You can read "Handling Negative Feedback" here. Reply to this message to discuss it.
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As a seller I've always left positive feedback right after shipping.I never felt is was right to do "feedback blackmail" like most sellers have done.Now,with Ebay's new policy I think it makes sense for all sellers to leave positive feedback ASAP to encourage positive feedback from the buyers.
FB is voluntary...stated in Ebay's own help pages. Some leave it right away, some leave it in batches once a month, and some never leave it at all. I think (JMHO) it's a little harsh to call it 'blackmail' to want to wait and make sure the buyer is happy first. Everyone has their own way...
Buyers are aware sellers can not leave a neg. I had 1 "claim" minor damage. They asked for a discount/partial refund in exchange for positive FB. When I asked them to send a photo of damage (they said they could) they SUDDENLY decided it was "not worth worrying about".
WHO is doing "feedback blackmail"? If eBay wants a FB system like the "River" they should set they're fees like the "River".
Use either annonomus DSR's or a Mutual Feedback system. The current system is designed to remove all but "Power Sellers" off of eBay.
WHO is doing "feedback blackmail"? If eBay wants a FB system like the "River" they should set they're fees like the "River".
Use either annonomus DSR's or a Mutual Feedback system. The current system is designed to remove all but "Power Sellers" off of eBay.
Feedback is only part of it now. Anonymous Ratings can damage your record more. Malicious ratings of say 1 in all sections can knock your average hard particularly if you have not got a high number of ratings. As it is impossible to identify the culprit difficult to report to Ebay.
I am very frustrated with the change in feedback, and vigorously opposed it in my emails to Ebay (as if it matters!). Like Carlos, my feedback score changed, although only slightly. I really depended on the negative feedback withdrawal because virtually 100% of my negatives have come from buyers who never notified me of a problem before posting! How could I fix a problem when I didn't even know of it? Ebay doesn't care about this kind of situation.
One thing that is not clear to me--are we still able to RESPOND to negative feedback within a negative from buyers? Losing that would be an enormous loss. Has anyone tried it?
One thing that is not clear to me--are we still able to RESPOND to negative feedback within a negative from buyers? Losing that would be an enormous loss. Has anyone tried it?
My thoughts on the negative feedback yes negative not neutral which I had two in the past 6 years that I have been on ebay. When I got up that morning and sat in my working chair and went to ebay to see what they had done to me it was like they had hit me very hard right in the middle of my stomach. I was 100% feedback and was knocked down to 98.7% it hit hard for all of my hard work. I no longer sell there anymore. I am one of the most honest people you will ever meet, and a very nice person to deal with. Going the extra mile if thats what it takes to make sure all is understood. My good feedback tells you that. I agree with all of you on leaving feedback after the buyer does. This is my way in knowing you have recieved your item. And, I told that in my listings. Check me out. I could say so much more but, I will bow out gracefully. Collectable-tyme, Patricia
I have always had really good feedback (I worked at keeping it that way). Then I get a customer, who leaves good feedback in writing, but hits the "neutral" button, several times. Now eBay says my "scale" is dropping, and I have to get better, to receive the 5% discount. This customer won't answer my emails, so we can work it out. And now ebay buries my items deep in searchs, and I answer email after email, as to where did my items go. This feedback thing can cause more problems then its worth, and it seems to be a gimick to get you to buy more things from eBay, to help "improve" your site.
I don't like this kind of policy. I'm seller and buyer. In seller's point of view, I think feedback should leave after our customer left it to us. Because positive comes from many ways (not only pay fast). So after payout we must ship after shipping we must see the buyer is good or not? I just found one buyer withdraw money from paypal after the item reached her house. I'm Thai seller, so I have no protection from Paypal. If you want to see bull shit email from Paypal I can show you. I lost my money in item and shipping cost. Who will take this responsibility????? And now I can't leave any "Negative" Feedback to this kind of bad buyer. I'm Buddhism. This kind in our land call lack of "Hiri" and "OhTappa" Hiri means the shame to do bad. and Ohtappa means the afraid on the sin which you made. I think you all will understand what I say. Now I will leave Ebay for a while after last listing end. I will quit. Please listen to me, because we are human. all of us can make cheating (not only seller). If Ebay see only seller can make bad thing. Ebay will end soon.
Iagree with YourAuctionNews: the new feedback system works fine for people who have already established good habits on eBay through some time of use.
Right now I am faced with a new buyer (fb 8, I think) who has been telling me that the check is in the mail and, with a non-paying bidder dispute opened, apologized "for the delay" and again, the check was in the mail.
This buyer, like many new eBayers, does not like to use PayPal, and opted to send a Money Order rather than use PayPal.
Tomorrow, it will have been three weeks since the close of the auction.
Today I am applying for a final value credit and relisting the item; if the check finally arrives, I will have to send it back, postage paid on my end. I suppose I could deposit it and send it via PayPal, thus encouraging the person to establish an account....
I believe I read in the eBay notes on the new policy that the recourse for sellers would become turning people in as non-paying bidders and issuing strikes against them. When a dispute is opened and the buyer keeps saying the check is in the mail, how long does eBay expect us to wait for payment??
The options for applying for the FVF refund have changed; I can't say the buyer never contacted me, one of the options.
The feedback for buyers was helpful in establishing the good habit of paying promptly as well as that of leaving seller feedback. Those of us who have been with eBay for some time were "trained" under that system and it stays with us.
With the new system, buyers have no encouragement to do the right thing, only the punitive non-paying bidder strike, which is avoidable with the "training system" of two-way feedback in place.
Of course leaving negative feedback for a buyer who paid, no matter how long it took, is not something sellers would do. On the other hand, non paying bidders are not always reported -- sometimes just a negative feedback is left.
The negative feedback option was useful for buyers who were a huge problem or whose attitudes were something that should be appended with a caveat, and the red dot helps to draw attention to it when another seller has a problem with the buyer, so it had its function beyond simply being an encouragement to do the right thing in a timely manner.
