Hi everyone,

I am currently trying to build a reputation as a seller on eBay Germany, and I have come to notice that, on a lucky day, only about half of my buyers leave any feedback at all... are they lazy? Slobs? Dissatisfied? Inconsiderate? All of the above? Is there a fault with the product or with the shipping or the shipping speed or whatever?

On the one hand, I myself would be bugged if someone went around soliciting my feedback after the close of an auction, but on the other hand I want to build my reputation as a seller and people don't seem to notice that feedback is important with regard to that.

Has anyone had similar experiences? What do you do if your buyers don't leave feedback? Send them a reminder and ask if everything was all right with the product and its delivery? Or put a small note to that effect on the packing slip? ("Let us know if everything was all right...") Oh, by the way, I always leave feedback immediately after payment has been recieved...

On another note, when do you think it is okay to send a reminder if payment has not been recieved? I mean, there are all sorts of mishaps out there, e-mails get lost, people have other things on their mind, get sick, go on holiday... but I sold off a rather pricey CD collection a week and a half ago, at a price that I am extremely satisfied with, and I have contacted the buyer via e-mail and am now thinking about a reminder via the eBay messages tool...

Any opinions would be greatly appreaciated!

Streak

Hiya Streak,
I used to leave feedback as soon as a buyer paid, but these days I tend not to for 2 reasons....

• Buyers are more likely to contact you if they arent satisfied
• Like yourself, I wasnt getting return feedback

Now, when I am notifying my buyers that I am posting off their items, I ask them to contact me if there are any problems.

95% of my buyers leave me feedback as soon as they receive the goods and then I leave it for them.

I have had one buyer complain about me not leaving feedback first.

Some say that the buyer has completed their end of the deal as soon as they pay, I dont agree with that at all.

On the other foot...I had one buyer nag the bejesus out of me for feedback, when I hadnt even received the item!! That made me not leave them feedback on principle

I have had a few buyers ask me nicely to leave them feedback (when I have been a bit slow) and I havent hesitated to do so.

Hope that helps a little

Sellers who wait 'til after the buyer leaves feedback are hedging their bets - if they get bad feedback then they can retaliate.
IMHO this is not what feedback is about - the seller should report on the speed of payment and the comms. skills of the buyer. The buyer should report on the accuracy of the advert, the quality of packing, the comms. skills of the seller and the speed of despatch.

R2 (who sends an email with the feedback link to tardy feedback leavers!)

streak,
I have noticed a decline in the percent of feedback being left both from buyers and sellers.

AS a buyer I tend to only feedback after the seller does and oft times send them emails (more tha once if needed) to get feedback.

AS a seller, I tend to feedback in groups after I have shipped. I dont ask the buyer to feedback first, I used to, it was a hassle.

If a buyer hasnt left feedback i send a reminder and ask them to kindly feedback in return noting the pos. feedback that has already been left.

It has become a chore to get feedback unlike in the good old days.

I beleive much of this is due to the automation of ebay in the past year or so.

persistance should pay off.
good luck.

Feedback seems to be an age-old problem with eBay sellers as well as buyers. Personally, I try to do what I feel is right. When a buyer pays, I leave him feedback. If he leaves me some, great. If he doesn't, so be it. Most do. When I buy , I leave feedback when the merchandise arrives. Again, sometimes the seller leaves feedback, sometimes not. I try not to get upset any direction. I just do what I think is the right thing. That's really all that matters.

Thanks everyone for the opinions and advice you have provided... there were some excellent suggestions indeed, I was just worried that I might appear "pushy" to the buyer or something since I read elsewhere that feedback couldn't -- and probably shouldn't -- be forced.

However I will still continue to leave feedback as soon as the item has been paid for... it seems like the right thing to do.

@ Bartelby: May I be permitted to ask why you think that the buyer's end of the deal is not just paying, please? Or did you mean by that that leaving feedback was to be encluded in their "duties"? (Sorry, blonde moment...

Hiya Streak,
Sorry for the delay in response.

Re: your question....

Its just a personal opinion that as a buyer, I dont think my end of the bargain is fullfilled until I receive the item, am happy with it and then leave feedback.

I dont expect sellers that I buy off to leave feedback until I let them know that the item has arrived and I am happy with it. Usually I let them know that I have received the item and am happy via feedback.

I certainly dont agree with R2, that sellers that dont leave feedback until it is received, are hedging their bets.

I dont leave retalitory feedback and just find that holding off on feedback encourages buyers to contact me if they arent entirely happy.

In fact, the lady that left my one and only negative said she wished she had emailed me prior to leaving feedback as she did it when she was having a bad day and regretted it awfully. As it was, we fixed the problem and she walked away happily.

The problem is, depending what you sell, there are alot of malicious competitors out there that will purchase an item off you to just leave you bad feedback...to hurt your feedback.

I love Rick's feedback idea, where every 12 or something months, your feedback percentage is cleared but your numbers still remain.

So, instead of these powersellers having 200+ negatives and still having 98% feedback...there figures would be more realistic in a 12 month period.

If they sold 1000 items and got 20 neg's their feedback would reflect that.

Sorry about the waffle.

Bartelby, thanks very much for your explanation. Although I don't agree with everything you say -- or rather, am still sitting on the fence not knowing which way to lean --, I can understand your position much better now and the way you put it makes sense. So thanks for clarifying this for me, it has provided a new perspective!

Streak

I understand, Lexie, however I still stick to my views on the whole thing. I just do on my end what I feel I want done if it was reversed and I am sure you do the same.

quote:

Originally posted by Bartelby:
I love Rick

But will you still respect me in the morning.


Feedback - it's a buyer's market.

Rick's post:

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by Bartelby:
I love Rick
But will you still respect me in the morning.

vs. Bartelby's original post:

quote:

I love Rick's feedback idea,...

Interesting editing!

Not editing - selective quoting (highly selective). Of course, she could respond with, "Who says I respect you now?"

quote:

Originally posted by Mrs.M.:
I understand, Lexie, however I still stick to my views on the whole thing. I just do on my end what I feel I want done if it was reversed and I am sure you do the same.

I never said you should change a thing, was just answering Streak question that was directed in my direction.

quote:

Originally posted by Rick:

quote:

Originally posted by Bartelby:
I love Rick

But will you still respect me in the morning.

Depends on your bump handling.

quote:

Originally posted by Rick:
Not editing - selective quoting (highly selective). Of course, she could respond with, "Who says I respect you now?"

That would be predictable

quote:

Originally posted by Jabbergah:
Rick's post:

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by Bartelby:
I love Rick
But will you still respect me in the morning.

vs. Bartelby's original post:

quote:

I love Rick's feedback idea,...

Interesting editing!

It's OK Jab, there's enough love for both of ya

Somebody help me!!

I have turned into a quote-aholic.

Oh and Steve - you are very welcome sorry I wandered your thread off topic (nasty ole habit!!)


[really, I am just going for the record of *most comments placed in a row by a single member*]

quote:

Depends on your bump handling.

You won’t see me straying off this topic. Here’s an example of how to give good feedback.

Perfect packaging. All the bumps, humps and curves in just the right places. Really enjoyed popping the bubble wrap. Handling charge was well worth it. VERY friendly.

Geez - I havent had feedback like that in such a long time (think 3 years).