I don't understand the current seller mentality on eBay. They seem to want/expect positive feedback left after a transaction, but never seem to leave positive feedback on a buyer til after feedback has been left for them and then sometimes "forget". Once a buyer has paid for an item, isn't his/her transaction completed? Shouldn't positive feedback be left after payment has been made in a timely manor? Of course it's not every seller, but it seems to be happening more and more often. Ok enough ranting.

Ron

No, there are to many things that can go wrong in a transaction and it isnt over till it is over. If you buy the item and I leave a positive, you get the item, scam me, get the item and the positive. You can buy the item, I give you the positive and then complain about something that isnt there. You can give me a neg for no reason and I gave you the positive. I dont leave feedback until it is over. And on top of everything else

FEEDBACK IS VOLUNTARY!

Other then that, I have no problems leaving feedback first. Though I go through my feedback about once every couple of weeks and do the updates.

It's just plain silly for the seller not to give positive feedback immediately upon cleared payment. You can only give a positive comment anyways so why not make the buyer feel good about the transaction and thus maybe make the experience positive in their mind. But leave it to the little minds to think different. Couldn't agree with you more Ratkins.

I read you ratkins...
My choice is to leave prompt feedback once payment/transfer is completed at the LDDB and E-bay.

The few times a buyer had an issue, they contacted me directly to take steps to rectify,and then positive feedback was left after all was said and done every time !

Being guarded and gun shy is just not good customer service.

I do protect my self and the buyer from loss or mayhem (and frivolous complaints !!! ) by securing the precious cargo with Delivery Confirmation and Insurance for full amount of the purchase.

Leaving prompt Positive feedback has worked for four plus years and I have 100% positive feedback to show for it at both sites.

Proof is in the pudding folks !!!

Vent away brother !!!

I think you have 100 percent positive because of how you sell and handle things not because you leave feedback right off.

I agree with Mikey on this, I leave feedback after the item is received and all is okay. I know you can only leave a positive mark for the buyer, BUT you can leave appropriate comments about the transaction.

He's right that buyers can scam you and, talking from experience, that has happened. I lost out that way on an item that arrived just fine, and broken within a couple of days by buyer mishandling. Even with email proof that it was the buyer causing it, a negative still was left and no real recourse available.

Of course this is why I rarely sell on ebay anymore. I have better transactions selling locally or on specialty websites even if things move slower.

I just received an e-mail from an Amazon seller almost demanding that I leave feedback about a transaction. I have received a few of these "requests" in the past from other online sellers. Since feedback is "voluntary", I treated the request in my usual manner: "I IGNORED IT" and left no feedback, period

Voluntary - You can or you cant, it is up to you. If I see a buyer that needs feedback - Under 100 I always do it. Over 100, whats the point?

I'm glad to see I'm not alone in my thinking. I totally understand sellers afraid of being burned, but I refuse to do business assuming or expecting the worst. Are there buyers out there that will attempt to scam sellers, of course there are, but I have to believe they are the minority. Maybe that makes me naive but in my experience there are just as few unscrupulous sellers as there are buyers. I truly feel you get what you give and if you expect a business deal to go bad then it will. In 15 years and hundreds of eBay transactions I can count the number of times I've been burned on one hand. Maybe that's been just luck, but I expect the best and it usually happens.

How about that it's the right thing to do? Feedback is the eBay equivalent a sellers and buyers reputation. It's there for a reason and most sellers expect it and some demand it. What I fail to understand is if a seller wants positive feedback, why don't they give it? You say you don't leave feedback until the transaction is over, so at what point do you feel the buyer has completed their obligation?

I leave feedback for every single transaction I am involved in and promptly. Most of my transactions are as a buyer rather than a seller. I've noted though I tend to leave more feedbacks than I receive which suggests some sellers are simply not bothering to leave feedback. I thousands of feedbacks and all are 100% positive. My feedback is one of the first things I refer people to if they have concerns about buying privately so I definitely prefer to receive feedbacks than none at all.

I also believe feedback should be reciprocal - it is a two way process and I personally have more respect for a seller if I get some feedback promptly rather than have to wait to see if they can be bothered to remember to leave feedback.