Anyway, if I read the brief correctly, eBay is encouraging the use of non-paying bidder strikes and not that of the option of possible negative feedback.
Commentary within a positive feedback will not serve its purpose as a warning to other sellers, as it will be buried in all the other comments.
Maybe I'll just stop leaving feedback.
eBay should learn fairly quickly that after perhaps 50 positive feedback points as a buyer, the new positive only feedback policy could be put in place.
below is original passage by YourAuctionNews 28 May 2008 to which the above is a response (and on which the above is an expansion):
Right now I am faced with a new buyer (fb 8, I think) who has been telling me that the check is in the mail and, with a non-paying bidder dispute opened, apologized "for the delay" and again, the check was in the mail.
This buyer, like many new eBayers, does not like to use PayPal, and opted to send a Money Order rather than use PayPal.
Tomorrow, it will have been three weeks since the close of the auction.
Today I am applying for a final value credit and relisting the item; if the check finally arrives, I will have to send it back, postage paid on my end. I suppose I could deposit it and send it via PayPal, thus encouraging the person to establish an account....
I believe I read in the eBay notes on the new policy that the recourse for sellers would become turning people in as non-paying bidders and issuing strikes against them. When a dispute is opened and the buyer keeps saying the check is in the mail, how long does eBay expect us to wait for payment??
The options for applying for the FVF refund have changed; I can't say the buyer never contacted me, one of the options.
The feedback for buyers was helpful in establishing the good habit of paying promptly as well as that of leaving seller feedback. Those of us who have been with eBay for some time were "trained" under that system and it stays with us.
With the new system, buyers have no encouragement to do the right thing, only the punitive non-paying bidder strike, which is avoidable with the "training system" of two-way feedback in place.
Of course leaving negative feedback for a buyer who paid, no matter how long it took, is not something sellers would do. On the other hand, non paying bidders are not always reported -- sometimes just a negative feedback is left.
The negative feedback option was useful for buyers who were a huge problem or whose attitudes were something that should be appended with a caveat, and the red dot helps to draw attention to it when another seller has a problem with the buyer, so it had its function beyond simply being an encouragement to do the right thing in a timely manner.
Anyway, if I read the brief correctly, eBay is encouraging the use of non-paying bidder strikes and not that of the option of possible negative feedback.
Commentary within a positive feedback will not serve its purpose as a warning to other sellers, as it will be buried in all the other comments.
Maybe I'll just stop leaving feedback.
eBay should learn fairly quickly that after perhaps 50 positive feedback points as a buyer, the new positive only feedback policy could be put in place.
below is original passage by YourAuctionNews 28 May 2008 to which the above is a response (and on which the above is an expansion):
quote:This is why I really dislike the current feedback system. I'm not woried about the veteran buyers. I'm more concered about the new buyers. The veteran buyers do the right thing and try to contact the sellers prior to leaving any feedback.
Often opening a dispute will trigger the immediate arrival of the payment, I would normally raise the dispute by 14 days after the win date if no response or repeated promises are broken.
The odds of getting negged now is so high it is hardly worth worrying about as everyone is in the same boat.
If they do not respond to the dispute within 8 days they forfeit the right to leave any feedback and you can close it and get your credits straight away.
Also if they respond with garbage to avoid their forfeit or further excuses flow forth I would close and claim after another 14 days at the most whilst keeping dialogue purely within the dispute consul.
No point in leaving any feedback unless it is willingly positive, unpaid strikes will get bad repeat offenders suspended but now sellers will increasingly not be able to tell a good buyer from a bad buyer regardless of the number of sellers they timewaste.
Yes it stinks, pooBay is born
The odds of getting negged now is so high it is hardly worth worrying about as everyone is in the same boat.
If they do not respond to the dispute within 8 days they forfeit the right to leave any feedback and you can close it and get your credits straight away.
Also if they respond with garbage to avoid their forfeit or further excuses flow forth I would close and claim after another 14 days at the most whilst keeping dialogue purely within the dispute consul.
No point in leaving any feedback unless it is willingly positive, unpaid strikes will get bad repeat offenders suspended but now sellers will increasingly not be able to tell a good buyer from a bad buyer regardless of the number of sellers they timewaste.
Yes it stinks, pooBay is born
Is that 8 days after the auction? I wasn't clear about that when I read that from Ebay. That doesn't give the buyer much time to complain!
As for those who say they won't give feedbacks any more, I had a person give a neutral or negative (can't remember) because I didn't give feedback right away! You can't win.
As for those who say they won't give feedbacks any more, I had a person give a neutral or negative (can't remember) because I didn't give feedback right away! You can't win.
This is really the stupidest thing eBay has ever done to their users.
They say it is to improve the seller's performance. But I don't see how it will be improved. Most sellers are just depressed about these changes and do not even will to go on.
Before the changes when a buyer left me a negative I always contacted him to resolve the problem and to remove the negative through Mutual Feedback Removal. No way I will do it now. What's the sense? The negative will stay. I'm sure most of the Power Sellers will do the same thing. So in result there will be more unsatisfied buyers than before.
Also how come the neutral feedback is counted as negative? Who the hell thought this out? What's the sense in neutral then? They should just remove it and leave buyers with 2 options: positive or negative.
And finally there're sellers who have been on eBay for many years now. They have always been honest and have always cared about their customers. The new feedback count just kills all those years and leave them with the last 12 months performance. How dare eBay disrespect those people's work over the years? And again no sense in this, the scammers could still create new accounts, sell 10 ebooks and have 100% positive feedback.
I really think that eBay has done a BIG mistake this time.
They say it is to improve the seller's performance. But I don't see how it will be improved. Most sellers are just depressed about these changes and do not even will to go on.
Before the changes when a buyer left me a negative I always contacted him to resolve the problem and to remove the negative through Mutual Feedback Removal. No way I will do it now. What's the sense? The negative will stay. I'm sure most of the Power Sellers will do the same thing. So in result there will be more unsatisfied buyers than before.
Also how come the neutral feedback is counted as negative? Who the hell thought this out? What's the sense in neutral then? They should just remove it and leave buyers with 2 options: positive or negative.
