AuctionBytes Survey on eBay Feedback

Ina · Joined: 02 Aug 2001 Posts: 452 Location: Massachusetts, USA

AuctionBytes is conducting a survey on eBay Feedback. Please take a few moments to fill it out.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=3966705731

If you have already filled it out, feel free to discuss it in this thread.
Thanks,
Ina
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Ina Steiner, AuctionBytes.com

beadsnbags · Joined: 22 Aug 2003 Posts: 335

kjp55 · Joined: 18 Aug 2001 Posts: 1972 Location: East of Rockies

Question #8 has a flaw. If you try to click on one in the first row, it screws up your other clicks, etc.

kjp55 · Joined: 18 Aug 2001 Posts: 1972 Location: East of Rockies

My opinion on your last question in the poll.......

dsteiner · Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2004 10:43 pm Post subject:

Thanks Kim. I fixed that question. Fortunately there were only a few responses to the survey, so it was great that you posted when you did.

Have a

Dave

jzeligs · Joined: 07 Nov 2004 Posts: 1

The following is my response in your survey regarding eBay's feedback system, submitted for comments:

Allow 60 days for incoming buyer/seller feedback, but post feedback only after it has been received from both buyer and seller, or after 60 days (or some other preset time limit) has elapsed. Thus buyers/sellers would never see each other's feedback until they had independently written their own, or it was too late to respond. Thanks, Joe Zeligs, MD (zdoc)
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Joe Zeligs

cpflds · Joined: 23 Apr 2002 Posts: 994

I like both suggestions on fixing feedback.

I might refine it more by saying that no feedback would be visible until both parties have left feedback. There doesn't need to be a "hold" of 60 days, just hide it until both parties have finished. This would eliminate the feedback-as-hostage situation which I hate. Feedback should not be a reward for "stroking" the seller.

AS A SELLER...I leave feedback when I receive payment and let my buyer know that feedback has been left for them when I send my "your purchase has been shipped" e-mail.

I know the merchandise I'm sending meets or exceeds my description. I know that I've packaged it well. I have no reason to feel the need to protect myself from negative feedback by holding back the positive feedback my buyer has earned for paying promptly. I realize that eventually I'm going to get a negative that I feel is unfair, but if that is the buyer's opinion, then I'll live with it. My positive feedback record will more than compensate.

AS A BUYER...I question why a seller needs to have my feedback first.

I just purchased some tapestry spindles for my weaving business and received an e-mail from the seller telling me that she would leave feedback for me after she received my feedback.

To me, this puts up my "caution" antenna. Why does she want my feedback first? Is there something wrong with her product that she thinks I'll leave a neg for her? Is she going to wait a week or two before bothering to ship? This whole attitude raises too many questions in my mind, and I won't be buying from her again.

I also won't bother to leave feedback for her after I receive my purchase. I don't really need hers, and not leaving a positive for her is my way of protesting, (albeit silently), her feedback-as-hostage attitude.

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Lenne
Copperfields Antiques -- www.copperfieldsantiques.com
The 1919 Weaving Company -- www.the1919weavingcompany.com

Tradguy · Joined: 15 Sep 2002 Posts: 519 Location: Florida

On Improvements to FB I added:

A user's fb record should include:

1 - Number of completed NPB's recorded (buyers) (Ioffer has this)
2 - Number of completed fraud filings (sellers)

Also...

FB auto removed for transactions where you were successfully filed against (NPB or Fraud).

------------

The fatal flaw to Ebay's FB system is that it allows for blatant abuse without recourse. Some 12 year old signs up with a yahoo email account and does a BIN on a $20,000 automobile, and then leave a neg for a professional seller - saying almost anything he wants - and unless the seller can prove bad contact info or extortion, he now has to live with a neg that could very well affect his livelyhood, all because of an act that's similar to juvenile vandalism. The really dispicable part is that even if this buyer is NARU'd because of NPB's, his illegitimate FB is allowed to remain.

I called the FB "illegitimate" because FB should indicate the outcome of a transaction. Clicking on BIN's or making high bids as some kind of recreation with no intention of paying for anything is not a real transaction at all.

If someone bids on my auction, and never pays, I don't see why they should be allowed to rate me as a seller - or at least, why should their FB stand after I successfully complete the NPB process?

