eBay feedback policy, eBay just don't get it after all these years (That Simple)
I been in business for over 35 years. If someone has a problem with an item I sold them, they call me on the phone or email, and we take care of the problem. We have over 150,000 sales on eBay since 1998. How can you take care of the problem on eBay if you don't know until they leave you bad feedback. eBays policy can be very simple. No one should be allowed to leave bad feedback unless they have messaged the seller with a problem first. It is That Simple! If a customer leaves bad feedback and does not contact you first to correct the problem, if there is one! Then eBay should be allowed to remove it. It is That Simple! Just because a customer does not like a product, he or she should not leave bad feedback about the product. Doesn't mean it's a bad product just because they think so. eBay also needs to explain to these buyers what feedback is. Feedback is not a product review; it is feedback on your service to the customer. If you are selling new items and you are not the manufacture you might not know there is a problem, until the customer opens product up. So, no message to the seller with their problem, then no bad feedback. We all know eBay has access to all our eBay messages. It is That Simple!
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 years agoFeedback is a remnant of the early days of Ebay when payment was by check or money order, there were few sellers who took returns and nasty exchanges between buyers and seller when things went wrong were the norm.
Sellers took no responsibility for how they packed and whether they arrived intact. Buyers were offered the opportunity to buy insurance and expected to file a claim with the carrier, which was often turned down because the seller did not care enough or know enough to pack properly.
FB wars were common.
FB was the only recourse, such as it was.
FB is no longer that important. But some buyers and sellers still think otherwise.
With your sales volume and low number of neutrals, and no negatives, you should not even think about FB.
It would be gone if Ebay was not concerned about potential negative PR generated by sellers who have nothing to offer other than their FB.
Ebay does not use FB for evaluating seller performance.
mam98031
·2 years agoEbay as well as other similar sites have feedback. Most don't allow buyer feedback anymore, just seller FB. At least Ebay only allows the last 12 months to be how the percentage of FB is calculated. Amazon it is forever.
toysaver
·2 years agoThere's no way anyone can get it after all these years because they keep changing it. The newest quirk is a 'requirement' to leave a product review before leaving feedback.
What the heck are people supposed to say about used silverware in a product review? 'The forks worked great, we all got the food into our mouths without missing or the spoon handles were just right for holding with our hands.'
luckythewinner
·2 years agoeBay feedback policy, eBay just don't get it after all these years
I think what you are missing is that some buyers do not want or need the seller to "take care of the problem". They just want to register their dissatisfaction and move on. Especially if the seller is rude or abusive or has threatened them.
loose_goose_garage
·2 years agoI think you hit the nail on the head with the "Feedback is not a product review; it is feedback on your service to the customer."
On amazon you cannot leave a review that is not strictly about the product, regardless of how bad the service was receiving the item, they will take it down/ not publish it.
eBay is the opposite, and all the ratings are about the service/ price of the shipping, communication if applicable and was it as described. As you said if it's a new item, still sealed from factory, how are you to know if there is an issue with it?
olbonco
OP2 years agoYou get it, Thanks
kenneth686321
·2 years agoI find that Ebay oversells the quality of sellers with their review system. Most sellers have a 98%+ review score. Many even have 100%. That's insane. How many businesses have 5/5 stars on google or any other review aggregator? Very few. 4.5/5 stars (90%) is considered fantastic.
What's with Ebay sellers having temper tantrums when getting a negative review? You don't see that elsewhere.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoI find that Ebay oversells the quality of sellers with their review system. Most sellers have a 98%+ review score. Many even have 100%. That's insane. How many businesses have 5/5 stars on google or any other review aggregator? Very few. 4.5/5 stars (90%) is considered fantastic.
What's with Ebay sellers having temper tantrums when getting a negative review? You don't see that elsewhere.
If you think it's oversold for sellers what do you think about the buyers since they all have 100% positive feedback since that is all a seller can leave them.
olbonco
OP2 years agoeBays feedback is not a product review. It's that Simple!
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoeBays feedback is not a product review. It's that Simple!
It was never intended to be, it's that simple. Most of the reviews and survey's I respond to have nothing to do with the product they are about the service. That goes for ecommerce sites as well as retail stores so yea I pretty much agree with you.
It isn't that simple. Agreed, if I don't like the new Taylor Swift album, I wouldn't ding the seller for it. But if a seller represents junk as a high quality item, there is nothing wrong with leaving feedback that reflects the disappointment.
olbonco
OP2 years agoFeedback is not a review. It's that Simple!
kenneth686321
·2 years agoWhy??
Do you contact a business before you write a negative review on Google, Tripadvisor, Yelp, Facebook? No. Most people do not. Do you call your Uber Driver or message your Airbnb Host before you leave a negative review? No.
Most people will not message a business before leaving a negative review not unless they have a serious issue.
So what if you got a negative review? Chin up! Respond professionally and move on. Don't take it personally. A negative review is not the end of the world.
olbonco
OP2 years agoFeedback is not a product review. That is what makes it different from other selling platforms. That is why sellers have gone away from eBay and selling on other platforms, less stressful. If you don't care about your feedback, then your heart is not in your business! When you spend 35 years making a business and some idiot leaves bad feedback and they will not respond to a message you send them so you can find out what was wrong with their order. If they don't message you first to find out the problem, then they should not be allowed to leave bad feedback. It's an old policy that needs to be changed to be fair. It's that Simple!
umfr.us2014
·2 years agoI will agree with obonco. Buyer should not be able to leave negative or neutral feedback without first contacting seller and giving seller a chance to reply. Another thing I have noticed is that when the seller leaves feedback it is automatically noted as "positive". Seller should be able to select neutral or negative so the negative feedback shows up in those lines. Note: I have had to contact buyer to ask for a revision to feedback or ebay to get them to change.
mam98031
·2 years ago@umfr.us2014
" Another thing I have noticed is that when the seller leaves feedback it is automatically noted as "positive"."
It isn't automatically chosen for us, it is the only option and has been since 2008. it isn't coming back as it is simply bad for business. Which is exactly why similar sites don't allow it either.
umfr.us2014
·2 years agoFeedback misuse policy
Leaving conflicting feedback and comments is not allowed. Feedback should only be related to the transaction.
To help protect our members, we have rules to make sure feedback can't be misused
What is the policy?
Any misuse of feedback is not allowed. Feedback comments should be consistent with the rating given to describe the overall experience. Positive feedback should accompany a positive transaction rating, and negative feedback should accompany a negative transaction rating. For example:
Follow-up or reply comments must also match the overall rating and can't be used to change a rating.
mam98031
·2 years ago@umfr.us2014
This was my post that inspired your post above. "It isn't automatically chosen for us, it is the only option and has been since 2008. it isn't coming back as it is simply bad for business. Which is exactly why similar sites don't allow it either."
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoA seller can't leave negative feedback for a buyer and they can't leave a negative comment either.
The buyer should report the feedback for a policy violation.
mam98031
·2 years agoI don't see that you have any negative fb in the past 12 months.
olbonco
OP2 years agoIt's not about me it's about the policy. It's that Simple !
mam98031
·2 years agoWhen a buyer goes to leave a negative FB, on their screen will appear a question asking them if they have contacted their seller first or it recommends they contact their seller first. I don't remember which it is. It is easy to bypass.
So Ebay does ask, most just ignore it, their mind is made up already so they just post.
I get it that you don't like the feedback system. Many do not.
olbonco
OP2 years agoSo, you have showed us exactly where the message is, but it should read. Have you contacted the seller? You cannot leave neutral or negative feedback without contacting the seller first. It's that Simple!
mam98031
·2 years agoThat is your opinion and I respect that. Ebay however clearly has a different opinion and their will always rule.
I'm not defending their decision on this, I'm just stating what is available at this time. IDK a decade or so ago some of us sellers pushed for requiring a buyer to contact the seller first. Ebay even did it, it backfired big time. It made buyers even more upset. They would send the seller an email then jump back to leaving the FB in some cases and move forward with leaving the negative FB.
Upsetting the buyers is not usually going to result in what you are after. It was a short lived test.