eBay to Remove Negative Feedback from Sellers
On eBay, a seller's reputation is just as visible as his or her name. With just a click, any potential bidder can check out how well transactions have gone with a particular auctioneer in the past and determine whether or not he or she wants to bid. The same goes for buyers right now, enabling that same auction host to turn around and check out the bidders fighting to set the right price. And, of course, once the auction is over both sides of the transaction have the opportunity to either enhance or modify that reputation depending on how things went.But this rating system is about to change, with eBay announcing it will remove the ability for sellers to leave negative feedback about buyers.
The site claims that negative feedback in the direction of seller to buyer is not a help to the overall buying process and that, if anything, it just slows things down as complaints are raised by the buyers slapped with a bad review. However, by doing away with that negative feedback, sellers are feeling a bit jilted as the change tilts the entire site in favor of buyers who can now be as negative as they like with their reviews without being subject to retribution.
eBay indicates that any non-paying buyer can and will simply be banned if they are reported, and that few sellers leave negative feedback anyhow. But, if you look at the ratings applied to those sellers, it's clear that few buyers are leaving negative feedback, either. What's unclear is just what the true motives are here, but it's hard to look at a system that allows positive feedback but prevents negative as anything but misleading.
From BBC News
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
James @ Feb 6th 2008 12:16PM
Why change something that's working??? Morons.
inetfan @ Feb 6th 2008 12:53PM
Another way they have abandoned the people who made them.
Julie @ Feb 6th 2008 1:19PM
I have only purchased on eBay. I have one negative strike since 1999, and that is from a PowerSeller who did not provide the item and did not refund the money as promised. When I gave him a negative strike after several months of nonsense, he gave me a negative strike back in retaliation. This was very unfair and eBay did nothing about it.
n26th @ Feb 6th 2008 1:28PM
HOW CAN A BUYER LEAVE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK FOR A SELLER IF THEY CAN RETALIATE ? ANY ONE LOOKING AT MY (BUYER'S) FEEDBACK WOULDN'T KNOW THEY WERE JUST BEING VINDICTIVE. THEY NEED TO GET RID OF THE SELLERS WHO AFTER YOU WIN TELL YOU THE ITEM IS OUT OF STOCK AND CANCEL THE SALE. RIP OFF. IF THEY DIDN'T WANT TO SELL SO LOW THEY SHOULD SET A RESERVE OR START THE BIDDING HIGHER. IT AMAZES ME THAT SO MANY OF THE PEOPLE ON EBAY ARE SO NICE.
Richard @ Feb 6th 2008 2:35PM
Most auctions work out well for the buyer and seller. Some people abuse the system making false or misleading claims. Feedback space is limited to a small number of words that cannot fully explain the problem. Often negative feedback is left without trying to resolve the problem first. Sellers should be penalized for not responding to buyers concerns.
Doctor Bob @ Feb 6th 2008 3:32PM
This new system is just a giant green light for thieves to buy from ebay sellers, cannibalize or outright steal the merchandise, and then get a refund from PayPal, which comes out of the seller's account. And ebay has NO plan to combat this abuse. Agreed, there are bad sellers who leave unjustified retaliatory feedback. Why not address that SPECIFIC problem instead of wrecking the entire system? Ebay is run by greedy fools, and the sellers are now being screwed.
Leslie @ Feb 6th 2008 4:50PM
I'm all for it. I don't leave negative feedback unless its warranted. If my bad buying experience is due to my own neglegence, then I don't leave negative feedback. I did have an experience with a seller sending an item late, then it wasn't even the one I purchased, they didn't want to exchange it (even though it was their fault) then when they finally did, it still wasn't what they described in their auction, I left negative but appropriate feedback, they in turn gave me negative feedback in retaliation. Out of the over 300 feedbacks I had received, this was my first negative.
Bill Dollar @ Feb 6th 2008 4:58PM
James says:
Why change something that's working??? Morons.
Well, the new CEO must show the world he is now the new master of the e-bay universe! And yes, he is a moron for changing this!
Rick @ Feb 6th 2008 5:05PM
If they take the negative feedback away ,that will be the worst thing ebay could do and as for as putting a ban on that person, they will just creat a new name and do it again. ebay don't do this feedback is important.
FirefighterMedic @ Feb 6th 2008 5:26PM
As both a buyer and seller on eBay I feel this recent move by eBay is foolish. I have had problems with buyers AND sellers and eBay did absolutely nothing to help me. All I could do was leave negative feedback for those people to warn others about them. With all the money eBay is raking in you would think they would be upgrading their system instead of downgrading it. Just another example of a company that is willing to take your money but give you no help in return.
