eBay to eliminate negative feedback from sellers

by Brad Linder Feb 5th 2008

Have you ever bought something on eBay only to have a problem with the transaction? Maybe the seller never shipped the item, or didn't respond to your questions. Maybe it was damaged and the seller wouldn't let you return it. Or maybe the item arrived late or wasn't as described.

The first thing many of us would do is leave negative feedback for the seller. But sometimes we stop to think twice before doing that. Because if we leave negative feedback, the seller might retaliate by leaving negative feedback for us. And then when we go to sell something we might find it hard to get a fair price because we have a mark or two against us.

eBay is aware of this problem, and is proposing a pretty extreme solution: prevent sellers from leaving negative feedback for buyers. The BBC reports that starting in May, sellers will no longer have the ability to leave negative feedback. Of course, sellers aren't particularly happy with the proposed change, saying it removes a tool for dealing with problem customers who refuse to pay or make trouble in other ways.

But honestly, the feedback system is really much more useful for buyers trying to find trustworthy sellers than vice versa. For the most part, if someone wins an auction, the system is set up so that you have to sell the item to them. So there's never been much reason for eBay to allow sellers to rate buyers anyway.

Tags: auctions, eBay, feedback

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Chris said 8:22PM on 2-05-2008

I've never understood why Ebay doesn't just hide users feedback until each party has posted theirs or after the expiration time to leave feedback expires. This way people would be willing to leave honest feedback without the worry of retaliatory negative feedback.

Chad said 9:50PM on 2-05-2008

I like this idea.

I too am sick of sellers not leaving feedback straight after I pay for an item, or not even bothering to leave feedback even if I do.
In the end I have stopped leaving feedback until the seller does. I now have enough positive feedbacks (100%) that I keep my eBay cred.

The sellers need it more than I do, so what do I now care if they don't leave feedback. If they do, then I will.

Chad said 9:51PM on 2-05-2008

Kristin said 9:46AM on 4-03-2008

I am so glad eBay is finally ending seller feedback! I have been in the same situation referred to in the article. I am a buyer who pays instantly & securely through Paypal every time, yet I feel like I am held hostage to the few sellers who make major mistakes with their auction. One seller sent me the wrong item and it turned out she never had the item described in the listing. I believed it was an honest mistake, so I just decided not to leave any feedback. She didn't either, which was unfair, as I had paid her upfront. Isn't that my only responsibility as a buyer--to pay quickly?

joey said 8:22PM on 2-05-2008

What I never understood is why do sellers wait for a buyer to leave a feedback before they do. As I understand it if I the buyer pays promptly for the item won, didn't I as the buyer live up to my end of the transaction and should be rated based on that?

Why are some sellers insistent that the buyer leave feedback first? Are they afraid that they actually sell junk?

Matt said 9:51AM on 2-12-2008

The reason we sellers wait is because believe it or not, there are buyers who are actually scammers who know how important positive fb is to sellers and they, literally, extort things out of you. For example, there are buyers who have told me they received an empty box. Of course, I could tell by the weight of the package that it wasn't empty, but they insisted that we send another item OR they'd leave us a negative. (We had already left positive.) Others say the package showed up 4 weeks late and demand refund of shipping fees OR ELSE. (This despite having delivery confirmation that the package was delivered on time.)

There are some buyers who scam sellers as their profession. It's sad.

We don't talk about it much because we don't want copycats.

Kevin said 8:22PM on 2-05-2008

I had a problem with this once. The guy shipped me the wrong item, but because I needed the item a few days, the issue would not have been able to be resolved in time. Not only that, but I wasn't getting any response from the seller. So, I left negative feedback. Then he got in contact with me, gave me an excuse of his internet being down or something and offered to replace the item, which would NOT have been done in time (as I live overseas).

Long story short, he left neative feedback as well, DESPITE the fact that I had promptly paid for the item and ad done nothing wrong. He then offered for use to mutually remove the feedback, which I was basically forced to do.

Anyway, I think Ebay should remove the seller's ability to leave feedback, but if the buyer fails to complete their end of the bargain, the seller can complain to Ebay and Ebay will give negative marks to the buyer.

Terry said 9:49PM on 2-05-2008

I have an ebay store of 3 years and most zero feedbacking buyers like to use the feedback as leverage to get more stuff for free or partial refund. They Threaten to leave negative feedback for no reason at all besides trying to get there item discounted or more stuff. I average 5 non payments a month and making this one sided makes the process totally wothless. I can not warn other sellers that the ebayer is a no good game player. there are allot of no good sellers as well as buyers and both should be exposed not just one.

Aaron said 9:22PM on 2-05-2008

I left ebay after almost 800 successful sales and purchases because of abusive buyers and feedback games. As Ebay runs into increasing pressure to grow its sales volume, the system is turning into much less of a swap mart and much more of an Amazon lite. Newbie buyers expect next day delivery and often play games with Paypal, falsely reporting non-delivery on items sent without delivery confirmation to get full automated refunds and/or feedback extortion rackets to push for money back on perfectly described and delivered items. The whole site has lost much of what once made it special and now is just a mercenary group worshipping at the altar of transaction volume.

RiggsFanPE said 10:46PM on 2-05-2008

Terrible idea. A bad customer - late or no payment, haggling, belligerance - is a bad customer, and should be noted.

