Sellers Can't Leave Negative Feedback
By Manna02
@Manna02 (86)
United States
May 1, 2009 8:25pm CST
Okay, the buying side of me did sigh a breath of relief when I found that out. I was a buyer that would only leave positive no matter how bad of experience just to avoid the retaliatory feedback. It wasn't until last night when I had a seller's nightmare that I wished this wasn't true. There simply are some rude, spiteful buyers out there that are just looking to hand out negatives to sellers. And then you can get a non-paying bidder, which you can open a case up to Ebay about and after some time the buyer will get a strike (a slap on the wrist if you ask me). Plus, when this happens, you can get your final value fee credited to you, but not your initial listing fee! What about those really spendy items with high starting bids that costs quite a bit just to list? Please, fellow Ebay sellers, type your worst selling nightmares!
1 person likes this
4 responses
@kris182_2000 (5444)
• Canada
2 May 09
I've had buyers and sellers from hell before, it's not uncommon.
Back when negative feedback was an option, I had one buyer who was a real a$$hole. I can't remember what the item was that I sold, but boy this guy was a real jerk.
Now that no one can leave negatives that's a good thing for sellers, but not always for buyers.
@Manna02 (86)
• United States
2 May 09
I think buyers can still leave negatives and neutrals. Sellers can only leave positives. The guy I dealt with last night really rubbed that in my face. He said that my item wasn't worth the $5 he won it for, so I better try and think of something to make it up to him or I was getting a negative. When I checked his feedback, he had a lot of back and forth negatives before this new rule.
@kris182_2000 (5444)
• Canada
2 May 09
I wasn't able to leave a negative last month when I bought my laptop, neutral wasn't an option either. Not that I needed to, the transaction was fast and smooth. What I really liked was that it was a local seller and I picked up my laptop a couple days later.
@Manna02 (86)
• United States
2 May 09
Hmm...that's interesting. It must depend on the value of the product? I just went in to check on an item I won that I haven't received yet to see what options I have. All three feedback options are open on that item, but it's something pretty inexpensive compared to a laptop. Was the laptop in an Ebay store rather than up for auction?
@tinonzo (67)
• Philippines
3 May 09
Personally, I think this is really unfair. When this policy was first introduced, I, as a seller, hesitated. How can I protect myself now from scammers and nuisance ebay buyers? I know I can just leave an Unpaid Item Strike or file a dispute with ebay. But the thought of getting a Negative feedback is unnerving! I have worked long and hard to keep my feedback at a 100%, I don't want to start now getting negatives just because my buyers didn't like what they received or just didn't read the instructions and description right.
@Manna02 (86)
• United States
3 May 09
I completely agree. I also have worked hard to keep a 100% positive feedback, and it scares me that buyers are no longer scared of receiving bad feedback. The bad buyers know they have the upper hand in the transaction. There are lots of ways a bidder could earn negative feedback besides not paying, so Ebay should offer other options besides strikes on not paying. I've noticed that members that are both sellers and buyers are usually much easier to work with. Thank you for your comments.
@melanie652 (2524)
• United States
5 May 09
I had a watch on an item on ebay recently. I noticed the winning buyer on it had zero feedback and was a new buyer. Apparently the sale fell through because I saw where the seller relisted it. The next buyer was another newbie with zero feedback, then next time I saw the buyer was no longer a registered user. I felt bad for the seller. He got scammed not once, but twice and he basically had no recourse. It doesn't seem fair to the sellers does it?
@Manna02 (86)
• United States
9 May 09
No, and that's what I mean. Sure, everyone has to be a newbie and start at zero feedback sometime. But, we should be able to weed out the bad ones early so we don't have to worry about paying listing fees over and over again without ever being compensated. I had a newbie buy one of my items. I waited two weeks for payment and then reported it to ebay. All that did was open up a resolution center where they gave the buyer an opportunity to talk and pay. I don't think they should have been given that many opportunities. Well, eventually, the newbie paid and forgot about winning the auction. I should have been able to leave a neutral feedback at least.
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
19 May 09
I've just about had it with ebay buyers. They leave positive feedback and then play havoc with the seller's star rating. The last couple things I sold went for about 25% of value, were shipped immediately and I paid excess postage plus all packaging costs. In both cases I took a hit on the stars when the buyers left feedback. In one case my shipping star went down and afte rthe other feedback the communication star went down. Well, I'm not leaving any feedback for either of those buyers and I've put them both on my blocked bidder list. I may not be able to leave negative feedback but I don't have to leave positive feedback and I don't have to deal with people like these.
@Manna02 (86)
• United States
20 May 09
Those stars are impossible to keep up. Buyers are very very picky. I also refuse to leave positive feedback for buyers that are difficult to please. I haven't used the blocked bidder list yet. The thing I would worry about is that Ebay allows unlimited accounts per person. So, what if someone would come back under a different ID and just try to mess with you? I guess you could always put a block on new members with 0 feedback. I'm just so tired of walking on eggshells when I sell on Ebay.