Brian @ Feb 6th 2008 6:06PM
I have been an avid ebayer since early '99. Both a buyer and a seller. Over the years I have gotten many others going on ebay as buyers or sellers. Have over 5000 sales on one ID alone. (have three ID's on ebay) I buy on ebay an average of 2K per month. My sales are 9K to 13K per month. Anyone who has sold on ebay and dealt with Paypal can attest that their rules are totally and always have been slanted towards the buyer. Now they have just made it official, not just a slant, but now a virtual cliff. Now with this latest lunacy, they are telling the world that there are no bad, dishonest, unknowledgable, or impossible to deal with buyers other than an occasional deadbeat bidder. Maybe they should put down the donuts and gameboys and crawl out of their cubicles and try selling. Just like everything else in life, the vast majority of any group play by the rules and are honest. But a few screw it up for the rest of us. Some buyers don't fully read auctions, assume things that aren't stated, look at items listed through rose colored glasses, and, have unrealistic expectations as far as item conditions and shipping. If you are buying something listed for parts only, then don't expect a brand new flawless functioning item. Don't buy a 50 year old used item and expect brand new unless stated as so. Don't expect sellers to ship something five minutes after you pay and for free.... Sellers are NOT in front of the computer 24/7 just waiting for you to email us, they just might have other things going on. You have a life, can't we have the same?
And probably the most frustrating thing is turn your friggin spam filters OFF if you expect emails to actually get through. Or at least have the brains to look on your MY ebay page for answers sent through the ebay system.
As a buyer I have just as many rants as anyone else, but Hell, now I am totally protected for any reason I can dream up. I have the ability to just tell Ebay and Paypal I ain't happy and then they give me my money back. Plus you have just given me the trump card of feedback extortion if I want to use it to get an even better deal. I can just tell the seller "I ain't happy give me a better deal or I'll leave bad feedback". There is more to these new rules than stated in the article. Ebay and paypal both have teamed up to implement that if a buyer leaves bad feedback or even just medium ratings on the seller rating system, then sellers money received for an item is locked down for 21 days on paypal until buyer decides he's real happy now. That's fair dealing? That's the system you want implemented? Think of the abuse potential that Ebay has just unlocked. The Feedback system as it was set up was as perfect of a checks and balance system as anyone could expect. Kept both buyers and sellers who gave a sh$t about their rating in check. Yes there is abuse in the form of retaliatory feedback, but the vast majority play it right.
The media will exploit an isolated case of outright theft on ebay to make it sound like all of us sellers are predators. Now apparently ebay is backing up that thinking.
So should buyers be careful?? Of course. Just like buying anything else from anywhere else. Look at reputation, (feedback rating, and length of time selling on ebay) the likelyhood of such a "fantastic deal" being legit, and use common sense.
To take away a seller's ability to warn other sellers of a buyer they should avoid dealing with for any number of legit reasons is totally criminal. The feedback system is supposed to be an unbiased way to relate to the ebay community how your trading experience went. Both the seller and the buyer should have the ability to do so. To band-aid a minor abuse problem by such a stupid shotgun method is asinine and lazy. There is abuse in any system, any set of rules. Find a better way to deal with it than taking away our ability to accurately report was has happened with a transaction. Sellers and buyers who abuse the feedback system by use of retaliatory feedback should be dealt with in a different way other than a let a very miniscule number of abusers screw it up for all. EBAY: you make BILLIONS from sellers every year. The sellers are who made you what you are. Buyers will always be buyers, whether on ebay or anywhere else. If sellers decide to take their offerings elsewhere, you do not have buyers either..... My monthly ebay bill is well over a grand, and I'm very small time compared to many. I also buy an average of 2K on ebay a month. Use some of that money to actually come up with a solution that is fair to both good sellers sellers and good buyers. Treat the trash like trash. Find a way to police the trash, not shoot everyone with a shotgun blast. Now who is the abuser of your own system's fundamentals? Feeling very dry f%%ked here........ One last thought, does anyone else think it's kind of a coincidence that meg and bill (top brass running ebay) both have decided to step down the same exact time as these new rules are announced???
Alisa @ Feb 6th 2008 6:11PM
I must say, this is the stupidest idea that ebay has come up with thus far. As an experienced ebayer (both as a buyer & a seller) it important for everyone to know it is not all cut and dry. Just because a buyer pays for an item, doesn't automatically give them positive feedback. There are buyers out there who do nothing but complain, no matter how much a seller trys to accommodate them. Believe me this is a prime opportunity for buyers to extort things out of sellers without suffering any consequences.
