eBay: Seller's feedback 'not given until feedback received'

[Econteachert205]

I don't like to give feedback before the buyer has received the item. A lot can happen along the way. Once received and no complaints for a day or two, I leave feedback. The buyer usually follows suit.

[Sean1125]

I automatically give feedback upon receipt of payment.

I have seen an upturn in the amount of feedback I receive when a buyer gets feedback the instant of payment.

[OldEnglishD]

Originally Posted by Econteachert205

I don't like to give feedback before the buyer has received the item. A lot can happen along the way. Once received and no complaints for a day or two, I leave feedback. The buyer usually follows suit.

Makes sense, but you don't hold feedback to the buyer hostage until you receive it from them.

[ILTBOC2]

As a buyer only, I never give feedback until I've received it. I believe I have upheld my part of the bargain when I win an auction and pay for it immediately. At that point, I have fulfilled my part of the transaction. That being said, I've only had a handful of sellers who don't leave feedback first.

[drcy]

It's often a matter of wording, the way you say things. You can say the same thing in a polite friendly manner or an accusatory manner. Some people don't know the difference between "Please leave positive feedback if you're satisfied with the transaction" versus "Give feedback when the transaction is finished, buddy." You can say the same thing, have the same rule, but one is worded a way that offends and one that doesn't.

I'm a volunteer and have told my bosses that I don't particularly care what task they give me, so long as the say "Please" and "Thank you." It's really that easy with me. I had a hard driving boss, but liked working for her because she always politely asked me if I wanted to do a task and thanked me when it was done. If no one said please or thank you, or something with similar sentiments, I'd have quite a long time ago.

Of course, baseball card show dealers lacking basic social graces is almost a thing of legend in the hobby.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Econteachert205

I don't like to give feedback before the buyer has received the item. A lot can happen along the way. Once received and no complaints for a day or two, I leave feedback. The buyer usually follows suit.

Feedback used to be irrelevant to me, but since only buyers can leave negative, I don't see the issue with the buyer leaving feedback first. Seems like a reasonable seller policy, for reasons Dennis points out above.

[Joshchisox08]

Originally Posted by Econteachert205

I don't like to give feedback before the buyer has received the item. A lot can happen along the way. Once received and no complaints for a day or two, I leave feedback. The buyer usually follows suit.

Exactly my thoughts Dennis.

[D. Bergin]

I leave feedback in bulk, usually a couple times a week. I usually have no idea if they have left feedback for me already, nor do I worry about it.

On the other hand, I'm not sure why buyers even worry about if they get feedback or not. It means absolutely nothing to them. If you are a buyer only, you will always have 100%. I guess it helps even out your feedback % if you are both a buyer and seller on the same account.

It annoys me a little bit when it seems like only 20% of buyers actually leave feedback for you, but then when I went to leave about 40 feedback as a buyer the other day, it was a big pain in the ass.

There's no way to bulk upload the feedback. You have to copy and paste all your responses, then there's the stars you have to leave. Takes up a buttload of time. Then to top it off, the feedback tool gave me a big fat error when I went to submit, and I had to redo them all over again.

Ebay has turned into glitch central the last year or so. They've somehow turned the phrase "Keep it simple, stupid", into "Keep it stupid, simple".

[hawaiian bam bam]

a Smart/experienced/been burned by bad buyers seller wont leave it until feedback received. BECAUSE: ive had buyers that once i left feedback, they will nickel and dime you, complain that the item isnt gem mint perfect beckett grade 11 (yes i know 10 is the most highest grade but some buyers seem like they want a grade 11 on their items!) they will extort you and threaten you until you "fear the negative feedback" and give in and give them an item for free. or the famous "partial refund to keep the buyer happy" bad buyers knows that ebay is the "buyers" world and ebay wont do nothing to them even for extortion ebay will look the other way. ebay caters to buyers, buyers hold feedback "hostage" until they get what they want .so smart sellers are now waiting to give feedback. because why give feedback to buyers if they are going to screw you anyway? this all started when ebay took away the power from sellers to leave a buyer negative feedback. this nonsense never happened before when we were able to leave a negative for a buyer.

[JustinD]

Originally Posted by hawaiian bam bam

a Smart/experienced/been burned by bad buyers seller wont leave it until feedback received. BECAUSE: ive had buyers that once i left feedback, they will nickel and dime you, complain that the item isnt gem mint perfect beckett grade 11 (yes i know 10 is the most highest grade but some buyers seem like they want a grade 11 on their items!) they will extort you and threaten you until you "fear the negative feedback" and give in and give them an item for free. or the famous "partial refund to keep the buyer happy" bad buyers knows that ebay is the "buyers" world and ebay wont do nothing to them even for extortion ebay will look the other way. ebay caters to buyers, buyers hold feedback "hostage" until they get what they want .so smart sellers are now waiting to give feedback. because why give feedback to buyers if they are going to screw you anyway? this all started when ebay took away the power from sellers to leave a buyer negative feedback. this nonsense never happened before when we were able to leave a negative for a buyer.

