Gives buyers all
the power. Time to ship more accurate than delivery time which is dependent on the carrier
not the seller. "communication" is vague term. small sellers have to charge more
for shipping and handling than megasellers so it isnt a fair comparison (no bulk mailings
or bulk purchase of supplies).
IMHO in order to
work fairly the system has to be applied equally on buyers and sellers. Both parties must
have their feet held to the fire for this system to work. The 2 year feedback exorcism is
a welcome change. As life takes it's surprising twists and turns, many sellers receive neg
feedback for uncontrollable events. My one and only neg feedback was given to me 10 years
ago after communication and mutual understanding with the buyer with no retaliation on my
part. That 99.9 still bothers me!
For sellers,
especially large volume sellers, Feedback 2.0 gives buyers even more leverage without
really helping sellers improve. The primary issue is the lack of transparency. Most
sellers want Feedback to help them improve their processes. But, without knowing which
transactions the new ratings apply to, there's no way of knowing specifically how to
improve. Also, will any of these new ratings really help a buyer make a decision about
which sellers to buy from?
Once again, eBay
wants to fix and replace something that works while leaving other issues in dire need of
repair. Ebay's feedback system is actually superior to Amazon's. They simply need to have
a better system to resolve situations where some people leave unfair feedback.
it gives
complainers and morons more ways to complain.
I am shocked how
unfair it is to give this kind of power to the buyer without providing the seller the same
opportunities for more comprehensive feedback. I feel this will crush the drop off stores
that handle huge quantities of items and do not have the personnel to be quite as timely
as regular sellers with commuication, shipping, etc. If we have to staff our stores in
such a way to be able to get items shipped out in 1 day and answer every e-mail in 1 day
so as to have perfect communication and shipping, we will all go out of business and eBay
will loose one heck of a lot of items for sale on its site. I have sold 20,000+ items at
my store alone and there are drop off stores all over the country- many of them just
starting out and struggling to make a living. In addition, this system does not address
the huge problem that buyers have differing levels of expectations regarding what is
"accepatable" shipping charges or times and many buyers have no idea how much it
actually costs to ship items! I am very saddened by this unfair, one-sided move.
This is a really
dumb idea. Who has time to rate 4 different aspects, it's hard enough to get someone to
leave a measily positive with a short comment!
Personally I think
the current feedback system is too vague. I always check out a sellers feedback
before I bid. I wish people would be more detailed with their words and not so ambiguous.
I want more than just a positive or negative, but Im not sure I like this new FB2.0
either. Maybe eBay could offer dropdown boxes with preset items for one to choose. And
sellers should be able to rate buyers too.
As a buyer, I would
like to know the specific problem(s) other buyers had with a seller. I also sell, and
would be very diligent about making sure the identified areas were not a problem for me.
The sellers must
give feedback after the buyer fulfills his part of the agreement... that is when he has
paid for the item. Many sellers wait until the buyer gives feedback. This should not be
allowed. Buyers must be held accountable to their feedbacks also. If they do something
because of, say, Media Mail shipping being slow... then their feedback should be
automatically removed, or not allowed. I am a seller mainly, and a buyer... and I think
feedback is great, but truly abused by both parties. Thanks for listening!
This new feedback
version could open up a whole new can of worms and problems. Many times honest,
conscientous sellers may be strongly critized for situations beyond their control (for
example, requesting an address confirmation from a buyer when their ebay address doesn't
match their PayPal address and the buyer won't/doesn't respond and days go by while
waiting to be "safe" in shipping. Most of the ratings will all be a matter of
personal judgement. How much is too much? How long is too long? If critized unfairly, Ebay
will then loose these "good" sellers who strive to excell and take pride in
doing a good job. This version may hurt the majority while trying to straighten up the few
offenders. Personally, I strive to give great customer service and receiving one negative
would probably give me enough grief to quit spending so much time and money listing
auctions .....and, I remember when it used to be fun. I think a system to report the BIG
offenders would be more effective in the long run. Thank you for this survey.
Dont really know
but how can one put a time on shipping and item we can control the mailing system
Am so disappointed
with Ebay I might just stop looking and buying anything on their website. It used to be a
joy, now it's a chore that I don't need to deal with. Also, the new rule about buyers 1, 2
or 3 for anything over $200 just plain "stinks". I want to know who I'm bidding
against in specialized auctions and that's no longer possible. I think with the new rule
it's easier to bump your own merchandise up the bidding scale. Ebay says "no"
... I say "yes it is".
This is one sided.
The bad Buyers have to much power with this new feedback.
leave it to ebay to
make it worse, not better.
The feedback for
delivery time, with the exception of getting the item to a delivery carrier, is out of a
seller's hands. The way the feedback is worded the carrier delivery time also will come
into play which has nothing to do with the seller.
WHY DO YOU PEOPLE
KEEP CHANGING THE RULES? WHY WOULD YOU NEGATE THE FIRST 2 YEARS OF ANYONE'S FEEDBACK
UNLESS IT WAS NEGATIVE? THAT IS WHAT SMELLS! EVERYONE WHO WAS TRYING SO HARD TO LIVE UP TO
THE EBAY GOALS ARE PENALIZED IN FAVOUR OF THOSE WHO CHEATED OR MADE BAD DEALS. THEY SHOULD
NOT BE GIVEN A FRESH CHANCE! GOOD GRIEF! DONNELL WELLS DALLAS, TEXAS
if its not broke
don't fix it. really need to focus on shill bidding and doing something about those
sellers
What difference
does it make. Ebay will make changes for the sake of looking like they are improving
things when that are not. The techno-nerds have to come up with something to justify their
jobs and look good to Meg and get bonuses.
The excellent
cocept of feedback has been all too often usurped by the growing number of Ebayers who use
it as a "club" to beat sellers up with. Shoul my recent buyer who sent demands
for status on the first and second day after payment and then demanded refund on the third
day and filed a PayPal dispute and harassed us continuously afterward, ending in negative
feedback for us for a sale conducted and shipped well be now allowed to leave several
negative comments on our record when they were obviously "disturbed" and
obnoxious from the get go? There are an increasing number of such indivviduals already
running amok at Ebay. Would giving them even more opportunity to harm sellers at their
disturbed whim be a good thing? I think not. This may well be the "final straw that
causes us to dump Ebay for good after seven years of selling there. Seelling at our own
website is FAR less expensive and MUCH less contentious. -Steve M. Summer Bee Meadow
summerbeemeadow
I don't know enough
about it to have an opinion.
While the intent of
Feedback 2.0 is to improve a seller's rating and reputation at the same time is is another
means of damaging the credibility of a reputable seller. Unsavvy eBay buyers may not fully
understand actual shipping costs/delivery times and/or may not read item descriptions
carefully enough. And on another note, it is often difficult enough to get buyers and
sellers to leave positive feedback for one another. A longer to complete feedback process
may hamper the feedback exchange that is so important in establishing and maintaining a
reputation on eBay.
Delivery time is
out of the hands of the seller and should not be rated. We are at the mercy of USPS as to
when they will transport and deliver the shipment.Sellers should be able to similary
detailed feedback for buyers.Feedback should be weighted a $1.00 item should not carry the
same value as a $100.00 item nor that of a $ 1,000.00 item..
Anything to help
the current broken system would be positive
Ebay refuses to
address a problem such as this - changing the "Style" of the feedback will
accomplish nothing. Retaliatory feedback - talking out of both sides of her mouth, due to
her own unresponsiveness. eBay User ID stvessey Response: * I am willing to discuss this
with the other party. Fine, remove the Feedback. * I left negative feedback for the other
party and I would be willing to have it withdrawn. We have received a response to your
case from the other party (email address: stvessey@firstam.com.) In that response, the
other party stated that they did not agree to feedback withdrawal.
Doesn't sound
good-- but most change is resisted at first. I think it will end up about the same as now,
with bad players not getting all the negs they deserve out of fear of retaliation. Some
players will go to extremes, and grade harshly because they will get off on their new
power. But if your a good seller, or good bidder-- that is you are honest, it will all be
fine. The flakes will still be flakes. The more things change, the more they stay the
same.
??
I don't like
change.
It is already
difficult-to-impossible to get buyers to leave feedback. With Feedback 2.0 and so many
choices, buyers will be highly unlikely to leave feedback. As with so many other recent
eBay changes, THIS SUCKS!
I think that the
process is too long and will result in only "unhappy" customers leaving a
detailed feedback response. If Ebay takes away the past two years of feedback, where does
that leave sellers who have been selling less than 2 years???
Feedback, as it is
now, at best is subjective. The proposed changes make it even more so. Is a low
'Communication' score for too much or too little? How many emails is considered too few,
or too many? And who is the judge? The ultimate judgement of how well an item is packed is
whether or not it arrived safely, not whether or not an inexperienced buyer 'feels' like
it could have been packed differently. This opens up a potential disaster for otherwise
conscientious sellers. Ebay has already decided that this is going to happen, so like
every other change they make we'll read soon enough what a great success the trials have
been. No doubt there will be 'surveys' that show Feedback 2.0 has been demanded by the
general buying and selling community. Of course, we'll never see any of these surveys, nor
will we know who participated. Richard Hanna
The whole thing is
an obvious ploy by eBay to increase their revenues. The part about cost of delivery is
primary to this, as it will tend to drive down shipping costs with bad feedback for anyone
who charges ANYthing for shipping. The result will be that sellers will turn to putting
shipping cost into the sale cost of the item, and eBay takes a percentage of sale cost.
They get NO percentage of shipping as it is. So, it is simply to eBay's financial
advantage to force sellers to raise their selling price by adding in shipping as a hidden
cost.
When contemplating
bidding on an item, I would like to be able to see negative feedback remarks of a seller
without having to search through pages of feedback. This applies especially when the
seller has many feedbacks posted.
I think it's awful
that all the buyer will hold ALL the cards. If a seeler does not offer free shipping AND
ship out the same day as payment they are leaving themselves open for negative comments
and less than five stars in that category. Very slanted towards the buyer.
I like it all
except the shipping charges. Being in Canada, its hard to compete with US prices and I am
often accused of padding shipping when I am charging actual postal rates.
Ebay should block
buyers ability to leave negative feedback once you have file NP
The bigest problem
with e bay is the lack of phone help and not able to talk to a person only the stupid
notes that you have to send back and forth and get no place. all ebay know is to change,
change and change. When e bay firs started it was fun and easy to use but now OH they make
it so difficult to use and cater to the junk sellers with large volume and not the small
seller who needs help from time to time the whole idea why ebay was started is lost and
now it is out of hand.
Buyers have plenty
of room now to state their opinion of sellers' methods. This idiotic rating system is
typical of the juvenile website design that is now pervasive and quite disgusting.
Excellent sellers who have never had a neg will suddenly find themselves getting negs with
this system because many people simply feel they must balance positive comments with
negative comments. If buyers can rate sellers in this manner, sellers should be able to
rate buyers on 1) Promptness of Payment, 2) Reasonable Patience, 3) Courteous
Communication. eBay is obsessed with tinkering with things that work just fine. They are
determined to muck up things in the process and cause site-wide and/or area-specific
glitches. Why can't they leave things alone and focus on making the site work correctly.
Far, far too many glitches all over eBay. Why compound the problems?
I think it will be
good in some ways but the potential for abuse by a buyer is huge!
I think breaking
down the feedback system will overall be damaging. The feedback should be based on the
experience as a "whole".
Buyers, given
multiple choice questions, or a rating system will not rate the seller with a top rating,
no matter how good the transaction is. This is going to bring down many good sellers.
Once again Ebay is
trying to fix something that isn't broken.
It is a terrible
idea, and seems negative in every way.
This is the first I
heard about this since I have been off line due to a move out of state. I will look into
it more, but it does sound good to me. If a sell is overcharging on shipping I will not
bid on the item. I have been selling and buying online since 1997, so I do know the
shipping price of a item.
more than is
required. takes longer to fillout so only bad feedback will be left. Omits total number of
sales when figuring feedback rating..... as usual a unthoughout, incomplete and
substandard feature by ebay.
Long overdue-Buyers
experience on eBay is EVERYTHING and opportunistic shoddy and just lazy Sellers wreck the
Buying experience and drive prospective Buyers away. Seller abuse is one of eBay's dirty
little secrets and f/b 2.0 hopefully will motivate Sellers to clean up their acts and
diffuse Buyer anger if they have valid complaints about a transaction. My 2 cents!
Items in our
control should be gradeable. I don't have any control over delivery time of posting
services. Why not rate the USPS instead? As a seller, we ought to be able to grade buyers
on how many days it took them to pay and politeness of communications (it's unbelieveable
how rude some buyers are). Both are something the buyer controls personally. I expect
that, the more a buyer leans towards a negative rating under each category, the more a
seller will be leaving a less positive rating for their buyers. Self-defeating for Ebay.
I don't think many
buyers are going to spend the time to leave feedback in 'categories'.
The only thing I
really don't like about this is the fact that the buyer rates me on the shipping time. I
always ship the very next day but I have had items take 3 times longer than the estimated
shipping time shown on ebay. I have no control over how long it takes the post office to
deliver an item but the buyer is going to blame me. I think buyers should be made aware to
look at the postmark date if they are going to grade me on my shipping time. They need to
know it's from the time they pay until the time I drop it off at the post office.
It will all depend
on how the over-all rating is calculated. Amazon's 1 - 5 has caused problems for even
superior sellers because of buyers who are constitutionally incapable of giving anybody
top marks for anything. These people write glowing comments about every aspect of the
transaction, give the seller a 4 and turn a 100% rating to a 99.7 that destroys the
seller's marketing edge. And the delivery time option gives me nightmares. I note
anticipated delivery time in my shipping confirmation emails, with a caveat about relying
on the Post Office's estimates of how long a shipment will take. I still get buyers who
email me three days after the confirmation notice, worrying that their book has been lost
in the mail. I think Auctionbytes should wait until the trial of the new feedback system
is a few weeks old before asking seasoned sellers what they think of it. It should help to
discourage the drop-shippers who charge $12 s&h for a three dollar book. And it might
encourage sellers to write better descriptions. But, given the level of sophistication of
both buyers and sellers, it won't do a lot for those of us who go the extra mile with
precise, detailed descriptions, b-flute packaging and packing slips and confirmation
notices reiterating our 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Think we will have
to see it before we know whatglitches it will develop.
Why change what is
already diffuclt for the newbe to understand and make it more comples at that !
I wish that they
would focus on when the seller shipped out the item opposed to delivery time. If a seller
sends an item out the next business day, but the Post Office takes 10 days to deliver it,
the seller will get punished for a USPS mistake. Also, I wish that they would have a
similar system to rate buyers. One of the questions could be how quickly the buyer paid.
You seem to mostly
gear feedback more to make the buyers in charge leaving the Seller to need to wait until
the buyer leaves feedback before giving yours. The few negative feedbacks I have gotten
have been from buyers giving me retaliatory feedback because I gave them negative feedback
because they did not pay. I now never give feedback unless the buyer gives it first. YOU
NEED TO LEAVE THE FEEDBACK ALONE AND WORK ON SOMETHING ELSE.
Haven't read up on
it much, but the current system is not the best. I find problems with non paying bidders
who win the auction then send you a message saying they purchased a different one and
couldn't reach the seller in time to retract the bids.
