eBay: feedback conundrum
Discussion
I sell quite a lot on eBay so my opinion is I would leave neutral feedback for the first one stating what happened and it was a waste of your time, it could just be incompetence instead of malice.
For the second one I wouldn’t leave feedback but if you think the seller is being misleading with the item description report it to eBay and they will review it and make a decision.
For the second one I wouldn’t leave feedback but if you think the seller is being misleading with the item description report it to eBay and they will review it and make a decision.
nuyorican said:
Just wondering how you would approach feedback as a buyer for the two following situations.
eBay seems to bug you forever now to leave feedback and it doesn't look like you can just not leave it without the item being forever there. Am I wrong.
1)
You buy an item. Wait a few days until it gets past the due delivery date. Then seller cancels and refunds due to 'out of stock'. No explanation. This irritates me because it shows a lack of respect. If it was out of stock, why was it listed. If it was an error why wait days to cancel?
2)
You buy an item over the weekend, on the Sunday you notice that it's not actually the product it's listed as, but a cheaper inferior product that looks almost identical. You chalk it up to an honest mistake by the seller and request to cancel. They cancel no problem. The item is relisted, but I notice they've not amended it with the information I gave them regarding the product not being the genuine article.
I'd leave neg for the first one because as a different potential buyer of his stuff I would want to know if he's a timewaster before committing to buy. Such feedback left by a previous buyer would provide me with the advance warning of what I'm potentially going to be dealing with. I've skipped many sellers after perusing their feedback.eBay seems to bug you forever now to leave feedback and it doesn't look like you can just not leave it without the item being forever there. Am I wrong.
1)
You buy an item. Wait a few days until it gets past the due delivery date. Then seller cancels and refunds due to 'out of stock'. No explanation. This irritates me because it shows a lack of respect. If it was out of stock, why was it listed. If it was an error why wait days to cancel?
2)
You buy an item over the weekend, on the Sunday you notice that it's not actually the product it's listed as, but a cheaper inferior product that looks almost identical. You chalk it up to an honest mistake by the seller and request to cancel. They cancel no problem. The item is relisted, but I notice they've not amended it with the information I gave them regarding the product not being the genuine article.
For the other item, I would do nothing. You've incurred no monetary losses and seems like it was partly your own fault anyway for not reading the ad right.
Edited by r3g on Sunday 10th March 14:32
My view of eBay feedback is:
Positive - only if you have received a better than expected service. Perhaps better condition than described; faster delivery; something included that wasn't listed etc. Excellent communications from the seller.
Neutral feedback should be for if the transaction was as expected: ie delivered on time; item as described with no issues etc. ie nothing better or worse than advertised.
Negative feedback for if there was a problem. Seller using a slower delivery service than advertised (eg 3 day delivery when next day advertised), item damaged or otherwise not as described (as in the DM boots above) or not delivered at all.
However if you try to leave Neutral feedback eBay asks "are you sure?" as if it is a bad thing, and the seller takes it as an affront.
Positive - only if you have received a better than expected service. Perhaps better condition than described; faster delivery; something included that wasn't listed etc. Excellent communications from the seller.
Neutral feedback should be for if the transaction was as expected: ie delivered on time; item as described with no issues etc. ie nothing better or worse than advertised.
Negative feedback for if there was a problem. Seller using a slower delivery service than advertised (eg 3 day delivery when next day advertised), item damaged or otherwise not as described (as in the DM boots above) or not delivered at all.
However if you try to leave Neutral feedback eBay asks "are you sure?" as if it is a bad thing, and the seller takes it as an affront.
GasEngineer said:
My view of eBay feedback is:
Positive - only if you have received a better than expected service. Perhaps better condition than described; faster delivery; something included that wasn't listed etc. Excellent communications from the seller.
Neutral feedback should be for if the transaction was as expected: ie delivered on time; item as described with no issues etc. ie nothing better or worse than advertised.
.
I completely disagree with that and I suspect 99% of people viewing ebay feedback would as well. If somebody supplies and delivers something as agreed then that should be seen as a positive outcome, not neutral.Positive - only if you have received a better than expected service. Perhaps better condition than described; faster delivery; something included that wasn't listed etc. Excellent communications from the seller.
Neutral feedback should be for if the transaction was as expected: ie delivered on time; item as described with no issues etc. ie nothing better or worse than advertised.
.
tim0409 said:
I completely disagree with that and I suspect 99% of people viewing ebay feedback would as well. If somebody supplies and delivers something as agreed then that should be seen as a positive outcome, not neutral.
Agree with this also, I’ve sold well over 1000 items on eBay and only ever received one neutral. The neutral was a new sealed jigsaw I sold and the buyer completed it and sent me a message saying a piece was missing and wanted to return, unfortunately she sent me an image of the completed jigsaw with no pieces missing!
I refused her return and she left me a neutral feedback saying I was unhelpful.
Couldn’t be bothered to dispute it with eBay because it doesn’t affect my feedback score I simply replied to her feedback with the facts for any buyer to read it
GasEngineer said:
My view of eBay feedback is:
Positive - only if you have received a better than expected service. Perhaps better condition than described; faster delivery; something included that wasn't listed etc. Excellent communications from the seller.
