Unfair feedback (Page 3): I seem to remember that EBay changed the rating system a few years ago in that sellers could no longer provide negative feedback. I never liked that because...

Billbobboy42 Loc: Center of Delmarva

sb wrote:

EBay no longer allows that - you cannot even defend yourself!

I seem to remember that EBay changed the rating system a few years ago in that sellers could no longer provide negative feedback. I never liked that because buyers can be just as dishonest/vindictive as sellers. I am a frequent Ebay buyer but have never been a seller.

magicray Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida

sb wrote:

EBay no longer allows that - you cannot even defend yourself!

True. Sellers aren't able to leave negative or neutral Feedback for buyers.

silver Loc: Santa Monica Ca.

viscountdriver wrote:

I have received an extremely unfair negative feedback on Ebay because the buyer considered I charged him two pounds too much on postage ignoring the complex packaging I had to do and the fact I offered him a full rebate plus his postage.
There seems nothing the seller can do about such malicious postings and the harm done to his reputation.

Ebay has a resolution conflict section and you can file a complaint about these issues. I had a problem this way with an unfair negative comment and I challenged it and the people at ebat agreed that the negative comment was unfair and they made the poster re do the negative post. It takes a little time but the system works. Of course there are people that are not satisfied with anything and people such as that are a real problem.

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

venturer9 wrote:

sb... br br Actually this has been going on for s... (show quote)

That is just crazy! Like I stated in an earlier post I have 149 feedbacks on ebay. All positive. Probably 75/25 as far as selling/buying. Never had a problem. It's been probably at least a year since I've had any activity. While I was still active in the camera repair business and 35mm was still dominant I would buy broken cameras, fix whatever was wrong, and sell them on ebay. I did quite well financially. I would state that I only shipped in the U.S. and Canada but I had parties around the world interested in some items so I would check shipping costs and pass the info along. As long as they understood and we agreed on the extra shipping it was no big deal. I sold cameras, lenses, and flash units to buyers in Greece, Italy, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Mexico, and a few other countries I don't even recall. No problem except delivery in Israel took forever. Also the overseas shipping was very expensive. Those shipping costs will break you if eat the cost. It can turn a profitable sale into a loser. :thumbup:

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

viscountdriver wrote:

I have received an extremely unfair negative feedback on Ebay because the buyer considered I charged him two pounds too much on postage ignoring the complex packaging I had to do and the fact I offered him a full rebate plus his postage.
There seems nothing the seller can do about such malicious postings and the harm done to his reputation.

I wouldn't worry about it. If I see that someone has a few negative feedback remarks, I just go to the sellers feedback and quickly see what the complaint is. If it's something stupid as overcharging for postage, I ignore. I always consider the postage someone charges as part of the whole cost of doing business. If I can get it cheaper somewhere else then I do. If it's something like the item wasn't as described, then I look deeper.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

bigalw wrote:

absolutely correct - BUT WRONG AND SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED BY EBAY

If I buy an article from someone on ebay, once I've paid the money to them (normally within about 5 minutes, subject to auction end) they should be satisfied, they have their money, and subsequently should leave POSITIVE feedback, but as you say it's like emotional blackmail

:thumbdown: :evil:

You should never leave feedback until you have the product in your hands, as a seller you usually leave feedback as soon as you've received payment.

Los-Angeles-Shooter Loc: Los Angeles

Misuse of feedback is a major problem on Ebay. Ebay, for reasons of logistics and simply not giving a damn, has no interest in fixing the issue.

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

Los-Angeles-Shooter wrote:

Misuse of feedback is a major problem on Ebay. Ebay, for reasons of logistics and simply not giving a damn, has no interest in fixing the issue.

Ebay must have gone downhill since I was a regular. I never had any problems either buying or selling. I loved getting a good deal and winning at the buzzer by $0.01. Sometimes it all in the timing. Of course I lost a few also at the buzzer. :thumbup:

Indiana Loc: Huntington, Indiana

dragonfist wrote:

I see no reason for anyone to complain about shipping cost. It is clearly posted so the buyer knows ahead of time. There have been many times I have passed on an item because I thought the shipping cost was excessive.

