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Original poster

So who is going to stop selling on ebay after the feedback rules come in next month?

55 replies

ImflightbutIcantlogintoday · 21/04/2008 16:52

Me for one. I have a good rating and don't want to see it tumble just because people are free to leave me bad feedback as a seller without any fear of getting the same back.

I am an honest and I like to think scrupulous seller, I am on the case whenever I have a buyer who isn't happy - but there are some who just take the proverbial, and this means they will be free to run amok.

For anyone who doesn't know about it, the announcement is Here here]].

Sellers will no longer be able to leave negative or neutral feedback for buyers.

I understand it is to protect the buyer but what about the seller?

OP posts:
Original poster
ImflightbutIcantlogintoday · 21/04/2008 16:53

Sorry link didn't work, it's here

OP posts:
lizandlulu · 21/04/2008 17:03

i wont stop selling, but it does seem unfair. i only sell bits and bobs that are too good to throw/give away, and have had 2 non payers just lately. they were new ebayers with 0 feedback who bid too much money then didnt want to pay.

it really peed me off and wastes time.

i think i will put on my listings no buyers with less than 10 or so feedback.

but then its unfair to honest newcomers.

Original poster
ImflightbutIcantlogintoday · 21/04/2008 17:05

I've had a few non payers too, it seems to be creeping up, now they know they can get away with it.

OP posts:
auntypurple · 21/04/2008 17:24

My mum and dad sells lots of things every month, have had a few buyers who have said things have been broken in transit. My mum says send it back and she'll refund. She never gets the item back, and the buyer never contacts them again or leaves fb. They are not going to sell on ebay after May. I don't sell much there, and probably won't bother at all after May.

sixlostmonkeys · 21/04/2008 18:46

I don't have any intentions of stopping selling (it's my only income) but I guess the reality is I may be forced to stop

there's 2 sides to it for me - the first and most important is that if it goes the way i anticipate then unfortunately I'm out and the second, a strong curiosity to see how ebay will cope with the the big mess. Let's face it, many sellers will just leave, many will be forced out either literally (prob through no fault of their own) or by realising it's unworkable. sellers aren't just going to take it on the chin, they will retaliate. I admit I have thought of ways, and as I'm quite a placid person (no...really i am ) if I have thought of ways then you can bet others have too. Buyers aren't going to like it in the long run and good buyers may get caught up in it.

It will be messier than my DS's bedroom I tells ya!

This may be of interest to you www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/technology/17ebay.html?_r=2&ref=business&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

lljkk · 21/04/2008 18:59

the bargains tend to come from low-volume sellers too (feeling peeved as a buyer now)

lizandlulu · 21/04/2008 19:42

i dont get it, so you sell something and the buyer doesnt pay up, how do you let others know they are a non payer?

or dont you? that just seems silly.

Fllight · 21/04/2008 20:19

Thanks for the link, Six

Can I ask what kind of thing you're onsidering? Or is it a secret! I have no business brain at all, and can't think of anything except that I heard some sellers would be naming and shaming non payers on their me pages - not terribly effective surely - you'd have to read a lot of me pages to find your buyer.

onelittlelion · 21/04/2008 20:33

Will you be able to leave -ve/neutral fb for transactions completed prior to the changeover so for things sold now but fb left after iyswim?

Fllight · 21/04/2008 20:36

I asked on answer centre and the consensus was no, it will cease as from that date, even for completed transactions. So get in there now!

I suspect I have a few buyers waiting till the magic moment...

onelittlelion · 21/04/2008 20:41

I rally don't understand why it's a good idea? Surely sellers pay the fees and it allows buyers to threaten sellers? (When one reason for removal is that sellers can't threaten buyers -so why would it be a good thing the other way?!) I don;t sell much tbh but feel like I'm more likely to be taken advantage of!

Fllight · 21/04/2008 20:44

It might be better if they allowed negative for non payment but insisted payment in itself got a good mark somewhere...that way a buyer has to pay to earn their positive? And can't leave neg if they haven't paid.

Wonders what the fatal flaw in that would be...there must be one.

ranting · 21/04/2008 20:44

I only sell little bits and pieces on there but, I shall stop, too much hassle.

Fwiw, I don't buy much on their now either, simply because it's very difficult to get a bargain now, so I tend to use Gumtree or our local ads where you can still get genuine bargains.

Lua · 21/04/2008 20:47

Hummm, I am mostly a buyer and have o say I always thought that it was unfair as it is...
It seems like buyer should give feedback the moment they get the money, and buyer after they receive the merchandise.
There was one time I bought a "new" show with mud on it!! and the buyer said have the power to just leave me a bad feedback, even though I paid fine....

Fllight · 21/04/2008 20:48

Yes, I seem to get a problem with most things I buy on ebay - just had to open two paypal disputes in the past week!
I've had enough of it really.
The local free ads is better.

squilly · 21/04/2008 22:32

Sorry to be the lemon sucker here, but where else can you sell???

Ebay's the only tool that hits a huge audience and allows you to sell anything you like. It's unique and that's why it walks all over it's sellers.

Charge you more for your listings and not make them show up? Yeah...we can do that.

Charge you for a store and then not show your listings at all unless you've got unique stuff in? Yeah...we can do that.

Make you leave positive feedback for every scumbag and scammer around, whilst they can neg you til you're put out of business? Certainly sir...that's Ebay!!!

It's just a case of grit your teeth and see what happens, I guess...

BigBadMouse · 21/04/2008 22:51

IMO eBay has gone rapidly downhill over the past 6 months anyway.