I don't think the
system has ever worked. As long as sellers can hold the rating of the buyer hostage until
the buyer posts a positive rating (many sellers will not post their rating of you until
you have posted their positive rating) the rating system will never work. If you post a
negative posting they post one about you. I'm not sure there is any way to have a
"fair" system. Many things about shipping the seller has no control of. We can't
control the weather that may delay a shipment and we certainly can control the postoffice.
We left ebay when they started all their "improvements", double billing sellers
and driving many small venders out of business. To protest Ebays heavy handed (profit over
everything concept) we became a part of UniteEbay and got our own store at another site
where we pay $7 a month for our store front complete with shopping cart. We haven't sold
on Ebay since that day a few years ago. I don't see anything on ebay that changes my mind.
I think that Meg has destroyed many of the greatest things about the original ebay. It's
very sad. I loved being a part of ebay before it went "wrong".
The whole feedback
system should be cancelled until they come up with a way to prevent retalitory feedback.
The biggest problem
is letting non paying bidders leave feedback at all.
It is about like
everything else eBay does .... like politicians, eBay people do not live in the real
world, and making up new rules and regulations in every aspect of eBay use makes them feel
better, while not helping the people who actually use eBay, to buy or sell.
As per usual, yet
another eBay *enhancement* that is destined to become another of their big, fat, failures!
And another reason why eBay has gone to 75%+ of our online income to maybe .5%
I think in all the
changes will be positive. However I wish they would have a tab for negatives. If I am
buying from a seller & they have negatives or neutrals, the first thing I do is check
those feedbacks. It's time consuming to have to go through all there feedbacks if they
have a lot & find those comments.Before I decide if I want to purchase from them or
not.
I dislike the
anonymity. I want to know who left what feedback.
The seller has no
recourse to add to or explain a buyers scale of ratings. Everyone can differ on each point
and the seller has no way to defend a rating. If eBay put the same scale in effect for a
seller to rate the buyer, it would be a waste of time for a seller to do this much more on
a feedback scenario. A seller would be able to list many more items in the same time
period. Most sellers are very limited in time and this would just be another time
consuming thing to do instead of listing items to sell. Many buyers complain over a few
pennies extra on the shipping cost and they do not realize that the cost of shipping an
item is not just the price of the postage stamp. If this is implemented for a buyer, you
absolutely need to give the seller some recourse to address the comments of a buyer.
Actually most sellers know that comments to eBay are for the most part a waste of time
also. If eBay decides to implement something or a new feature or price increase in fees,
it is done without regard to the few who will quit listing on eBay. This is my humble
opinion that will be discarded in the mix of your survey. Regards,
I think it will
help....especially for Sellers who overcharge on the shipping....
Ebay should be
simplifying their site, not continually complicating it at every opportunity. This will
not solve retaliatory or libelous feedback. ABE for books is totally successful and they
don't have feedback at all. Its like trading on a knife edge as it is. I'd put a top
ceiling of a 1000 feedbacks. I've got almost 7000 and what's the point!
So much of delivery
speed/charges is out of the seller's hands, it is completely unfair to rate them on it!
It sounds like a
very good idea. I would like to rate sellers on each portion of the sale. I would welcome
buyers to do the same.
If the new system
can do something about new buyers to ebay leaving negative feedback when the least little
thing goes wrong, I'm all for it. Inexperienced buyers on ebay leaving neg feedback for
sellers has caused a lot of sellers to go elsewhere for auction selling.
Communication is
problematic due to spam filters. Delivery/shipping time is problematic due to it being out
of my control. Shipping charges are problematic because buyers typically don't include
packaging, time, gas to get to the post office, etc. A seller should be able to rate
buyers in the same way or leave retaliatory feedback for stupid buyers, which there are
MANY.
The seller is being
sidelined & in my field (Rare Books) there are fewer & fewer good sellers. Many
have stopped listing on ebay. Thereby attracting fewer bidders.
Retire the first 2
years of feedback? And what purpose will that serve? It's good to know if a member has
learned anything by looking at how they used t be in comparison to how they are doing now.
Have not details
yet
I think it is well
worth a try .. I leave feedback for buyers as soon as payment arrives .. usually within an
hour or so .. but I have purchased items and have had the seller note that they would
leave feedback after I left feedback for them ... hardly a fair situation .. I never buy
from them again .. Let's give it a try .. as for dropping the first 2 years .. well that
can be considered a learning experience for some ... a real + or - experience ! Thanks !
.............
I will definitely
continue my policy of only leaving feedback for those who leave feedback first for me. As
a seller, I do not consider the transaction final until the buyer is happy and has
indicated this by leaving feedback for me.
its hard to judge
this type of format until its tried, no one can give much of a positive vote until they
have actually tried the what ever it is.
Too much
unnecessary information that really has nothing to do with the relationship between the
buyer/seller. It goes back to the way society handles issues. If one person does something
that another complains (loud enough) then everyone else will be effected by it in a
negative way. I think it is a BAD idea. Ebay should let those involved handle their OWN
issues (with ebay's assistance - if needed).
It isn't fair to
rate us on delivery time - we are all at the mercy of carriers: I can't tell you how many
times I get slammed due to delays beyond my control after I ship promptly, or unreasonable
people believeing it takes 2 days or less to ship something across country, or less than 5
days from the USA to Western Europe. Shipping and handling charges feedback - I run both
hot and cold on it. In one respect, it should hopefully stop some of the gouging that
Trust & Safety really can't seem to monitor effectively. On the other hand I do get
slammed at times because someone thinks me "making" about $1.25 to cover
packaging costs, mailers, etc. is somehow obscene (which doesn't cover the cost, by the
way).
Due to the
everpresent spectre of retaliatory feedback the new system will be equally as specious as
the old .
I feel that ebay
needs to stop fixing things that are not broken and concentrate on real problems, like
bidders who don't pay,sellers who misrepresent items etc. Ebay needs to think less of how
they can raise fees and more about how to increase both seller and buyer satisfaction. I
pretty much have stopped selling thru them as they have been making changes that in my
opinion are not needed. What they need to do is have more ways to get in contact with them
than waiting 24 to 48 hours for an canned email response.
I believe it's hard
enough to get buyers to leave feedback by clicking one of the three present choices. Now
they will have about a half dozen more options. Pretty soon they will abandon the whole
cumbersome process and not leave any feedback at all. My overall thought is that the extra
areas to rate a seller will encourage "nitpicking". Open up cans of worms that
the buyer would not have made a bid deal about before. Rating shipping time, is often out
of the hands of the seller once it is shipped. That is a potential negative for
unavoiadable reasons. My buyers mention in the regular feedback if it was shipped quickly,
so why make it a separate category? I guess this new Feedback 2.0 system must be for the
buyers that can't think for themselves!
n/a
with ebay new
policies always revolving nothing seems to get "tweeked" or made better by
getting rid of the last two years feedback once again we have a neutral field that gives a
seller a good or bad reputation.
It is amazing how
few buyers read the item descriptions but eBay feels that they will be equiped to grade on
this. Shipping times vary greatly based on seasons and buyers choice of shipping options.
Catalog sales can take weeks, Refunds from retailers take 6-8 weeks but an eBay buyer can
somehow expect a product purchased on Friday night to make it to them by Tuesday via first
class mail. It will be interesting to see if the powerseller feedback level will be held
to 98%. I predict this will change in 12 months to a much lower level. As a seller this
will not have any true affect as all sellers will be evenly matched. The only issue will
be if total eBay buyer participation drops as the feed back average drops on all of the
high volume sellers and it will due to unrealistic expectations.
Unfair to sellers!!
Little, if
anything, eBay does makes much sense. They talk a good fight, but seldom actually do much
to improve situations that causes problems for buyers or sellers. An example is the fact
they won't go back and remove obvious retaliatory feedback from non-paying bidders. This
has resulted in many, if not most, sellers simply not posting negative feedback on non
paying bidders. This encourages the NPB problem to continue. Until eBay is forced to
change their corporate mentality , I think these types of changes are simply shoveling
sand against the tide.
As with the current
system, if properly and consistently used it can be a useful tool. If not, then it has the
potential to be just as frustrating. I do not think that sellers should be rated on
shiiping time, as that is something over which they have little control. Instead rate them
on the time between receipt of payment and item shipment, although even that can be iffy
when paying by check or money order.
I welcome it! I
communicate with my buyers, charge a fair shipping/handling cost, and ship fast! I think
it will help buyers decide who they want to do business with.
Sellers have very
little control over delvery times. Once it is mailed, the US postal sevice is in charge,
and buyers cannot grasp the concept that there is nothing the seller can do to make the
post office deliver it faster. Buyers also do not understand packaging costs of envelopes,
boxes, tape, shipping help, gas to the post, etc. and think it should be just actual
postage. Paypal also has told me and probabably others to include their fees in shipping.
This feedback is asking all buyers who have never sold to grade a seller as if they
understand the selling end of ebay. I truly believe most sellers have purchased on ebay
and do understand the buying end of ebay.
not enough detail
to make a honest rating on the 2.0 program. Sounds good, but needs some fine tuning.
Seems like overkill
to me. If it ani't broke, don't fix it!!!
Sellers have always
been able to leave nasty feedback in retaliation. This changes nothing! It's all about who
gets the last word. Ebay makes sure the seller has the last word.
The problem with
feedback is that new users do not understand how important it is and sometimes leave
feedback without even contacting the seller if there is a problem. Also going on their
past history, we have always found that anytime ebay makes changes that they say are
great, they wind up being the worst thing that ever happened to us. They keep trying to
fix things. If they had never tried to "fix " things, we would all be a lot
better off.
I sell large
furniture, most of my customers have no concept of the labor involved to put a 200 pound
piece of furniture on a pallet, they think it should cost 50 dollars.... and then all the
work be done for free even the materials... our motor freight sits and is dependent on the
trucks having full loads due to the high price of gas... there are many circumstance
beyond my control and I do not think I should be rated on delivery time... I am not the
shipper... If it is not broke do not fix it... eBay should leave well enough alone... If I
am rated on 4 categories then I need to be able to rate the buyer on the same number of
categories.
Buyers will be able
to blackmail sellers, while sellers will have no recourse for their feedback. The tit for
tat is the only thing protecting sellers now. Take that away and we are toast. Buyers alos
look for sellers with very high positive ratings, knowing we protect our feedback at all
costs. I can't tell you how many threats I have succumbed to, to protect it. They demand
and you must perform OR ELSE. Sellers will suffer and I for one and leaving ebay as
quickly as possible. I haven't done an active listing in two months and don't plan to ever
list on ebay again. I am taking everything to my website, spending the money I once paid
ebay, to promote my own site.
Too much info for a
buyer to do, they will give no feedback
I think anything
that will clarify the reason for a particular feedback rating is good.
It will hold
sellers to a higher standard. Those who are serious about customer relations will not have
a problem. It's those who don't care about customer service who will suffer.
Feedback 2.0 is
another ebay "squeeeze play". For the last 2 years they have done nothing but
push they're negative changes onto the sellers. Nothing good can come from allowing a
picky buyer more power to slam a seller. No amount of customer service will satisfy a
shopper with buyer remorse, this feedback system only worsens the possibility of feedback
extortion. Examples of getting poor buyer marks when selling on ebay. Selling cheap
products "cheaply" on ebay, but still getting feedback slammed. Haveing a super
slow seller product, and after listing in every conceivable price on ebay, you start the
bid @ .99 cents and post $30 shipping on a lot of items that may only cost $20 to ship
will allow a bidder to target you again. These are only 2 examples. The bigger issue is
that ebay is not Amazon auctions. Amazon has a subscription based flat rate selling
charge, with a supplemental % added after a sale. Ebay is in my estimation 10X, 10 times
more expensive a site to sell items on. Sellers are required basically to keep selling or
else! Were on Amazon sellers can be very patient and wait for the sell price to finally
get a customer purchase. The simple fact that ebay is wiping off prior feedback is an
indication that they are fully aware that this feedback system will only satisfy 2 groups
of poeple, 1 being buyers who beleive in perfection doesn't cost money? The other group
that will benefit "short term" is ebay, who will be required to do exactly
"nothing as usual". In the long haul, this feedback system creates a tighter
choke hold on sellers, with not much wiggle room. I am appalled at this company, and it's
sister company Paypal seem to be run by the underground mob now. Not one thing they've
done in the last 2 years has been for it's "core" group of long standing
sellers. It makes me sick!
The buyers
ability to leave anonymous feedback is both unfair and unproductive. If the seller cannot
tie the negative feedback to a particular transaction how can they hope to address the
problem? Also, buyers leaving feedback ratings for delivery times is ridiculous as
it is totally our to the sellers control. We allow buyers to choose the
shipping method they wish to pay for and routinely get slow shipping complaints from those
buyers who choose freight or ground shipping. Furthermore, leaving feedback on the
shipping cost makes no sense. Since all of the costs are stated upfront in the ads prior
to the buyer bidding they should not buy the items if they feel the costs are unfair.
Should not be
anonymous because you won't know what needs fixin'.
The worst idea they
ever came up with!
In general I think
it's ok.... BUT.... There are alot of really picky, nasty buyers out there, who could
easily ruin a persons name if they have to THINK about all the catagorys.... Buyers have
no idea, how hard it is to sell and satisfy everyone, especially if you sell used items.
The present
feedback system presently doesn't work properly because sellers are AFRAID to give
negative feedback...they want to protect their score! ..ebay needs to protect the
Sellers....There must also be a way to get Feedback changed when in dispute.....
There are many
people out there who love to cause mischief, are inherently nasty, are not intelligent
etc.-along with the "good guys". To put those buyers in charge of assessing YOUR
description of a book, say, when they may barely ever read one or mailing charges when
they dont even know what goes into it, zones, etc etc., PO pkg arrival time... is
ludcicrous. (Just took EIGHT days for a pkg to go 45 min away to my grandaughter). This is
another of eBays harebrained schemes, seemingly done on the fly, with a focus group of
mentally challenged consultants. ALL SAID, I think if eBay DID let sellers rate buyers on
5 points it might equal out because the buyers would be afraid then to have fun rating. My
short version of this questions is: Another insane eBay "enhancement" instead of
addressing severe problems like Search. PS (Can't eBay go to jail for taking monies and
purposely assigning your goods sporadically? Have known this for MORE than a year.) eBays
policy on addressing questions on this (from me) has been to simply not respond to the
email. ONCE a rep answered only by saying: Your auctions (or maybe "all
auctions") are given ADEQUATE exposure", telling in itself that never said of
course they are on all the time! **** INA, could we all kick in a few bucks and hire a
lawyer to protect Sellers interest?
If you're being
sincere and honest with your buyers,you certainly have nothing to fear. It certainly makes
one more aware of the "Golden Rule" Do unto others as you would like them to do
to you.....Personal service is usually well respected...
not the best thing
The current
feedback systems has worked for years and is great as is. Leave it alone.
1. Giving buyers
the ability to negatively rate the seller for the USPS or other ship service's timeliness,
is grossly unfair. Especially for those of us who use Media Mail, which is slower to
arrive. (I ship within 24 hours of receiving payment and always use delivery
confirmation.) 2. Reasonable handling fees don't bother most buyers, but there will always
be those who feel there should be NO handling fee, even though they agreed to the seller's
cost of shipping when they bid. (I add .50 to .75 per package which doesn't cover all my
shipping expenses.) 3. Rating on communication can be fine, except for those buyers who
have spam filters set up to eat all unknown emails and then don't check their spam folder.
