Leaving feedback

[the.variety.store]

Why is it so difficult for a buyer to leave feed back after they recieve the item they purchased? If everyone left feedback that bought something seller's would have more stars and that means for the buyer that the buyer will recieve what he or she purchased. I am a seller here on Ebay and I find it sort of rude or inconsiderate for the buyer not to leave feedback. I also buy things on Ebay and I have always left feedback as the seller to me has left feedback. My solution to this problem is that I do not leave feedback to the buyer unless the buyer leaves feedback for me first. I do appreciate all of my customers for shopping with me and at my store whether they leave feedback or not, I just wish more buyers would leave feedback .

[phanoto]

 "My solution to this problem is that I do not leave feedback to the buyer unless the buyer leaves feedback for me first."

That sounds like a good way to get more feedback from buyers who will leave feedback first  because that causes the buyer to get more feedback.

But, for buyers who do not leave feedback unless the seller leaves feedback first, it may not work so good. 

[lightlily_arts]

"All they had to do was pay"  I said that.  The comment wasn't intended to minimize the value of the buyer's purchase.  I acknowledge that buyers have a lot of choices when they purchase an item, and I am quite pleased when they choose mine.   Most certainly I leave feedback to thank them for their business, which  I see as a courtesy.  However, it's an contextual comment because sellers can only leave positive feedback for a buyer.  Therefore, if someone only buys they will always have 100% positive feedback.   It's no different than any other purchase you make whether  you go to the grocery store, pharmacy, or drive through McDonalds the transaction ends with the customer being thanked because they paid for something.   What someone had to do to earn the money to pay for their purchase, or the amount of time and research they did to make that decision isn't really a relevant issue in the transaction itself.  It's only relevant to the buyer because they have to decide how, when, and where they spend their earnings.   . Sellers aren't generally privy to any of that information unless you get questions from a buyer.  Moreover, the effort made by sellers to provide those products for purchase isn't relevant to the actual  transaction either.
On the other hand, buyers who haven't paid don't get feedback from sellers because we can't report anything negative and therefore, no comment is required. That is why sellers can automate generic canned responses to leave feedback which is somewhat impersonal.  The system isn't a balanced one since only sellers can receive neutral or negative feedback.  The only way you know if the buyer had a problematic transaction is through the comments they leave for their sellers.  Therefore, my basic premise in making that statement is still true. The buyers  receive feedback because they paid for a product which for the most part is simply a courtesy.  Although feedback is voluntary I have left positive comments for over 99% of my buyers and sellers.  My all time percentage of feedback received from buyers was 43%.

[00_vette]

BINGO Seller! You are NOT a Lazy Seller! This is EBAY(not an oil change place or any other place you do business) and the standard here is for the Buyer to leave feedback FIRST and the Seller SHOULD do the same. As a Buyer I ALWAYS leave feedback when I receive my item. I appreciate sellers that offer the items I want. I love it when I actually win the item! Some sellers are LAZY and blow off feedback even after you left it for them. But these sellers sure like your money. Before you bid check "feedback left for others"

[bluegrassbill2009]

I buy a lot of things from Ebay and always leave feedback, I now have 3 sellers that left nothing. I doubt I would use them again even though the sales went smoothly and I left Postitive Feedback for them.

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@bluegrassbill2009 wrote:
I buy a lot of things from Ebay and always leave feedback, I now have 3 sellers that left nothing. I doubt I would use them again even though the sales went smoothly and I left Postitive Feedback for them.

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Are you saying that even if you got a nice item at a good price, got it quickly and packaged safely, but didn't get feedback you wouldn't buy from that seller again??

WHY. ON. EARTH. would you even think like that?

[mathostx]

I don't know why people on here, both buyers and some sellers don't leave feedback.

I personally always leave feedback after receiving the item as a buyer.  As long as the item was well packed, not damaged, and working, thats all I really care about.  Don't get me wrong, if the item wasn't as described, or broken/not working, I'd contact the seller.  And depending on how things went from there, leave positive/neutral/negative accordingly, though I doubt I'd leave a negative unless things really went south.  Thankfully I've not had any issues with my purchases from here. 

As a seller, and a relatively new one feedback wise at that, not getting more positive feedback kinda sucks.  Seems like some buyers judge based on that at times.  The last 4 or so people I've sold to, haven't left any feedback.  Though I haven't heard anything from them about not being satisfied with the items.  I suppose no feedback is better than negative feedback when it comes down to it though.  Even then I've left good feedback to most all of my buyers.

Perhaps the feedback system needs to be replaced or overhauled.  Since feedback in voluntary, the feedback metric for buyers/sellers, could be replaced with a completed transactions metric.  Total Transactions completed without disputes or returns.  And have those metrics viewable by potential buyers/sellers.  Then just have feedback as a secondary metric.  Where people who want to can describe their shopping experience with you, without having it majorly effect your ability to buy and sell as it does at times now.  Due to sellers being suspicious of low/no feedback buyers, and vice versa. 