More sellers seem to be charging ridiculous postage charges and I can't find what I am looking for easily now they seemed to have changed their search system. I've never really been messed about by buyers in the past 4 years but now I have to deal with non-paying bidders very often. Don't people have anything better to do with their time than bid on something they don't want?

I have some stuff to sell in a few months time but if I end up with a load of unfair negative I shan't be too concerned as it will be the last lot I sell until they clear up the mess they are about to make.

sixlostmonkeys · 22/04/2008 09:11

ebay say that if sellers report the non payers, eventually they will take action against these buyers. We can only hope they do - of course the buyer will just open a new account but that's another issue.
There has been the issue of - when a seller opens a dispute for non payment, all a buyer has to do is respond (even if it is with just a letter or a word) and they can then leave feedback. Again, ebay have mentioned they will be looking into this issue, and if they actually do this will help sellers. So fllight, this actually fits in with your idea in a way.

This change was brought about as a result of those buyers who complain that they feel they are being held to ransom by sellers who leave FB after the buyer does. The fact that a this is the proper way to behave (ie you leave the FB at the END of a transaction) seems to have been ignored and these mis-guided, complaining buyers are now being pampered instead of being given a tutorial on how to buy.
Ideally, if the majority of sellers now act the same way, these buyers will complain again and ebay may need to rethink. If sellers, (and I believe many many sellers are planning this already) don't leave FB at all (it being pointless now) then buyers will start complaining that they can't can't get their FB up. A seller could leave FB, and although it will mark as Positive, words such as NEGATIVE FB. THIS BUYER DIDN'T PAY #* all a seller would have to do before proceeding with the transaction is read the comments rather than just look at the %

Fllight - you asked what I was considering. Tbh it's not business minded, in fact I'm annoyed that all this messing around with ebay is doing nothing but prevent me from actually running a business. It's just that I have thought of, how can we put it, 'retaliations'? Nothing illegal, but if others have pondered similar 'ways' then it is going to get unpleasant.

Fllight · 22/04/2008 11:13

Thankyou Six. You make some very good points there. I'm not a business seller in fact and much of the stuff I sell is stuff I have bought on ebay myself, and found it was misdescribed but not badly enough to open a dispute or make a fuss! Or the usual, doesn't fit, wrong colour etc which ain't the seller's fault.

I think I might just stop buying unless it is something tres specific and I know exactly what I'll be getting.

I have been leaning toward the new products rather than second hand recently as it seems the only way to get what you actually are after. Starting to think there's too much risk with individual sellers, which is a shame as lots of them are great but I know how easy it is to misdescribe and it can get annoying.

Watching with interest to see how it all pans out.

Exactly - how will buyers get any feedback if sellers aren't bothering to leave it?

Ebay HQ is so silly sometimes.

sixlostmonkeys · 22/04/2008 11:27

another link for you
www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y08/m04/i22/s04

If listings have dropped recently, what are they going to do in a few months when even more sellers go?
Free to list is a bad way to go imo. It will attract a ton of tat making searches even more difficult and no doubt fvf will increase again.

expatinscotland · 22/04/2008 11:28

Well, I got screwed over by a buyer who was a liar.

Haven't used Ebay since.

MsPontipine · 22/04/2008 11:32

May I just point out that the Feedback Tutorial for sellers actually recommends that sellers leave their feedback first. I remember reading also that sellers who do leave feedback on recept of payment actually receive more feedback from buyers in particular more positive feedback.

I always leave feedback on posting except if I have had a particularly good rapport with my buyer and like to leave a more personal message when I know my seller's received the item safely - whether they have left me feedback or not.

If more sellers had done this we would not be in this situation now - so many sellers include in their listing (however flowerily worded) that they will not leave feedback until the seller has done first. You can see it from the buyer's pov especially those trying to build up a good rating, that fear of possible retaliation from a vengeful seller affects the feedback they leave. I recently posted in this section an example of one seller's feedback. For almost every -ve that she received (and there were quite a few) she left a negative in return. The amount most buyers buy is significently less than most sellers sell therefore one feedback for a purchase will affect their score a lot more than the seller's.

I will add finally that I do have a bit of selling experience - I am a small scale seller - I've sold about 500 items in the past year. I have had 1 none payer/no contact (my only -ve feedback left for buyer), 1 parcel not received (genuine refunded by RM) and about 80% of my buyers leave feedback (All postitive)

I am not worried about the change in the feedback system - I don't think it will affect me - but I will keep an open mind. Maybe watch this space . .

hecate · 22/04/2008 11:34

switch to tazbar ???

MsPontipine · 22/04/2008 11:37

I will just add that yes I do acknowledge that there are dodgy characters out there - buyers and sellers looking only to rip people off but these are in the minority and we shouldn't view every buyer/seller as a lying scumbag scam artist.

Lucklily so far I have managed to avoid them and all my experiences (buying and selling) have been excellent.

sixlostmonkeys · 22/04/2008 11:43

I'm wondering if the feedback tutorial has recently changed. Ebay would never state as such which way they recommended, although ebay staff would personally state that it should be the buyer. The Invoice template actually uses the words "please leave feedback for me and then I will do the same for you"
Since the announcement re the FB change, ebay are indeed recommending that sellers leave FB first - crazy!
Whether the statement re sellers who leave FB first receive more back is actually true..... I have my suspicions.
Why a seller would leave FB before the transaction is complete beats me.

many so called retaliatory FBs are actually well deserved. If a buyer uses FB instead of communication then they deserve a neg. I recall seeing such an example of this here.

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