(I email the customer at every step of the transaction - Congrats/invoice, Payment
acknowledgment, Shipping notice, etc.) 4. Since only the buyer can leave detailed
feedback, it definitely gives the buyer a heavy advantage. What about the buyer who is
impatient to receive their package, but paid for Media Mail and then emails every day to
ask where their package is? Or the buyer who waits a week to mail a MO, but doesn't
communicate at all with the seller? Then there's the buyer who is happy with the
transaction but just on principle never leaves 5 out of 5 feedback. The whole thing gives
me a headache just thinking about it. :o) Makes me very happy that I have transferred more
of my business to other fixed price venues.
Well as far as
shipping times, that could be un-fair if it were to get stuck in customs for some reason
or a very bad weather problem why would the seller have to suffer. Also, there are time
when folks get sick and may not be able to get it out that day and then get nailed by the
buyer. Too many new buyers do not understand the methods involved in the process and tend
to get angry and take it out on the seller. Once the issue is solved then they want to
take it all back but it is to late. Most people think that the seller is no telling them
the truth when it comes to mistakes. I know I will have to change a lot of my wording in
both the shipping and returns because of these changes. What I do not understand is WHY IF
IT'S NOT BROKE WHY DOES EBAY KEEP TRYING TO FIX IT? jearbearantiques
Stick with the old
way, or make it so that it is fair. The proposed system is obviously slanted toward
retaliatory buyers favor, and designed to increase eBay commissions through the comments
on shipping and handling. How many of you sellers have not grasped this. If eBay drives
out legitimate shipping and handling fees, the only place the seller can put them is into
the selling price, and eBay gets a cut of that. Get a reality check. The whole thing is
only a way for eBay to grab more of the money. Once you see that, then you will understand
where you stand.
Buyers don't bother
leaving feedback now, you think they are going to fill in more? And taking away the
comments of feedback which I've worked hard at all these years to maintain is a BIG no,
don't do it. This seems to be for the benefit of Powersellers and big sellers with all
their negatives.
I haven't seen
Feedback 2.0 yet, so some of these things I don't know. I do hope that it will have some
effect on Retaliatory Feedback. As a seller, I try to leave feedback right after they pay.
As a buyer, I rarely get feedback until after I leave feedback. I pay right away, and
sometimes I wait for 3-4 weeks to get my item with no response to the inquiry emails that
I send out. They never let me know originally when/if it has been shipped and then I just
wait and wait. I always send an email when my item has shipped, even if I print the label
through PayPal and they get the confirmation number. So I hesitate to leave these people
feedback at all and they continue to do business in their own bad way. I also do not like
being rated on the mail system. One time an item that I sent out did not arrive for almost
4 weeks. However I was in constant contact with they buyer and they knew when it had been
shipped. But we will be rated on the efficiency of the U.S. Mail, over which we have no
control! For the most part, the mail system has been good to me as a seller, but I did
have that one bad experience, along with one selling through Amazon.
There is NOTHING
good about the old or the new feedback system. It is impossible to deal with ebay about
any problems with it - or anything else for that matter. There is no place to show how
many repeat customers you have or those that just didn't like what they bought.
The way i see it,
its hard now to get people to leave you feedback. A lot of sellers make you wait for
feedback even tho you have done all your part,you have to leave there feedback first, then
hope they take the time to leave yours. Many times i have had to e mail them asking for
mine. If you have lots of feedback this does not matter as much as someone just getting
started, as some sellers do not trust people with little feedback
My feeling, some
buyers will nit pick this to death, especially newbies. If it is implemented for sellers,
it should be implemented for buyers.I could see this being used in a non-positive way.
The problem is you
will not know which eBay user is rating the transaction
The ratings in F
2.0 are anonymous. How does this help a seller improve? After all isn't this one of thr
reasons for feedback: to let a seller or buyer know where they can improve on their
performance? Too much of the new rating is subjective. How can a seller be blamed for the
buyer not getting an email because of buyer email settings or ISP rejections. How is the
seller resposible for the USPS or UPS delivery times? Ebay is creating reasons for buyers
not to buy, not making buyers feel safer.
its not fair, if
the buyer can leave neg or unfair feedback and you dont know who they are, the sellar has
no way to block the buyer from buying and doing it over and over. so many buyers do not
even want to pay a fair cost for shipping (the want it all for nothing) and if the usps
takes toooo long, i will still get neg / unfair feedback.
It is very unfair
to the Seller! Some of us with perfect ratings will now lose that. Also, it is not fair
for buyers to be able to rate Sellers while Sellers cannot reciprocate!
I like the feedback
system the way it is. Ebay should quit changing things for the sake of change. Ebay also
needs to follow the kiss(keep it simple stupid) rule!
My biggest concern
is the delivery time. If the changes are necessary (and I don't think they are) - then
buyers should rate sellers on time to ship package after payment - rather than delivery
time. Sellers shouldn't be penalized because they shipped quickly - and then the package
got delayed by the shipping service. If buyers have more options for rating sellers - then
sellers should be given more options for rating buyers - ie timeliness of payment,
communication, etc
Too many choices,
many of which can be subjective and not the sellers fault, i.e. ship time or a customer
wanting full length thank you letters for communication. KISS...keep it simple silly works
best.
Giving negative
feedback almost always results in receiving the same with no recourse. So, the feedback
system is a "scratch my back and I will do the same for you" type of deal. I
realize an impartial board to review "retaliatory" feedback would be monumental.
As both a buyer and seller, I might then be a lot more honest about another's eBay
activity if I knew that I would not be slammed just for being upright and honest. I have
been on the wrong end of giving negative feedback to a seller who failed to do what was
prominently advertised (combine shipping at a reduced cost) on each of six lots purchased
and paid for at the same time. Even though that seller is no longer a registered user and
other buyers had similar complaints, I STILL have that seller's negative attached to my
feedback score. They were unjustly enriched and my record unjustly tarnished. On eBay, my
name is gentleguyofpa. Heres my stats: Feedback Score: 243 ; Positive Feedback:
99.6% ; Members who left a positive: 244 ; Members who left a negative: 1 ; All positive
feedback received: 13383 . So, without some recourse other than fighting to have feedback
mutually removed, I will either leave positive feedback or none at all which is just
working within the system because OF the system. Robert Beck
I'm not actualy
aware of how it works
This planned change
in the feedback is skewed toward buyers and denies sellers the right to an equal footing
in the feedback forum. I don't understand why ebay is favoring buyers when the sellers are
critical to ebay's future success. Very disappointing.
Feedback for ebay
has always been a 2 way street as a sporadic seller and frequent buyer for many years I
know that you cannot make everyone happy. I personally feel hosed on some of the
"shipping" charges that sellers have and would like an outlet to express this to
them however it is my choice whom to buy from also.
I answered that I'm
primarily a seller, but i buy as much as I sell -- unfortunately, you didn't give me that
option as an answer. If buyers can rate sellers so extensively, then sellers should be
able to rate buyers in as much detail. This will only be used as a weapon by buyers who
want to get back at sellers for imagined slights. And it can end up harming sellers for
things that are out of their control, such as shipping time (Media Mail, anyone?).
whatever....
Yuck!
Absolutely AWFUL.
Lots of people are
just buttheads that don't even give a seller a chance to answer charges or make things
right if a real mistake happens. also too many people blame seller for post office screw
ups!
Quick mailing,
depends too much on post office or other carrier. HOt headed impatient buyers will shoot
and ask questions later, blaming it on the sellers. Buyers won't bother to ask questions,
but will low rate description. Some buyers are just nick picky and rather than resolve or
emailt he seller they will quickly leave negative or neutral and check low ratings on the
ratings for description/shipping and such.
The feedback system
works now. Don't fix it if it ain't broke. The overall experience is what is important in
the end. Buyers are already too quick to demand perfection and intantaneous responses.
Most complaints are resolved with a little cooling down and positive response from the
seller. This new system invites negatively responding to a slow mail week, an email not
returned within 24 hours, what someone cosniders exorbitant packing fees. Handling fees
are an important and neccessary part of a consignment sellers fees. allowing people to
vote whether or not the fees are "fair" just creates more animosity between
buyer and seller. It's getting harder for small sellers to do business. I've stopped
international transactions until i can work out electronic confirmation from usps. I don't
need another problem. Afraid I went off a bit there. Thanks for listening.
They should fix
what's broken, like searches, the back button, the scammers, and oh I could go on and on.
Leave the FB alone!
Should be a welcome
change. Hopefully, the problem of buyers not wanting to leave feedback until the seller
does so first! Maybe thse changes will also deal with situation of sellers charging
postage & handling charges that are way of line, or they do not quote postage at all
in the listing.
There seems to be
some spite out there by buyers. If a seller gives a negative feedback for nonpayment etc.
the buyer responds with negative feedback, which is non warranted. But eBay accepts it. I
know from discussions with other sellers, that this makes genuine feedback in that case a
nonstarter. One just doesn't leave feedback if it is negative for fear of retaliation.
It should be more
simplified
Item description
is extremely important. Too many people are too vague about the condition of the item,
and/or it is not as described. However, some people want perfection and mint condition in
everything, and this is impossible when dealing with vintage items. This is a good change
to a point, but I can see it being abused. Postage charges are getting way out of hand.
People are way over charging for postage to try to make up for all the fees they have to
incur dealing with ebay and PayPal. I think they should only charge actual shipping
charges, as I do. And handling charges should be clearly stated. This is a good change for
those concerned about being ripped off on shipping charges. I don't buy from those
charging excess shipping fees no matter how much I like the item. A lot of people out
there don't have time to email regarding every single transaction. Ebay does an automatic
email notification, and with the Pay Now option, many people don't think they have to send
an additional email regarding payment. However, as a seller, I think those that don't pay
using "Pay Now" need to notify the seller to let them know how and when they are
going to pay for the auction. It is not right to leave the seller hanging for over a week
after auction end without notifying them how they are going to pay and when; how does the
seller know the buyer intends to complete the transaction? I have been burned in the past
by non paying bidders and "non responding" bidders and it needs to be dealt
with. Some people only can get to the post office on certain days due to working full
time, or special circumstances. I for one, can only ship on Saturdays. I don't want to get
negative feedback because I can't get to the post office immediately as some people seem
to expect. I can see this causing problems. There should be time limits in order to give
negative on this.
Hi I buy on
E-BAY.My wife sells.She is 100 percent feed back.We just do not know how 2.0 well work at
this point.We have not had "retaliatory feedback but have friends that have and if
2.0 helps the seller thats great. Thanks Larry Richards
I wish eBay would
stop changing things. The new listing form is HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!! And we're going to be
stuck with it after May 7. I don't know where I'll sell then.
as it is now,
people often don't take the time to leave feedback, so making it more involved, may result
in even fewer people leaving feedback.
Everything about
ebay feedback Sucks. They will never make it word. They think they make things better.
They wrong
I think it gives
the buyer more opportunity for retaliatory feedback and a chance to be more critical of
the transaction.
E-Bay needs to have
a better approach for dealing with "retaliatory feedback"! It is unfair to
receive a NEG because some seller gets offended because you question "Why he sent you
a Filthy item and Why the blatant overcharge on postage when he misrepresented the item as
MEDIA MAIL when it WAS NOT!!! He Lied but you still get the NEGATIVE!!!
Buyers who leave
negative feedback will welcome the soapbox of Feedback 2.0. It will give them a venue to
complain about things about which the seller has no control - such as buyer's
misunderstanding of a description and USPS delivery intervals. Please, leaving out all but
the last two years of feedback is a real blow to those of us who have strived to keep a
good feedback record.
STUPID! ebay just
cannot leave things alone,alway changing where none is needed. I have almost 6000 pos and
no negs and have given out feedback on every transaction,yet i have received less than 50
% response in feedback from buyers. When i leave my feedback for items ive boughti have
enough room for the following excellent packing,fast and secure shipping it says it all
and who in the hell knows when shipping is to much. EBAY SHOULD crack down on the gougers
that sell a feather for a penny and charge $10 for media shipping. Is Ebay giving the
buyer to much credit for brains ? The fewer choices you have the better. They should leave
this alone. Dgrossblattbookseller
this is the first
I've heard about it. Is there an announcement on ebay about it? where can I find out more
info?
eBay needs to put
some more resources into monitoring and working on complaints and problems with the
feedback system, whatever version.
too much work and a
poor idea from eBay!!
It will be no
better than what it is now. It's a wait and see game. He who throws the first stone gets a
boulder. Any system of this nature is totally retaliatory in nature. Bottom line if you
get a good report give one back regardless of what went on. All said in done it is still
buyer and seller beware.
It stinks. The eBay
system is very socialistic.
Retireing the first
two years is a positive thing in my opinion... because that is when a lot of new ebayers
are just learning and make a few mistakes... If the ebayer has only a few negs in the
beginning then I think that they should be excused once the ebayer becomes more
experienced and is better able to handle some of the problems that arise.
Current system is
ok except when negative feedback is obviously not called for. e.g. I saw a negative on
another sellers site given because goods had not arrived in 10 days from Hong Kong. As a
seller I don't leave negatives because of retaliation - that is also wrong. Feedback has a
place but it will never be perect.
My Americans
customers are 99% clueless about customs , banking and postal issues. As if everything is
AND should be like in the US. This will make things even worse
Badly thought out
and badly carried out, yet again.
From the sellers
point of view delivery time is subjective. The Shipping Date is an objective point in time
for the seller. Maybe Buyers should leave feedback for the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx,
DHL, or UPS. I do not understand how a seller can control the delivery time. Also, many
buyers do not understand the time, effort, and packaging materials needed to ship full
time. Who likes to pay shipping or taxes for that matter?? Negatives comments should only
be left for surprise shipping costs only...not for those that are known in the beginning
of the transaction. Anyway, all sellers will be in the same boat...so it should be
intersting.
THIS IS JUST
ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF EBAY TRYING TO UPSET THE APPLE CART. I AM APPALED AT THE NUMBER OF
"NEW" EBAYERS THAT CHOOSE TO LEAVE POOR FEEDBACK WITHOUT EVER CONTACTING THE
SELLER ABOUT A PROBLEM. THIS WILL ALSO IMPACT SELLERS THAT PAD THE S&H CHARGE TO COVER
THE COSTS INVOLVED IN RECEIVING PAYMENTS THROUGH PAYPAL AND SHIPPING SUPPLIES. ANYTHING
THAT GIVES BUYERS A CHANCE TO COMPLAIN WILL LEAD TO DISASTER FOR SELLERS.