Neutral feedback should be for if the transaction was as expected: ie delivered on time; item as described with no issues etc. ie nothing better or worse than advertised.
Negative feedback for if there was a problem. Seller using a slower delivery service than advertised (eg 3 day delivery when next day advertised), item damaged or otherwise not as described (as in the DM boots above) or not delivered at all.
However if you try to leave Neutral feedback eBay asks "are you sure?" as if it is a bad thing, and the seller takes it as an affront.
Blimey, don’t agree with that at all. If everything is as expected and to time etc, then that is positive. Positive - only if you have received a better than expected service. Perhaps better condition than described; faster delivery; something included that wasn't listed etc. Excellent communications from the seller.
Neutral feedback should be for if the transaction was as expected: ie delivered on time; item as described with no issues etc. ie nothing better or worse than advertised.
Negative feedback for if there was a problem. Seller using a slower delivery service than advertised (eg 3 day delivery when next day advertised), item damaged or otherwise not as described (as in the DM boots above) or not delivered at all.
However if you try to leave Neutral feedback eBay asks "are you sure?" as if it is a bad thing, and the seller takes it as an affront.
nuyorican said:
I've left neutral for the first, but left the facts for others to see.
You're right about the second. I will not leave any and hope it drops off.
It's an unusual case though. Just for fun I'll explain it:
The item is the iconic Dr Marten boot. New, old stock. Described in the listing as 'Made In England'.
Now, everyone knows DM's are a classic, iconic British Brand. The 'Made In England' being one of its main USP's. However, for some years now the majority of DM boots have been manufactured in the far east, whilst you can still also buy the same boots made in their original factory in England, this is now a separate line called 'Made In England'. Whilst they are exactly the same boots style-wise, the 'Made In England' versions are priced as a premium product and, you would hope, the quality is superior.
Dr Martens boot from regular range
Dr Martens boot from 'Made In England' range
As you can see, they pretty much look the same. Yet the former are £50 cheaper. If you look closely you can see small differences between the two such as the lack of black band on the top of the more expensive versions.
So yes, it's true: 'Buyer Beware' and all that. I should've been more eagle-eyed when viewing the listing. But if it weren't for the fact that it was the weekend and I had time to cross-reference them I may well have never noticed. It's either a genuine mistake by the seller as everyone knows DM's are 'made in England' right? Or they've been a bit crafty because they know they have plausible deniability should anyone raise issue.
I've since checked and they are now sold. So somebody has bought an inferior product at a premium price.
Moral of the story: buy direct. I only bought them from eBay because I had a discount code.
Buy solovair boots instead.You're right about the second. I will not leave any and hope it drops off.
It's an unusual case though. Just for fun I'll explain it:
The item is the iconic Dr Marten boot. New, old stock. Described in the listing as 'Made In England'.
Now, everyone knows DM's are a classic, iconic British Brand. The 'Made In England' being one of its main USP's. However, for some years now the majority of DM boots have been manufactured in the far east, whilst you can still also buy the same boots made in their original factory in England, this is now a separate line called 'Made In England'. Whilst they are exactly the same boots style-wise, the 'Made In England' versions are priced as a premium product and, you would hope, the quality is superior.
Dr Martens boot from regular range
Dr Martens boot from 'Made In England' range
As you can see, they pretty much look the same. Yet the former are £50 cheaper. If you look closely you can see small differences between the two such as the lack of black band on the top of the more expensive versions.
So yes, it's true: 'Buyer Beware' and all that. I should've been more eagle-eyed when viewing the listing. But if it weren't for the fact that it was the weekend and I had time to cross-reference them I may well have never noticed. It's either a genuine mistake by the seller as everyone knows DM's are 'made in England' right? Or they've been a bit crafty because they know they have plausible deniability should anyone raise issue.
I've since checked and they are now sold. So somebody has bought an inferior product at a premium price.
Moral of the story: buy direct. I only bought them from eBay because I had a discount code.
Edited by nuyorican on Sunday 10th March 13:50
I had a very similar situation to the first one a few days ago. A fork seal blew on my motorbike, so I urgently needed a refurb kit - it's not a massive job to repair, but I can't get to work without it so time is of the essence. Found a bike-specific kit of all the parts on eBay, everything needed for £47.99, with RM Tracked 24h delivery. Perfect. Except the kit never even gets marked as Dispatched. No reponse to messages, either. And there's been a few feedbacks left in the last month with a similar story (though overall feedback is hugely positive). Eventually, with the delivery dates long gone and still no replies, eBay just issued a refund.
I'm not out of pocket (other than having to buy Triumph OEM parts at almost double the cost), but I am bloody annoyed. He's clearly selling stuff he doesn't have, and the non-responsiveness to messages is unprofessional. He's receiving feedback at a rate of over 1000 a month for lots of different motorcycle parts, so it's someone with a full time operation not a little side-hustle from his bedroom.
What would people do? I left Neutral (since the refund from eBay was prompt once that option was available) but with a truthful comment about the situation.
