Neutral or Positive Feedback
 

So I received an ebay item exactly as described and pictured but the way it was packaged I'm amazed it wasn't damaged!! Do I leave positive feedback because I received as described or neutral because of very amateur packing?? Would you praise risky shipping?

I wouldn't praise it, but I wouldn't punish it either (neutral). If the card arrived as described, you got what you paid for.

Leave positive but mention the bad packaging.

Personally, I would probably leave no feedback at all. If I did, I would leave him positive feedback (not mentioning the packaging) but would however message the seller and let him know he has to do a better job packaging his items- it may be something he has overlooked that you can legitimately help him with. Overall though, if I get an item exactly as described, i'm not going to leave a 'stain' on the sellers' reputation.

Sounds like a neutral experience to me. I don't think people leave enough honest feedback.

Some of the comments I read here about feedback, are scary. Negative and neutral feedback are a really bad thing for the seller - they aren't just helpful information. It would be far better to let the seller know he didn't pack well, and make suggestions. I've done this before, and it turned out that the seller was very grateful, and just ignorant about proper packing. I'm glad I didn't help screw him out of a seller percentage discount that might be what keeps his business afloat.

+100...the item was not damaged.

Jeff

I agree with this...100%

I am surprised by the way people view feedback. There is no such thing as 100% positive service in a business. Someone will always be dissatisfied and sometimes a business drops the ball.

In another thread today, another member wrote, "We all make mistakes, it is how you handle the mistakes that shows your true nature."

Your response was, "I agree with this sentiment 100%"

The seller made a mistake here. Nobody is denying that. But there was no harm done. As the buyer, tell the seller of their mistake and move on. Hopefully they correct it.

Feedback is very important to some sellers because it helps keep their FVFs lower. And doesn't it stand to reason if their fees are lower, the prices are lower? If their fees go up, who do they pass the added costs along to? Follow my point?

I stand by my statement about mistakes. That would move you from negative to neutral.

Couldn't agree more. Maybe some don't realize how much a negative feedback can retard one's ability to sell, especially for a newer seller with a low amount of transactions.

Alex, David nailed it. It's all about how ebay uses feedback, not how buyers and sellers communicate. Ebayers learned very early that being honest about transactions was in no one's best interest, so unless something horrible is done, we all give positive and communicate problems privately.

Ebay is just trying to cull out the extremely undesirables - if you play okay with others, they will take your money all day long.


Doug, neutral and negative also hurts long-time sellers with high feedback. Last Fall I sold 10 large lots of childhood comic books, just hoping to dump them and save space. I charged a flat rate for medium priority boxes and got dinged by two out of ten buyers for high shipping charges. I lost my status and the associated cost savings. I still have 300 comic books left, but after that fiasco, I realize that I don't know comic book buyers well enough to take a chance selling them on ebay.

I agree; leave a positive, and then let the seller know about the packaging….