Another way for
ebay to preasure and squeeze sellers out of profits.Ebay defines the term greed! The greed
pours over into paypal where another 4-5 % of our small is taken. They are taking this
comm. on the shipping chage as well
Current feedback
system is fine
What is needed is
a buyer education system. Buyers all too often do not understand why shipping and handling
charges exceed the price of postage. Such buyers often leave neutral or negative feedback
based on their lack of knowledge. I had a neutral feedback from a buyer who thought the
$1.90 I charged for shipping six items was too high! I actually lost money on the shipping
part of this transaction. Similarly, to allow buyers to leave feedback based on delivery
time is ludicrous. I try to ship all items within 24 hours when possible, but once it
leaves my hands, there is little I can do. A priority mail package I sent recently
(shipped within 36 hours of receipt of payment) took over 3 weeks to arrive. Clearly, that
was caused by the USPS, and an item over which I had zero control. To allow a buyer to
leave a derogatory feedback based on such a transaction is neither fair nor welcome. As I
stated at the first, buyer education about such matters is needed. Also, I block any buyer
who leaves unwarranted neutral or negative feedback, and to allow anonymity to the buyer
is detrimental to the seller. eBay...WAKE UP!
Sellers wait to
hear from buyer before giving feedback, then they always have the option of being
"retaliatory" even giving negative feedback after receiving a
"neutral" rating. Eight years, 300+ purchases, and I've never felt I could leave
an honest feedback about poor service. Not if I want to keep my 100% positive. So my only
recourse is to not leave feedback when I am dis-satisfied. Until "retlaiatory
feedback" can be addressed, eBays system is a joke.
Ebay is given the
buyers more power and less for the sellers. IT is a shame that Ebay is not 100% behind the
sellers anylonger. they should wonder why their listings are down.
stupid idea - leave
it alone!
Feedback 2.0 is a
terrible idea. Buyers will leave me a negative for poor post office performance, even if I
shipped immediately. When it took too long to get their purchase they are mad and want to
strike out at somebody. They can't punish the post office, but they can leave me a
negative, even if I shipped immediately. I once had a buyer leave a negative because
"you should have used other shipping options", but in the case of this
particular item there was no other shipping option than the one I used. This will be a
very big problem with shipping by media mail which now takes twice as long as 10 years
ago. Many buyers have unrealistic expectations about shipping times, and once I mail the
package I have no control over how long the post office takes to deliver.
Buyers know IN
ADVANCE the shipping charges they are expected to pay but allowing them to rate after the
fact doesn't make sense. If you don't like the shipping charge cost when combined with the
cost of the item THEN DON'T BID. Allow bidders to vote with their dollars rather than
leave feedback afterward. All this does is penalize all sellers, especially those that run
a business. Unfortunately most buyers don't have a clue about the "true" cost of
shipping for a seller who is a business -- cost to the carrier PLUS employee labor cost
PLUS shipping materials like boxes, tape, peanuts, adhesive label PLUS overhead like rent,
utilities, property taxes, insurance, and lots more. Whether the buyer thinks the charge
is "reasonable" should not be evaluated after the fact. If you know the cost of
shipping before bidding then why is it necessary to rate it afterward? Either you think
the item is worth the cost - which includes the final bid amount PLUS the shipping cost -
or it is not. Allowing the buyer to rate the postage amount allows those buyers who are
the least knowledgable to rate sellers poorly about the shipping charge because
experienced eBay buyers will consider the complete cost and will vote with their dollars.
Makes me want to say that I will not sell to anyone with feedback under a 100 since they
will be the ones most likely to leave poor feedback in the new rating system.
2.0 should not be
released unless and until such time that sellers have the same "credibility
options" as buyers will have....timeliness of payment, communication before bidding,
etc.
The biggest problem
that I see will be with the delivery time feedback. I have many buyers who do not want to
pay extra to ship priority but then complain when their parcel post takes longer than two
days to get to their house. This will be a way for buyers who are not familiar with both
postal charges and delivery time to complain and affect the seller's feedback.
ALL buyers will
complaing about delivery time (which we sellers have NO control over).... I always ship
next day after purchase but have no control over delivery and shipping times and problems
AND all buyers think the shipping costs are too high. Also sellers have NO control over
the fact that UPS and USPS and ALL services have gone up in major ways in their costs to
ship, yet seller's hands are tied! Ebay buyers want the $3.85 under two pound priority
shipping that was available in 1998 when I began selling on ebay. NOT fair to rate sellers
on things they have NO control over like shipping costs and delivery time!
I have seen too
many new users give negative feedback when they clearly did not read the auction
description. Also, expecting to receive an item quickly when they paid for media mail. I
could clearly see abuse by some buyers.
I have worked hard
to maintain 100% positive feedback for the last 8 years. I really think it is wrong that
ratings will be based on the last 2 years alone. It's not right.
bunch of idiots
working at Ebay
The feedback system
has always been nothing more than child's play & this new change will only worsen the
childish game
Of course its not
going to help retaliatory feedback!! its going to allow the idiots to slate you 5 times
over!!!
I can see a serious
problem with this. Especially with the shipping time column. Buyers love to blame slow
shipping on sellers, when in fact it's the responsibility of the shipping company (USPS
Fed Ex UPS Etc) to deliver within a reasonable amount of time. We ship all our items the
next business day from payment and people still complain. For the most part the feedback
system is overrated and abused and this system will be the same. I think they should just
leave the feedback system as is. It's probably as good as it gets. Ebay just needs to
educate the buyers better on when and when not to leave negative feedback.
I think having the
feedback be so detailed will turn off buyers from leaving feedback unless they had a
problem. Who wants to go thru all the hassle that this new feedback will cause.
like all of ebay's
improvements, it sucks!
Delivery time
should not be rated as I have no control over how long it takes the shipper to deliver the
package. Items should be shipped within two business days and that could be rated.
By making the
process more laborious, I will be less likely to leave feedback at all. I also think you
can tell more about a transaction by reading comments not ratings.
n/a
It's just like ebay
to find a way to further screw their sellers.
am just waiting to
see how it actually does work...
Sellers need
similar options as buyers will have. Buyers should not be able to leave neutral or
negative feedback where in most cases a buyer does not even communicate to a seller before
feedback is left.
Shipping and
handling between two locations and from differing postal services vary greatly. Some
buyers do not understand this and would rate even exact charges the seller has to pay as
exorbitant. Also, the retaliatory aspect will be even more enhanced as the buyer/seller
can put a negative spin on the transaction partner in more than one area. What is the
reason for retiring the first two years of selling? This would have major negative impact
on small business sellers who have little feedback. I'm not sure what the rationale is
here. The main problem with the current feedback system is that it locks in as soon as the
enter button is hit. Even the person posting it has no time to edit or change their mind
after cooling down. And why can a Private Feedback buyer bid but a Private Feedback seller
not sell? I don't think sellers have enough of their concerns addressed in 2.0.
This new feedback
rating is fine in a perfect world where sellers are steps away from a postal unit, would
never have a computer problem, would never be called away from answerring e-mails
(sickness, death in family or other similar catastrophe), and finally, although honest,
many sellers not having the expertise to describe items as buyers would like. Checking
boxes to answer a question can be, in many cases, whimsical at best. Even when I was doing
this survey, some serious thought had to be considered before checking the box. Many
people would not think of the consequences when checking the box they think is right!
Feedback, as it stands now, definitely needs improvement but that is for a discussion at
another time. Suffice to say, currently if buyers are somewhat, very or extremely happy,
they will reflect this feeling through the current feedback proving the old adage,
"When someone takes the time to write, it's meaningful!". Of course the same
reversed process happens for unhappy buyers. In closing eBay must do more to educate
buyers on the buying process (not through a maze of searches but right on the listing
page) and sellers need to know that buyers are key to their existence and its the buyers
doing the favor not vice-versa.
ebay has always
been a venue for buyers and sellers and should remain so. with all these changes ebay is
no longer just a neutral party providing a service! buyers must be rated as well so
sellers can see who they are dealing with!
I think this is a
bad decision. Buyers do not understand the cost in doing business and will respond
negatively to the shipping and delivery portion.
Do not like
the current system
is fine with me with the exception of new buyers being able to leave retaliatory feedback.
communication is the key to success on eBay IMHO.
It is tough to get
people to leave "voluntary" feedback now. If they don't do it know, they surely
won't do it then when it takes 2 seconds longer.... I would much prefer that, if someone
leaves feedback for five items, it should count as five feedbacks. After all, eBay earned
commission of five sales..
The present
feedback system is a joke. Positive feedback is required or the member receives negative
feedback in return. It does NOT reflect the quality of a sale. The 2.0 system will not
improve a broken system. It will only allow poor feedback from a buyer whether deserved or
not. What happens to the overseas package, shipped the day after payment, that arrives in
two months? The seller has done what should be done and has done it well. The buyer leaves
a poor mark because it was not received promptly. Anything eBay does to improve their
system only ends up screwing up the seller (or buyer) or costs additional money over their
already high costs.
When in the world
will ebay listen to the sellers --- sellers fall on deaf ear
Ebay are
concentrating on buyer experience its time they concentrated on making it a good
experience for all there are as many bad dishonest buyer as sellers yet that is over
looked everytime the changes will take no account of postal delays quality or cost of
packing etc and more decent sellers will have their feedback ruined by impatient sometimes
ignorant buyers who think only of themselves as for retiring feedback i can see no good
reason for that. users are proud of accrued feedback taking some away will do nothing to
enhance the experience at all
It's too early to
rate the new Feedback system until it's been in use a while. Evaluating it now is giving
an emotional response, and some sellers seem to be against ANY change by eBay. I do think
the 'Delivery Time' feedback might be a problem given that once in the delivery (mail)
stream, the seller has no control over delivery time. This is especially a problem the 2
weeks before Christmas, or if weather related.
At first glance,
this appears to be another slap to sellers by eBay. I will withhold judgement until it is
fully implemented on the U.S. site. As eBay has proved countless times in the past,
negative seller sentiment is almost never a factor in their decision making process. My
advice to anyone buying eBay stock would be to remember that seller fees represent a large
portion of eBay's profits and they've spent years slapping sellers around in a most
dictatorial fashion. Sellers are desperately seeking AND finding new sales channels
because of what can only be described as a seething hatred for the monopolistic "Do
as we say and shut up" attitude that has been present at eBay for way too long.
As a seller who
only has one ID, I can not leave bad feedback for other sellers who are ripping me off for
frieght, bad service,etc. For fear that they will leave me bad feed back even though I
paid immediately and did nothing wrong. Personally as a new buyer I am very discouraged at
how many people out there are ripping people off making ebay a bad experience and I am a
seller trying very hard to make a living and doing everything right and can not leave
these people feedback. So yes I hope it helps, I pray it does and I wish ebay would get
rid of these people who charge 17.96 for 4oz evelope. BAD OUT There. BAD For Business.
Not showing bidders
eliminates or takes the action or fun of a online auction or a on site auction. Auction
should be fun and enjoyable. I only sell quaility antiques and collectibles. And, majority
of my buyers are other dealers! The bidders ID should be display! This way a collecter
would feel more secure in the item that they are bidding on, and as a seller I would have
more competition! I feel that everything relates to feedback!
Most buyers,
especially "newbies" have NO IDEA of postage rates, costs for doing business,
etc. So some of this feedback criteria is going to hurt sellers unfairly. Also, I have
been noticing for the past year that about 40% of buyers are not leaving feedback at all,
so having to leave fb for a bunch of criteria is going to cut down on fb even more.
Feedback on things
that I don't have total control over as a seller like delivery time and shipping/packing
charges is rediculous. Some eBay sellers do seriously overcharge for shipping but many
customers don't realize how much it does actually cost to ship them something.
ITS UNNECCESARY AND
WILL ONLY LEAD TO MORE RETALIATION.
I do not believe
that some buyers will totally understand how feedback can ruin a sellers reputation. If
they are allowed to leave feedback on accuracy of description, communication, delivery
time and postage, our feedback score will be more confusing for people. I can see some
buyers leaving a comment for delievery time saying well it was slow in coming when maybe
it arrived in 4 days when they thought it should have arrived in 3 days. This will look
bad on a sellers feedback even though it was shipped quickly. The same with accuracy in
description. If a seller puts one word, that the buyer did not agree with, they will say
so in the feedback. This is not going to be good.
Postage and
delivery times are not always in the control of a seller. Over charging for fee avoidance
is another issue and should not be allowed. This will not stop retalitory feedback. No
allowing sellers to see the rsults is absurd. How can a seller improve if they don't know
what is bothering the buyers. Just another glitch to affect ebay. Why don't they fix
what's broken before they add on. Search still isn't fixed, the back button problem isn't
fixed, indexing isn't fixed, the new sell form is horrible. Slowly but surely, I'm using
other venues and I think I'm not alone.
Even tho I have a
99.7% positive with over 5000 ratings I would consider making my feedback private in that
I don't think this is a fair system, so many of the things that buyers could rate under
the new policy I would have no control over and would probably do better to just go
private with a detailed explanation as to why in my item descriptions, buyers could still
see my percent of positive ratings and I would not have to hopefully deal with the star
system. Would probably be our luck that going private would not hide that, who knows. Just
another good reason to start looking harder at other venues to sell in rather than ebay,
you can never count on ebay to be fair in policy or fees when it comes to the seller.
I feel 2.0 is
going to escalate the feedback problems for sellers. Trust me, there are some buyers out
there who would not be pleased if JESUS CHRIST left Heaven & personally delivered
their package, containing a perfect eBay item. In addition, Ebay should not allow
nonpaying bidders the right to leave feedback. These NONPAYERS have not completed their
contract when they do not pay & should LOSE THEIR FEEDBACK PRIVILEGE. If a seller
wants to receive credit for listing fees when a buyer refuses to pay, a NPB complaint must
be filed against the nonpayer. I know from experience, if you file a claim against the
nonpayer, you can expect a NEGATIVE. That's just WRONG! Why should a buyer who did not pay
for the item they purchased be allowed to leave me a negative which reads, "AWFUL,
worst experience ever on eBay." WHY? It was awful because he didn't pay & I was
sick and tired of letting nonpayers get away with it. I received 3 of these NPB negs last
year. I've been selling since 2000 & until last year, had only received one negative.
I deserved it and readily admitted that the error was mine. However last year I received 3
negatives from non-paying bidders, all of which I DID NOT DESERVE. Oh, I could have gotten
them all removed for about $30 per negative if I'd completed eBay's requirements. The
seller gets nothing for free on eBay. Give me a break!!! Ebay has not addressed this
problem with 2.0. Shouldn't sellers be forewarned about repetitive nonpayers? We are not
allowed to share information about NPB unless we want a negative in return. The fees add
up quickly and I should be able to receive a fee credit without a guaranteed negative from
the nonpayer. As usual, eBay bends over backwards for the buyer and we all know why they
do it. I'm a little fish in a BIG pond. Unless sellers join together and form a Seller's
Union, we have no voice, & have to accept whatever eBay dishes out. I live for the day
when Google gets into the online auction business.
Some of these
categories are outside of the control of the seller. Also, there doesn't seem to be anyway
to hold the buyer accountable for false feedback, i.e. buyer pays for Parcel Post and
complains 4 days took too long for delivery.
Given human
nature, this type of system will skew to those who have upsets with a transaction and just
feel that they have to tell the world about it. Generally this is a very small percent of
users, maybe 2%, but this gives them an opportunity to look like a much larger percent. My
experience is that group of individuals exists, no matter how good or hard you work, and
to cater to them is a bad move. Also, Pierre Omidyar founded eBay on a set of principles,
including leveling a playing field. Having the same system of feedback for buyers and
sellers keeps the playing field level. Altering this to a review of sellers only creates
an imbalance. What eBay could do is rather simple...extend the feedback entry box to, say
200 characters, from 80. That usually gives enough room to tell the whole story[the 5
points above]. And do it for both sellers and buyers, thereby keeping the playing field
balanced. Also, it is unclear to me why ebay would want to drop the first 2 years of
feedback for a seller? I worked hard then and earned that feedback. Why am I not entitled
to keep that as an available record now?
I am a PowerSeller
with 100% feedback, not a neutral or negative in six years plus of selling, and thousands
(literally) of repeat buyers, so my comments are not sour grapes or those of a bad seller
who fears criticism. I LOATHE the new system and the fact that buyers can rate me on
matters I have no control over, such as the time it takes the USPS to deliver, or the fact
that I require insurance where many sellers in my market don't, and therefore charge a
dollar more than many of them. I have always left feedback upon payment but will no longer
do so once the new system begins; in fact, I may stop leaving feedback, period. What a
stupid, horrible idea this is. Shame on eBay management for instituting it!
If it ain't broke,
don't fix it.
I think the present
system works fairly well - after all users can leave a follow-up comment as well as their
initial comment. I think it will be confusing and a lot of extra hassle. In addition, Ebay
repeatedly says 'delivery times are not the responsibility of the seller'. So why on earth
should the buyer be rating based on delivery time? My other concern is that many sellers
will see the 'communication' rating and email me repeatedly again and again in the hope of
improving that area - but I don't want lots of emails, I only want ONE email to say thanks
for your payment and that my parcel has been posted!
it gives whiney
demanding buyers a new way to neg a seller
Rating on delivery
time is not fair. A seller has no control once the item is in the carrier's possession.
Also, everyone has their own opinion of quick vs slow delivery. I've had buyers contact me
as few as 2 days after the purchase/payment date asking me why they haven't received the
item.
too complicated.
I think that rating
the accuracy of the description is too subjective to be included. Part of the magic of
ebay is finding "treasures" that a buyer is selling but does not know how to
accurately describe it. That should not be a negative factor. I think that is just too
much monitoring.
I think a new
system is needed but Ebay continually leans toward buyer's and not sellers.We make them
their money and yet they continually dump on sellers.The fact that I can have a poor
rating when I ship the next day and the post office takes forever is absolute bull.I have
no control on delivery time when that package leaves my hands.And as to Matt Halprens
response that very few merchants on the internet leave feedback for buyers.Well first
off,Matt-how many merchants on the internet have formats like Ebay's.That is one of the
laziest,most lame-brain excuses ever used in business.Well the other guy doesn't have it
so why should we ???Just that comment alone show's how little Ebay cares about
sellers.This format is going to cost even the good sellers business.But when the good
seller's are gone.Ebay will be too.
Buyers will be able
to rate me on aspects of the transaction over which I have no control such as shipping
times and charges. This is grossly unfair. It will give whingers even more scope to
whinge.
I think a non
paying bidder should NOT be able to leave feedback. Also neg feedback should NOT be
allowed if the buyer has not contacted the seller at all.
I tend to agree
with those that feel the buyers should be able to critique delivery time. It's been a
major pet peeve of ours, in that our customers think we actually drive the delivery
trucks, and it's ridiculous for us to be judged based on that particular area. Also, most
buyers don't understand shipping, they feel as though they should never pay handling on
eBay, when they pay much higher rates, and most any other online, phone or catalog orders.
I'm sure these are just the beginning issues, we'll have with the new system. However
again, what can you do. eBay is a monopoly.
This will open the
door for even more retaliatory feedback and more negative feedback from new users who do
not fully understand the way that the feedback system works.
I can see no point
to this. It's a contract. You take it as a whole or not. I can see the points for accuracy
of description and communication but "Postage charge". That's something you
agreed to when you bid, I see no reason why you should be able to say later "it was
too expensive". And I do not that by saying "Postage Charge" you leave
sellers open to the "I paid £1 postage and it cost you 50p to ship so it's a
negative!" charge allowign the buyer to ignore handling costs. Having "Postage
Charge" is a very bad idea.
I think it's
horrible. Amazon.com has this 1-5 grading scale and it's hard, even when you do everything
by the book, to even get someone to give a 5 (highest rating) to you. I can just imagine
what this will be like even though I have over 7000 positive feedbacks right now with a
99.9% positive average (only 5 negs since 1999), I think this will hurt. The shipping time
is ridiculous because the post office doesn't always get things to the people in the
amount of time they think it should and will mark it lower because of this and blame the
seller. The way it is now, you either get a positive, neutral or negative. The way they
want it to be, you'd have to get all 5's in all categories that they rate you in, in order
to keep a good positive ratio and we all know that won't happen to anyone. Right now,
being a powerseller with the 99.9% positive, and eBay requiring powersellers to keep a 98%
or above, I believe that will not be easy to do in the future IF they change to this
feedback 2.0 because of what I said above about if a seller gets 3 5's and 2 3's that will
lower their score (just an example). Anyway, I just think it's an awful idea and dread
them doing it. I hope that when they test in the UK, they see that it is a really bad idea
and scratch it completely.
terrible idea, ebay
neesd to sort out more pressing problems first, before "fixing" something that
is not broken
Today was the first
I heard of any changes to the feedback system. I searched E-bay for info on it and
couldn't find a single reference to it. Is this a mystery system?
It is not
mandatory, so it is likely those who may be critical will be completing the feedback 2.0.
Its also extra steps that keep people from leaving feedback to begin with. Most parts like
shipping can be tracked online and need to be a mute point if eBay would electronically
see if it is done in 24 hours, but delivery time is out of a Seller's control and be held
against the Seller.
Allows things out
of sellers control to affect there feedback, will make most sellers look average.
I would like to see
exactly how it works. I do not mind being rated on parts of my service which I control. I
do not want to be rated on parts of my service which I do not control, e.g. delivery
times.
One buyers
perception of excessive postage is another buyers bargain. As a buyer I hate emails
updating me everystep of the way, other buyers love this. Speed of delivery should be
changed to speed of dispatch, unless eBay intends to buy Royal Mail and run it at 100%
efficiency. Feedback is very unimportant, there are sellers with disgusting feedback but
they still make 1000s of sales each month. Buyers seem more intent with collecting points
and stars than using the feedback system to judge sellers. The way to ensure sellers
adhere to the rules and provide a quality level of service is for a zero tolerance on rule
breakers and a proper business program for sellers who pay tax and VAT (if need be) and
who adhere to UK consumer law.
More fiddling while
Rome burns. There are so many more important things for ebay to concentrate on than this.
Why not attack sellers of counterfeit goods, surely buyers buying in the knowledge that
the goods are genuine will lead to a more satisfactory 'buying experience'
Sellers are not
responsible for delivery times! The buyer gets what they pay for and the seller will get
blamed for the apparent slowness of an item. Buyers do not realise the cost of packaging
etc is built into P&P ,,, the buyers will leave negative comments as all they see is
POSTAGE.
eBay continues to
show they don't understand the selling process. Feedback for delivery time is uncalled for
and will negatively impact sellers for no guud reason. Those buyers that think and order
should go coast to coast in one day but pay for 1st class amil will be the problem.
Shipping fees are another problem. eBay keeps giving the buyer powers but ties sellers
hands. Sellers have to live with the feedback when buyers come and go. This may come to
hurt eBay when the increase the frustration level of sellers who leave...
IT APPEARS ITS
GOING TO LEAVE THE SELLER WIDE OPEN TO A MULTITUDE OF NEW PROBLEMS, ESPECIALLY IN THE AREA
OF RETALIATION~WITH CUSTOMERS WHOM DONT REALLY UNDERSTAND THE AUCTION VENUE~OR THE POSTAL
SERVICES BEING USED AND ALL OF THE ASSOCIATED RULES~REGULATIONS~ AND CHARGES ASSOCIATED
WITH THIER USE. THIS LEAVES THE SELLER OPEN TO FEEDBACK BLACKMAIL AS I CALL IT. I HAVE HAD
MANY WANT ME TO GIVE THEM A REFUND BUT FELT THEY SHOULD KEEP THE ITEM ALSO AS A COURTESY,
WHEN THEY EITHER BROKE THE ITEM THEMSELVES, DIDNT READ THE AUCTION DESCRIPTION AND THEN
HAD BUYERS REMORSE,OR FELT THEY PAID TO MUCH FOR THE ITEM,AND THEN THE WHOLE SENARIO OF
POSTAGE (AND I DO NOT CHARGE A HANDLING CHARGE. I HAVE BEEN LAID WIDE OPEN SEVERAL TIMES
REGARDING FEEDBACK~ AT THIER MERCY, THEY ARE WRONG OR ARE JUST PLAIN CHEATS, TRYING TO GET
SOMETHING FOR NOTHING AND USE FEEDBACK AS LEVERAGE. I DO HAVE A 100% FEEDBACK DUE TO MANY
HOURS OF BEING VERY CAREFULL IN MY DESCRIPTION, SHIPPING FAST, AND BEING AS HONEST IN MY
DESCRIPTION AS POSSIBLE.AND NOW I HAVE 4 OR 5 NEW AREAS TO CONTEND WITH, 99% OF WHAT I
SELL IS VINTAGE~THERE ARE ACTULLY PEOPLE WHOM THINK VINTAGE MEANS ANTIQUE~ THERE ARE
BUYERS WHOM ARE NOT AWARE OF THE MEANING OF THESE WORDS AND THEN TRY TO SAY YOU ARE WRONG
OR DISHONEST. I HAVE SPENT MANY HOURS EMAILING AND EXPLAINING THESE DIFFERENCES TO THEM.
ONCE THEY UNDERSTAND IT TURNS OUT ALRIGHT, BUT FOR EBAY TO INDUCE THIS IN THIS WAY I FEEL
IS UNHEALTHY~ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE ONLY GOING TO USE THE LAST TWO YEARS. IF THIS STAR
SYSTEM IS INTRODUCED I FEEL MOST WONT TAKE THE TIME TO LEAVE NORMAL FEEDBACK AND OR THE
STARS, ITS HARD ENOUGH TO GET PEOPLE TO LEAVE FEEDBACK ALREADY, UNLESS THEY ARE EXTREMELY
HAPPY ABOUT THE WHOLE TRANSACTION.
TOO MUCH
INFORMATIN, WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER SHIPPING, AND NEW EBAYERS WILL NEVER FILL OUT ALL THIS
I do not believe
that it will be a positive change. Feedback is a problem now due to the effect of leaving
bad feedback to a person and their retaliation by giving back bad feedback rather it is
merited or not. This will not solve, but add to the problem.
I like Ina better
than David
Negative.
Why should i as a
seller be rated on something i have no control of i see this as a nother way for buyers to
moan and blackmail ebay needs to remember who pay them and it aint the buyer
Once a parcel has
been posted, it's up to Royal Mail to get it there. If something goes wrong sellers will
get penalised.
I agree with
everything that has been said up to this point. Sellers have absolutely NO control over
the shipping time. Also, what I think might be reasonable for s/h, someone else might
think is out of line.
I think the more
options you give for feedback the more possibilities for problems, especially mailing time
and postage costs.....one person's idea of fair or good is another person's idea of awful,
it is all about perception.I already see this in comments....packages take the same time
to arrive, some are more than happy, some are happy, some are angry. I think it will give
even more options for retaliatory feedback.
Frankly, I'm
absolutely dreading this change and predict disaster. This all but forces buyers to
nitpick and/or complain about things out of the sellers controll. (Like how much time the
carrier takes to deliver after sending) Even the best sellers will be getting "little
negs" on most every transaction and then some sellers will retaliate, everyones
percentage scores will plummet driving down sales even more...
Next they will have
feedback for sellers spelling, grammar, and diction as well as their personal hygeine. I
say WTF? It's not broke, don't 'fix' it. Spectacular fail on Ebay's part.
Retaliatory
feedback is a MAJOR deterant to leaving honest feedback. It's really a form of legalized
blackmail. There should be a way to leave honest feedback without fear of retaliation.
The feedback system
has been tinkered with more than enough already This change will bring ebay's feedback
into total disrepute and will completely devalue it in the eyes of many
I have over 400
feedbacks on ebay - all positive. I have never left negative feedback for fear of
retaliation. It has not been possible to describe problems with sellers in within the 80
character word limit. How do you provide a meaningful description of a problem with a
seller with only 80 characters? Why would Feedback 2.0 improve the feedback system? It is
absurd - no improvement whatsoever. Why would a seller be any more likely to not give
retributory feedback because I give feedback by a checklist rather that words? Ridiculous!
No matter how you
look at it, there are rude and nasty Buyers out there that jump to giving bad feedback
before you even have a chance to deal with it. There has GOT TO BE a way to erase negative
feedback from Buyers without having to pay for mediation. I fear this will just give more
power to those who use feedback irresponsibly. I still offer kudos to all who are generous
and realistic in their feedback!
Sellers have no
control over shipping time. Buyers don't understand reasonable handling fees, the cost of
the packaging especially. It might make some sellers ship quicker.
A seller is being
rated for things they have no control over. It is bad enough that a few buyers do not even
know what they are buying. Some buyers do not understand the cost of doing business (ie:
handling charges for material and labor). Most buyers look at the over all cost of an item
and are good customers but you do get a few that expect everything for nothing and expect
the item to be delivered to them yesterday.I have no control over the delivery time and
some buyers complain about shipping being too high on some items when i charge actual
costs of shipping, when the postal services increases their rates every year we have a
greater chance of our shipping rates getting bad ratings when we don't make any profit off
the shipping. If i found myself getting bad ratings for something i have no control of i
would stop leaving feedback for buyers until they change it to a system that rates us on
only the items we have control of. As far as communication ratings, I don't know how many
times I respond to a email and they say they never received it because there junk mail
filter on hotmail or yahoo puts it into a junk folder and they blame me for it! And now we
get a bad ratting for them not using a real isp email address? Leave things how they are,
This new system will be way to hard on good sellers and way to easy for bad buyers to try
using feedback as a tool hurt a seller they had any slight problem with... Even if it was
out of the sellers hands like a shipping delay by USPS. If you want to rate the post
office add a feedback area for them on the site!
Even if you do
everything right, buyers will find away to nitpick you on one or more these catagories. I
imagine I will ger dinged on communication, since I expect the ebay/paypal system to
communicate with the buyers when items are shipped etc. I certainly do not have the time
to send a messsage to the buyer everytime a shipment is made or payment. How many buyers
are going mark us down when the supoositly 2-3 day priority mail delivery time ends up
being a week. So although I will maintain a high positive feedback percentage, I am sure I
will be rated only fair on something.
Your focus is
turning more and more toward the buyers and your stockholders. The sellers are who made
your company what it is today. I understand the need to focus on keeping the stockholders
happy, but what about your customer (the seller) service? I'm not sure that your new
feedback service will be positive for anyone. But you'll implement it and we'll see.
we need to always
know WHO IS LEAVING THE FEEDBACK'!!!!!!!! it should be mandatory for buyer to send email
through Ebay to seller to give seller a chance to make things right before leaving
negative feedback I dislike a 5 point system, We have that on Amazon and it does not work
well. It should stay at 3 (positive, negative, neutral) as it is. buyers and sellers
should have the ability to withdraw their feedback as they do on AMazon. THIS WRITTEN IN
STONE STUFF IS GOD AWFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Feedback 2.0 will
allow buyers to nitpick. In an overall good transaction now they leave positive feedback.
