Why don't all sellers use the same guidelines for Leaving Feedback?

[phanoto]

Many buyers like to know what to expect when buying on any website.    Therefore, it would be best if buyers knew what to expect about getting feedback from sellers.

Just about all sellers know that feedback for buyers is not useful for letting other sellers know that a buyer acts fairly and is honest, or that the buyer is unfair and dishonest.  Therefore, it is logical that sellers would want to leave feedback in such a way that displeases the smallest number of the seller's customers. 

Sellers can use the following facts to decide when to leave feedback and what to say in the feedback in order to displease the smallest number of customers:

1.  Fewer buyers are displeased by the seller leaving feedback before the buyer receives the item. 

2.  Fewer buyers are displeased by the seller thanking the buyer in the feedback or by saying something nice about the buyer.  Other sellers know that the good things said about a buyer in feedback do not indicate how fair and honest the buyer is. 

3.  When more sellers leave feedback soon after payment is received, buyers will leave feedback for a larger percent of their purchases from other sellers. 

Comments that are often made which are true but have nothing to do with what is the best way for sellers to use the feedback program for buyers:

1.  Leaving feedback is voluntary.

2.  Buyers do not need more feedback after they get enough to cause sellers to be comfortable selling to them.

[myescape]

1.Few buyers bother to look at when or even if a seller leaves feedback.

2.If good statements in fb do not indicate a good transaction the seller is lying and why would seller want to lie for a   buyer who was a problem?

3.When a seller leaves feedback does not necessarily factor into when/if buyer does

[gracieallen01]

"Re: Why don't all sellers use the same guidelines for Leaving Feedback?"

One seller says, 'Everybody should leave feedback THIS way', and another sellers says, 'No, THIS way works for ME', and another seller says, 'NO, I think it should be left THIS way', and another seller says, 'NO, I don't like to leave feedback', and another seller says, 'But, feedback doesn't mean anything, so WHY?', and another seller says, NO, THIS way has always been better for the buyer', and another seller says, 'YES, everybody should follow MY guidelines', and another seller says, " NO, The BEST way is .....................', ad infinitum.

Perhaps it is because not people are the same?

So many 'guidelines', so little time!

[southern*sweet*tea]

::general reply::

At this point in time the horse is dead and the remaining greasy spot is just about faded away into the pavement.

Please let it RIP lol

[gracieallen01]

Ah, but you KNOW it will never rest in peace - it hasn't for YEARS!  

'Sides, what else to do on Sunday morning?

[myescape]

As primarily a buyer (see my fb)I can say I have never looked to see if a seller that did not leave me fb(heck I wouldn't notice if a seller did not leave me feedback)was leaving it for others.It is a business transaction for an item not a way to garner praise from strangers for following thru on my commitments/obligations

[wpt05]

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@southern*sweet*tea wrote:

::general reply::

At this point in time the horse is dead and the remaining greasy spot is just about faded away into the pavement.

Please let it RIP lol

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[city*satins]

Like this topic, it's dead but it won't lie down. 

[7606dennis]

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@phanoto wrote:

Of course, when it comes to not leaving feedback for a certain buyer, I am reminded of my late mother's "If you can't say something good about someone, say nothing at all."

Yes, that is good advice for most social situations.

In business situations, such as when applying for a job, or when saying something about a customer, I use the advice that most people use in those situations, which is:  "If you can't say something good about someone, say something good about something the  person has done, or at least say something pleasant."

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Alas!  Since eBay has left the seller no choice in what type of feedback they may leave a buyer, leaving none it, in my opinion, the only logical option open to the seller.  While I'm okay with sellers leaving positive feedback if the situation warrants it, leaving what amounts to a testimonial of the buyer's being a good buyer to me is a problem and it is better to leave none at all.

[7606dennis]

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@phanoto wrote:

"I wish they would just remove the word 'honest' from the 'leave feedback for buyers' message, since in some cases you can't."

