A big change announced in eBay Feedback policy. I'm going to guess this will drive a few sellers elsewhere.
eBay changes Feedback Policy
A big change announced in eBay Feedback policy. I'm going to guess this will drive a few sellers elsewhere.
eBay changes Feedback Policy
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
Interesting. And I was just getting used to the new 'enhanced' feedback feature - which I thought was great for both buyers and sellers...
"The more I learn, the more I realize how ignorant I truly am..."
Fair or unfair, its more like the real world, where keeping a customer happy is the job of the seller. If I am unhappy with my lunch at the diner, whether I am justified in my unhappines or not, I get to complain and warn others. The diner does not get to tell everyone I am a crackpot, even if I really am.
Sure they do, they just won't do it in front of you.
"I thought I knew a lot about music. Then you start digging and the deeper you go, the more there is."~John Mellencamp
"Theory only seems like rocket science when you don't know it. Once you understand it, it's more like plumbing!"~John McGann
"IT'S T-R-E-M-O-L-O, dangit!!"~Me
Problem is that many (all too many) buyers fail to read and/or follow the conditions of sale, post negative feedback quickly when there's no fault on the seller's part (e.g., shipping damage), fail to pay, return damaged items, and otherwise act bizarrely. I'm about to have my attorneys send a demand for feedback removal letter to a buyer who posted negative feedback for "not as described" when that buyer later agreed he was looking at shipping damage. I really got screwed in that deal through no fault of my own. The buyer filed a PayPal claim while I filed a damage claim with FedEx. Both took over a month to work out, but the buyer posted negative feedback fast.
Stephen Perry
I know several people that stopped selling on eBay due to problems with people holding them hostage with feedback ransom. In my mind that will become rampant.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
I have sold a lot on ebay and had no negative feedback, but I can see it coming more easily under the new arrangement. If one bad marks negates 40 good ones maybe I'll just enroll as a first time seller each time I want to sell something.
Be yourself, everyone else is taken.
Favorite Mandolin of the week: 2013 Collings MF Gloss top.
You mean, they don't do it in front of me.Originally Posted by (jbmando @ Feb. 07 2008, 22:15)
I don't know. Where else can you go?
"First you master your instrument, then you master the music, then you forget about all that ... and just play"
Charlie "Bird" Parker
Craig's list for one I'd guess.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
eBay is again trying something new to boost their stock value. CEO Meg Whitman is retiring and the president is doing the same. They are trying to copy the Amazon model where only buyers give sellers feedback. After all, eBay has the sellers over a barrel and they can never have too many buyers.
'02 Collings MF5
The difference is that Amazon's biggest piece of the business is the items they sell themselves (even through vendors). eBay doesn't have that. They need a seller community as much as they need a buyer community. They are assuming they have the buyers locked in and they probably do for the most part.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
Give eBay time to make the changes. Many sellers who post messages at the community forum believe it's only a matter of time before eBay starts selling products directly.
'02 Collings MF5
I think in the end two things will happen: ebay will retract this policy or there will be a sharp decline in sales due to sellers going to other online auction sites. I sell there (odds & ends, no big volume by any stretch) and someone tried to scam me and if there was no way to post a negative comment to warn others then it's chaos. I and find it a step in the wrong direction by ebay.
There are three kinds of people: those of us that are good at math and those that are not.
Well, kinda. I am in an area with a very active CraigsList, but I have had far more success on eBay. I am not defending what they are doing, just really wondering where else I would be able to sell niche stuff reasonably quickly. BTW, I have perfect feedback and I have made a couple of mistakes (things that were clearly my fault) as a seller. I worked with the buyers and figured out what was reasonable and then gave them positive feedback as a show of good faith and they did the same for me once it was resolved. I have had a few bad experiences with sellers. They all held my feedback hostage to keep me from giving them bad FB. I hated that, so I made up my mind not to do it when I sold things.
"First you master your instrument, then you master the music, then you forget about all that ... and just play"
Charlie "Bird" Parker
I've sold and bought a lot on eBay and I now have perfect feedback but in the beginning I got one nuetral from a person who thought they waited too long for their item. I mailed it the very next day after I got payment and had proof. I had given them good feedback and they hit me with the neutral.
After that I NEVER again gave feedback until the other person left theirs first. A few of my deals we each never left any feedback good or bad.
The feedback system works OK but it has it's flaws. I am glad eBay is trying different thing to try and see what happens. I am sure if this way doesn't work or they start losing money (from the fees) I am sure they will try something else.
And craiglist doesn't have a fraction of the potential customer base the eBay has. With craigslist you mostly sell locally. You might as well list it in the newspaper.
I have made perhaps 100 purchases on ebay and sold a few items. My feedback score is 54. All positive. The first year or two I purchased from ebay less than half of the sellers left me feedback. Now it seems almost all do. I have had a few state in their emails that they will leave me a positive feedback just as soon as I leave them a positive feedback. This from sellers with thousands of feedback ratings.
Bill Snyder
I've also bought and sold alot on eBay and have 100 percent positives that I was really proud of. I thought the feedback thing was a great thing. Then came a couple of deals as me being a buyer having a deal that just really stunk. Bad communication ...no follow thru and just everything about it bad but I knew if I gave them a negative it would be returned unfairly so I did nothing. I don't think the new change will help any.
I Pick, Therefore I Grin! ... "Good Music Any OLD-TIME"
1922 Gibson F2
2006 Gibson F5 Goldrush
2015 Martin HD28-V
2017 Gibson J45
Feedback ransom wasn't limited to sellers holding it over a buyer, it went the other way as well. I stopped leaving feedback as a seller after three different people held me ransom. I simply paid and swore I would never do it again. In each case I attempted to resolve their problems (one was buyers remorse, two were fictitious in my mind) and I paid money out. That's actually the reason I simply stopped selling on eBay. If I was selling a commodity like glass beads or boxes of diapers then I might sell under these circumstances. I wouldn't sell used musical instruments.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
I've had some less than stellar buys from ebay and I too have either declined a comment, or stated: "the package arrived" to avoid a comments spat with a seller. In one situation, I had to appeal to paypal to get my $ back from a buy, as the seller didn't ship the product in the picture, and refused to reply to email.
Of course, on ebay, who's to know what really is the truth? A lot of what is sold is inaccurately described.
Sheryl --- Me
More developments in this story can be found here. It appears some sellers aren't taking this sitting down.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
Mike, I have received 6 feedbacks from sellers since your initial post in this thread. Just got one today.
"I thought I knew a lot about music. Then you start digging and the deeper you go, the more there is."~John Mellencamp
"Theory only seems like rocket science when you don't know it. Once you understand it, it's more like plumbing!"~John McGann
"IT'S T-R-E-M-O-L-O, dangit!!"~Me
Hmmm, they must not have implemented it yet. I wonder why that isn't all over the news? I'll have to go over and check my messages on eBay.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
Well, after reading this page at eBay I can say I'm a bit confused by the news articles on the subject. It appears sellers can still leave feedback for buyers, as long as it's positive. Now I'm really amazed.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
Well, I didn't read that any better than you did, Mike. It seems that the new feedback policy is "coming soon," and since I thought it was in effect already, I left a neutral for a seller who did not accurately describe an item, and got a retaliatory negative, my first ever non-positive. It's your fault as far as I'm concerned. My record is forever blemished all because of you!
"I thought I knew a lot about music. Then you start digging and the deeper you go, the more there is."~John Mellencamp
"Theory only seems like rocket science when you don't know it. Once you understand it, it's more like plumbing!"~John McGann
"IT'S T-R-E-M-O-L-O, dangit!!"~Me
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