With 2.0 they can now rate certain areas as bad. Especially the shiping and postage
charges area. I charge UPS rates and usually add on a SMALL handling charge. It amazes me
how many people ask about the high shipping charges. Most people do not have a clue what
the Post Office or UPS charge for a package, yet they complain that sellers are Ripping
them off. If ebay wants to make improvements to feedback howabout making a change that
will not allow a buyer who has received a strike for nonpayment to leave negative feedback
for the seller. Or better yet make negative feedback for the nonpaying buyer automatic
along with the strike. I think most sellers feel the same - Ebay is constantly making life
more difficult for the bakcbone of thier system - The sellers.
I think it will be
to complicated and time consuming for most buyers and will result in less feedback being
received for sellers. only about half the buyers now bother to leave feedback this will
not help matters.
a
I think many of the changes,
such as thumbnail photos and item title, will be good. I am concerned about sellers not
having as many ways to rate buyers and how the star system may be confused or get abused.
We think that as a very
accomplished seller, it is entirely unfair for newcomers to eBay to be able to leave a
negative feedback that is as hurtful as a seasoned eBay buyer. Sometimes new buyers just
do not know the system or ebay policy and are quick to leave negatives when we are a
veteran ebay seller. Ebay needs to stick up more for these sellers, they do, after all,
generate a lot of income for eBay.
Buyers don't have a clue when
it comes to actual shipping costs. They assume that UPS is higher, when in reality it
lower than USPS for any distance greater than about 2-300 miles. We use the calculator. We
charge a reasonable handling fee. I think that buyers will downgrade ratings on shipping
cost just because of their lack of knowledge.
I primarily ship tickets via
USPS. The post office does not usually scan the DC number until the day of delivery. So
have two concerns: 1) I risk a lower rating because the buyer wonders if I shipped on the
date stated. 2) Even now many buyers choose fist class mail rather than the Priority Mail
or Express Mail options; and then worry the item may not arrive in time. I will have to
decide if I should only offer more expensive Priority Mail when so many buyers don't need
it or risk lower ratings because of THE BUYER'S DECISIONS.
It will only be an improvement
if it eliminates buyers opportunity to use "retaliatory feedback."
I am concerned as it will allow
buyers to leave negative feedback about items over which the seller has no control (i.e.,
amount of time in which item is delivered). Not all buyers are savvy about what
constitutes shipping and handling as well. I have been given neutrals because I charged
more than actual postage. What is needed is buyer education about feedback, and what it
should entail. Communication with the seller needs to be stressed if the buyer has a beef.
I also am concerned about anonymity that the buyer will have in feedback they leave. This
leaves the seller at a disadvantage.
Without parity for sellers, the
new system will 'unbalance' the playing field, allowing buyers to slam sellers for items
outside of their control (delivery time?), while not allowing sellers to indicate buyer
issues like excessive excuses for not making a timely payment, paying short, or mailing
payments days (or weeks) after the 'I just dropped it in the mailbox' excuse is given.
Without parity between sellers and buyers, ANY feedback system is worthless.
Too much open for
inturprutation. Will hurt International transactions and sellers.
Ebay no longer cares about the
seller.
Delivery time can often be
outside of the control of the seller and to be rated on the speed or lack of speed of the
post office can be unfair.
seems like it's a drastic
change..they should slowly add to the current feedback setup and see how it goes instead
of everything at once. Although the current feedback rating system is not perfect, it's
not that bad either.
Sellers have no control over
transaction events such as the time it takes to receive a buyer's payment, the time for a
check to clear (if seller accepts checks), and the delivery time (heaven help us if it is
sent media mail!). Why should sellers be rated on things they have no control over? Leave
it to the Ebay to come up with another brilliant idea on how to screw up the site even
more.
Stop with the
"enhancements," please. If eBay wants to buy Amazon.com, then please buy it and
stop annoying your customers (the SELLERS) with fixing things that aren't broken.
If a Seller describes item
accurately and ships quickly, they will only see postive feedback. A good seller has
nothing to fear from any feedback system
This system seems to have been
stolen directly from Amazon. It allows ebay to totally wash its hands of any buyer/seller
feedback complaints. Also, it ties sellers hands if they do become the object of mentally
unbalanced buyer or a vindictive buyer. THIS STINKS! As has MOST of ebay's changes lately!
Soon they can just sit there and rake in the money with no involvement at all!
Why not allow everyone to give
feedback on eBay...afterall they play a very significant role in this? They could be rated
on customer service, default settings on auction pages, communication with sellers,
ability to arbitrarily affect sellers direct income, etc. etc. No? I didn't think so!
Another example of wanting to
improve something that does not need improving, thereby opening up other problems. Keep
the system like it is. Don't wipe out my first two years of feedback which I worked hard
to earn. Ebay is never concerned with improving things for customers, but there actions
are always to improve their situation.
The buyer leaving feedback
should NOT be anonymous
My primary concern is eBay's
inability to introduce any software that works well. It's bad enough they are messing with
the search amd SYI3, both of which have numerous well-documented bugs that eBay refuses to
recognize let alone fix. Messing with Feedback with bug-laden software will ruin the
reputation of good sellers while the scammers will still continue to sell their junk with
relative impunity.
I don't like the fact that
buyers can rank shipping charges as one item with a $10 charge may seem fair to one buyer
while another that may seem excessive. The buyers are also not aware of the other charges
and expenses relating to shipping charges such as drop-ship fees and handling charges by
the factories that the seller must incur and then add into the shipping charges. I always
strive to have fair and equitable shipping charges but I am concerned that many buyers
will abuse this area as they are not understanding of the overall expenses involved.
Buyers don't read the item
description, now they are going to read, understand this? How is a seller responsible for
the delivery time? A seller is not the USPS or FEDEX
Just another ebay quirk,They
should be fixing search for stores and doing things to improve the site in general,but
they would rather tinker with something new,Fix,ebay don't know the meaning of that word.
Jan
I think it is way too
impersonal but then Ebay has become that way too. It is no fun anymore.
Just another glitchy, untested
"enhancement' from eBay that makes using it more and more complicated.
I think taking away a buyer or
seller's feedback comments over 2 years old is a disservice to buyers and sellers. You
won't know if they are a "problem" buyer/seller. There are too many ways in
which a buyer can give an unjustified low "subjective" opinion, making it worse
for sellers. Too many don't understand how feedback is supposed to work to begin with.
This will make it worse.
Ridiculously unfair. Buyers
will complain about anything given the chance, and this is just opening up chances for
them to slander sellers with absolutely no accountability for their actions.
I dont like giving customers
the opportunity to complain more or in more ways. It just leaves the door wide open I
think. Especially on shipping. Who is to say what is too much shipping and handling
charge. You could ask 100 people and get 90 different answers on that. I would however
like to see a dispute process in place before negative feedback is left. Seems all the
neutral or negs I get are from issues that could have been resolved with simple contact
BEFORE Leaving the neg or neutral. I am here to please. If my customers are not happy, I
dont eat. It is getting harder and harder to maintain good feedback with the more business
we do. I often wonder whos brainchild this was. I really dont think that this was thought
of by a true powerseller. Also, please do not throw out the last 2 years worth of
feedback. Thats a slap in the face to all who have worked so hard to get where they are
today. Ron
Sellers as myself know just how
much fees we pay (I pay average from $1,500-$3,500 a month in eBay fees, of course that is
our overhead and we need to charge some of that in our shipping and Handling, that's what
Handling is. Besides insertion fees, final value fees, paypal/bank fees, packaging fees,
business fees & supplies (ebay doesn't give us free reams of paper, labels, dsl
access, new computers & printers, etc.) all these things add up and Buyers just don't
get it, small time sellers can maybe get away with charging actual shipping, but that is
because they are selling their own things that they could be willing to let go cheap
instead of garage selling. However when you are running a full blown business with over
500 active items at any given time, shipping hundreds of items a month, you start to feel
the paypal fees, shipping fees, and eBay fees. Also for US deliveries, the shipping time
is Excellent, however out of country is a gamble. Usually 2 weeks or less, however Customs
takes on a huge roll on items being delivered on time. And countries like Italy, Spain
& Greece, just to name a few, take their sweet ol' time delivering and the customer
may end up giving us a 1 on something we rush to package and deliver but once it leaves
our hands, it moves to the rate of a snail. Why should we be punished for that? I think
the overall feedback is best.
I have issues with the things
out of my control, like shipping times and fee hikes at the USPS. I don't think buyers
understand how involved it is to have packing supplies, printer supplies, and other
overhead costs included in the purchase price and/or handling fee charged by sellers.
Also, most buyers who are inclined to leave a neutral or negative usually don't
communicate with sellers to work out the issues. I have had only one retalitory neg FB
early on in my selling career, so I'll be glad to see this one go away. I have received
one neutral FB because one item out of the six was broken in shipping, but the buyer never
contacted me to initiate an insurance claim. I don't think that casual buyers
"get" eBay and there is no way to train them other than through their own
limitations and mistakes: they don't read the entire auction or terms or service! As soon
as a viable competitor to eBay comes along, many sellers will vanish. Many are already
setting up their own websites and unfortunately for eBay, the stockholders haven't a clue
as to the turmoil they are leaving the sellers in with the feedback issue but more
importantly, the transition to the new 'Sell Your Item' format. Bottom line, they're going
to lose the business to someone who has the original core values eBay was founded on in
the late 90's. I will adapt and move on...
From what I have seen, as a
seller I wouldn't even know who was leaving the feedback. I think the entire idea is
totally DUMB! Leave the system as it was, but don't allow for retaliatory feedback. This
you should be able to do.
For a high volume business it
would be too time consuming to give that much attention to detailed feedback. If people
are happy with your service, they say so. If there is a problem, they will detail it for
you in their feedback. As for feedback on shipping -- everyone has their own opinion on
what is fair and/or reasonable. With shipping calculators available, and for others who
list their shipping charges in the auction listing, there should be no problem with what
they think of shipping. If they don't like the cost, then don't buy the product. If
someone is surprised by unusually high shipping charges, they are to blame for not asking
first. If the new feedback system is implimented, then it should be made available to both
buyers and sellers. The subject of deleting first two years feedback -- many of us work
hard for our excellent selling/buying record, and should be entitled to keep all feedback.
If someone had some bad feedback due to inexperience, and then through the years has
earned a good positive feedback rating, then hopefully people can look at the whole
picture and not base judgement on events that happened many years ago. Consistent bad
feedback should always be made available so you can make your own judgment whether to
buy/sell with that that person.
There's definitely a need for
sellers to be able to leave detailed feedback - promptness of payment, communication, etc.
- for buyers. Also a need for sellers to be able to match buyers to their detailed
feedback - otherwise buyers have no responsibility for their ratings.
While I understand the premise
behind this I feel that it doesn't solve the existing problem with eBay's Feedback. Right
now you can't neg a buyer for fear of retaliatory feedback. This doesn't solve that issue
it merely makes it easier for the buyer to leave a double negative. At the very least I'll
like to see Ebay require some sort of training before a buyer is allowed to use it. At the
best I'd like to see some sort of pariety in this where a seller can respond but then how
do you respond to an unidentified buyer.
I obsolutely disagree i should
rated based on delivery time and shipping costs, I have no control over the delivery time
and some buyers complain about shipping being too high on some items when i charge actual
costs of shipping when the postal services increases their rates every year we have a
greater chance of our shipping rates getting bad ratings when we don't make any profit off
the shipping.
leave it as it is. with the new
feedback it will cause problems
Bad. Buyers will be asked to
give feedback about things that don't apply or don't matter. For example: an item may be
received quickly, but because there wasn't "communication" the seller will be
downmarked accordingly.
Feedback just doesn't work
because everyone is afraid of giving and then getting negative feedback. So, what you end
up with is just a bunch of positives, whether it was true or not. Plus, the only negatives
we've ever received were because of slow shipping by the Post Office, and from a guy
because his echeck took too long to clear.
I am sorry but I do not like
any part of this new system. The system appears to be set up by people that have a limited
understanding of retail Many buyers do not read the listing or assume what should happen.
Buyers seem to believe the terms of sale are either suggestions or that the
buyer can decide the TOS after sending payment. They complain about shipping when an
international package has not arrived in 4 days. If eBay really did something to educate
buyers I would probably feel different about the new feedback. All eBay does is put
tutorials some where on the system and expect buyers to self educate. It is a faulty
system on its best day. Sellers constantly deal with people that do not understand the
basics of eBay. Now those same buyers will leave marks that will damage a sellers
reputation. With the remarks done in a way that Sellers will not know which buyers
left which ratings we can not try to resolve a problem. Buyers can leave remarks
based on what, personal feelings? Mood of the day? When postage rates go up, we will see
low scores about high shipping cost. Can we get this, or other issues removed, I doubt it.
I am sorry but the idea is flawed, does nothing to bring back the magic, gives
buyers a way to leave unfounded/wrong comments, and offers sellers nothing except a
damaged reputation. Damaged reputation means fewer sales, leads to less money for seller
and eBay. The system appears to be set up by people with very limited understanding of
retail but that seems to be par far the course with eBay. Lots of software/tech/marketing
people with little or no leadership experience in retail. Truly sad. Final thoughts about
eBay; the sellers are the people that pay money to eBay/Paypal, this makes us (the
sellers) the customer in relation to eBay. Stop doing things that make it hard on the
customers. Bring in people that understand retail and customer service. Retrain or replace
people who believe the sellers are in the way. Retrain or replace people that have an
adversarial approach to dealing with customers (this includes many people in live chat and
some pinks on the message boards)
My concern is the same as
voiced by others about being graded on something I can't control. Also, I will be more
careful about any buyer where the purchase is going to present difficulties, like shipping
to an APO address. The only way I can ship to an APO address is Priority mail (surface
mail takes up to 8 weeks). Two problems occur: 1. I have to ask the buyer surface or
Priority mail? If they say surface, they might complain about the long wait for their
item. 2. If they say Priority, I have to ask for more money for postage. Either can be a
negative in the buyer's mind. My only option would be to refuse to sell an item to a buyer
using APO address. I have a buyer now who insists that even though she is stationed out of
the country, she is considered to be in the US. That's all well and good but facts are
facts! I have excellent feedback now and don't want to do anything to jeopardise that. If
the shipping evaluation could find a way to judge only how long it takes to leave the
sellers posession, I'd say OK. The Post Office scan takes care of that but I also find
some of my items are delivered without ever being scanned, even though I pay for delivery
confirmation.
Even more than the current
flawed system, the "improved" feedback system holds sellers hostage to the
sometimes unrealistic expectations of buyers. Those who expect delivery by the USPS within
24 hours and those who need extra hand holding for small dollar purchases will now be able
to wield feedback as a mighty weapon. Why doesn't ebay let sellers rank buyers similarly?
If I could let fellow sellers know how time-consuming and difficult some buyers are (even
if they pay quickly), blocked bidder lists everywhere would grow! And negative feedback
really does not affect buyers in the same way it affects those of us who make our living
on ebay!