And finally there're sellers who have been on eBay for many years now. They have always been honest and have always cared about their customers. The new feedback count just kills all those years and leave them with the last 12 months performance. How dare eBay disrespect those people's work over the years? And again no sense in this, the scammers could still create new accounts, sell 10 ebooks and have 100% positive feedback.
I really think that eBay has done a BIG mistake this time.
I honestly believe that eBay is TRYING to run off all the medium to small sellers by their rule changes. I am discouraged, angry, and looking for another site to list. Any suggestions? The feedback change giving us the option of leaving positive feedback only is a slap in the face. I will NOT bend down and "assume the position" for eBay!!
Not only isn't Mutual Feedback Removal worth it anymore, dcdream--it can't be done! That was one of the things they took away from us.
Peg, what do you sell? If it's handmade items, try Etsy.
Peg, what do you sell? If it's handmade items, try Etsy.
quote:Is that 8 days after the auction? I wasn't clear about that when I read that from Ebay. That doesn't give the buyer much time to complain!
Hi, the 8th day after the item is won is the earliest time you can raise an unpaid, (the system does not allow it any earlier). Not sure what the longest time allowed is, may be 60 days, never waited that long
quote:How dare eBay disrespect those people's work over the years?
They have no fear to dare, they can disrespect because they have no equal or any serious competition.
eBay no longer need to have any respect for those that work the hardest - the sellers !
The buyers only have to browse and pay !
quote:Originally posted by Peg:
I honestly believe that eBay is TRYING to run off all the medium to small sellers by their rule changes.
Well I'm not sure if I'm considered a medium seller or not. We have about 25,000 euros monthly sales (about 40,000 USD). The only thing these changes made us to do is to work harder on our own website, list less on eBay and not to contact the customers who leave neutral or negatives without prior contact.
I also disagree with the new feedback system on eBay. Since the new system started, I've had to open more Unpaid Item Disputes than ever before. I guess since buyers do not have to "fear" receiving negative feedback, some of them feel they can pay when they wish, instead of following the terms stated within the auction. I now open all disputes on the 8th day following the auction, if I have not heard from the buyer. So far, all disputes haved closed in a positive manner, but I still feel the increase in non-payment disputes are resulting from the new feedback rules. I used to immediately leave positive feedback for all customers when payment was received, but I have changed my "feedback policy". I leave my feedback once I've received feedback from the buyer. I did this not to "blackmail" buyers, but to encourage them to leave feedback, since only about 60% were leaving feedback. Now it's about 75%. I think waiting to leave feedback will still encourage buyers to contact me if there's a problem before they leave feedback. I post my feedback policy in every listing, include it in every e-mail I send to the buyer & it is included on the packing invoice as well. I'm still at 100%, but with the new rules, I'm sure my 100% will not last. My theory is you can not please everyone 100% of the time. There's always someone out there who will be unhappy no matter what you do. I sell mostly vintage & antique items, so 99% of the time the item will not be "perfect". So I feel my risk of receiving a negative is higher based on the items I sell, even if I take lots of photos and provide a very detailed description. Most of the questions I receive about the items I have listed, can be answered within the description, if the potential bidder would take the time to read it. That's just another problem I think some bidders have, reading the description! As far as the DSR's go, I really think the last question about shipping & handling charges is unfair to the seller. With USPS & UPS raising rates on a yearly basis, as sellers we can only try to keep shipping costs reasonable by offering the cheapest shipping methods, which of course are the ones that take longer for delivery, so now the buyer can be happy with the shipping cost & unhappy with the delivery time. When I print shipping labels with PayPal, I choose to have the postage cost displayed on the label, to prove to the buyer I only charged what the shipper charged me, but I still only average a 4.7-4.8 over a 30 day period. I refund any over charge back to the buyer, which I now do on every purchase since we get the online discount with the post office. I've had a buyer or two complain about the post office's delivery performance in the feedback they are leaving for me! Now do they believe the post office is reading my feedback profile & will see their complaints? I think eBay should restructure the shipping questions to emphasize to the buyer they are rating the SELLER'S performance, not the shipping service. All my listings state I will ship within 3 BUSINESS days of cleared payment. I work outside of my home, so the 3 business day promise works well around my work schedule & the post office's schedule. Most of the time the package is in the mail the day after payment clears, with the exception of payments clearing on Saturdays. Every buyer receives by e-mail a delivery confirmation number, so they can track the package if they wish, so I don't think the shipping time question is really fair to the seller either, since of course we can't control delays with the shipper. I'm beginning to feel my honesty & extra effort I'm putting in to trying to be fair about shipping costs is not going to be much a benefit to my eBay store since I'm just barely meeting the DSR requirements for the power seller discount. Maybe eBay should add on a link for buyers to complain directly to USPS & UPS about rates & delays. (Yeah, right!) My eBay store is not a "big" business, it's really for fun & I can earn some money to buy the things I like. If eBay continues to increase FVF's & continues the new feedback policies, it won't be long before the "little" eBay sellers quit because they can't make a profit & will look for another avenue for selling.
Thank you for taking the time to read my posting!
Thank you for taking the time to read my posting!
Sympathise with you, the Royal Mail in the UK puts up its rates every year too. Last year it added volumetric pricing which makes selling small items that when wrapped become thicker than 25mm difficult, as it now costs nearly twice as much to post them.
I always add in cost of packing materials into the p&p, well I have to buy boxes, bubble wrap and bio-degradeable loose fill just cannot scrounge enough from the local supermarkets.
So my p&p DSR settled at 4.7 the others at 4.9 and I have had many UK and international repeat buyers which just goes to show they were happy with my p&p wrt to the standard of packing.
I wasn't prepared to compromise packing so I kept on doing it as I had done before DSR's, it's paid off so far but no doubt someone will neg me for it sometime.
That's life on eBay now, can't avoid DSR trashing or reds now, not sure its worth the effort anymore. Presently I am taking my seasonal breather but watch the shenanigans with a sad eye and will consider very carefully whether to restart in the autumn.
