Peaceful Discourse on the Feedback Myth

[ivorywire559]

Ah, the subject of feedback.  Let's put feedback into perspective.  There's some sellers selling items with values in the tens to hundreds of thousands.  There's probably some selling for millions and billions.  Cars and other assorted property.  Yup.  Really.  Many have under 1,000 feedback.  A novice eBay user will assume that this seller is a small-time dealer.  Now look at all of the wonderful China-based sellers selling items for $1 somehow shipped with tracking by ePacket who have a 10,000 feedback score.  Even though that small-time seller has brought in more money than the ePacket wonder in one or a few transactions, considering the seller from China makes pennies, the feedback is very misleading.  So here is a newsflash for you:  Feedback means nothing.  It ceased to mean anything when eBay changed the rules, and it will never mean anything unless we go back to the old ways.  Want more information?  Of course you do.  No need to beg.  Yes, I am the most generous person in history with all my amazingly helpful and brilliant and beautiful ideas.  An inexperienced seller can buy a bunch of items and look like an experienced user, but that's misleading.  Sellers are allowed to leave only positive feedback.  Why are sellers leaving feedback at all then?  What's the point?  So many people refer to feedback, but it's just a big joke.  And also there are the many instances where eBay goes in and deletes well-deserved, well-earned negative feedback for no apparent reason.  The feedback system is seriously lacking in integrity, like a rogue Blackjack table at a reservation casino.  Don't be fooled by a score.  Don't be fooled by the high-volume sellers who have a high positive feedback percentage because of the proportion of defects.  Don't buy into the feedback myth.  There.

[phanoto]

 So here is a newsflash for you:  Feedback means nothing.

I do not care if feedback means nothing, or if it has some meaning.

All I know is that feadback  is a customary feature on eBay, and  I like for buyers to say in the feedback that they are very happy with their purchase from me.  I like for them to  say that I was very good at describing the item, answering questions, shipping fast, and anything else they say that they like about buying from me. 

Feedback for buyers is not needed, but since we have it, sellers should use it every time they sell something.  It just makes it look like we are organized here on eBay  when we all follow the same practices as far as possible. 

[deep-garnet-red]

I agree 100% that feedback means nothing.

It used to mean something before they took away negatives for buyers. It used to mean something before all the insane buyer protections that are in place now. It used to be used to help you determine if you wanted to do business with someone. That was back in the days when this was a free market place instead of an Amazon wannabe.

I think eBay should do away with the feedback system altogether. Still, I would like to see a number...maybe an automatic number of transactions. Of course, that doesn't address what you mmentioned in the OP about money. But then again, how is someone who makes higher profit per transaction any better than someone who does high volume? A high volume seller is bound to run into more numpties than a guy who does one million dollar real estate deal a year.

[shadedoctor]

You may say feedback doesn't matter, but I bet you look at the percentage when you purchase from someone. 😉

Of course it matters.

[luckythewinner]

---

Why are sellers leaving feedback at all then?  What's the point?  

Because smart sellers know that a tiny minority of buyers seem to be obsessed with feedback, and leaving feedback is a prudent step to reduce the chance of upsetting them.

[kaykeecorp]

---

@phanoto wrote:

 So here is a newsflash for you:  Feedback means nothing.

I do not care if feedback means nothing, or if it has some meaning.

All I know is that feadback  is a customary feature on eBay, and  I like for buyers to say in the feedback that they are very happy with their purchase from me.  I like for them to  say that I was very good at describing the item, answering questions, shipping fast, and anything else they say that they like about buying from me. 

Feedback for buyers is not needed, but since we have it, sellers should use it every time they sell something.  It just makes it look like we are organized here on eBay  when we all follow the same practices as far as possible. 

---

Not really my priority to make eBay look "organized".

but Feedback can be a good Marketing tool- by leaving position buyer FB and professional replies, it will show a seller's professionalism.

for free 😃

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

Kaykee said just what I was thinking. If it's free and makes buyers happy I'm all over it.

There are many buyers out there who never deserved a negative, are always happy and pay quickly. To them feedback still means something. They are proud of their good record. In fact they may not even be aware sellers lost the neg hammer nearly a decade ago. To tell them their feedback means nothing is a little insulting and I try really hard not to insult my good customers.

Actually, in addition, it is always sellers who say that buyer feedback means nothing since they cannot leave negatives. Is the only purpose for feedback to serve sellers? Sort of like the watchlist thing. Sometimes Ebay has things that are of value to other people who are not sellers.

[phanoto]

"but Feedback can be a good Marketing tool- by leaving position buyer FB and professional replies, it will show a seller's professionalism."

Yes.  By leaving feedback for the customer, the seller shows that he/she  does all of the things that are recommended as a courtesy or benefit to customers.

