As a seller, when do you leave feedback for a buyer??? 0

[wolverinefreak-migration]

I know I've seen this thread before, but I recently received an email because someone doesn't like my feeback policy...As a seller, I try to wait until the buyer leaves feedback for me to leave feedback for them...That way, I don't leave them a positive and get hit with a negative with no way to respond....My thinking is the buyer should leave feedback once they are satisfied with the transaction, and that signals the transaction is done...at that point the seller can leave feedback....Ideally, if there is a problem with the transaction, the buyer will contact the seller before leaving a negative so things can be worked out...

 

so anyway, this is the email I got:

 

I would of bid on wolverine #1 but your policy stinks! Once the buyer pays, there is no reason for the seller to wait to leave him/her feed back! That is just plain stupid.

 

How should i respond? should I put him in his place? He's a fairly new ebayer...or does my policy stink?

[Kevin Boyd]

Your policy stinks. If they pay and you've sent the goods, then your side of the transaction is done and you should leave positive feedback.

 

Kev

[ArAich]

Use whatever policy fits your comfort level...if bidders don't like it then they can go elsewhere....there is no policy that is written in stone and for anybody to come down on you because you clearly state your position...is just a whiner...

[jonnydouble]

Your policy stinks. If they pay and you've sent the goods, then your side of the transaction is done and you should leave positive feedback.

 

Kev

 

I won't say it stinks...but Kev is right...your part of the transaction is done....But I feel for you...the only negs i got was from a psycho who gave me ungounded neg feed back after I gave him positives.

 

Jonny D.

[OldGuy]

Your policy stinks. If they pay and you've sent the goods, then your side of the transaction is done and you should leave positive feedback.

 

Kev

 

What he said.

[wolverinefreak-migration]

Maybe it would be better if I didnt post my feedback policy and just submit feedback depending on how I feel about the buyer...that's what I've done up until now...I dont want to turn away lots of potential bidders...but I'm not sure how many potential bidders feel the way this guy does

[joe_collector]

Use whatever policy fits your comfort level...if bidders don't like it then they can go elsewhere....there is no policy that is written in stone and for anybody to come down on you because you clearly state your position...is just a whiner...

 

Exactly, and be your own man and stand up to the whiners!! If they want to complain, you don't need their business.

[OldGuy]

I stoped leaving feedback for sellers that don't leave it first. If the only factor that affects their feedback about me is what feedback I left them then screw 'em.

[joe_collector]

but I'm not sure how many potential bidders feel the way this guy does

 

Mostly it's newbies and people that wach their feedback rating like hawks.

 

Obsessive compulsive crack-heads like to complain about sellers and buyers not leaving feedback; EBay veterans use EBay to get quality merchandise not feedback points...

[joe_collector]

I stoped leaving feedback for sellers that don't leave it first. If the only factor that affects their feedback about me is what feedback I left them then screw 'em.

 

That's a great policy and something even I've done after looking at a seller with 1K buyer feedbacks, yet has left on 20 or so in return.

 

Still, if they're selling nice books, I could care less about my "feedback points".

[lighthouse]

I'm in the minority on this... but I don't think the buyer's responsibility in the transaction is limited to sending payment, any more than the seller's responsibility is limited to sending product.

 

You leave feedback about the "transaction", which encompasses everything from:

 

pre-bid emails from both parties, emails during the ongoing auction, contact emails at the conclusion of the transaction, timely shipment of the payment using correct address information and referencing the item, acknowledgement of the receipt of payment, quality packaging of the product, timely shipping of the product, notification of the shipping of the product, notification of the receipt of the product, verification by the buyer that the product meets with expectations based on the description provided by the seller in both the auction listing and subsequent emails, requests made by the buyer for adjustments to the transaction if problems have arisen, timely response to those requests by the seller, good communication between buyer and seller to resolve any such problems, timely resolution by both parties of the agreed terms of adjustment, and final communication between both parties that the transaction has now been concluded.

 

Timely payment is not the only factor on which bidders are judged. And even though most transactions do not require all these steps, each of them is required from time to time.

 

On many transactions, the buyer pays with PayPal within minutes of the auction's end, the seller ships the product the next day, and they have NO communication of any kind prior to leaving feedback. That's all well and good.

 

But if a buyer turns into a major tool at the slightest problem (whether you caused it or not) and becomes a 2-hour headache that you have to deal with, it doesn't matter that the guy paid right away. He's still not a buyer you want to see bidding in your auction...

 

Feedback isn't "Yes he sent the money" "Yes she sent the product"... It's a rating of what that buyer or seller was like to deal with. And there are plenty of buyers out there who pay in a timely fashion that still deserve negative feedback, just as there are plenty of sellers who ship on time that still deserve negative feedback...

 

You've got blocked bidders lists right? There are people on that list you have had no personal dealings with right? They are there because someone told you what they were like to deal with and you decided they weren't worth your time. They may not even have negative feedback in their profile, but you heard enough to know not to accept their bids. Shouldn't the people who dealt with them and found out what jerks they were have left negative feedback? Even if the payment or product was sent on time?

 

Don't get me wrong here. I have done plenty of transactions where not a single email was exchanged, and have left positive feedback for each of them. But a buyer can pay on time and still make it a negative experience for me as a seller... and if I feel bad enough to warn my friends here about them, why shouldn't I leave negative feedback and warn the rest of the world too?...

 

Negative: Buyer paid, but was rude and very hard to deal with, would not recommend

[Kevin Boyd]

Obsessive compulsive crack-heads like to complain about sellers and buyers not leaving feedback; EBay veterans use EBay to get quality merchandise not feedback points...

 

...or to make money.

 

Be they crack-heads or not, that's a cop-out. Rating isn't everything about e-bay feedback.

 

IMHO, as a seller feedback lets your buyer know that you got their payment and you have completed your end of the transaction. As a buyer, feedback lets your seller know that you received the goods that you sent them and is satisfied.

 

Holding your buyer's feedback hostage because you fear a retaliatory negative makes me think you inherently distrust your customers or perhaps that something is wrong with your product. If you want to keep such a policy, then certainly don't say so in your auctions!

 

Kev

[lighthouse]

I stoped leaving feedback for sellers that don't leave it first. If the only factor that affects their feedback about me is what feedback I left them then screw 'em.

 

I don't think it makes sense for a seller to leave feedback until the transaction is complete. So as soon as I hear from you that you got the book and it's looks great, then it's time for me to leave feedback. Before that, I can't really comment on the transaction, because it's not over yet... We may still spend six weeks sending books and cash back and forth until the transaction is completed...

 

But then I don't believe in retaliatory negatives either... I have only had two transactions where we both left negatives for the other party. If I've been a crappy seller and the buyer has been great I have no problem with me getting a neg and them getting a positive... The idea of waiting to leave feedback so you can retaliate is asinine to me...

 

And between my various id's I have left 5700 feedback comments, and received just 3300 in return... so there are a lot of people out there who just don't leave feedback at all...

[joe_collector]

IMHO, as a seller feedback lets your buyer know that you got their payment and you have completed your end of the transaction. As a buyer, feedback lets your seller know that you received the goods that you sent them and is satisfied.

 

I'm not disagreeing, only stating that everyone has the freedom to choose (unless you're from Cuba) and that worrying incessantly over when feedback is posted demonstrates a certain personality type.

[Kevin Boyd]

Feedback isn't "Yes he sent the money" "Yes she sent the product"... It's a rating of what that buyer or seller was like to deal with. And there are plenty of buyers out there who pay in a timely fashion that still deserve negative feedback, just as there are plenty of sellers who ship on time that still deserve negative feedback...

 

Not that I don't disagree with your logic LH, as it's definitely more logical than the original post by wolverinefreak but I tend to disagree, as 99% of the transactions I've had on e-bay are precisely "Yes they sent the money" and "Yes they sent the product". For the 1% that are difficult after the fact there is the opportunity for follow-up comments.

 

Kev

 

 

[OldGuy]

I stoped leaving feedback for sellers that don't leave it first. If the only factor that affects their feedback about me is what feedback I left them then screw 'em.

 

That's a great policy and something even I've done after looking at a seller with 1K buyer feedbacks, yet has left on 20 or so in return.

 

Still, if they're selling nice books, I could care less about my "feedback points".

 

That's about where I am on feedback also. In the early days I wanted to get those positive feedback, but now I really don't care. When I sell I leave feedback right after I get payment, when I buy I leave it after the seller leaves it for me. If I get positive feedback then great. If I get none then big deal.

[Darthdiesel]

I know I've seen this thread before, but I recently received an email because someone doesn't like my feeback policy...As a seller, I try to wait until the buyer leaves feedback for me to leave feedback for them...That way, I don't leave them a positive and get hit with a negative with no way to respond....My thinking is the buyer should leave feedback once they are satisfied with the transaction, and that signals the transaction is done...at that point the seller can leave feedback....Ideally, if there is a problem with the transaction, the buyer will contact the seller before leaving a negative so things can be worked out...

 

so anyway, this is the email I got:

 

I would of bid on wolverine #1 but your policy stinks! Once the buyer pays, there is no reason for the seller to wait to leave him/her feed back! That is just plain stupid.

 

How should i respond? should I put him in his place? He's a fairly new ebayer...or does my policy stink?

 

 

The buyer in my opinion is absolutely right. I just wouldn't have put it that way, nor would I really have bothered since this doesn't bug me anymore. You the seller should leave positive feedback once the buyer pays you and the money is in your hands. That is all he is obligated to do by bidding on your auction - just pay for it in a timely manner. He should not have his feedback held hostage or be potentially placed in that predicament based on the outcome of your service. If you are a bad packer or an overgrader or a shipping profiteer, you deserve to get hit with a negative right off the bat, whether or not you try to make amends for it or work it out that way with the buyer. The buyer is obligated to the rest of the ebay community to express his honest opinon about the seller and share that publicly with the rest of the eBay community.

 

No point in being wishy washy on this topic.

 

How should i respond? should I put him in his place? He's a fairly new ebayer...or does my policy stink?

 

You should respond with "Yes my poilicy does stink. I don't know what I was smoking when I wrote it." Actually, you can maintain whatever policy you want however, there is no need to state it openly in your descriotions as it just adds to the possible things that you allow buyers to complain about you. Less is more...certainly in this instance.

 

 

[lighthouse]

Feedback isn't "Yes he sent the money" "Yes she sent the product"... It's a rating of what that buyer or seller was like to deal with. And there are plenty of buyers out there who pay in a timely fashion that still deserve negative feedback, just as there are plenty of sellers who ship on time that still deserve negative feedback...

 

Not that I don't disagree with your logic LH, as it's definitely more logical than the original post by wolverinefreak but I tend to disagree, as 99% of the transactions I've had on e-bay are precisely "Yes they sent the money" and "Yes they sent the product". For the 1% that are difficult after the fact there is the opportunity for follow-up comments.

 

Kev

 

On many transactions, the only experience you have with the other party is that they paid or shipped... So clearly on those transactions, that's all you base your feedback on... On lots of items I sell, the only thing I know about the transaction is that someone paid and that they received the product, so they get a positive comment because I obviously didn't have a negative experience.

 

But there are also deals where three days into the process you wish they hadn't paid... "Could you use a brown cardboard box, because my neighbors will steal anything that looks valuable?" "Could you use popcorn to pack it, because I am a devout environmentalist and don't want petroleum products destroying our planet?" "Could you call me at this phone number when you ship the box so I can make sure my ex-wife doesn't hack into my email account and try to steal the package when it gets here?" "The box got here, but I am afraid to open it because it looks like there might be a dead spider in there and I am allergic to spiders." "Could you send the Vampirella statue via media mail because my mom thinks I bought some books and I don't want her to find out?"

 

From the eBay website:

 

How do I decide what type of feedback to leave—positive or negative?

If you had a good experience with a buyer or seller on eBay, reward them with a positive comment. If you were treated poorly, try to resolve the problem first by contacting the other person. Most problems can be corrected by improving communication. If things are still not resolved, consider leaving a negative comment.