Exactly, The postage rate is listed. If it seems excessive, don't buy!

Robin Poole Loc: Missoula, Mt

odinswolf wrote:

One of the reasons I stopped selling on EBay.

Rob

Is this the Odin from the Norwegian god family. Odin was their NO 1 god I had a German Sheppard named Odin. Cool name Robin

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

As a buyer, if a seller has a very high rating I will look at the reasons given by negative reviewers. If it's something trivial I ignore the negative rating. I once saw a negative rating by someone who had bought a piece of jewelry for $3 and gave a negative rating because it looked cheap. It didn't stop me from buying from that seller.

Los-Angeles-Shooter Loc: Los Angeles

Indiana wrote:

Exactly, The postage rate is listed. If it seems excessive, don't buy!

Ebay is currently being sued in what looks to be an enormous class action. The reason? Ebay encouraged sellers (or did it in Ebay's own volition) to raise the "buy now" price so that they could claim "free shipping." One reason Ebay did this is that Ebay takes a cut of the selling price, but not of shipping charges. However, this manipulation by Ebay violates FTC rules and rules against fraud, advertising fraud, and mail fraud.

oldwoodie42 Loc: Scotland, UK

Los-Angeles-Shooter wrote:

... Ebay takes a cut of the selling price, but not of shipping charges.

Perhaps eBay's rules are different in the USA. This is from the eBay UK website on seller's fees:- "When your item sells or ends with a winning bid your seller account is charged a final value fee based on the item's total cost to the buyer, including postage, packaging and any other related costs." (My italics.) I had understood that this change was made recently to discourage sellers from using excessive delivery charges to compensate for a low starting bid.

katkase Loc: Grapeview, WA

sb wrote:

EBay no longer allows that - you cannot even defend yourself!

Many years ago, I used to be an avid EBay user and had great results, but with the changes, I do not do business with EBay anymore, nor will I ever use Pay Pal. Those two businesses are run by Ebay and in my opinion have become very unreliable. The statistical event of you becoming a victim to their practices just is not worth it.

RixPix Loc: Miami, Florida

viscountdriver wrote:

I have received an extremely unfair negative feedback on Ebay because the buyer considered I charged him two pounds too much on postage ignoring the complex packaging I had to do and the fact I offered him a full rebate plus his postage.
There seems nothing the seller can do about such malicious postings and the harm done to his reputation.

Okay here goes...I've been selling on eBay since 1999.
Sometimes, sellers and buyers end up as adversaries during a transaction. There are several reasons for this however, the two most common are the buyer feels he has over paid for the item at auction or that the seller has not realized his perceived value at auction. Which do you think is the case in your situation?

If you think the buyer is upset because of the amount of money he spent then you have a chance to redeem the situation if you are willing to swallow your pride and get up some money. Remember eBAy is no longer you selling at flea market table, taking the money and tough luck to the buyer. eBay is now you owning a business that relies on the public's positive perception of you and your merchandise in order for you to prosper.

I have shipped many unusual items over the years. Everything from a Pachinko machine to watch parts. I figure the costs of packaging in before I price the item and I never list anything of value at auction...you will not get the money you hopeful any longer if you do. I have had a few complaints about shipping costs over the years and have negotiated a partial refund in lieu of any damage to my feedback scores.

Now, there have been instances of aggressive buyers who seem to get pleasure in screwing over the sellers. If you think this is the case hear and your shipping charges were accurate in the listing at the time it closed then, you can report the buyer for malicious feedback.

If your shipping charges were not accurate in the listing and the listing closed you are in violation of eBay's rules
and, here's what you can do: Contact the buyer and offer a full refund of all shipping charges if he revises his feedback. He can revise his feedback in case you didn't know about this aspect. Search revising feedback on eBay's help menu.