Beginning to doubt Auctiva's view of their own e-commerce facility happening with the current ebay is wonderful high speed spin articles.
I always add in cost of packing materials into the p&p, well I have to buy boxes, bubble wrap and bio-degradeable loose fill just cannot scrounge enough from the local supermarkets.
So my p&p DSR settled at 4.7 the others at 4.9 and I have had many UK and international repeat buyers which just goes to show they were happy with my p&p wrt to the standard of packing.
I wasn't prepared to compromise packing so I kept on doing it as I had done before DSR's, it's paid off so far but no doubt someone will neg me for it sometime.
That's life on eBay now, can't avoid DSR trashing or reds now, not sure its worth the effort anymore. Presently I am taking my seasonal breather but watch the shenanigans with a sad eye and will consider very carefully whether to restart in the autumn.
Beginning to doubt Auctiva's view of their own e-commerce facility happening with the current ebay is wonderful high speed spin articles.
I too disagree with it.
I understand they want buyer to leave honest feedback, but what about the sellers...
I like to know that the person who just bought my item is honest as much as I like to know the person I just bought of is.
I think negative feedback should be something that is filtered by ebay. Before negative feedback hits our accounts, I think ebay should look at it, find out why its negative, did we handle a customer wrong? Most of the time negative feedback is for late deliveries. I post everything the next day, and a recorded delivery item I sent on 27th May still hasn't arrived at the destination. I'm dreading negative feedback for it as it wasn't my fault.
I know you can try to redeem yourself on feedback pages saying you posted it etc.. but theres the element of doubt there for buyers, and it was unjustified.
Besides most buyers don't even look through the feedback to see what you done, if your feedback % is low, then you must be bad, but I only have 22 feedback, if someone leaves me bad feedback now because a delivery company has lost my package (I can't look into it until 14 working days) then thats going to hit me hard.
I understand they want buyer to leave honest feedback, but what about the sellers...
I like to know that the person who just bought my item is honest as much as I like to know the person I just bought of is.
I think negative feedback should be something that is filtered by ebay. Before negative feedback hits our accounts, I think ebay should look at it, find out why its negative, did we handle a customer wrong? Most of the time negative feedback is for late deliveries. I post everything the next day, and a recorded delivery item I sent on 27th May still hasn't arrived at the destination. I'm dreading negative feedback for it as it wasn't my fault.
I know you can try to redeem yourself on feedback pages saying you posted it etc.. but theres the element of doubt there for buyers, and it was unjustified.
Besides most buyers don't even look through the feedback to see what you done, if your feedback % is low, then you must be bad, but I only have 22 feedback, if someone leaves me bad feedback now because a delivery company has lost my package (I can't look into it until 14 working days) then thats going to hit me hard.
Thanks Carlos.
My secondary site is Overstock.com
Nice communities good cost active site; the auction site is not as active as Overstock itself. Overstock did advertise auction site for a while and does advertise Overstock. The more people participate, the better it will get.
So far I have only bought things there because the traffic is slow.
The think I like most about it is that they have a no sniping policy: if a bid comes in within the last ten minutes of an auction, it automatically extends another ten minutes. It could lead to some really fun "live auctions!"
My secondary site is Overstock.com
Nice communities good cost active site; the auction site is not as active as Overstock itself. Overstock did advertise auction site for a while and does advertise Overstock. The more people participate, the better it will get.
So far I have only bought things there because the traffic is slow.
The think I like most about it is that they have a no sniping policy: if a bid comes in within the last ten minutes of an auction, it automatically extends another ten minutes. It could lead to some really fun "live auctions!"
I have had a rather high incidence of Special Delivery and 1st recorded items not turning up lately at my buyers addresses.
But refund of item value only will only follow successful claim against the Royal Mail. If they refuse liablilty e.g. if in thier opinion it was signed for by the addresssee then no refund from RM, no refund to the addressee.
I see a possible fraudulent activity arising here based on threat of negative feedback so handle the customer courteously but firmly.
Let the postal service be the judge of delivery and keep any paperwork from them to counter any possible raising of a non-delivery dispute.
But refund of item value only will only follow successful claim against the Royal Mail. If they refuse liablilty e.g. if in thier opinion it was signed for by the addresssee then no refund from RM, no refund to the addressee.
I see a possible fraudulent activity arising here based on threat of negative feedback so handle the customer courteously but firmly.
Let the postal service be the judge of delivery and keep any paperwork from them to counter any possible raising of a non-delivery dispute.
I haven't needed to leave a negative feedback in ages and now soft positives may be removed. Should I try to leave one, I'm going with the comment "EBAY MANDATED RATING DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT SELLER'S VIEW"
booklady
booklady
What about the novice buyers who give you negative feedback without contacting you first? I have had a handful of those, and now there is no way to make them happy. At least, now I don't have to put up with retaliatory feedback from a seller.
It is most often novice buyers who tend to leave negative feedback without contacting sellers first, people who have a generally fearful view of the world or of new things and who see minor glitches as opportunities to "lash out" at "big business, big brother, mom & dad" and so on; it's somewhat socialized into the American way, the result of distant bureaucratic systems like the school system.
It takes people a while to find a comfort level on eBay which they may never have found before.
The thing I have always liked about eBay is that, on an individual basis, it reaffirms my basic trust in human nature, the impulse of individuals to do the right thing, to reach out in friendship -- pretty much the same way the internet has reaffirmed that.
There will always be little freaks out there; hopefully they will become socialized to larger global realities.
I don't know what recourse there might be for minimizing the effect of erroneous negative feedback, premature negative feedback.
I still do think that a two-way feedback system should still be in place -- I like it; it keeps me on my toes, as I said, as a seller and as a buyer -- and if that is not possible, then a system by which a buyer can earn one-way feedback, say after receiving 10 or 15 positive feedback ratings. That could be automated into the system easily enough, I think, and it would be a good compromise between eBay and sellers.
I haven't suggested it; I suppose they have trawlers out there reading boards on behalf of the larger organization.
