EBay comments changing

**Pedro_The_Swift** · 6th February 2008, 05:17 PM

EBay to ban negative seller views

The feedback system is central to eBay's online auction experience

Online auction site eBay has said it plans to overhaul its feedback system and will ban sellers from leaving negative comments about buyers. EBay said problems were occurring, and slowing down trade, when buyers left negative comments about sellers who then retaliated with their own views.
From May, those selling on eBay will not be able to leave unfavourable or neutral messages about buyers.
The move, which will affect users worldwide, has angered many sellers.
Sellers say it will leave them unprotected.
Tricky customers
Critics of the changes argue that by taking away a seller's right to complain about a problem buyer they will have very little recourse for action when a sale goes wrong.
And they complain that by still allowing buyers to leave dissenting comments about sellers, eBay has skewed the whole trading process.

HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments

When both sides have equal access and rights to leave negative comments about each other it is a well balanced trading process, they say. However, eBay counters that problem buyers can still be dealt with.
"If a buyer doesn't pay, the seller can easily contact eBay, we will review any complaint and maybe remove the buyer," a spokesman said.
The changes aim to "improve the overall customer experience", eBay said.
It added that many buyers would not leave negative comments for fear that sellers would retaliate.
As a result, buyers and sellers may not get a fair picture of what is actually happening between trading parties.
It maintains that the majority of transactions go "swimmingly".
EBay says that only a minority of sellers leave negative feedback for buyers.

master chief · 6th February 2008, 07:35 PM

That would be a stupid idea,if you had a buyer that wanted to be a mongrel they can leave you neg feedback regardless of the product and the seller doesnt have a leg to stand on!.stupid idea Ebay!.

maybe its time to go with Oztion,less fees to.

**Ben** · 6th February 2008, 07:52 PM

Originally Posted by master chief

That would be a stupid idea,if you had a buyer that wanted to be a mongrel they can leave you neg feedback regardless of the product and the seller doesnt have a leg to stand on.

Yeah, I agree (and I'm only a buyer on eBay, never sold anything.)

I think it would have made more sense to change it so the buyer can only leave feedback after the seller has (since the buyer has met all their obligations first.) Keep the "mutual retraction" and feedback comment system.

There's no need for a Seller to hold their feedback as a threat for the buyer. The feedback comments and retractions is the safeguard to avoid buyers abusing the system.

**George130** · 6th February 2008, 08:49 PM

There is reason for seller feedback. When I sold my merc the buyer never paid and never collected

.
After a few attempts at contact by email and phone I started a dispute and still nothing. At least I got him a black mark and nasy feedback. My choice was a free relisting without the negative or negative and I felt others should be warned. I also black listed him from my sales and purchases.

**incisor** · 6th February 2008, 10:10 PM

they are hopeless beyond all measures in every department except the money taking department...

i closed my online shop there due to their behaviour, it is outrageous.

i know one guy who lost $10000+ because they wiped a heap of his auctions after they had finished, claiming he was selling fraudulent copies of brand name clothing. they just shut him down without any sort of comeback. wouldn't even give him a fax number so he could fax his original buy invoices to them... whole thing was truly unbelievable.

this latest one wont hurt their bottom line, but it has to make you wonder just how overtly arrogant they have become.

IMHO they should force all sellers to leave feedback when they get their money, that way they can not blackmail you into leaving good feedback so you can get some yourself, bloody woeful.

**Xavie** · 6th February 2008, 10:11 PM

Originally Posted by Ben

Yeah, I agree (and I'm only a buyer on eBay, never sold anything.)

I think it would have made more sense to change it so the buyer can only leave feedback after the seller has (since the buyer has met all their obligations first.) Keep the "mutual retraction" and feedback comment system.

There's no need for a Seller to hold their feedback as a threat for the buyer. The feedback comments and retractions is the safeguard to avoid buyers abusing the system.

I agree with the seller needing to leave feedback first as many even state on their page that they will not leave feedback until the buyer does and that $hits me so much and is unfair to begin with.