Max Raschke said 8:27AM on 2-06-2008

ive accually had a seller sell me a counterfit item
i contacted them through the ebay contact system
i left them negative feedback (only after not recieving no respnce to the claim i filed)
the seller left me negitive feedback saying that i did not contact them
a few weeks later the seller is no longer regrestered

another experience ive had
is that i left netural feedback (so it dosent affct their score)
and they left me negitive feedback

snife said 8:29AM on 2-06-2008

RiggsFanPE - you are wrong, sellers (and I am one myself) have the ability to register non payment of an item outwith the feedback system, 3 of these and a user is banned so sellers are protected but as a buyer, I never leave negative feedback for bad sellers as I dont want to recieve it back. I wouldn't personally stop them leaving feedback altogether but for paypal transactions, the feedback should have a quick dealine after payment.

Marshall said 12:10PM on 2-06-2008

The Ebay feedback system feels like it is run by 13 year old girls. Comments like "THIS SELLER IS AWESOME. I LOVE YOU!!!!! A+++++++++" are totally out of line, but very common. Also, treating every neutral or negative feedback as the end of the world is not necessary or rational. Do you honestly have a fantastic experience in every store you go into? Most people should be giving neutral feedback, because really, all you did was pay, and all they did was send you something. If someone goes above and beyond, then positive scores should result (and if an issue arises, negative scores should result), but most people should have an overwhelming number of neutral comments.

Hopefully this change will help ebay shift back to being an auction site, rather than trending toward a myspace alternative.

Alvin said 2:06PM on 2-06-2008

This is bad for sellers.

A buyer can make false claim and get a seller in trouble.
I have seen this myself.

Also I have sold stuff to people who then disappear. No money, so I have to re-place an item, why can I not leave feedback.

I will start selling more through craigslist.

James said 2:39PM on 2-06-2008

I dunno, if you sell something then get scammed by the buyer, I feel like you need a mechanism to complain -- somebody above said "Oh, you should have to call ebay and complain, then they can do something about it", but that basically what the mechanism they're removing does (without the intermediary).

I think they need a full recursive trust system -- if you get rated down by somebody who in turn has a bad rating, it doesn't hurt you. In other words, if I sell something, get scammed or extorted by the buyer, my bad feedback only carries any weight if I have a good (trusted) rating. They'd have to play around with the numbers a bit (is 50% negative feedback "bad"? 40%? 20%?), and it might be hard to implement (they'd have to update your ratings constantly as your raters fall in and out of favor), but I think it would be better than this crappy hack they're proposing.

MEKKMan said 3:15PM on 2-06-2008

There is a problem. This isn't the fix.

Perhaps eBay should do the buyer rating (via PayPal for instance). Non-payment and fraudulent bidding need to be punished. Sellers need some method of eliminating bad buyers.

WKMRoch said 5:12PM on 2-06-2008

I have been a member since 2002 and have 100% positive feedback both from buying and selling transactions. I have wanted to leave negative feedback in a couple of instances and decided it was not worth getting negative feedback in return. If instant payment is made or payment as requested in the offering is tendered. Sellers should not be allowed to leave a negative feedback, neutral OK but not negative. I did my part you now need to do yours. Make me happy. That's what happens in normal retail sales. If the customer is not happy he does not return and passes the negative experience along to his friends. Retail establishments do not post bad customers names on their storefront. Something in this feedback system needs to be fixed. I do not think sellers should be restricted from reporting negative experiences with buyers if a buyer does not pay but it is the sellers obligation to see the product, the shipping time and the communications are what the buyers expect.... Meaning the most intolerant buyers are the service standard.

David Kaspar said 7:07AM on 2-07-2008

I am a honest seller and my activity on ebay is around 75% purchasing.

This suggestion would be ideal for me as I always make sure the buyer is satisfied but often find myself not so happy with a purchase but opt not to leave feedback and risking tarnishing my 100% feedback.

The option of blind feedbacks mentioned above is pretty good too.

Sean Fordyce said 7:50AM on 2-20-2008

The idea that sellers are can not be protected without the ability to put retalitory feedback is bogus. The seller gets the money first and many ask for the feedback first- very one-sided. If a buyer tries to "extort" a seller, the seller ought to be able to report that buyer to ebay- if the buyer is abusive, same thing.
A better system might be to replace the buyers' feedback with a non paying strike visible in feedback and a percentage of claimed broken, not as described or claimed non-reciept- Buyers can be expected to have a few but someone who is scamming will stick out. Buyers would have this claim show on both theirs and the sellers' side. A buyer who has a problem from time to time will have just a few and probably not sweat small issues but a buyer extorting will be seen for that. Sellers would then get more honest feedback and probably the problems would go down.

J-P said 8:47AM on 2-28-2008

I'am now two years on ebay ! I sell and I buy ! When I sell a object, and I have receievd the payment ; I leave allways a positive feedback !!! But, there are sellers which give the buyer no feedback, even when you have send the payment at once, afther the auction !!! This dubouis sellers, use feedback as blackmail !!! Also there are some buyers on ebay, which not pay !!! These fun bidders do not know, howmany work it is to put items on ebay, with foto's or
pictures and a good discripton. Als I discript very well my
conditions. So, whe somebody put a bid on my object, he
is agree with the sellers conditions !!! But, I have got two
negative feedbacks as retribution, because I have given a
seller and buyer a negative feedback. The seller have now
more as 70 negative feedbacks the last 12 month's and he is still active on ebay. The buyer have not pay, beacuse the mail expenses where to hig !!! But, I have discript that the mail expenses where EURO 2,25 !!! I have send a email to ebay customers support, to remove my negative feedback,
but, no result !!! I find that ebay have enough rule's, but they do practical notthing to help honest people !!! Just
send a bill each month !!!
J-P / ebay : antrax58

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