It takes people a while to find a comfort level on eBay which they may never have found before.
The thing I have always liked about eBay is that, on an individual basis, it reaffirms my basic trust in human nature, the impulse of individuals to do the right thing, to reach out in friendship -- pretty much the same way the internet has reaffirmed that.
There will always be little freaks out there; hopefully they will become socialized to larger global realities.
I don't know what recourse there might be for minimizing the effect of erroneous negative feedback, premature negative feedback.
I still do think that a two-way feedback system should still be in place -- I like it; it keeps me on my toes, as I said, as a seller and as a buyer -- and if that is not possible, then a system by which a buyer can earn one-way feedback, say after receiving 10 or 15 positive feedback ratings. That could be automated into the system easily enough, I think, and it would be a good compromise between eBay and sellers.
I haven't suggested it; I suppose they have trawlers out there reading boards on behalf of the larger organization.
Somewhere in this thread someone had a link to a sniping software site. I hate sniping and have hated it for years; however, I am at the critical mass point of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em;" I was on my other computer, I believe, when I signed in for a good program which I found in someone's post here -- a link or a banner link.
I checked my online email to see if I had any info I'd sent to myself on it and don't see any.
I'm ready to test it out and now I am not sure where it is.
Does anyone remember seeing a link to that software here and can you point me to it?
I will soon (keep your good thoughts turned this way) be on just one computer -- I got new Vista software to update the original Vista I have, which we hope will repair the Java problems I encountered with Vista -- and so will be fairly consolidated (my scanner is still on my machine with Windows ME, as Vista won't run it. When I win the lottery . . . I will get a scanner that scans negatives and slides and will then be consolidated and up to speed once again).
Thanks!
I checked my online email to see if I had any info I'd sent to myself on it and don't see any.
I'm ready to test it out and now I am not sure where it is.
Does anyone remember seeing a link to that software here and can you point me to it?
I will soon (keep your good thoughts turned this way) be on just one computer -- I got new Vista software to update the original Vista I have, which we hope will repair the Java problems I encountered with Vista -- and so will be fairly consolidated (my scanner is still on my machine with Windows ME, as Vista won't run it. When I win the lottery . . . I will get a scanner that scans negatives and slides and will then be consolidated and up to speed once again).
Thanks!
It is a waste of time reporting unjustified negative feedback to eBay. They do nothing about it.
How do sellers now warn about non-paying bidders.
Because of the drastic changes eBay Australia are making, both sellers & buyers are leaving in droves.
Bye bye eBay.
John
How do sellers now warn about non-paying bidders.
Because of the drastic changes eBay Australia are making, both sellers & buyers are leaving in droves.
Bye bye eBay.
John
Inundate eBay with complaints about any unjustified negative feedback; they'll get tired of fielding them and go back to two-way.
Again, two-way feedback, if they want to do away with it, should not be a feature until a person has 25 successful transactions.
On the other hand, they are averaging the scores month by month, so unwarranted negative feedback doesn't affect overall rating for more than a month.
eBay's numbers crunchers will be watching the overall month-by-month trend on averages across the board for everyone to see if it is having a negative effect on the whole feedback process.
As to leaving in droves, again, I recommend Overstock.com auctions as they encourage and welcome eBay defectors, have had an auction site for a long time and (used to) advertise it.
Nice community; still not enough sellers because not enough buyers because not enough sellers, if you get my drift.
People just think "eBay" when they think "auction."
I like Overstock's policies and keep trying to get more people to at least open up a supplementary auction site there in order to increase the volume of business. Right now, it is mostly buy it now, as listing items low for auction does not result in much bidding -- and they have the best bidding policies, designed to stimulate bidding and discourage snipers, which increases the final price. Maybe listing auctions to end on Sunday nights would help -- if buyers knew that Sunday nights were hot there, it would increase buying and selling.
Throwing that suggestion out to anyone else who can start supplemental sales there.
Again, two-way feedback, if they want to do away with it, should not be a feature until a person has 25 successful transactions.
On the other hand, they are averaging the scores month by month, so unwarranted negative feedback doesn't affect overall rating for more than a month.
eBay's numbers crunchers will be watching the overall month-by-month trend on averages across the board for everyone to see if it is having a negative effect on the whole feedback process.
As to leaving in droves, again, I recommend Overstock.com auctions as they encourage and welcome eBay defectors, have had an auction site for a long time and (used to) advertise it.
Nice community; still not enough sellers because not enough buyers because not enough sellers, if you get my drift.
People just think "eBay" when they think "auction."
I like Overstock's policies and keep trying to get more people to at least open up a supplementary auction site there in order to increase the volume of business. Right now, it is mostly buy it now, as listing items low for auction does not result in much bidding -- and they have the best bidding policies, designed to stimulate bidding and discourage snipers, which increases the final price. Maybe listing auctions to end on Sunday nights would help -- if buyers knew that Sunday nights were hot there, it would increase buying and selling.
Throwing that suggestion out to anyone else who can start supplemental sales there.
As a seller, I leave all positive feedback if the item is paid for, its automatically set up. However, I received 3 neutral, all for shipping charges, which were calculated wrongly by ebay software and Paypal! I refunded the money to them the moment I recieved thier payment, but they did not remove the Neutral feedack, because they could NOT figure out how to do that. In the end we just left it, that was in November, 2007 and this cause my 100% rating to go to 98.9. I have never had a negative. Now I worry constantly that someone will receive a broken pendant and blame me etc. etc. Its the worst system in retail history that I have ever encountered and I have been in retail for 30 years.
Ebay really needs to clarify the word "feedback" Is this just a comment, an opinion, response or criticism?
If you can only leave "positive" feedback for a buyer (who may in fact have kept you waiting the maximum length of time for payment, before you could list an unpaid item) then why bother to have this facility at all?
By the very nature of the ‘lack of choice’, the whole process is superfluous. Better to scrap the feedback system altogether then we are back to a level playing field and buyer and seller beware!