 

An eBay buyer's responsibility is not limited to sending payment. Just as a customer at Borders has more obligations than to pay for the product they buy. You act like a [!@#%^&^] in a Borders and it doesn't matter whether you were willing to pay for your stuff or not... And the relative anonymity of the internet doesn't eliminate the need for courtesy and respect. If you are actively discourteous and actively disrespectful in a brick and mortar store, you will be removed. And if you do it repeatedly, the neighboring stores will be notified to watch out for you.

 

I have had many positive experiences on eBay where the buyer was slow to pay... including one currently from a board member here... but the quality of communication more than makes up for the delay in payment, and I am happy to leave positive feedback. I had a good experience with the buyer even though the payment wasn't timely. It's just as possible to have a bad experience with a buyer whose payment was...

[Darthdiesel]

I'm in the minority on this... but I don't think the buyer's responsibility in the transaction is limited to sending payment, any more than the seller's responsibility is limited to sending product.

 

You leave feedback about the "transaction", which encompasses everything from:

 

pre-bid emails from both parties, emails during the ongoing auction, contact emails at the conclusion of the transaction, timely shipment of the payment using correct address information and referencing the item, acknowledgement of the receipt of payment, quality packaging of the product, timely shipping of the product, notification of the shipping of the product, notification of the receipt of the product, verification by the buyer that the product meets with expectations based on the description provided by the seller in both the auction listing and subsequent emails, requests made by the buyer for adjustments to the transaction if problems have arisen, timely response to those requests by the seller, good communication between buyer and seller to resolve any such problems, timely resolution by both parties of the agreed terms of adjustment, and final communication between both parties that the transaction has now been concluded.

 

Timely payment is not the only factor on which bidders are judged. And even though most transactions do not require all these steps, each of them is required from time to time.

 

On many transactions, the buyer pays with PayPal within minutes of the auction's end, the seller ships the product the next day, and they have NO communication of any kind prior to leaving feedback. That's all well and good.

 

But if a buyer turns into a major tool at the slightest problem (whether you caused it or not) and becomes a 2-hour headache that you have to deal with, it doesn't matter that the guy paid right away. He's still not a buyer you want to see bidding in your auction...

 

Feedback isn't "Yes he sent the money" "Yes she sent the product"... It's a rating of what that buyer or seller was like to deal with. And there are plenty of buyers out there who pay in a timely fashion that still deserve negative feedback, just as there are plenty of sellers who ship on time that still deserve negative feedback...

 

You've got blocked bidders lists right? There are people on that list you have had no personal dealings with right? They are there because someone told you what they were like to deal with and you decided they weren't worth your time. They may not even have negative feedback in their profile, but you heard enough to know not to accept their bids. Shouldn't the people who dealt with them and found out what jerks they were have left negative feedback? Even if the payment or product was sent on time?

 

Don't get me wrong here. I have done plenty of transactions where not a single email was exchanged, and have left positive feedback for each of them. But a buyer can pay on time and still make it a negative experience for me as a seller... and if I feel bad enough to warn my friends here about them, why shouldn't I leave negative feedback and warn the rest of the world too?...

 

Negative: Buyer paid, but was rude and very hard to deal with, would not recommend

 

 

What are you smokin? Oh yeah..up in Oregon...right...just leave me my feedbacl already once you detach yourself from your fruit flavored hookah...

[lighthouse]

The buyer is obligated to the rest of the ebay community to express his honest opinon about the seller and share that publicly with the rest of the eBay community.

 

Isn't this true of the seller as well?

 

If a buyer pays you on time, and you ship the package with Del Conf and Insurance, and the post office runs over the box with a truck... And your buyer starts emailing you expletives over the fact that the box has shown up ruined and it's all your fault. And you tell him that's insured and the Post Office will provide a refund. And he tells you he doesn't care about the refund, you're the biggest [!@#%^&^] in the world and he's gonna tell everyone he meets that you planned the whole thing just to screw him and sends you 10 emails a day for the next week complaining about it...

 

Are you honestly telling me that as a seller, you think you should leave this guy positive feedback because he paid on time?

 

Isn't the seller "obligated to the rest of the ebay community to express his honest opinion about the buyer and share that publicly with the rest of the eBay community?"