I think this should also apply to sellers. When someone comes online and attempts to defraud buyers, and is NARU because of fraud, why should this seller's FB remain for the buyer's he defrauded?

Maybe the simplest thing is to just kill ALL FB left by anyone that is NARU'd. Easily done as a background maintenance task on the database. It would probably takes months to "catch up" at first, but then it wouldn't be a big deal.

Oh...and "private" FB should be immediately removed. Everyone either plays by the same rules, or doesn't play at all.

Rich

netgib · Joined: 07 Nov 2004 Posts: 1

Here are my suggestions on the eBay feedback system. Your comments are invited.

Don't let sellers rate buyers, thus eliminating retaliatory feedback and feedback extortion, which minimize effectiveness of Ebay feedback. Use other means to identify and sanction problem buyers. Also eliminate positive feedback for sellers. I want to know total transactions, negative and nuetral feedback, plus other info on buyer currently available.

Tradguy · Joined: 15 Sep 2002 Posts: 519 Location: Florida

What I actually think would be better than the current FB system, is a short "satisfaction survey" where the buyer/seller rates maybe 2-5 questions on a scale of 1-10:

For Sellers rating buyers:

1 - Communications / Responsiveness
2 - Speed of payment
3 - Friendliness / Cooperation

For Buyer's rating sellers:

1 - Communications / Responsiveness
2 - Speed of shipment
3 - Condition of item
4 - Accuracy of auction description vs actual item
5 - Friendliness / Cooperation

Then you could display a cute and colorful bar chart showing this seller's average rating. Someone giving all "1's" would eventually average out - no more shouting or insults - just ratings. Many people if given a range of 1-10 would use it to be a lot more precise than a "good vs neut vs bad" rating - which really tells us nothing specific. In fact, this would basically tell me what I already spend time to "rate" when I buy something - I'll notice a lot of "slow shipment" comments (even in the pos fb's) - you know that if this person had been rated in that specific area, it would probably reflect reality a lot more than a "99%" fb rating - or some other nonsense.

Each user would have a seperate chart for them as a seller and as a buyer - which are really seperate issues. I shouldn't have to worry about my ratings as a seller every time I buy some small thing.

There...that's my rant and idea

BURIED TREASURES · Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 1:43 pm Post subject:

There should also be a link that pulls up all of a users neutral and negative feedback. The way the system is now allows for bad feedback to be hidden amongst the good. I have seen several cases where sellers have a high feedback rating but if you look at their negatives you see a pattern of fraud and abuse. The ability to see this trend would make ebay a safer place to buy and sell on and would also save users a lot of time looking at the dozens of pages of feedback to find the negatives and neutrals. It is true that eventually these people will get busted (and hopefully go to jail) but the damage they do in the time they are on ebay is extensive and is the cause of all of the bad publicity about internet scams. Sincerely, John Leckrone John@hopkinsvilleantiques.com
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http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=32

beadsnbags · Joined: 22 Aug 2003 Posts: 335

senashton · Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:39 pm Post subject:

Great link, Thanks!

I also felt that the question about perusing a seller's feedback before buying didn't quite have the right answer! I look at it, check negs and neuts, but I read them, and access the buyer AND seller on it. If a 2000+ seller gets a neg from a newbie with 2 or 3 FB, say for slow shipping... item bought on the 1st, FB left on the 8th... that's not slow, and the FB is not gonna mean much. However if the seller goes off on the newbie over it, she's lost my sale, too. There are just too many nuances in any neg or neutral to consider.

I usually leave feedback after it's left for me, simply because it fits my methods. I just have my own system to get things done, and that's where it fits for me! No hostage taking here! LOL!

Pam

BURIED TREASURES · Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:48 pm Post subject:

beadsnbags THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH! Awesome tool which I have now added to my warchest. Will save me HOURS of research over my lifetime. I am fairly forgiving when a seller has a few negatives and lots of great feedback but when you have a seller with say 1000 feedback and 15-20 negs it concerns me. From my perspective 3-6 negatives for 1000 transactions is acceptable but over that starts to concern me. Again, thank you very much for that link! Sincerely, John Leckrone John@hopkinsvilleantiques.com
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kjp55 · Joined: 18 Aug 2001 Posts: 1972 Location: East of Rockies

Tradguy wrote: