« Ramit’s Retirement Planning Guide | Main | A Look at Mortgage Payments »
eBay Feedback is Stupid!
By JLP | May 23, 2006
I wrote about how I tried to buy that Ibbotson SBBI Yearbook from some guy on eBay. Well, I won the auction, paid my bill promptly. Then I got an email from the guy telling me that he spilled coffee on the book and that he cancelled/refunded my money.
So, I went online and left neutral feedback stating something like:
“Unfortunately the seller spilled coffee on the book. A refund was issued.”
Well, today I noticed that he left me NEGATIVE feedback! For what? What did I do? Was I wrong to leave neutral feedback? I think this guy is a loose cannon. He has now made his feedback private. Hmmm… I wonder why? Have any of you had negative experiences with eBay?
Topics: Miscellaneous | 14 Comments »
May 23rd, 2006 at 6:01 pm
Ebay feedback is very retalitary – it is best to try to wait until the other guy leaves feedback first before you pull the trigger – it is a total head game. Since you alreay committed with your feedback he has nothing to lose by leaving you a negative comment. I think you can post a response to your negative – that way future people you deal with who see your negative can read your short rebuttal to his black mark…
May 23rd, 2006 at 6:19 pm
Exactly. Don’t leave feedback until the other guy does. It’s crazy.
May 23rd, 2006 at 7:31 pm
Hmmm, I dunno, the whole story of spilled coffee is fishy in the first place.
May 23rd, 2006 at 7:55 pm
It would be shadier if he didn’t refund the money…at least he did that. It is annoying the way that the feedback tends to work on Ebay though.
May 24th, 2006 at 5:39 am
I bought a cell phone off eBay and the guy never sent it. I went through Paypal, Square Trade, and Ebay feedback to complain. Didn’t matter. He never sent it. Regardless, the feedback form allows for so few characters you are always left with “A++!! Great transaction!” Informative? No. Lame? Totally.
May 24th, 2006 at 6:51 am
Yep, never leave feedback until the other guy does. Especially if you’re the seller in the transaction since that could potentially hurt your ability to get top dollar on future auctions you run.
May 24th, 2006 at 11:09 am
Yes – I was sold an inauthentic item (I bought a LaCoste sweater and when I received it, it was a cheap synthetic cardigan with an alligator sewn on to it) at an authentic item price! I requested a refund – was not issued one – and thus left negative feedback. Then, the sellers left a particularly scathing negative feedback on my account and still, no refund! Geez!
May 24th, 2006 at 7:53 pm
as Jane and others said, the eBay feedback system is fairly useless and silly. I’m not sure what I would have done, but I probably would have just not left any feedback at all. Yeah, I wasted my time bidding, but at least the refund was prompt and full (not something you can always say w/ eBay transactions). I mean technically thats what a neutral is for, to inform others of how the transaction went, but the way things are these days.. unless they get a positive, people get rather work up and easily retaliate.
the guy probably just didn’t want to sell the book at the price the auction ended at, or he sold it already for a higher price to someone else.
May 26th, 2006 at 5:31 am
Star Money Articles for the Week of May 22
Here are interesting posts and news this week from the MoneyBlogNetwork members and beyond: Blueprint for Financial Prosperity advises consolidating student loans before June 30th. Consumerism Commentary offers six steps to being your own boss. AllFina…
June 20th, 2006 at 4:02 am
As a buyer, I either leave a positive feedback or none at all.
Negative just invites retaliatory response.
My last transaction has been a nightmare. My plan is not to leave any feedback with the seller unless he leaves feedback first, otherwise he will get no feedback at all. One thing I might do is make the rating positive with a negative statement, like “Took two months to complete delivery after payment.”
I asked one seller how he sold so many items with a perfectly clean feedback record. He told me he had to kiss a lot of ass and put up with a lot of crap.
The idea that you can’t revise a feedback is a bad idea. I think the system needs to be revised.
eBay is a great concept, especially for items you would never find any other way. Unfortunately, most sellers involved are not professional merchants, often pack stupidly and handle other matters poorly.
I think in order to become a seller, some online training should be involved. Like ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS double box very fragile items with plenty of surrounding space between the inner and outer box. Photos and the like should be at least enclosed in a plastic bag for water proofing and sandwiched between CORRUGATED (not shirt) cardboard, making it nearly impossible for for career to fold it into the mailbox. I would rather pay extra for handling than get a broken item.
Sellers should realize that the the career might put a damned refrigerator on top of the item they are sending. Throwing packages is common with all careers staffs. In fact, some of them enjoy it.
July 1st, 2006 at 2:01 pm
I recently sold an item on Ebay. The high bidder emails me saying his bid was a “mistake” and refused to pay. I asked him to cover the fee for relisting my item and I would forgive the mistake, but he refused. Then he leaves me negative feedback. I was so frustrated, and trying to contact ebay to plead my case was a huge waste of time. So I searched the internet and found http://WWW.SCOOPJAR.COM, where anyone can leave free anonymous feedback. Also, Scoopjar does not limit you to one sentence like ebay’s feedback to explain yourself. I’ll be using this site for sure.
February 5th, 2008 at 10:58 am
[...] MBH tells us that among the changes going on at eBay, the biggest is that starting in May, buyers can only receive positive feedback. – I kind of like this idea after my experience a couple of years ago. [...]
July 25th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Neutral and negative feedback is to warn other people about cheaters and liars not to punish honest people who make mistakes and make full restituion. In my opionion a neutral to the seller was unjustified.
October 6th, 2008 at 11:00 am
EBay feedback is the most annoying part of the buying experience. People (sellers) are OBSESSED with it. I cant tell you how many people hound me afterwards to “leave feedback” “need feedback” “where’s your feedback” ad naseum.
My opinion is, if I am the highest bidder, my duty is to pay promptly. Your duty is to get me the item, as described, promptly. I shouldnt have to take time to extol your praises for doing what you were supposed to do in the first place. If on the other hand, you did something wrong, or your item was clearly misrepresented, or if I refused to pay, then yes, feedback would be appropriate.
Apparently; however, it appears from the other posts on this chain that negative feedback has now been banned? WTH?