Buyer Feedback

[hjc94578]

I find it both very annoying and frustrating that eBay does not permit sellers to leave negative feedback on buyers. Their unfair alternative is to offer filing an “unpaid item” case or a means to report the buyer. Neither, in my opinion, have any lasting consequences to the buyer as does negative feedback & feedback score which is visible to all on eBay. Just a little one sided like a lot of eBay’s buyer/seller policies are. 

[eburtonlab]

eBay's reasoning for the lack of buyer negatives is spelled out here:

https://pages.ebay.com/services/forum/changes.html#o4

"Why are sellers allowed to leave only positive Feedback for buyers?

Sellers used to be able to leave negative Feedback for buyers. Unfortunately, we found that when buyers had bad experiences with sellers, they were often reluctant to leave neutral or negative Feedback out of fear that the seller would retaliate by leaving negative Feedback for them. And when buyers did receive unfair negative Feedback, they usually decreased their shopping on eBay. Overall, it became clear that the fear of retaliatory negative Feedback made it more difficult for good sellers to distinguish themselves from not-so-good sellers, and made the Feedback system as a whole less reliable."

If a buyer does not pay, you should pursue an unpaid item dispute which takes four days, and if won, will get you your final value fees back, allow you to have any negative feedback removed, and provide the buyer with an unpaid item strike.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/resolving-unpaid-items?id=4137

If you set your buyer requirements, you can block any buyer with more than two recent unpaid item strikes from bidding on your auctions or buying from you.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/setting-buyer-requirements?id=...

Even if you could leave negative feedback for a buyer, having negative feedback does not prevent such a buyer from bidding or buying; but unpaid item strikes actually can.

You can avoid many unpaid item issues by listing your item for a fixed price with immediate payment required and by not accepting any offers. That way the buyer must complete checkout and actually pay in order to proceed.

[eburtonlab]

eBay's reasoning for the lack of buyer negatives is spelled out here:

https://pages.ebay.com/services/forum/changes.html#o4

"Why are sellers allowed to leave only positive Feedback for buyers?

Sellers used to be able to leave negative Feedback for buyers. Unfortunately, we found that when buyers had bad experiences with sellers, they were often reluctant to leave neutral or negative Feedback out of fear that the seller would retaliate by leaving negative Feedback for them. And when buyers did receive unfair negative Feedback, they usually decreased their shopping on eBay. Overall, it became clear that the fear of retaliatory negative Feedback made it more difficult for good sellers to distinguish themselves from not-so-good sellers, and made the Feedback system as a whole less reliable."

If a buyer does not pay, you should pursue an unpaid item dispute which takes four days, and if won, will get you your final value fees back, allow you to have any negative feedback removed, and provide the buyer with an unpaid item strike.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/resolving-unpaid-items?id=4137

If you set your buyer requirements, you can block any buyer with more than two recent unpaid item strikes from bidding on your auctions or buying from you.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/setting-buyer-requirements?id=...

Even if you could leave negative feedback for a buyer, having negative feedback does not prevent such a buyer from bidding or buying; but unpaid item strikes actually can.

You can avoid many unpaid item issues by listing your item for a fixed price with immediate payment required and by not accepting any offers. That way the buyer must complete checkout and actually pay in order to proceed.

[eburtonlab]

eBay's reasoning for the lack of buyer negatives is spelled out here:

https://pages.ebay.com/services/forum/changes.html#o4

"Why are sellers allowed to leave only positive Feedback for buyers?

Sellers used to be able to leave negative Feedback for buyers. Unfortunately, we found that when buyers had bad experiences with sellers, they were often reluctant to leave neutral or negative Feedback out of fear that the seller would retaliate by leaving negative Feedback for them. And when buyers did receive unfair negative Feedback, they usually decreased their shopping on eBay. Overall, it became clear that the fear of retaliatory negative Feedback made it more difficult for good sellers to distinguish themselves from not-so-good sellers, and made the Feedback system as a whole less reliable."

If a buyer does not pay, you should pursue an unpaid item dispute which takes four days, and if won, will get you your final value fees back, allow you to have any negative feedback removed, and provide the buyer with an unpaid item strike.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/resolving-unpaid-items?id=4137

If you set your buyer requirements, you can block any buyer with more than two recent unpaid item strikes from bidding on your auctions or buying from you.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/setting-buyer-requirements?id=...

Even if you could leave negative feedback for a buyer, having negative feedback does not prevent such a buyer from bidding or buying; but unpaid item strikes actually can.

You can avoid many unpaid item issues by listing your item for a fixed price with immediate payment required and by not accepting any offers. That way the buyer must complete checkout and actually pay in order to proceed.

[eburtonlab]

If a buyer does not pay, you should pursue an unpaid item dispute which takes four days, and if won, will get you your final value fees back, allow you to have any negative feedback removed, and provide the buyer with an unpaid item strike.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/resolving-unpaid-items?id=4137

If you set your buyer requirements, you can block any buyer with more than two recent unpaid item strikes from bidding on your auctions or buying from you.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/setting-buyer-requirements?id=...

Even if you could leave negative feedback for a buyer, having negative feedback does not prevent such a buyer from bidding or buying; but unpaid item strikes actually can.

You can avoid many unpaid item issues by listing your item for a fixed price with immediate payment required and by not accepting any offers. That way the buyer must complete checkout and actually pay in order to proceed.

[slippinjimmy]

What consequences lasting or not happens when you give a buyer a negative?

Of course eBay policies are one sided, every merchant in the world is chasing buyers for one simple reason.....

Buyers have the money!

And of course there is the other problem, a small but significant portion of sellers cannot be trusted to act responsibly. They would (and did) misuse the ability to give negative feedback to buyers.

Negs for buyers is NEVER coming back EVER!

[futuremarine2011]

unless something was to cut into that $9.6 billion net profit  they raked in  last year i dont see any changes in the forseeable future as to catering in any way to the seller.   stockholders like those kind of numbers

[inhawaii]

Buyers are required to do one thing: pay.

If they don't pay, you can file a "unpaid item" against them. 

No need for negative feedback.

On a related note, and this is  one of the oldest disputes amongst ebay sellers, when to leave the buyer feedback.

I leave feedback for my buyers as soon as they do the one thing they are required to do: pay.  Others will disagree with me. Those who leave feedback for buyers only after the buyers leave feedback for them. The ole "if they leave me negative feedback i'll leave negative for them" philosophy. Never once in the history of ebay (i'm exaggerating) has a seller ever left a positive feedback for a buyer after the buyer left a negative for them. 

I hope  didn't open up a can of worms....

[hpenryessentials]

I'm finding it enjoyable watching everyone describe in detail and "educate" you on all of the things you've just summarized as being frustrating about feedback. 

[bonjourami]

I suppose, after what? Twelve years? People wonder why some members continue to beat this dead horse.

[dhbookds]

---

@bonjourami wrote:

I suppose, after what? Twelve years? People wonder why some members continue to beat this dead horse.

---

Because some sellers continue to be stung by asking for feedback........and then getting a neg from a buyer because they asked. 

[hpenryessentials]

Because it's cathartic and comforting to find a lot of other members who share that same feeling and can relate to the frustrations. The OP has been a member since 2016 so they may not have been aware that this has been an already discussed issue for 12 years and even if they did know, they should still be able to vent on the boards without other member's getting all riled up about it. Member's immediately jump to giving advice and flexing their "educating"  muscles without just agreeing that it's frustrating. One could argue that the poster's on this thread are more frustrated with the OP's post than the OP is about feedback. 

[femmefan1946]

Who reads feedback?

Not the deadbeat buyer. He knows what you think and doesn't care.

Not eBay. EBay considers FB to be an opinion and doesn't use it to measure member accounts.

Not your fellow sellers. More that 85% of listings are either Fixed Price or Buy It Now and the seller cannot see the buyer's feedback until after she has purchased.

That leaves;  your future customer.

Who sees your angry, snarky, vulgar, and possibly wrong feedback and backbuttons the heck out of there.

[bonjourami]

" and even if they did know, they should still be able to vent on the boards without other member's getting all riled up about it. "

Who got 'all riled up about it'?

[iamdebster]

I completely agree with you.  Been doing this on a part time basis since 1999.  Sometimes I wish I could warn other sellers about the crooked buyers I have come across.  In my experience, it doesn't always end with payment.  I've had buyers attempt to con me with returns.  Whether eBay resolved things in my favor, or not, I wish I could alert other sellers to these buyers.  Unfortunately, their record remains "clean" to easily prey on another seller.  Such are the woes of selling on eBay...

[coastaltechsolution]

Yu could warn other sellers here? 

Not much you can do about sellers not reading these boards but at least you tried. 

[slati_2013]

Given the vicious follow up's some sellers leave to negative feedback, I support not allowing sellers to leave feedback. Most of it will simply be revenge feedback.

Most sellers are convinced they are always right and buyers are always lying. That combination will result in seas of red on feedback pages. 

[coastaltechsolution]

Can't argue with you there 

There are time's where a buyer does deserve negative feedback but I think having sellers able to leave negative feedback on the whim without thinking of all sides can lead to trouble.