I have like 2k given and 1500 received. I deal in high end stuff somewhat. All it takes is one time to be burned on a high end item and you will not give it out willy nilly. I believe it is given by both parties when both people are happy. I am not a feedback mill, but that is personal, and yes, I was burned for 1k like 2 days in a row, you do not forget that. If the guy had just been given a positive he could have continued on his merry way. I refused to give him that little bit. Same for the other guy. He burned 6 people for over 3k over a week. So I should have just given it and said oh well, he only skipped out on 1000 dollars from someone. Oh well? No, when it is over, I leave it or not. Like I said, it is voluntary on both sides. We can go about this over and over, I have my Idea, you have yours, neither are right or wrong.

Oh and to answer your other question, whether or not I get good or bad feedback has nothing to do with my business model. I give 100 percent each transaction and bend over backwards to make my customers happy. If something doesnt get to them, I believe them, google Bell California and the Post office. It is a black hole. The only time I dont try to do something is if someone says it hasnt been delivered and I am looking at their signature, and yes, it has happened. I like positive feedback but it isnt the end all be all for me. I can do with it or without it. I dont need it to feel good about myself.

Sorry ratkins but i'd have to disagree with you on this one. I always leave feedback when I recieve the item. Never when I finish the payment. Who knows. Your item could be damaged and you left "good" feedback! And that may be the source of your trouble. If you leave feedback early after payment and before the item arrives, the seller will think "I've finished with that, I don't need to worry, the seller is oviously happy with his item". It also may be attributed to one time sellers. I had a guy pick up an item I sold on ebay and he was a first time ebayer, And he didn't leave feedback. I asked him why he didn't leave feedback and his response was "I didn't realise there was feedback to filled".
I understand where your getting at though. I once bought a guy who 66.6% feedback, pretty low may I say, but he turned out to be a very nice and kind person. And the only reason his feedback was not up to the 99% again was that he got one negative feedback and although he sold numerous things, nobody left feedback, keeping his feedback at the same low 66.6

I don't like to rush into things. Give the seller a nudge (PM them) to give you feedback, also politely, otherwise it can backfire.


P.S I always leave feedback for both selling and buying. For buying, to know if the buyer on the other end is okay, I wait for their response.

Your confusing the buyer, seller feedback issue. Ratkins is talking about the seller leaving feedback and why they would wait? I would agree, it's absurd to wait as a seller to leave feedback since it does nothing but create goodwill between seller and the buyer (because you can only leave positive feedback, note: to leave a negative comment does not comply to the rules of Ebay feedback from sellers and can be removed). So their is absolutely no reason not to leave feedback as soon as payment clears on the sellers side. In fact, I would argue that it makes the seller seem bigger and better opperation to do this since it really has no significant outcome other than to create goodwill and hopefully a smooth transaction from the buyer. If you do a good job as a seller, you will receive plenty of feedback from buyers after they receive their items.

I certainly didn't mean for you to take the brunt of this whole shindig. From your posts here, I'm quite certain that you handle your business in the best possible manner. Unfortunately not everyone does.

Ron

I don't think being careful is to be construed as expecting the worst. I always expect a transaction to be good, but also know it's possible to have problems. Unless it's a repeat customer, you really can't know who you're dealing with unless you check feedback, and then still may not know the complete truth.

If someone bought something from me and took a long time to pay, or falsely stated the item was damaged, missing parts, or broken (when they did it), or didn't arrive when it did, I make sure the positive feedback contains comments showing this. That's not wrong nor is it disallowed. Feedback is not required to be given immediately. It makes sense to me to leave it when both buyer and seller are satisfied.

But better than that, look at other places besides ebay to sell.

Good to read the feedback this thread has generated.
I understand the different angles of approach here.

However I must point out that we are already in a vulnerable position even attempting sales in cyber-space at all.
Why not go further out on a limb and state the satisfaction with the transaction once the buyer does their part?
I guess it is just a matter of trust.