As it stands, buyers can bid/buy with no intension of paying, knowing that they can carry on doing this as long as they like, and the buyers have no recourse other than to claim their fees back at a later date, but no one pays for the time wasted!
If you can only leave "positive" feedback for a buyer (who may in fact have kept you waiting the maximum length of time for payment, before you could list an unpaid item) then why bother to have this facility at all?
By the very nature of the ‘lack of choice’, the whole process is superfluous. Better to scrap the feedback system altogether then we are back to a level playing field and buyer and seller beware!
As it stands, buyers can bid/buy with no intension of paying, knowing that they can carry on doing this as long as they like, and the buyers have no recourse other than to claim their fees back at a later date, but no one pays for the time wasted!
I too am a long time seller and buyer. I used to sell on average at least $4,000. a month of odds and ends that I had purchased at auctions. Being an honest and dependable seller, I shipped only using the free shipping tyvek bags and priority boxes provided by the US mail, so my DSR ratings should all be perfect, as should the time involved shipping since I printed a paypal shipping lable for transactions paid on paypal and the box went immediately on the front porch and the mail carrier picked the parcels up the following day. I shipped very fast in other words. No way to ship any faster. Also, If they paid for their item with a Money Order, I would take the item to the post office and pay out of my pocket for the delivery confirmation that ebay calculator doesn't add in thew priority mail calculation. I ended up Paying and some of my buyers actually hit my DSR ratings, with the shipping time (how could I have done it better? Only if I were psychic and sent it before receiving payment) and the cost of shipping (which hit below the belt if it was one of those Money Order people, and I'm betting it was, and to think I paid for the shipping tracking thing)., so I really got mad. I knew it wasn't working in February. I found out the first of Feb. that I have a cancer that isn't treatable with chemo and I am classified as one in a billion. That same month, going through all that, I get hit with a slump in the DSR rating, and folks, I only sold a very few items, so there you have it. I am Boycotting. I will No longer sell on ebay until they (ebay) either make it so the buyers can't leave neg. or neutral fb, making it an even playing field, or restore the FB the way it was. If I have a buyer who plays games and extortion, well hey, where is my protection? Ebay doesn't respond properly, they send you a reply that has nothing to do with the problem. Instead, they quote the same garbage they designed for us to read in the policies and rules. Oh, here's an example of ebay's replies. I once had a Railroad Key to sell, antique key from a railroad no longer in business. Ebay pulled that listing (and I was still charged the listing fees) and they sent me a letter stating you can not sell uniforms because a terrorist could use it as a disguise? Hello, since when is an old antique key a uniform? Especially when the RR co. is no longer in business? Didn't make any sence at all. I give up. To allow the dead beats out there, and there are plenty of them, to extort from us sellers is unfair and a real blow to the ebay community. It can't possibly succeed, it will definately be the downfall of ebay. I am sure it must be having some effect on sales and I have noticed when looking (browsing) on ebay, I can no longer find listings for items like I used to find. I tried looking up how much the Hasbro 1971 Bowl-A-Strike game was selling for, No listings found. Amazing. Last year, I saw plenty of them listed. Try it with items you have looked for in the past, weird stuff from the 70's. Books from the 1800's-1900's. You'll find a lot of stuff isn't there because the listing people aren't there. It appears that some illegal practices are going on, like padding inventory (cyber padding). I'm fed up. I Boycotted and will continue to boycott until the end of time. Goodluck to any who stay and are abused by the new system set up for iminent failure.
Regarding DSR's some people by default on anything say nothing is perfect so they will never give full marks for anything.
Therefore they do the next best thing and give 4 star rating or 80% which everywhere else is still a high rating (exam marks, hotels etc ) . . . except on greedbay where you are rated as scum.
So until greedbay can educate the those that are willing to be educated we are stuffed !!
Therefore they do the next best thing and give 4 star rating or 80% which everywhere else is still a high rating (exam marks, hotels etc ) . . . except on greedbay where you are rated as scum.
So until greedbay can educate the those that are willing to be educated we are stuffed !!
crazy-dazey (sorry -- it doesn't look like replies are tagged directly to the latest post message)
re: Opening more unpaid item disputes than ever.
It is the only recourse. I spent today trying to figure out my protection for sending via email a manual on doll repair I'd written, which the buyer kept saying she never received [in the mail]. At one point, she was complaining that she never received the materials [which are for her to buy on her own, cheap and w/o postage for heavy liquids and gels]. She'd paid for the manual and I had written numerous explanations that it was an electronic file attachment, and had sent it twice.
I spent most of today trying to find out what eBay would do in this case (I had sent it via Yahoo mail, which doesn't have a return receipt feature). Now that I've gotten my Vista problems resolved, I'm back on my newer computer and able to use Windows Mail.
Just a few minutes ago, I heard back from her and she had finally found the file: I think the Yahoo format had made it impossible for her to find where it had been attached.
Nearly a whole day, though -- not to mention all the other times I was trying to walk her through the process of receiving the file.
It is resolved -- I sent it with a red exclamation high priority mark, a return receipt requested, and a cc to eBay customer service. That, combined perhaps with a more visible means of an attachment, finally solved this big problem.
Nonetheless, it seemed that the only recourse I would have had would have been to refund her money, after wasting a bunch of time on the transaction and after having sent two copies of the manual to her in email -- it could easily be a fraudulent claim.
CAVEAT: send all with Delivery Confirmation to protect yourself. Keep copies of all messages. Get return receipts (which the recipient can also refuse to send back, you probably know) for any electronically delivered merchandise. CYA
Choo Choo Guy raises another problem: in sending overseas mail, it is harder to make sure we have records that we did indeed send something. There is a Certificate of Sent Mail that costs a dollar or two that we can use to show a package was sent overseas. Unfortunately, on the last package I sent, I forgot to get one. Getting everything ready for international mail is a lot of work.
We should all have CAVEATS on our listings for overseas buyers that we are not responsible for non-delivery of items outside of the US once we have mailed a parcel, as the tracking systems are different.
. . . and to any suggestions? about an alternative to ebay: Overstock.com auctions. The more of us migrate there, the better it will become, and it is a good reliable site with good policies and national exposure and an auctions tab at the top of their web page.