I'm not out of pocket (other than having to buy Triumph OEM parts at almost double the cost), but I am bloody annoyed. He's clearly selling stuff he doesn't have, and the non-responsiveness to messages is unprofessional. He's receiving feedback at a rate of over 1000 a month for lots of different motorcycle parts, so it's someone with a full time operation not a little side-hustle from his bedroom.
What would people do? I left Neutral (since the refund from eBay was prompt once that option was available) but with a truthful comment about the situation.
I buy s
t loads of stuff off eBay. Easiest place to get lots of things I need for my cars or other bits. I've ordered 3 things tonight.
I never really leave feedback. Unless they are mega or absolutely shocking.
Neither of your scenarios I'd bother with feedback back. I rarely look at it anyway. Only if it's a second hand part or private seller
t loads of stuff off eBay. Easiest place to get lots of things I need for my cars or other bits. I've ordered 3 things tonight. I never really leave feedback. Unless they are mega or absolutely shocking.
Neither of your scenarios I'd bother with feedback back. I rarely look at it anyway. Only if it's a second hand part or private seller
Jamescrs said:
tim0409 said:
I completely disagree with that and I suspect 99% of people viewing ebay feedback would as well. If somebody supplies and delivers something as agreed then that should be seen as a positive outcome, not neutral.
Agree with this also, I’ve sold well over 1000 items on eBay and only ever received one neutral. S600BSB said:
Blimey, don’t agree with that at all. If everything is as expected and to time etc, then that is positive.
That's interesting. All are writing as if Neutral feedback is a bad thing.It's almost as if you don't expect to get the right item on time, and if you do it's a bonus.
To me it's just what should be the norm - so neither good nor bad. Just what should be expected and hence Neutral feedback.
GasEngineer said:
That's interesting. All are writing as if Neutral feedback is a bad thing.
It's almost as if you don't expect to get the right item on time, and if you do it's a bonus.
To me it's just what should be the norm - so neither good nor bad. Just what should be expected and hence Neutral feedback.
That's because it is, especially for small-time sellers.It's almost as if you don't expect to get the right item on time, and if you do it's a bonus.
To me it's just what should be the norm - so neither good nor bad. Just what should be expected and hence Neutral feedback.
Look at any seller rating, the percentage score is for Positive feedback. Leaving a neutral unfairly impacts that score.
The sheer volume of sellers with tens of thousands of transactions, and 99%+ positive rating shows your method is out of step.
Now I can tell already that this is a hill you're willing to die on, so I'll leave it at this - your method is weird and unfair. Hopefully you're subject to a review system at work which you rely on for pay rises, bonuses, etc, and are entirely satisfied with your "average" rating every time.
GasEngineer said:
Jamescrs said:
tim0409 said:
I completely disagree with that and I suspect 99% of people viewing ebay feedback would as well. If somebody supplies and delivers something as agreed then that should be seen as a positive outcome, not neutral.
Agree with this also, I’ve sold well over 1000 items on eBay and only ever received one neutral. S600BSB said:
Blimey, don’t agree with that at all. If everything is as expected and to time etc, then that is positive.
That's interesting. All are writing as if Neutral feedback is a bad thing.It's almost as if you don't expect to get the right item on time, and if you do it's a bonus.
To me it's just what should be the norm - so neither good nor bad. Just what should be expected and hence Neutral feedback.
Postive - everything fine.
Neutral - something went wrong, but was dealt with in an acceptable manner. Apologies, timely refund, replacement item sent quickly etc.
Negative - severe failures. Broken item, very slow delivery, refund refused, actively rude messages etc.
moorx said:
I seem to recall that after a period of time, the item does 'fall off' your feedback list.
It does, 90 days and after that it is not possible to leave feedback.GasEngineer said:
My view of eBay feedback is:
Positive - only if you have received a better than expected service. Perhaps better condition than described; faster delivery; something included that wasn't listed etc. Excellent communications from the seller.
Neutral feedback should be for if the transaction was as expected: ie delivered on time; item as described with no issues etc. ie nothing better or worse than advertised.
Negative feedback for if there was a problem. Seller using a slower delivery service than advertised (eg 3 day delivery when next day advertised), item damaged or otherwise not as described (as in the DM boots above) or not delivered at all.
However if you try to leave Neutral feedback eBay asks "are you sure?" as if it is a bad thing, and the seller takes it as an affront.
Completely wrong in regards to neutral, sorry but leaving a neutral when everything went ok is madness.Positive - only if you have received a better than expected service. Perhaps better condition than described; faster delivery; something included that wasn't listed etc. Excellent communications from the seller.
Neutral feedback should be for if the transaction was as expected: ie delivered on time; item as described with no issues etc. ie nothing better or worse than advertised.
Negative feedback for if there was a problem. Seller using a slower delivery service than advertised (eg 3 day delivery when next day advertised), item damaged or otherwise not as described (as in the DM boots above) or not delivered at all.
However if you try to leave Neutral feedback eBay asks "are you sure?" as if it is a bad thing, and the seller takes it as an affront.
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