Since May 2008, sellers have been able to leave honest feedback for every one of their customers. 

If the seller leaves feedback before the buyer does something bad, the seller can leave honest feedback.  The seller will probably say something like "Thank you" in the feedback.   But ,even if the seller says something like, "Valued customer",  that will still be honest feedback at the time it is left even if the buyer later does something bad.  

If the seller waits until the buyer does something bad before leaving feedback for the buyer, the seller cannot leave honest feedback about whatever the buyer did that was bad.   That is just one of the reasons sellers want to leave feedback quickly.

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Sellers have only been permitted to leave positive feedback for their customers on eBay since 2008.  I'm not sure how you interpret that to mean that they are able to leave honest feedback.  It is like saying that you can vote to adopt a motion, but you cannot vote against it.  Your only other option would be to abstain from voting if you opposed its adoption.  

By the way, feedback was never meant as merely a way for sellers to thank customer for their business.  Feedback was meant to be a way to give one's opinion of how the transaction went and not as a product review or a thank you. 

[phanoto]

"Alas!  Since eBay has left the seller no choice in what type of feedback they may leave a buyer, leaving none it, in my opinion, the only logical option open to the seller. "

I am a seller and  I have a choice in what type of feedback I may leave my customers.  I can leave a simple "Thank you", or I can say something like, "Wonderful customer".   Positive feedback for a buyer does not mean that the seller had a positive experience with the buyer. 

"While I'm okay with sellers leaving positive feedback if the situation warrants it, leaving what amounts to a testimonial of the buyer's being a good buyer to me is a problem and it is better to leave none at all."

The only problem with a seller leaving "NO FEEDBACK'  is that some of the seller's GOOD customers will be dissatisfied with the seller who does not leave feedback until  enough time has passed  to cause the seller to think the buyer will not do something bad.

Most sellers prefer to leave feedback for a buyer who will later do something bad than to withhold feedback from the seller's good customers.   Leaving NO FEEDBACK will not warn other sellers about a bad buyer, so there is no reason to make good customers dissatisfied just to avoid giving a positive to a bad buyer which doesn't mean anything except that the buyer PAID.

[phanoto]

A seller said that if a buyer does not leave feedback, the seller assumes that the buyer does not want feedback.  Therefore, the seller does not leave feedback.

My question is:

Since many buyers who do not leave feedback will be dissatisfied with the seller because the seller did not leave  feedback,  how does a seller know that the buyer is not one of those buyers who will be dissatisfied because the seller did not leave feedback? 

I know that some buyers prefer to not receive feedback in some cases.  I suppose it is when the buyer bought something that they do not want other people to know they bought it. 

[soh.maryl]

Usually, I try not to get involved in your posts; however, I was struck by  "Since May, 2008, sellers have been able to leave honest feedback for every one of their customers."

Didn't you mean " . . . have NOT been able to leave honest feedback"? 

[soh.maryl]

Again, it's voluntary for either party.  Why do we (myself included) have to go on for several pages about who leaves it first, whether or not anyone leaves it, how much impact it has on a seller's career on eBay etc?

[city*satins]

Imagine the confusion if Miss Manners and other authorities on etiquette decided that the Thank you note  you customarily send after being a guest in someone's home were henceforth to be called a Feedback note.

Since 2008, eBay feedback has kind of been the reverse of that. We're going to keep calling seller feedback for buyers Feedback, but it now can pretty much only say Thank you.

**confession - I'm still on my first cup of coffee**

[phanoto]

Someone said that some of those buyers who have bad behavior have a high buyer feedback number. 

Many sellers prefer to sell to buyers who have a high feedback number.  One reason is  because the buyer will also probably have a high "feedback left" number.  Sellers can sometimes look at the buyer's "feedback left" to get an idea of whether the buyer is fair or not. 

I look at a buyer's "feedback left" when a buyer makes an offer.  What do you think about a buyer's "feedback left"?