your track record for great service can pay off in more visibility and potential sales.

[friendly-wizard]

That's all fine and dandy if you sell 80 gazillion items an hour.  I sell two or three things a year.  How am I supposed to get to the point where I can get my money sooner - or even just build a solid reputation (it IS 'solid' as it stands) if buyers refuse to even tell me everything is A-OK (or not), much less leave feedback?

[multimedea_media]

You hardly have to sell '80 gazillion things an hour' to get to that point (and hyperbole isn't helping your argument.) It can easily be done by a casual (yet consistent) seller.

If you're only making the effort to sell 2-3 items per year here, are you really considering this to be a business venture for you?

[kendrav614]

I'm still very new to selling items on eBay...  I have learned from mistakes but I'm always about customer service. 

I do like the idea of just touching base when I see that the item has been delivered.  That way if there is any issue, I have the opportunity to make it right.

One thing I don't understand is when your buyer does not leave feedback when they, themselves is a big eBay seller.

They  know how important it can be when your just starting to sell items.  Plus, they must have been happy with it since they are selling the item at a great profit.

O, and I totally agree with leaving prompt feedback when the buyer pays right away!!!  They are awesome!!!!

[savvypetshop]

I just started selling on eBay and thus far, a bumpy start! I think people not paying right away (or not at all) and not bothering to leave feedback is quite reflective of the society we live in today--- it's the ME ME ME Culture.   Like you, I take pride in how I package, list items from my store, Savvy Pet Shop.  I saw comments responding to this that stated no one "has to" leave feedback, which we all know.  However, I believe it's the excusing of ill behavior that perpetuates it.  YES, they don't have to do anything, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't. When you care and take pride it's naturally frustrating when it goes unappreciated. Keep that up (I'm sure you will).  

[rainberri]

It seems like the current feedback system might create a hostile environment. Ebay puts emphasis on feedback, but there's only so much you can do about people who don't care about feedback. You can't bother the buyers over this or they'll never come back to this site.

[friendly-wizard]

It's not a business.  I'm just a guy.  From time to time I want to sell something on eBay.  I pride myself in doing it RIGHT every single time.  Over the years, my intent is to build up a solid reputation.  I don't know what the numbers have to be, but it seems like a person like myself who goes out of his way to produce flawless transactions should be able to get to the point where my actions earm me the trust of eBay - even if I've only ever sold a dozen things or so over the time I've been a member.  Every single transaction I have ever done as buyer or seller has been flawless, but that stems from having been able to communicate with the seller or buyer on the other end.  Recently, the communication has diminished, and my efforts don't seem to be getting me to the point where I can get paid sooner.  Funds are still delayed even after the shipment tracking has confirmed delivery when I sell something, so I don't know what to do except make sure there are no mistakes and get positive feedback every time.  When I sell something, it's usually because I want to upgrade a personal item and I am using the proceeds to help fund the new purchase.