If I did not leave feedback for my customers, they might wonder what else I have chosen not to do. 

[d-k_treasures]

---

@phanoto wrote:

"but Feedback can be a good Marketing tool- by leaving position buyer FB and professional replies, it will show a seller's professionalism."

Yes.  By leaving feedback for the customer, the seller shows that he/she  does all of the things that are recommended as a courtesy or benefit to customers.

If I did not leave feedback for my customers, they might wonder what else I have chosen not to do. 

---

As a buyer, I leave it when I open and check out the item.

As a seller, I leave it when I get it. Since I sell a lot of parts toys and such, some buyers(who are also sellers) who do repairs on these items to resell may not WANT feedback.

[phanoto]

"As a seller, I leave it when I get it. Since I sell a lot of parts toys and such, some buyers(who are also sellers) who do repairs on these items to resell may not WANT feedback."

That sounds like a good idea.

I have always recommended that sellers not leave feedback first when they have more customers who prefer to not receive feedback than customers who prefer to receive feedback.

Sellers know they cannot please all of their customers, so it is best to please the MAJORITY of customers when it is impossible to please all of them. 

[couldabeenworse]

It ceased to mean anything when eBay changed the rules, and it will never mean anything unless we go back to the old ways.

It didn't mean much of anything back then, either.  Once eBay grew from a buddy-buddy swap shop to an eCommerce site, feedback became mostly pointless.

[femmefan1946]

I leave feedback on shipment.

It's egoboo for my customer. The "have a nice day" of the supermarket cashier.

Just a little ointment to make the extraction of money from the punters that much easier.

And it costs me nothing.

I make my FB work for me.

Since eBay decided to remove dates from FB, I include the shipping date. As a Canadian seller I can't afford to track most of my shipments, so this acts, in my opinion as a reassurance to my customer that her purchase really is on its way.

Smoke and mirrors.

Negative feedback for deadbeat buyers is a mug's game.

It just shows the seller has a short temper. And sometimes an imaginative vocabulary.

But it doesn't get FVF back like an UID and it allows the deadbeat to leave his own FB.

It is the future customer that reads that neg FB and decides not to buy from some drooling anger monkey.

Read the buyer's FB Left for Others.

That's where you can learn the most about your customer.

Buyers that leave many negs and neutrals.

Smarmy "thanks for your help with my problem" FB

No FB at all

FB removed by eBay.

And remember, most transactions are Fixed Price.

So those sellers (and that includes Auctions that end with BIN) do not meet their customers until the purchase is underway.

So reading FB is too late.

FB is useful to the seller because it shows future customers that we have shipped promptly, have a friendly attitude, and are experienced.

If it disappeared tomorrow, we would lose a useful public relations tool.

[treazured]

I am only a buyer, and not a big one at that, but I like the feedback option and wish the seller had the same rights as the buyer and could give more than a canned positive feedback even if the buyer was the biggest pain in the backside in the history of sales.

Over the years, I have learned to read all the feedback on a seller, including reading all the feedback on buyers who have left negative feedback and have been shocked to see that many of the givers of negative feedback have a long history of leaving negative after negative with nary a positive.

In the helpful feedback (even negative) I have found that by reading the feedback of the person leaving it gives a better picture of that person and often either hit the back key and find something else to buy or go ahead and place a BIN, or bid on an auction.

I only have about 600 feedbacks to my name but enjoy shopping on eBay and interacting with those of you who work to your best to make our transactions a great one. There was only one time I was tempted to leave a negative feedback and that came early in my eBay experience when I bought a lovely old teapot which was delivered in a non-padded manila envelope. Yeah, it arrived but...

Recently I was of two minds as to what feedback I should have posted but went with a positive because the seller refunded most of my money (just not the shipping), The thing that had my knickers in a twist was that somehow the items I bid on, won and was waiting to be delivered had NOT been delivered but were somehow listed as having been delivered. I still don't know how that trick was managed and now am not planning on buying anything from China again, despite other purchases from different sellers in China having been quite good experiences.

So basically, I check out both sides of feedback and make up my own mind. What matters to me (if no other buyer on eBay) is the work that the eBay sellers put into making certain my win makes it to me in a reasonable time in good shape, which all but that one seller with the crushed teapot (it went for a LOT less than it should have). Only my opinion, but it has been my experience that eBay sellers try their darndest to earn their feedback and I am more than happy to give positives. Heck, there are times I wish there was something a lot higher than a positive because of the many times a seller has done everything but hand delivered the item, set it up in my house, and even made me a cup of tea (if a teapot) or put the shawl around my shoulders.

eBay sellers are the best and I am darn proud to be a buyer from you awesome folk.