I'm not totally against it, but
I don't know how many buyers will take the time to comment on individual areas of service
by the seller. Also, things like slow mail delivery, which is out of seller's control
could be given a low rating by the buyer and make it look like a seller didn't ship on
time. I personally think it will just complicate matters.
The delivery time and shipping
cost are the most problematic areas of the new feedback system. These are both subjective
areas with many variables involved. For instance selling I sell a great deal to Canadians.
The Canadian customs inspection process can take from a few hours up to 3 weeks to
complete. This is entirely out of my hands to control. Likewise the shipping and handling
costs are variable depending on the location, packaging, and labor involved to produce a
safe and timely delivery. If I could I would suggest to EBay that buyers need to
"qualified" to use the various components of the new rating system. Buyers with
little or no selling experience should be restricted to using the overall rating. Only
those buyers with substantial selling experience should be using the detailed ratings.
This would provide a peer review system and reduce the impact of subjective ratings based
on inexperience.
First off, the lunatics who
create the perception of e-bay being an unsafe place to buy do not READ the auctions. I
know this because I saw a Judge Judy where a buyer bought a PHOTO of a cellphone, clearly
described in the auction as a PHOTOGRAPH of cell phone model number blah blah... and sued
the seller and WON! When said lunatics are allowd to leave negative feedback less than 24
hours after the completion of a sale because they "did not receive tracking
information" (happened to me) that is completely RIDICULOUS! With the amount of the
fee increase, e-bay should assert more CONTROL over persons leaving these remarks. It is
only hurting e-bay in general, by making the general public think it is an unsafe place to
buy. Why else would people pay more to shop (by the MILLIONS) elsewhere? As a seller I
have no alternative but to leave a remark, or retalitory feedback, those are my two
choices. I wrote a suggestion to them asking that for the 5% increase (or whatever it was)
in fees, they help THEMSELVES and the sellers by forcing the buyer to answer a couple
questions in a form before they leave a negative! a)WHEN did you contact your seller with
your issue? b) via what method? And they could put a little note underneath stating that
is is CUSTOMARY to allow 24 hours for a response, etc. Not that most of these "ruin
everything for everybody" type people will READ IT. But the "STOP, THINK, and
fill this out form" function would HELP!!! Cripes, I maintain an 800 number for these
buyers to call, and have been called using it about 6 times in a YEAR!
A seller is being rated for
things they have no control over. It is bad enough that a few buyers do not even know what
they are buying. Some buyers do not understand the cost of doing business (ie: handling
charges for material and labor). Most buyers look at the over all cost of an item and are
good customers but you do get a few that expect everything for nothing and expect the item
to be delivered to them yesterday. Out of 2 to 3 hundred feedbacks we get every month
there is always a couple that have no clue. They usually do nor leave feedback but every
once in a while they do. With this system those few will now have more options and they
can leave it anonamously which is very bad for the sellers. Just another thing that eBay
ios doing to drive sellers away. You can tell they are apprehensive though since they are
testing it in other markets before the US.
Why should sellers be rated on
items totally out of their control, like shipping times?
If you give the buyer feedback
than the seller should also beable to do the same. I've complained about the current
feedback because it allows non-paying bidders/buyers to leave "retaliatory
feedback" even tho they didn't pay for their purchase. This something that has not
been addressed by eBay.
eBay has a huge amount of free
time on their hands which, in turn, causes them to feel obligated to continually make
changes that are not necessary. I, overall, do not agree with the Feedback 2.0 system but
if a Buyer Feedback System is implemented I would feel that the playing field is more
level.
I think it is a good change and
long overdue. I do think we should be able to have retaliatory feedback removed. It is
usually most obvious when feedback is retaliatory. This goes for sellers as well as
buyers.
Pierre hasn't commented on it
or approved it. How do these changes improve upon the original philosiphy? KISS was
obviously the secret to feedback and the ultimate sucesses of eBay. Bill and Meg need to
be replaced for messing with something as sacred as Pierre's vision for feedback. Posted:
February 26, 1996, To: eBay Community I launched eBay's AuctionWeb on Labor Day, 1995.
Since then, the site has become more popular than I ever expected, and I began to realize
that this was indeed a grand experiment in Internet commerce. By creating an open market
that encourages honest dealings, I hope to make it easier to conduct business with
strangers over the net. Most people are honest. And they mean well. Some people go out of
their way to make things right. I've heard great stories about the honesty of people here.
But some people are dishonest. Or deceptive. This is true here, in the newsgroups, in the
classifieds, and right next door. It's a fact of life. But here, those people can't hide.
We'll drive them away. Protect others from them. This grand hope depends on your active
participation. Become a registered user. Use our feedback forum. Give praise where it is
due; make complaints where appropriate. For the past six months, I've been developing this
system single-handedly, in my spare time. Along the way, I've dealt with complaints among
participants. But those complaints have amounted to only a handful. We've had close to
10,000 auctions since opening. And only a few dozen complaints. Now, we have an open
forum. Use it. Make your complaints in the open. Better yet, give your praise in the open.
Let everyone know what a joy it was to deal with someone. Above all, conduct yourself in a
professional manner. Deal with others the way you would have them deal with you. Remember
that you are usually dealing with individuals, just like yourself. Subject to making
mistakes. Well-meaning, but wrong on occasion. That's just human. We can live with that.
We can deal with that. We can still make deals with that. Thanks for participating. Good
luck, and good business! Regards, Pierre Omidyar
I think anything is better then
the system you have now and the points you are judging people on are the important things
for a buyer and sellers.
People like to gripe. I think
this gives buyers a chance to gripe about very small matters, especially about S&H
costs since eBay has made a big deal about excessive S&H.
Feedback 2.0 takes an imperfect
two-sided system and replaces it with a less perfect one-sided system. The anonymity
feature only begs for unfair attacks.
Very poor. It will mean far too
many ' middling ' feedbacks as any psychologist will tell you the majority of people given
choices like these will rarely tick the most positive option and instead tick the fourth
out of five even if they are completely happy. Consequently even those sellers with 100%
positive feedback ratings will suddenly see them reduced. A bad idea.
I don't like the idea of not
attaching the user id to the feedback they left. It will only promote more negative
feedback to be left from one-time buyers or even the veteran buyer. This can be very
damaging to a sellers reputation. I had a buyer leave negative feedback when the comment
left was positive. Because it was a one-time buyer, they never responded (didn't care) to
numerous attempts to have them withdrawal the feedback. eBay would do anything about it
either. This comment should have been withdrawn by eBay because of no response from the
buyer, just like the dispute process works. Thank You - eBay Platinum PowerSeller
Once again, eBay is making a
major change without thinking it through. To allow buyers only to leave detailed feedback
is lopsided and biased in favor of buyers, and has the potential to hurt seller's
reputations. 1.) Accuracy of description: No matter how accurate a description is we all
know that most buyers don't read descriptions and terms of sale. This is especially true
of new buyers and buyers with low feedback no matter how long they have been a member. 2.)
Communication: We follow up within 24 hours to buyer email, but most buyers don't
communicate. So how can buyers who don't communicate problems, or have their email set to
block our notices re: shipping, rate us on communication? 3.) Delivery time: We ship
within 2 business days but once package is in USPS hands it is out of our control. When
eBay started noting when buyers could expect packages it created over-expectation of
buyers; and very much increased email from buyers asking "WHERE IS MY PACKAGE!"
when buyer paid one day and expected delivery the next day. We spend a great deal of time
researching ship info and answering these kinds of email since eBay started emphasizing
delivery times. 4) Postage & packaging charges: Most buyers do not understand other
costs sellers incur to ship. Our response is, "Please do not bid if you don't want to
pay ship charges that include packaging & handling costs." Most of our problems
are with Canadian buyers who expect to pay the same ship rate as domestic buyers, and
receive auctions in 2 days. We are seriously considering not selling to Canada for this
reason. Feedback 2.0 is a poorly thought out and flawed policy change. Not allowing
sellers to rate buyers also is unfair and biased in favor of buyers. Sellers should be
able to rate buyers on Payment within terms of sale, communication, understanding of
listing (did they read listing?), provided an accurate ship to address, and realistic ship
time expectation. Feedback 2.0 is another example of eBay making a change before thinking
it through and "fixing it on the fly." I predict that sellers will pay for it
with damage to their reputations. Even good sellers.
I'm in Canada - 75% of my
buyers are in the US. I have no control over delivery times! My packages have to go
through US Customs, and are handled by Canada Post and by USPS. Since my shipments are
handled by 2 post offices plus may be delayed in US Customs, delivery times are completely
out of my control. Canada Post is also is very expensive, and tracking options are either
non-existent or horrendously expensive. I can't compete with USPS on postage, signature
confirmation or tracking. In the case of most most of my shipments, Canada Post doesn't
even offer tracking. Also, I've worked hard to get my 4,000 feedback, 100% positive - I
want credit for that ! So I'm not in favour of losing my earlier feedback ratings. As a
seller, I also want a level playing field - this means I should be able to grade the
buyer, the same way they evaluate me. The new feedback system will cause a lot more
problems than it will solve, especially for international sellers.
S/H ) Buyers want cheap s/h,
but expect their items to arrive asap. We are speedy shippers, but once we deliver the
package to USPS we have no control over the delivery time. Buyers would like Media Mail
prices but Express Mail delivery time. Communication) Many buyers have AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail
and other ISP's that put important emails into bulk mail or spam folders. Most buyers
either never think to look there for payment information emails or feel it is too much
trouble to wade through all of the bulk emails to find the important ones. Why should
sellers be penalized for the buyer's ISP email problems?
If a seller describes an item
accurately, States approx shipping time on ground or media items, and does not overcharge
for shipping and handeling. what do they have to worry about ? Example I ordered a CD the
shipping was stated as $4.15. "I assumed 4.15 was a little high but than again it
might be priorty mail which a few sellers uses exclusively. (1st class poatage woud be
about $1.50) after I hit buy it now and was commited to pay, 1st class was $15.00, Mesia
Mail 10.00 and 4th class 4.15. So in this case discription of poatage in main body was way
off base.
after a certain # of feedbacks
and percentage feedbacks should not be left larger sellers that are established should not
be rated after 25,000 or 50,000 feedback it is a joke
The fundamental flaws: 1)
Seller should get full control if any feedback is displayed as it is on any regular store
site owned by a seller. Sellers should not be forced to allow the publication of bad
feedback attheir expense since they pay the bill of Ebay, not the buyers. 2) The delivery
time evaluation is unjust as sellers have virtually no influence on it as it is done by
carriers. 3) The s/h evaluation is also unjust. At the time of purchase teh buyer has the
opportunit to decide if he wants to pay the s/h. Allowing to receive criticism post-sale
on s/h is allowing the buyer to renege on his earlier decision to accept the s/h as it was
offered. It will also result in more negatives for buyers as there will be more conflicts
on this issue.
Delivery time, is not in my
control, it makes no sense for me to be rated on this. If a buyer is not happy with the
speed of delivery, let them contact the carrier. Delivery time should be changed to
shipping time ( how fast after payment was the item shipped out ) at least this reflects
on the service of the seller, but delivery time only reflects on the service of the
carrier
I'm concerned because
potentially, the people who will take the time to answer the other questions are lopsided
toward people who have a complaint. Shipping times, some forms of communications (i.e.
ebay and Paypal communications), shipping costs, and other factors are not toally in the
control of sellers, and I am concerned that it will take these uncontrollable factors and
make them a significant portion of the feedback scoring.
It is rather hard to give an
accurate opinion on this change until it is put into operation and we can see how it will
actually work. I think a lot of FB problems are due to poor or no communication between
seller and buyer. Hopefully this change will correct that. It will be wonderful if they
can stop the retaliatory feedback that comes from some buyers and sellers that send it
just because they are having a bad day.
My biggest concern is the
ability for the buyer to leave comments regarding delivery time. When I ship an item the
buyer receives a email indicating the date item was shipped from UPS or USPS (I use paypal
shipping to print labels). One item is delivered to the shipper I have no control over how
long it takes the shipper to deliver the package. I also need to rethink selling
internationally as I have had shipping delays due to items being held up in customs etc.
Although I charge only actual
shipping fees, the price of postage has gone up so much that I fear the buyer's feelings
about the USPS will be unfairly transferred to my feedback. If the buyer simply feels they
paid too much and wish they hadn't bought the item, the same could happen. I don't want to
bear the brunt of ANY negative feelings the buyer might have that have nothing to do with
the quality of my merchandise or service.
1)Too easy for seller to be
penalised by factors out of their control - delays of package en route, delays in messages
being passed on by ebay's own messaging system. 2)Buyer can see s&h before they bid,
so should have decided not to bid if the price is too high. 3)A better picture could have
been left if feedback remained as now, but with an increased character allowance.
It should go both ways ~ Some
customers are difficult to please, no mater what you do ~ It could impact a good seller by
catering to whiny buyers. I have reason to believe that there is a current trend of some
buyers placing claims of *broken or damaged* items 75% of the time and placing the blame
on the seller, even with the proper packing and full insurance coverage for the purchased
item, then giving that seller a negative feedback. The new system will allow buyer who are
scamming sellers to impact a good seller with this new system with no recourse for this
new sacm. Bonnie
You've got a good system. Don't
change it.
Buyers misconceptions of what
is involved in completing a transaction i.e. s/h expenses will, no doudt, hurt sellers. We
maintain 99.5% out of 27,000 feedbacks. But we occasionally run into the scammer or nut
case who tries to tell us how to run a business. This will, no doudt, lead them to leave
bad ratings with no recourse for the seller. I think this is too one sided in the hands of
buyers. Unfortunately Ebay makes changes and then looks for the results! parkerdown
I think ebay should stop
tinkering with the system and leave well enough alone.KISS keep it simple stupid
As a seller I don't feel I
should be rated on the performance of Canada Post/foreign carrier and customs depts. Not
under my control. I cannot include postage in all descriptions because it depends on too
many factors. It is up to the buyer to ask before bidding if they are concerned. I don't
charge handling, just the postage, which can be high for large items and overseas
destinations. Again, this is not under my control. Buyers need to take responsibility for
their own actions and not whine after the fact. Ebay allows 3 days for parties to get in
contact but I have buyers sending multiple requests for the total within 24 hours of the
close. Buyers are now expecting immediate responses, 24 hours a day and now we will be
punished if we can't comply.
There are not only bad sellers,
but bad buyers who are never pleased no matter what. To deny sellers the opportunity to
know who is giving them feedback, and to deny sellers the chance to fully rate the buyers
in the same manner buyers will now be able to rate sellers is only presenting half the
story. I think sellers will be getting short shrift with this new system.
There needs to be a way the
seller can leave similar feedback. In the big bad world of eBay it is not always the
seller that is the evil one. Many of us have been taken unfair advantage of by a buyer. It
seems only logical if not fair that there be an equal and level playing field for
feedback. Make it a buyer and seller feedback system. Remembering Bill's constant use of
core business - if sellers aren't present there is no core.
My biggest concern as a Buyer
is retaliatory feedback. I think a Seller should leave feedback before the buyer leaves
feedback. Afterall, once the Buyer receives the item, the Seller should rate them at that
time - their part of the transaction is over. In my opinion, nothing will change with this
system. I will still be afraid of getting a negative.
The seller should still be able
to see which buyer gave them the feedback. That is only fair because if a buyer gives
negative feedback, the seller should have the ability to block them from further sales.