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

@mathostx

The metric, as in something to be measured by, has already changed from feedback count to transaction count. That happened several years ago.

Now the feedback numbers are cosmetic. Buyers see them but they are not used to measure sellers. Most buyers know that sellers will have bad buyers and will look to see how the seller responds to any bad feedback. Are they professional and comforting or are they crazy screaming nutballs.

[hillbillymedia]

As a seller I leave feedback to EVERY buyer to thank them when I ship their item(s). It`s nice when they return feedback but it doesn`t bother me when they don`t. Many are repeat purchasers so I know they are happy. I want their business and while I appreciate their feedback, I don`t need it.

As a buyer I don`t/won`t leave feedback for a seller that hasn`t left it for me. If they leave it for me, I`ll gladly return it but I see no reason to waste any further time or thought with it.

[blueeggsandspam]

As a seller, I leave feedback when I print the shipping label.

As a buyer, I leave feedback when I receive my item.

As for receiving feedback in return, it's out of my control. Each trading partner has their own way of handling something that's voluntary. I won't hold it against anyone not participating. Life's too short.

On this account I've left 1127 feedbacks and received 1038. That's a 92% return. My approach is working for me.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@coolections wrote:

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@onlinebill wrote:

I would like to see eBay institute and auto-feedback tool for buyers.  After a set amount of time, selected by the user, positive feedback would be left automatically.  Something like "All Good On This Transaction (posted by eBay auto-feedback)". 

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@onlinebill

I would just have to immediately leave a negative instead of waiting and thinking about it. There is no way if I run across a bad seller I would want Ebay to leave them a positive for me.

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Ditto.  Basically giving auto positives takes away the choice to just leave no feedback.  Giving a positive is often not what is intended by the buyer, so feedback would suffer as buyers would quickly leave a negative.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@onlinebill wrote:
I'm a seller. I work hard. I'm a buyer. I work hard.

It just makes me laugh when a seller says "all the buyer did was pay", like it's no big thing. They are comparing it to the fact that they have to source items, photograph them, list them, and package them. Doesn't seem balanced. But it is. The buyer had to do some sort of similar thing to GET the money to pay, if they are employed. Maybe they have to work harder to get the money you are receiving than you have to work to get them their product. Probably so, because let's face it, eBay isn't the most strenuous job. It's not like digging ditches or loading a UPS truck. If they have a rich uncle and a trust fund, maybe not, but you can't tell the difference on the face of it. Currency is just a placeholder, a unit of trade, my labor for your goods, vice versa. Just because the exchange of labor or goods doesn't take place contemporaneously doesn't make it any less valuable.

"All they had to do was pay" - and if not, you don't even have a business. None of us do.

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All they had to do is pay is putting it very simplistically.  The buyer has to search and find what they are looking for, evaluate listings, pictures, and the seller, check location, find where seller is based, read seller feedback comments to evaluate if they are trustworthy or if buying from them could be problematic,  evaluate item price and shipping costs, determine if the item meets their needs, and if it fits their budget, and see if it will be received timely.   They can read feedback left by the seller to see how they handle issues, is this someone you want to deal with.  They have to carefully zoom and examine all pictures to avoid hidden damage that in not disclosed.  If they ask questions, they may not get accurate answers.  Buyer's due diligence.

It isn't, all they had to do was pay.  

[00_vette]

Thank you for  your post.  You are correct that  sellers can only post + feedback for Buyers.  But why can't a Seller post  + feedback  AFTER the buyer Posts  positive  feedback for the seller? It's a simple process.  This is how Ebay works. Once the Buyer Post's Positive Feedback why would there would be any problem with the Seller?

[castlemagicmemories]

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@00_vette wrote:
BINGO Seller! You are NOT a Lazy Seller! This is EBAY(not an oil change place or any other place you do business) and the standard here is for the Buyer to leave feedback FIRST and the Seller SHOULD do the same. As a Buyer I ALWAYS leave feedback when I receive my item. I appreciate sellers that offer the items I want. I love it when I actually win the item! Some sellers are LAZY and blow off feedback even after you left it for them. But these sellers sure like your money. Before you bid check "feedback left for others"

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Actually that was the standard years ago~buyer left feedback first to indicate all was well, then the seller left feedback.  It was supposed to be an honest rating of how each performed.

Then in 2008, when Ebay eliminated negs for buyers, feedback changed to a simple thank you to the buyer and they encouraged that the seller leave feedback first.

IMO, sellers who don't leave feedback aren't lazy.  They are just exercising their right to not leave feedback, as it is voluntary.  It is not part of the transaction, and no one, buyer or seller, is owed it.