Private feedback

[blackhillsdealer]

I had a buyer who bought an item from me and then returned it under the Not As Described category.  The reason is he stated that the spine of the cover art was faded.  The item was a xbox 360 game that wasn't new at all.  Of course the item arrived at my post office today with a postage due note attached to it.  This buyer has his feedback private so it makes me think he has done this before.  I asked the CS rep \ if there is any way a seller can block all buyers who have "private feedback" and I was told no.  It is bad enough that sellers can only leave positive feedback for buyers but then having someone scam them who is using "private feedback" is just insane.  I already know that ebay won't do anything to buyers because they don't believe that any buyers are bad, just bad sellers.  I was told by one CS rep that the buyers pay the bills so they don't want to scare any away.  I'm guessing that scaring sellers away isn't that big of a deal to this company.

[hkfever456]

without buyers, there is no use for sellers. this website is a buying site. people that want to sell things sell them, and the buyers browse to see that you have. You know this. im confused on private feedback. how does anyone leave private feedback? and is that the same as a private listing? if so, does a private listing automatically give private feedback? this is the first ive heard of private feedback. that doesnt seem like it would help the seller and other potential buyers.

[m60driver]

You don't have any negative feedback and you can't leave negative feedback for a buyer so I don't understand the issue.  And postage due on a game can't be enough to spend one minute on.

[mtgraves7984]

 Of course the item arrived at my post office today with a postage due note attached to it.

@blackhillsdealer 

^^^ This is what I take issue with. Did the buyer not use the return shipping label that the Return provided?

[arisdisc]

Private feedback is one of the dumbest 'allowances' that this site offers. In my 22 years in here, I've never understood it's value nor will I ever. It should be done away with. 

[blackhillsdealer]

I went and looked at his feedback and it was showing as private feedback.  There was nothing to see and it seems like it must be a new feature recently provided by ebay.

[blackhillsdealer]

The postage due on the game is almost the same as what I sold the game for.  The postage due is $4.90 on a $6.00 game with free shipping.

[blackhillsdealer]

Yes but I was told by the CS rep that the shipping dept. made a mistake on the label.

[blackhillsdealer]

Either done away with or let sellers block anyone with private feedback from buying their items.  I've been here about 20 years and that is the first time I've heard of it.

[blackhillsdealer]

A private listing will still show feedback but won't show what the item was that was bought or sold. 

[fab_finds4u]

When the buyer sets their  feedback to private there is no feedback at all on your profile. Nobody can view your feedback you received or the feedback you've left. Since sellers can only leave positive feedback I suspect they make it private because they don't want sellers to see  all the negs they've left.

Private listings mean  when you win and the seller leaves you feedback the item title will be blank. Nobody looking at your profile will know what you purchased,  only that you bought something.  And the view item button is disabled in private listings. 

If you're a guy and you don't  want your friends to see that you buy Rogaine or size 12 ladies wide width shoes and adult men sissy dresses  look for them sold in private listings!

[downunder-61]

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@blackhillsdealer wrote:

I had a buyer who bought an item from me and then returned it under the Not As Described category.  The reason is he stated that the spine of the cover art was faded.  The item was a xbox 360 game that wasn't new at all.  Of course the item arrived at my post office today with a postage due note attached to it.  This buyer has his feedback private so it makes me think he has done this before.  I asked the CS rep \ if there is any way a seller can block all buyers who have "private feedback" and I was told no.  It is bad enough that sellers can only leave positive feedback for buyers but then having someone scam them who is using "private feedback" is just insane.  I already know that ebay won't do anything to buyers because they don't believe that any buyers are bad, just bad sellers.  I was told by one CS rep that the buyers pay the bills so they don't want to scare any away.  I'm guessing that scaring sellers away isn't that big of a deal to this company.

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Because by your own admission a buyer can not get less than postive FB, what would be the point in seeing their FB anyway?

If sellers are scared away by private FB buyers, ebay is not for them.

[downunder-61]

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@blackhillsdealer wrote:

I went and looked at his feedback and it was showing as private feedback.  There was nothing to see and it seems like it must be a new feature recently provided by ebay.

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This ability has been around since at least 2006 since I started on eBay - most likley for a lot longer. 

Unless you run auctions or accept offers, a seller can not vet a buyer before hand anyway, and once the buyer pay's you can not cancel a sale becuase the buyer has hidden FB  - this is a total non issue.

[rugerskick]

The "buyers" pay nothing if they scam the seller.  Ebay then becomes an active enabler of the scam by facilitating it.

[rugerskick]

The only advantage I see to private feedback is that it hides negative information from sellers who might look at that feedback and proactively not want such a person to place an order with them for concern of being scammed or dealing with an impossible buyer.  Or if they are doing retail arbitrage and don't want to have other sellers figure out who all are being used as their personal online inventory.