Sellers who don't leave feedback

As a buyer I don't leave feedback until I've gotten it. At some point positive feedbacks don't do much for the buyer (at 58 you're there or very close), but the more positives the better for the seller. Actually, it's intended that the seller leave feedback when they ship. Most of the time if the seller isn't willing to leave feedback when they ship, I won't leave it even after they do - but that's me.

As a suggestion, you might stop leaving feedback for sellers that have "received" more then they have "given". Also, the seller is less motivated to leave feedback after you've left yours.

I find that most sellers leave feedback either when they ship or when I have left mine (which is always upon receipt). It does not really matter to me, as a buyer, which they do, but I do sense that many are reluctant to leave feedback until they receive it, for fear that some nutty buyer will receive the item and then claim it was not received, received damaged, etc.

I send an email like this:-

Hi

re: Ebay Item No 2187745455 Green Widget with Bells and Whistles

Just to let you know that I have left you positive feedback - the Widget arrived this morning and is just what I always wanted!

If you would like to leave feedback for me, please click here http://cgi2.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?GetAndShowTransactions&item=0&nflw=1&page=1

Seems to work

[I got the address from the Ebay Toolbar - the jury is still out on whether it is useful or not!]

Thanks, basrah. You may not believe this, but I am waiting for feedback on my purchase of Ebay Item No 2187745455 Green Widget with Bells and Whistles! What a lucky guess on your part.

Well, now I know who outbid me on the Green Widget with Bells and Whistles...sheesh, and I had such a high bid in on that too!

But seriously, I leave feedback as soon as I receive an item and I always send a follow-up email stating that I received the item and left them feedback...and then I forget about it.

As a seller (which I've only done a few times) I always leave feedback as soon as payment is received and I ship the item...I don't wait for them to receive it or leave feedback. Afterall, they've already done their part.

Most sellers seem to leave feedback either when they ship, once the buyer leaves feedback, or they do it 'in bulk' periodically. In fact, I just had positive feedback left by a seller from an auction I won 2 months ago!

The ones who don't leave feedback? Well, I just don't worry about them. The last thing I want to do is harass anybody.

You can always look at their feedback page and see what kind of feedback they leave for others...and you can compare the number of feedbacks they've received to the number they've left.

If it is really important to you...don't bid on auctions where sellers don't leave feedback. And, if you feel so inclined, drop them a note and explain why you're not placing a bid. Maybe they'll get a clue.

WarriorNun

"If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning"

Glad to see I'm not alone in the battle for well-deserved buyer feedback! I'm new to the forum(NOT to ebay), so I just posted a comment on the same thing since I didn't read yours 1st.... I'm SO ashamed! I have only sold a little, but bought a LOT over several years- it seems the high volume sellers are the ones too busy to bother. And I am trying hard to raise my % since I did have 3 negs several years ago, when I was getting a divorce. If I can't get the pos feedback I deserve, it seems like I need to start over with a new ID.... My current rating is 98.9%, but I'd like it to be 98+

I sell a good deal of the time. As soon as I receive payment from the buyer, I take time to not only leave feedback, but I email the buyer with the shipping information. I always hope they we will be happy with their purchase and the sale's handling and leave me good feedback in exchange. Usually, it happens that way, but if they are too busy or forget, that's life and it goes on.

rsmiller40

Our great anti-sniper friend Charleybaby has this to see about leaving buyers feedback:

>>Feedback is voluntary, and this seller - because of the volume of bids dealt with - prefers to spend his time carefully packaging items and making effective communications with buyers.<<

*...sigh...*

Charleybaby is a Hoot! Where would eBay be without characters like them?
Where would this forum be without characters like them?

As for feedback, I buy mostly, but have sold on occassion, and I typically leave feedback for the buyer on all transactions once the buyer lets me know they have received the item.
I want to make sure they are happy with their purchase before I "close the deal".
As a buyer, I e-mail the seller and leave positive feedback as soon as I have received the item.

I think feedback is an important courtesy, but I agree, if a buyer / seller doesn't leave reciprocol feedback, I just let it go.

For buyers, why is feedback important (as long as they have very, very high 90's positive)?

Feedback , I think ,is important to both buyers and sellers. I know I look ,as a seller,at the potential buyer's feedback and as a buyer, at the seller's feedback. And, of course, just because you are a buyer only now, doesn,t mean you won't e a seller in the future with people looking at your total feedback.

rsmiller40

quote:

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Originally posted by rsmiller40:
I know I look ,as a seller,at the potential buyer's feedback

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If you had a buyer with 100 feedbacks/100.0% and another buyer with 1000 feedbacks/99.8%, would you do anything differently?

Rick, I think with some folks, buyers and sellers alike, it's a matter of pride. I know it is with me. I'm closing in on a Red Star and still (knock on wood) don't have a negative. Insofar as doing business based on whatever number of negatives a person has is concerned, I think I'd look at the reasons for those negatives before making a decision.

Rick, If I see negatives I actually do read them back pretty far and look for a pattern. That matters more than the percent. If I see someone that has a consistant pattern of non-pay or a seller that has a pattern of complaints, I steer away or at least tread lightly such as making sure I pay with a credit card so I am somewhat protected.

rsmiller40

Whatever the reason, feedback (quantity and quality) seems to be important to buyers. It's a pity that retailers haven't come up with something similar. We've all seen "buyers" in stores that might be less "excessive" if they had a feedback number. If they were rude, the retailer/seller could "leave them a neg".

Since this feedback thing seems to work so well on ebay, wouldn't it be nice if we were all given a feedback score that would be clearly visible to others? Disregarding any "Constitutional rights", it might cut down on some of the horn-honking and hand jesters. (just a thought)



I just realized something - ebay only provides the percentage for sellers; not buyers.

quote:

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rsmiller40 posted: Rick, If I see negatives I actually do read them back pretty far and look for a pattern. That matters more than the percent.

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I am like rsmiller; buyer or seller, I always read the negative feedbacks...noting whether I see a pattern, whether all of them are really old, really recent, seemingly undeserved, whatever. I find the negatives invaluable in determining if I want to deal with somebody, or if I need to just be on the alert if I do choose to deal with them.

Personally, I don't even really like the percentage number as it can be somewhat misleading based on the number of actual feedback the user has and how old the negative remarks are.

WarriorNun

"If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning"

OH, Rick..I am LMAO!! I just have visions of this..maybe we could post the neg on their forehead..and the really obnoxious..on their..well.. you get the idea!!

rsmiller40

Brand them on the forehead with a capital N, and also give the really bad ones a little silver bell to ring while they call out, "Unclean! Unclean!"

I am at 61 (all as a buyer) now and 100% positive (I say, puffing up my chest). But, oh do I love having my feedback page. It's the only place in life I can go and just sit back and read things like "SWEET, SWEET Lady to sell to" and "EXTREMELY NICE PERSON!" And it's so easy to be a good buyer- all you have to do is pay, and you don't even have to get off of your seat for that. I'm an accountant that audits financial transactions at an investment firm, and those kind of rave reviews are harder to achieve in my working life. So I NEED my ebay feedback fix (if you know what I mean- and I think you do).