+1

Pretty much sums up why I stopped listing on Ebay.

[clydepepper]

As a seller, I give feedback as soon as prompt payment is made...if it is a late payment, I remain tactful in any comments I make...not wanting to incite any pettiness.

IMHO, not leaving positive feedback for prompt payment shows one's lack of confidence their ability to pack the card properly or the thought that shipping issues outside of their own control happen more often that occasionally - as it does for most of us.

If there is a need for a legit return and / or refund, I request that the buyer leave positive feedback something like 'great customer service' once I have completed that type of transaction.



As a buyer, I leave feedback as soon as I have opened the package and verified that everything is satisfactory.
.
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[ALR-bishop]

I am strictly a buyer on eBay. Once I get an item in good shape I always leave positive feedback since it seems important to some sellers. I could care less if the seller leaves feedback for me. I never check. All I care about is getting the item as described for the agreed price.

I admit I was more cautious when sellers could give negatives

[slidekellyslide]

I have my ebay set up to automatically leave feedback for a buyer the moment they pay for their item. I used to leave feedback once a month and it was way too time consuming to leave 500+ feedbacks. I also got tired of people emailing me and asking when I was going to leave them feedback.

I don't understand why some sellers feel the need to wait until they receive feedback first. A buyer pays for an item, they've completed their end of the deal IMO, plus when a buyer gets feedback that quickly they are far more apt to give you good feedback in return and be repeat customers. My star ratings all went up when I set up automatic feedback.

[OldEnglishD]

Originally Posted by hawaiian bam bam

a Smart/experienced/been burned by bad buyers seller wont leave it until feedback received. BECAUSE: ive had buyers that once i left feedback, they will nickel and dime you, complain that the item isnt gem mint perfect beckett grade 11 (yes i know 10 is the most highest grade but some buyers seem like they want a grade 11 on their items!) they will extort you and threaten you until you "fear the negative feedback" and give in and give them an item for free. or the famous "partial refund to keep the buyer happy" bad buyers knows that ebay is the "buyers" world and ebay wont do nothing to them even for extortion ebay will look the other way. ebay caters to buyers, buyers hold feedback "hostage" until they get what they want .so smart sellers are now waiting to give feedback. because why give feedback to buyers if they are going to screw you anyway? this all started when ebay took away the power from sellers to leave a buyer negative feedback. this nonsense never happened before when we were able to leave a negative for a buyer.

Makes sense, but why put the statement in the listing? Pain in the rear buyers will not be impacted by the 'no feedback until received' statement in the listing.

The seller could withold feedback without verbalizing it on the listing and avoid stirring up people like me.

[steve B]

Since the feedback system became a one way street I've pretty much abandoned it. I haven't sold in a few years so it's all buying. I leave feedback in small batches and very occasionally usually when I think a seller has gone beyond expectations, like an item being extremely well packed, or shipped almost instantly. I had one where the shipping notice was about 20 minutes after I'd paid. That's quick enough for feedback. Saying they'll ship in a day or two and doing that is just meeting expectations.

If a seller is new, I'll leave feedback as well.

And as a tool to check out a seller it's not all that useful unless their feedback is truly awful. Sellers with a fairly high number usually have a couple negatives or neutrals. And most of those are from new buyers who have unreasonable expectations. Bought on Friday, neg left on Monday because the item hasn't arrived yet. those are totally meaningless, as are the ones complaining about a defect clearly shown in the pics or mentioned in the description. I had one of those - needlepoint pattern that had been a kit. Sold as a pattern with "This is just the pattern, none of the thread or cloth is included" And got a feedback saying "the cloth and thread weren't in the package" .......

Steve B

[OldEnglishD]

All good points, but I'm getting hung up on the fact that the seller won't leave feedback until the buyer does.

Maybe it's like Peter suggests, but it feels to me like they are saying 'no (positive) feedback unless you give me positive feedback first'.

And that may even be OK if worded nicely like drcy mentions.

[gabrinus]

I agree with the above. I leave feedback for the buyer after I have shipped the package. It seems only fair when they have lived up to their part of the bargain. I get messages from people sometimes when the buyer wants to flip before the card gets there. I always respond "the guy paid the card is his now". Too many don't want to pay for me to badmouth someone who did. Now sellers who don't leave feedback after I have as a buyer...that is irritating.

[egbeachley]

Buyer should leave feedback first after receipt of the item to signify the transaction is complete. Then the seller can reciprocate.

But really, does anyone actually care about feedback anymore? I preferred to not receive any since it makes it more difficult for my completion to see what I'm buying and for how much. I guess that doesn't matter so much with everything being hidden by ebay now.

[Jewish-collector]

The feedback system is completely useless nowadays.

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

I am a buyer more than a seller. As a seller, I leave the buyer positive feedback as soon as he/she fulfills his/her part of the transaction. As a buyer, I expect the same courtesy but rarely get it. I honestly have just stopped paying attention one way or the other.