Feedback is feedback,period.
A litmus test,if you will, of past transactions for future buyers to weigh in about when deciding who to do future business with.
Thank the Sky Gods that it is voluntary,least those that resent leaving it at all be forced to do so.....LoL

Nothing is going to stop people from scamming,so no illusions on that score.
And there are people who love to be miserable,and are not happy unless they spread that misery to others.
Those bad apples are few and far between in my experience so I do not let them affect my tendency to leave prompt feedback.

Also feedback takes time to leave.
Some have less time then others so I do not begrudge anybody not leaving it.
Frequently I am surprised way after a transaction when feedback is finally left.
One can not predict some things in life.

I will confess when people press me about leaving feedback I get real resistant to leaving it at all.
Just don't like pushy Dealers who feel entitled to feedback and then nag you for it........

In conclusion, to each there own.
Leave it promptly or leave it after they leave it.
Either way it is just feedback..........LoL !!!


Oh, and if one needs feedback to feel good(or bad!)about themselves then I recommend a Psych Consultation.

Thanks again to all for this thread......

I am not pushy with it.

My concern is lets say someone buys a few things and the seller gives immediate feedback. The buyer gets up to 10 feedback, it looks good but it is for low end items. Then they go to buy say 5000 dollars worth of stuff from several people. Seller looks at feedback and is happy, sends item out and a week or so later, say 10 or so people get smacked for paypal reversals and they have to eat the money. There is no indication that the buyer would have done that. Regardless, if the 10 people would have left positive feedback immediately the buyer would have had another 10 feedbacks, could have done another 5k in buys and rod the wave to 10k. Now, how do I know this is possible, I have read about it and I have been in on the first part of this scam. All it takes is one. It ruins it for the sellers involved and they will never leave feedback again first.

I agree with your begger statement though. I hate that.

Wrong, as according to the guidelines on Ebay the following can be removed: "Negative statements left for a buyer that conflict with the positive rating."
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/ina ... ments.html

Thus it makes absolutely no sense for the seller to wait to give feedback. There is no benefit other than to not give feedback at all, which is your right, but as a seller, from a buyers perspective, could be construed as bad business.

Personally, if a buyer says give me feedback or else, they get reported. But that is just me and out of 2k transactions I have had exactly 4 people that were pitas. And they ruined it for everyone.

If you dont give me a free widget I will neg you.

If you dont give me some money back for the item I will neg you and give you all bad stars

If you dont do what I tell you to and send me a new item I will neg you.

If you dont upgrade the shipping I will give you a neg.

Exact statements from the people that I am talking about. I will not leave feedback for that reason alone. I dont care it was only 4 out of 2k. I do not support bad behavior regardless. As you said, seller feedback to buyers is pointless and means nothing. So dont stress. Oh, and by the way, ebay did nothing. The transaction is not over until the buyer says cool. I dont care if at that point they leave feedback or not. I will leave the positive. But then again, that is only me.

What Mikey says is all true. Not all buyers act this way, but some do and if you aren't prepared for it, you could get stung. Reviewing a buyer's feedback and also what they give for feedback is a good and proper way of determining if you want to sell to that buyer. Sellers have the right to restrict sales to certain types of buyers and specific buyers as well. I currently have the right to leave feedback whenever I see fit. If ebay changes that, then that become an issue for me to decide to sell on ebay or not.

So, rather than just spout out "wrong" so you can feel good about yourself in an attempt to skewer me, maybe do a little more anecdotal and practical research. The Ebay policy may state that rather vague rule, but in actual practice I and others I know have never had it enforced on any comments left that were truthful. That rule has more to do with negative comments that are scornful or derogatory. I did not say that my comments were like that.

For example, if a buyer took 2 weeks to pay, but there were no other problems, I state something to this effect, The transaction went fine and the buyer paid for the item 2 weeks after winning. That's truthful and not negative.

Or if a buyer damages an item and demands refund and returns it, and I have email proof of such, I'd state, The buyer received it in fine shape but item then was damaged and returned for refund. Again truthful and not negative. Those comments would stay in effect and not be removed, which I know from personal experience.

But if you don't like this, don't buy from me or others like me, that's your right. Besides, since you don't care for LDs anyway, I have nothing you want.