The seller should also be allowed to leave ratings for the buyer.
Unneccessary complication. I
have not intention of going to this much trouble to leave feedback on a purchase.
If feeback 2.0 is optional to
leave the expanded, detailed feedback, then I think it will have a NEGATIVE impact on
buyers. As a rule people are lazzy and will just use the old, one click posting and will
not drill down any further as long as the tranastion was positive. The new system, I
believe, will led to more NEGATIVE detailed scoring, since in my expereience the most
vocal buyers are the ones that nit-pick over extremely minor details.
There is no doubt that eBay is
a successful marketplace and that success has been built on and survived with the current
feedback system in place. The current system could be improved upon by having buyers
complete a checklist type form (similar to the dispute form) that asks what steps they
have taken to resolve their concerns with the seller before eBay permits them to leave
negative or neutral feedback. Feedback is a matter of opinion. The current feedback system
is pretty defined as to a persons satisfaction with their buying experience. However, when
you begin broadening the options a buyer can leave for a seller you begin getting conflict
among a variety of personal opinions. One buyer may agree a seller's shipping charges are
fair because they understand the other expenses involved where as another buyers opinion
may be the charges are too high. A buyer that thoughly reads a description may rate that
seller accordingly but a buyer that does not completely read a description and then gets
something they did not expect may rate that seller as not providing an accurate
description. For example; a buyer that purchased an empty Nintendo Wii box thought they
were purchasing the system because they did not read the entire description or fine print.
A seller may ship daily but if the post office loses that package and delays delivery the
seller should not be rated accordingly. I just don't feel this new feedback system is the
answer to improvement or attracting new buyers to eBay.
More needs to be done for the
sellers.
The Seller should not be
responsible for the slowness of the postal system. So, will the buyers rate the PO or the
seller that has done his part in shipping in a timely manner??? I have had people email in
2 days wondering where their item is. After all, eBay has said in the invoice that it will
be there in 2 days! I don't bid or buy items with S&H gouging. I do hope this new
system will help with this. Realistically--each buyer has their own concept of S&H
prices and service. I think the current broad system is adequate.
Present system works well, why
fiddle with a successful program.
Some buyers have unrealistic
expectations on delivery, and wonder why the item isn't in their hand after two days.
International buyers often have items held up in customs, etc.
Like other sellers have noted,
I (as a Seller) have no control over the USPS. I've had First Class Mail packages take 3
weeks for delivery though no fault of my own. In addition, the only neutral or negative
feedback I've ever received has been from newbies who leave a feedback comment but never
contact me. (though I'm not counting a couple of negatives from years ago from NPB) I want
to know exactly which Buyer said what about our transaction so I can follow up. As a Buyer
I use feedback to guage my feeling of a Seller - I suspect the detailed feedback won't
change a thing for me as a Buyer. I've been selling on eBay since spring 1999. I wish eBay
would fix broken wheels and quit playing with wheels that work.
Packaging quality should be an
area where buyer should be able to comment. Also, seller should be able to identify
complaints about shipping time - what if seller has sent it out promptly and the carrier
has delivered it slowly? Also, if buyer complains about description being accurate, did
the buyer take the opportunity to ask a question? (This comment is not meant to cover
descriptions that are made that have inaccurate elements, but where there may be something
omitted from the description that the buyer would be interested in. I think these are two
very different situations.) The feedback question should be worded to ask if the
statements made in the description were accurate.
I think that no one will have
100% feedback when this is started as no one can please everyone in each and every aspect
of each transaction. The Post Office and other carriers have us at their mercy, I ship 5-6
days a week but as others have said, once it leaves my hands there is nothing I can do to
help it on its way. I will stop leaving feedback first for a while to see what happens. I
have left feedback first for 8 years and I still have 100% positive feedback that I will
surely miss when the new 2.0 starts. The actual only worry I have is promptness of
delivery, I can control the other categories, I think, but there is always that person
that can't be pleased 100%, ever. Thank you for the chance to voice my opinion.
ability for sellers to rate
buyers
If buyers can rate a seller,
than sellers in turn should be able to also rate the buyer.
This will only work if you
implement the same system for buyers. I personally know a lot of people who never would
leave a 5, because they say no one is perfect. In a short while, all sellers will lose
their 100% feedback, and sorry, but as a seller with 100% feedback myself, I have worked
hard for that rating. I also don't buy from anyone with less then 99% feedback -- you will
lose a lot of buyers that way as well. Really eBay, stop trying to be like Amazon.
Customers will blame a late
delivery that is the POST OFFICE fault as a negative on sellers...
Another poorly thought out
change by Ebay's mis-management team. Resolve the genuine issues on the site and don't
waste time tinkering with a system that works in its current form.
The old saying, "If it is
not broke, don't fix it" is an adage eBay needs to learn. I don't think I would have
a problem if it worked both ways, for buyers and sellers. But with it being set up so the
seller does not even know which item the feedback was on, how is there any way to improve.
I have a 100% positive feedback rating and have been selling on eBay since 1999. I am also
an Education Specialist trained by eBay. My number one concern is and has always been
Customer Service both in my trading and in my classes. Lately I have seen complaints about
how PayPal buyer protection has become biased on the side of the buyer and this, as well,
seems biased in the same manner. Sellers have to have a way to state their side of the
story. The buyer is not always pure. The way feedback ratings are now, I can block a buyer
who is a repeat offender of not paying or leaving unjustified inflamatory feedback. With
this system, how am I suppose to know if the buyer was the problem or the seller? Feedback
works two ways and with this new system the sellers are definitely at a disadvantage.
Without sellers there is no eBay. There needs to be a balance, otherwise, with rising
listing and final value fees making it more difficult to earn a profit, and policies
slanting in the buyers interest, many smaller sellers will just stop selling. That would
be a shame.
Why change it? Ebay does this
all the time ~ changes stuff for NO reason.
I was perfectly happy with what
we had and don't see the need for change.
eBay is "just a
venue"! Due to that, they have no idea of what transpires between good sellers and
buyers. If they want "happy" buyers, they should remove the roadblocks that they
have placed between buyers and sellers and allow them to communicate! Most buyers won't
bother with a cumbersome, long evaluation of every aspect of a transaction. The ones who
will bother will be the ones who want to nitpick every part of any transaction. The people
who can't ever be completely pleased. Until *I* personally hand deliver every item, I will
never be responsible for delivery time. I ship within 24 hours. That's the only part that
I'm responsible for. I charge a $1 handling fee. I look forward to receiving feedback
regarding my *gouging* on shipping. NOT Some people cannot be pleased. Those people will
have a field day with fb 2.0 I have 2150 fb - 100% positive.
THE IDEA THAT YOU ARE GOING TO
IGNORE THE LAST 2 YEARS OF YOUR BASE SELLERS FEEDBACK IS ABSURD. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?
HOW ABOUT GIVING ANYONE WHO HAS 100% FEEDBACK IN THE LAST 2 YEARS SOME TYPE OF EXTRA
HONOUR BY THEIR NAME- YOU GUYS ARE ALWAYS MESSING WITH A SYSTEM THAT WORKED FOR SELLERS
AND KEPT BUYERS IN LINE- NOW YOU HAVE TURNED IT UPSIDE DOWN. RIDICULOUS. DISGUSTED -
DONNELL WELLS DALLAS, TEXAS
As a seller, I charge only
acutal fees. Also, I pay for delivery confirmation so I can follow the package on line to
insure delivery. However, I cannot be responsible for the post office and how fast they
ship. The new system does not allow for this so I could receive a bad mark because of the
post office and not the fact that I ship right away. As a seller, I should be allowed to
leave feedback for the bidder.
Ebay needs to teach sellers
what it takes to earn the best feedback possible in all 4 categories without changing the
current system which will only increase retaliatory feedback. Most sellers have no idea
what good communications, good service, and prompt shipping are.
I think it is a good thing, the
Feedback system needs an overhaul. I don't like the idea of Delivery Time being used as
the question, that is something that is outside the sellers control. Order Processing Time
or something that specifies the sellers part of sending the item, that is what is needed.
Disappointed ratings only on
sellers no mention of buyers feedback. I have never been cheated by a seller but have been
cheated many times by buyers, claims of non delivery, cancel of cheque after received
goods, claims to Paypal of not as described so obtaining refund when no right in consumer
law for refund, etc etc
'Real' businesses suffer in
particular on eBay. We have to absorb VAT, (tax), on our shipping across the European
Union. This adds 17.5% to our costs. Most buyers expect that they should only pay the
actual value on the franking strip on the package and leave neutral or negative feedback
accordingly. Anyhow this is probably academic as it is clear that businesses are no longer
welcome on eBay as it descends into a glorified car boot sale with agressive and
fraudulent buyers in the ascendant. And this from an eBay seller who was once the largest
across about twelve categories in the UK.
Bad idea, period.
Not sure about the Delivery
Time rating. Sellers don't have control of delivery times. Perhaps there needs to be some
mention of how fast did seller ship after payment and not how fast did the carrier deliver
it.
I don't like losing 5 years of
feedback and think it should be harder for buyers to leave bad feedback, they should have
to get in contact with sellers first. New buyers should also have to go through a tutorial
before leaving any feedback
Most worried, being a
prfessional seller, that buyers will not understand that I need to add VAT to the P&P
and that they will compare my P&P pricing with non-professional sellers who not not
need to add VAT. It is unfair because these 2 types off sellers compete on the same
marketplace with unequal arms AND EBAY NEVER DID HIGHTLIGHT THIS towards the buyers.
I don't think the majority of
buyers will want to fill out all this information. Also, ratings are so subjective-two
different people could rate an identical transaction quite differently. Some people are
quite demanding while others are laid back.
I don't see too many negatives
with the new system. I also don't think it will do much to put a stop to the endless
discussion of the subject.
you give buyers too much
control. that's why sellers are leaving in droves.
This change will just cause
more fraud for a few months.
If Buyers think they are going
to be anonymous, they will leave unfair feedback. Some people are impossible to please.
Patently unfair to sellers. Why
don't you people consult with a broad sample of ebay sellers before deciding to make
changes that are guaranteed to have adverse impact on even the best and most conscientious
ebay sellers. Ebay has become enormously seller unfriendly and is paying the price by with
sellers voting with their feet and leaving ebay because of ebay's greed, arrogance, and
it's our way or the highway attitude.
eBay has people who want to
keep their cushy job. ALL of the changes since May of 2004 are directly related to
"job security" and "greed". They have ruined a good thing. Feedback
2.0 is low on the list of their recent ruinous changes. Their downfall will be SMI... Oh
yea, and hackers...
Glad to see eBay finally
realizes there's some fixes to be made to the current FB system. Too bad they're going all
wrong about it. Another nail in the coffin, if you ask me. eBay is past its prime and
seems to be making changes for the sake of change. This should have been thought out much
better than it has been.
it looks terrible, ther are
things that we don't have control of it, like shipping time, you should check the day the
package was sent it not the date that has arrived it, it's pretty unfair, actually i think
it's worst than the current system
I'm concerned that this new
system will result in more negative ratings for sellers.
Bad news!!! Too complicated for
buyers. People won't leave it too often unless it is really bad. Not fair for the seller
to know who leaves what feedback. No chance to fix a problem.
Happy buyers will not bother to
answer the extra questions, only unhappy buyers will do so, therefor skewing the total
toward the negative. In addition, buyers who would have previously been satisfied with the
transaction will now think that they should be more critical.
This is just one more case of
eBay fixing something that isn't broken and making buying and selling more complicated
than it has to be....they always find a way to use five clicks when the same thing can be
done with one. Dumb and dumber
I think the current feedback
system is adequate.
As a Powerseller with over 4600
unique feedbacks and 99.9% positive rating (only 7 negatives), I am confident that my
feedback rating speaks for itself without any further delineation of specific attributes.
If buyers have the opportunity to rate multiple attributes of the transaction instead of a
single overall rating, I am certain that my feedback numbers have nowhere to go but down.
And if I am unable to determine who left which ratings for which transaction, I think I
will just simply quit spending an hour each week leaving feedback and not leave any
feedback for my buyers at all, as the system will have become worthless to me.
I don't think buyers will take
time to leave the feedback on 2.0. To complex with the choices. So many don't leave it
now.
Childish!
Many sellers say they will ONLY
leave FB once they receive it. How will big sellers know which buyer left feedback at what
time?? The buyer loses out on this one.
I am very concerned about the
shipping time aspect of the new feedback system for obvious reasons.
This type of system leaves to
much room for abuse. Buyer has bad experience in one area and trashes seller in all areas.
ebay has lost control of some areas of its business, shipping being one by not making the
buyer responsible for their actions i.e. not finding out the shipping and handling costs
before bidding or knowing the costs and still bidding and then complaining. The other area
is its feedback system. To many buyers give negative feedback before they even try to
resolve their issues.
It stinks
I feel that buyers will give a
less than satisfactory rating for delivery time even though I get packages out next day.
Also, if I go on vacation and put up a vacation message buyers may feel obligated to give
a bad rating based on the fact that I couldn't mail their package for a week even though
I've let them know in emails and messages in my store. I think this new feed back system
is a bad idea. Please send this survey to eBay.
My opinion: a seller states
vlearly in their description the shipping costs; then buyer rates the shipping as high
when leaving feedback. OR, seller idnicates that turn arund time from time payment is
received to item being shipped, is 2 weeks ; same thing- buyer then leaves feedback saying
item took too long to be delivered. Ebays will not be checking whether sellers clearly
stated this type information & thus sellerswill be impacted by buyers who just love to
gripe about something.
I think that it will enable
buyers to give a more accurate feedback, and also help buyers know the seller's attributes
by reviewing more detailed feedback. I think the disadvantage is that buyers may not want
to participate in a more detailed feedback system. I think the current system for
evaluating buyers is adequate to alert sellers of bad (buyer) apples. I have not been part
of a retaliatory feedback battle, I have purposely avoided such a scene by leaving
positive feedback for sellers when they really didn't deserve it to retain my 100% buyer's
rating. Not fair and not fun to do, but practical.
If sellers can not leave the
same detailed feedback for buyers, it would not be fair.
I think it is wrong not to be
able to see who left the feedback. How would you be able to "block" a bidder
from future auctions if the feedback left was unfair or unwarranted? I also disagree with
only showing the previous 2 years' feedback to those who have built up positive feedback
over many years.
I worry that delivery time,
which should be shipment time, is out of my control. Most of my buyers use media or parcel
post - the slowest, but cheapest delivery methods. Why should I be faulted because it
takes 10 days for something to get from PA to CA? Additionally, I think we (sellers)
should be able to leave info on buyers such as communication, promptness in paying, etc.
Not thought through properly.
Shipping is out of the hands of the seller and the associated costs are often not
understood by buyers.
It sounds okay in theory. In
practice, it may be open to the same abuses as the current system. Only time will tell.
eBay is altering what is
perhaps their most successful and defining feature. Why mess with success?
It is hard for me to guess how
it will "work" until I can actually see how it is implementd. We already try to
do everything right... honest descriptions, fair shipping charges, timely shipping, good
photos, etc and our feedback reflects that already. I do not expect it will have much
impact on our business, postive or negative. If it has any impact, I hope is exposes those
that are more loose with their descriptions and charge inflated shipping.