The way ebay feedback is currently set up there are checks and balances. Now that ebay plans to take that away, how are sellers supposed to protect themselves from buyers with unrealistic expectations? How are sellers supposed to warn other sellers of potential problems that may be brought to the table by a potential buyer? For example, I had a foreign buyer recently purchase from me. Several sellers had left negative feedback for this buyer stating that the buyer had received the item the shipped and filed a claim with paypal to get their money back. According to this buyers feedback, they had done this many times and paypal seemed to always return their funds because there were no tracking numbers on the packages sent. So with that warning, I shipped my package to this customer with a tracking number and as soon as the buyer got the item, they did just what they had done to the other sellers, they filed a claim with paypal. They stated that they didn't get the package. I was able to protect myself from this fraud because I was able to prove to paypal that the customer indeed got the package. If there were no other warnings left by other sellers, how was I (a seller) supposed to be warned to protect myself?
I understand buyers do not like getting negative feedback because a seller is retaliating, but it is what it is. Buyers often do not understand what hoops sellers have to jump through to please their customers and they can be very difficult, thus making it a very negative experience for a seller.
As an ebay powerseller I've only gotten 1 negative feedback from a buyer over the last 3 years of selling on ebay. It was from a buyer who couldn't read English and didn't understand the listing. I've gotten 4 neutrals from buyers over the years, but those probably would have been negatives if I wasn't able to give negative feedback. Sellers do use feedback as a security blanket to protect their reputation, just as buyers do.
Sorry I've been long winded here, but I'm very passionate about this change as it impacts my business substancially.
dj2all @ Feb 6th 2008 6:13PM
I'm having a problem now with a seller from ebay; NellieBizCorp. She sold me a defective stolen product. I been trying to return it . being that i gave her a negative feedback in retaliation she gave me a negative feedback in return. I'm presently having a hard time getting the product back to her and claimng a refund. Her name is NellieBizCorp/Nelliema411. I learned my lesson and that is to stay away from buying on Ebay.
Alisa @ Feb 6th 2008 6:19PM
Dj2all,
You should report the seller to ebay and file a claim with Paypal. I understand you are having a problem with a seller and if indeed the item is defective and stolen and you can prove it, and you paid with paypal, you will get your money back if you open a claim. Good luck. Don't count out the rest of ebay.
Beth @ Feb 6th 2008 6:58PM
I have to agree that the retaliatory seller feedback is unjustified and that Ebay has done nothing about it to date. Quite honestly, I have not left negative feedback for any sellers, even though many deserved it for selling counterfeit or imitation items and claiming them as real. I haven't because those same sellers would then trash my rating.
That said, perhaps Ebay should allow sellers to rate the buyers for a very limited amount of time. Seems to me that a buyer should be rated at the time they make payment, as they have completed their end of the bargain (to pay for what they bought). That way, the seller can truthfully rate the buyer, without the buyer having to worry about unjustified retaliatory rating if the seller doesn't perform as required.
Either way, I'm glad Ebay is doing at SOMETHING about this problem!
charly @ Feb 6th 2008 7:59PM
THIS IS A STUPID IDEA. AGAIN. EBAY NEVER HELPS THE PEOPLE THAT SPEND THE MONEY WITH THEM...THE SELLERS. HOW CAN IT POSSIBLY BE FAIR IF THE BUYER IS THE ONLY ONE BEING RATED?
THE EBAY POLICE STRIKE AGAIN!
Andrew Manczak @ Feb 6th 2008 8:51PM
I've been a sports collectibles seller on eBay since December 1999, I have had over 4000 positive transactions with no negatives. I'm not happy about the change in feedback, it's totally weighted in the buyers favor. EBay needs to be equally fair to sellers.
Derek @ Feb 6th 2008 9:25PM
I have 6 negative feedback remarks on Ebay, ALL of them left in retaliation after sellers ripped me off. Sorry that this is harsh for buyers but it is true that lots of my fellow buyers fail to leave negative feedback for the rip-off artists that roam Ebay. Nowadays I limit myself to just a handful of buyers who I trust and my spending there has dropped by at least 75% (I used to spend several hundred a month). Heck for most of my toy collecting I find it more reliable to comb through Japanese auctions and use a proxy service. The fees I've spent have pretty much been less than the losses I took from Ebay sellers who simply mislead or never followed through (even had one seller send an EMPTY box with delivery confirmation so that he could provide Paypal with a number proving he sent my item, which was already relisted in his auctions)
MHW @ Feb 6th 2008 11:22PM
Left the eBay community after being stiffed on a bogus Coach handbag (which I paid almost $300 for) with NO help from eBay officials. Nice to know the creep that sold me the bag will be able to continue making a living at the expense of others!
R Highman @ Feb 7th 2008 6:38AM
I sell and buy on ebay alot--Once I bought an item from a seller and he kept saying he was going to ship it to me and never did--NEVER So now I can't leave negative feedback? That is plain stupid.