Xavier

**incisor** · 6th February 2008, 10:29 PM

30 January 2008 | 09:19AM EST

Feedback is evolving Feedback on eBay is an essential ingredient to building trust and having a positive trading experience. The current system has been in place since eBay began 12 years ago and was intended to provide a simple, honest and accurate record of members' experiences.
We’ve made adjustments to the system over the years to try to improve its accuracy, including the addition last year of anonymous Detailed Seller Ratings, but as eBay has grown, we feel the Feedback system is no longer working as well as it could - it’s time for it to evolve.
So what are the changes?

Repeat feedback credit – coming in February
Members will receive credit for multiple feedback from the same buyer or seller for purchases made in different calendar weeks (Monday though Sunday).

This is great news for sellers. If you deliver great customer service – and it shows through repeat buyers – your feedback score will reflect this.

Feedback percentage – coming in May
The feedback percentage which calculates a member’s percentage of positive feedback will be based on the last 12 months only (not a member’s lifetime transactions as it is today).
No negative or neutral feedback for buyers - coming in May
Sellers will not be able to leave negative or neutral feedback for buyers. Of course sellers will have the option to not leave any feedback if they feel the buyer has not warranted positive feedback.

We know this is a huge change and it’s important we put appropriate protection in place for sellers so that buyers don’t abuse the system. With this in mind, we're also introducing these changes in May:

All negative and neutral feedback comments will be removed (not just de-scored) when a buyer doesn’t respond to the Unpaid Item Dispute (UPI) process.
All negative and neutral feedback comments left by suspended members will be removed. This will be done retroactively, so all negative and neutral feedback left by suspended members in the past will also be removed.
Buyers will not be able to leave negative or neutral feedback within 3 days of the end of a listing. We expect this will help promote communication between the buyer and seller so they try to resolve their issues before leaving feedback.
The number of days a member can leave feedback by will be reduced from 90 to 60.
Sellers will have an increased block bidder list capacity (up to 5000 User IDs).

These and many other changes were announced today on eBay.com in a “Message from Bill Cobb”. It is important to note that other changes in the eBay.com announcement are NOT currently scheduled to launch on eBay.com.au.
Regards,
The eBay team

**HangOver** · 6th February 2008, 11:46 PM

Just how thick are they !

So the way it will work? :
Seller sells 1000 items with 90% crap feedback they now have a score of 100 positive sales?

HangOver <---shaking head in disbelief

**ladas** · 6th February 2008, 11:49 PM

I will have my little say, based on personal experiences.

In my view the seller should leave his feedback as soon as the buyer has completed his part of the contract, ie he's said he'll buy it, and has sent the money. There is nothing more the buyer can do to improve on his performance. His part is complete.

The seller has yet to complete his part of the bargain - and it anoys me a little that seelers will not/and do not leave feedback for the buyer until he has left one for the seller.

This to me is wrong, the buyer commits to buy, at the price agreed, for the product as described. Then he pays the money. He has completed his part of the bargain - so why cant the seller leave feedback based on the performance of the buyer to do just what he is meant to - buy, then pay.
The feedback should take into account the time it took the buyer to contact the seller, and the time it took the buyer to pay.

But the buyer should not be held to ransom with statements like

I would appreciate positive feedback when you have the time and I will do the same for you in return

Things like

a negative feedback from the buyer will result in the same from the seller.

The only reason a seller should leave a neg feedback is because of something he did wrong - like fail to contact, or fail to pay - in those instances the buyer cannot leave any feedback as the deal is not complete, but 'tit for tat' negative feedback is just not playing by the rules

**100I** · 7th February 2008, 12:02 AM

There's a 3rd part of the transaction though, the postage.

When you specifically state pickup only, and some Wally bids and wins from whoop whoop, the seller is then forced to decide whether to stuff around packing everything safely (so they don't incur neg feedback) or do they cancel the sale & relist? What recourse is there to vent when people don't play by the sellers rules?
Either way it's frustrating.

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