. . . and to how long? must one wait for a check in the mail, eBay's policy is that our policy needs to be on our listing. Ten days is the "norm," and we can just write "Mailed payment must be received within ten days of close of auction" in the section at the bottom of the page about payment and shipping. In the same section, it helps to state also that items will be relisted if no contact is made within three days.
I have that statement and then can leave it flexible, depending on people's track records or how I feel or other variables.
Those statements protect the seller in the case of a demanding buyer who takes three weeks and still is getting the check in the mail and your hands are tied by the spectre of negative feedback. Ten days is a good long time, and you can extend it if the buyer has a good explanation. Most people pay immediately through PayPal, so the CYA statements just provide some security and protection against oddballs.
re: Opening more unpaid item disputes than ever.
It is the only recourse. I spent today trying to figure out my protection for sending via email a manual on doll repair I'd written, which the buyer kept saying she never received [in the mail]. At one point, she was complaining that she never received the materials [which are for her to buy on her own, cheap and w/o postage for heavy liquids and gels]. She'd paid for the manual and I had written numerous explanations that it was an electronic file attachment, and had sent it twice.
I spent most of today trying to find out what eBay would do in this case (I had sent it via Yahoo mail, which doesn't have a return receipt feature). Now that I've gotten my Vista problems resolved, I'm back on my newer computer and able to use Windows Mail.
Just a few minutes ago, I heard back from her and she had finally found the file: I think the Yahoo format had made it impossible for her to find where it had been attached.
Nearly a whole day, though -- not to mention all the other times I was trying to walk her through the process of receiving the file.
It is resolved -- I sent it with a red exclamation high priority mark, a return receipt requested, and a cc to eBay customer service. That, combined perhaps with a more visible means of an attachment, finally solved this big problem.
Nonetheless, it seemed that the only recourse I would have had would have been to refund her money, after wasting a bunch of time on the transaction and after having sent two copies of the manual to her in email -- it could easily be a fraudulent claim.
CAVEAT: send all with Delivery Confirmation to protect yourself. Keep copies of all messages. Get return receipts (which the recipient can also refuse to send back, you probably know) for any electronically delivered merchandise. CYA
Choo Choo Guy raises another problem: in sending overseas mail, it is harder to make sure we have records that we did indeed send something. There is a Certificate of Sent Mail that costs a dollar or two that we can use to show a package was sent overseas. Unfortunately, on the last package I sent, I forgot to get one. Getting everything ready for international mail is a lot of work.
We should all have CAVEATS on our listings for overseas buyers that we are not responsible for non-delivery of items outside of the US once we have mailed a parcel, as the tracking systems are different.
. . . and to any suggestions? about an alternative to ebay: Overstock.com auctions. The more of us migrate there, the better it will become, and it is a good reliable site with good policies and national exposure and an auctions tab at the top of their web page.
. . . and to how long? must one wait for a check in the mail, eBay's policy is that our policy needs to be on our listing. Ten days is the "norm," and we can just write "Mailed payment must be received within ten days of close of auction" in the section at the bottom of the page about payment and shipping. In the same section, it helps to state also that items will be relisted if no contact is made within three days.
I have that statement and then can leave it flexible, depending on people's track records or how I feel or other variables.
Those statements protect the seller in the case of a demanding buyer who takes three weeks and still is getting the check in the mail and your hands are tied by the spectre of negative feedback. Ten days is a good long time, and you can extend it if the buyer has a good explanation. Most people pay immediately through PayPal, so the CYA statements just provide some security and protection against oddballs.
quote:We should all have CAVEATS on our listings for overseas buyers
The more conditions, helpful notes and such you place on your listings the less they are read.
Notes must be kept short, speakin for myself I cannot be bothered to buy from someone whose listing has pages of large multi-coloured text in varying sizes and fonts, lack of use of lowercase letters and very poor (lazy) grammar, which either needs a microscope to read or looks like the work of a drunken graffiti orientated vandal.
So I just include a simple request in an info box common to all my listings in a friendly clear font asking that non-UK buyers please contact me for a p&p quote.
Very few do ask for a quote, most are happy with my p&p especially as I well pack but the odd ones get awkward.
Normally I only display domestic p&p rates as globally there are too many variations
available.
I know that I am going against the majority here, but I actually like the system overall. Before I explain, I should note that I do not like the fact that I can't leave a negative or neutral for a buyer!In the past I have only left feedback for the buyer AFTER they left feedback for me. Some may refer to this as "feedback blackmail", but only the WORST sellers would use it in that manner. In fact, I have received "neutral but negative" comments where I still left a positive for the buyer because they were correct in having their opinion. Afterall, they did still pay immediately and didn't place any "lies" in their comments, just their opinions. The reason I have always waited to leave the feedback is not only so that I would know that the customer was satisfied with their purchase, but also to know that I actually got the payment. I say this because there have been a couple occasions where the buyers payment actually cleared PayPal and then got returned a day or two later as NSF or Account Closed (and if you remember the rules, if we accept PayPal, we have to accept ALL methods of payment through PayPal). If I had left a positive when the payment cleared and they refused to pay after it got sent back, I would have no recourse on the feedback. Sure I would still win the PayPal and unpaid item dispute and their negative (if they had left one) would be removed, but how would I warn other sellers (and buyers for that matter) about their "attempt to steal"! That said, I HATE the sellers that retalliate with negative feedback when the problem is their own fault (usually very poor packaging or a very bad attitude towards an honest customer).
BUYERS: Negative feedback should NEVER be left just for damaged or lost items unless it was the sellers fault (inadequate packaging, falsified customs forms, never sent, etc.) and they refused to fix the problem. If they still took care of your concerns and fixed their mistakes they should at least get a neutral if not a positive. NOTE: Always purchase insurance to protect yourself and contact the seller before assuming that they never sent the package.
NEW POWERSELLER REQUIREMENTS: I for one love the new requirements, even though they knocked me out of Powerseller status! Powersellers are supposed to be the BEST of all eBayers and for too long now that has not always been the case! It is also nice to see eBay giving some nice rewards for being the best (up to 20% off Final Value Fees + an additional discount on UPS). Afterall, how many buyers really pay attention to the little Powerseller logo anyway (except for us sellers that also buy on eBay). With no incentive other than the logo, I don't think that most eBayers really cared about being a Powerseller or not. I really only cared because it also usually meant that I was selling enough to qualify for a lower PayPal rate. I think eBay was smart with this idea, afterall, what better incentive is there for people to do better than by giving them MONEY!!!
DSR's: I love the DSR's, but HATE the way that eBay implemented them with the new Powerseller requirements and discounts. They should have started everybody off with a clean slate in April when they started the discounts. In other words, only take the DSR ratings since April 2008 into account when determining Powerseller elegibility! I'm at 4.34 on one of my DSR's, but it would take me hundreds if not thousands of 5-star feedback to get back to Powerseller status again after July. I've made changes to ensure 5-star feedback, but I'm beginning to think that it would be much faster to just start a new eBay account and wait the 90 days to become a Powerseller again instead of the 10 months that it might take me to get the 12-month rating up to 4.5!
HANDLING NEGATIVE FEEDBACK: File the appropriate complaints with eBay (feedback abuse, non-paying bidder, etc.) and leave a reply to the feedback. Unfortunately that is the only recourse! ***DO NOT leave a positive for the buyer with a negative comment!*** That directly violates eBays Feedback Abuse policy which states: "Feedback comments containing any of the following are not permitted:"..."Negative statements that conflict with a positive rating". Doing this could result in a ding on your policy compliance!
GOOD LUCK TO ALL WITH THE CHANGES, I think that in the long run it will all be for the better...I hope!!!
quote:The reason I have always waited to leave the feedback is not only so that I would know that the customer was satisfied with their purchase, but also to know that I actually got the payment.
Yes, totally agree and have always done it that way and as your feedback to others increases new buyers see they have nothing to fear.
The current flaws in the overall system include :-
1) buyers who are not sellers do not understand or even care (why should they) about the meaning of leaving neutrals or negatives or poor DSR's.
2) greedbays presentattion of the DSR ratings to those who are only buyers is woefully inadequate.
3) new buyers only, especially certainly do not understand the details, hardly surprising there are so many on there now.
The weeding out of poor sellers especially those masquerading as pillars of (greedbay) society (Powersellers) should be cast out.
Unfortunately sellers can now have their livelihood destroyed or at least badly damaged by uneducated or just mailicious buyers with no redress or ability to warn other sellers, that is what seriously stinks, so when you say "I know that I am going against the majority here" I for one do not think you are so long as buyers were properly educated and used the feedback and DSR's accurately and honestly.
But then again as a buyer you have no doubt received items from various sellers packaged very differently, some well, and others very poorly. All of those sellers with different perceptions of what is necesssary whether with good intentions or not as most are untrained or inexperienced in packing.
On the same basis our online livelihood on greedbay is being judged not by our peers, but absolutely anyone, followed by summary execution by greedbay's automated execution squad !
With 79 feedback at 100% positive, I had one lady leave horrendous feedback, knocked me down to 98% in one fell swoop! Never asked for a refund, though I have a clearly stated generous refund policy.
I think EBAY should only allow negative feedback AFTER proof that buyer contacted or attempted to contact seller for satisfaction. IF none received, then post away.
The way it is now, anybody can just jovially go down the line and maliciously destroy an honest seller's business, like mine. If all they want is big-time powersellers, then so be it.
It's no longer worth the hassle here.
I think EBAY should only allow negative feedback AFTER proof that buyer contacted or attempted to contact seller for satisfaction. IF none received, then post away.
The way it is now, anybody can just jovially go down the line and maliciously destroy an honest seller's business, like mine. If all they want is big-time powersellers, then so be it.
It's no longer worth the hassle here.
It is now an unfortunate fact of eBay life, the pride one got of maintaining 100% feedback for a long period is no longer possible to achieve.
Mind you I would never be held ransom by someone threatening to destroy my 'purity' so it really is not worth worrying about now, most sellers will have reds for whatever whim a malicious buyer cares to use as an excuse.
I think the biggest problem is that you can no longer brand a buyer like that with a red to warn other sellers.
I also believe that seasoned buyers (and sellers)like myself would look at your feedback and consider that buyers feedback in relation to your other positives. Patterns over time are more indicative of a sellers performance anytime than the odd reds especially since sellers lost the right to leave non-positive feedback for bad buyers.
Other sites will acquire more buyers as sellers on eBay look for cost effective alternatives, buyers will have to look at other sites as bargains dissapear due to reduced numbers of items up for auction.
Sales are likely to dip for a while due to the credit crunch affecting western buyers in particular.
Auctiva will be launching thier own stand alone stores soon so keeping watching these boards and why not subscribe to their newsletter
Mind you I would never be held ransom by someone threatening to destroy my 'purity' so it really is not worth worrying about now, most sellers will have reds for whatever whim a malicious buyer cares to use as an excuse.
I think the biggest problem is that you can no longer brand a buyer like that with a red to warn other sellers.
I also believe that seasoned buyers (and sellers)like myself would look at your feedback and consider that buyers feedback in relation to your other positives. Patterns over time are more indicative of a sellers performance anytime than the odd reds especially since sellers lost the right to leave non-positive feedback for bad buyers.
Other sites will acquire more buyers as sellers on eBay look for cost effective alternatives, buyers will have to look at other sites as bargains dissapear due to reduced numbers of items up for auction.
Sales are likely to dip for a while due to the credit crunch affecting western buyers in particular.
Auctiva will be launching thier own stand alone stores soon so keeping watching these boards and why not subscribe to their newsletter
Long story short...I've been buying and selling on ebay for nearly 8 years.I have 2 screen names. The most regrettable change has been the "new" feedback policy!!!! Buyers have become rude and arrogant and lack in communication because they can NOT receive negative feedback!!!