Is it just me?

[Zan]

Or am I seeing fewer eBay sellers leaving feedback for buyers? When I buy, I always pay promptly, and always leave feedback when I receive my card. I have been very active on eBay this month, and it feels as if I haven't received feedback in a couple of months.

 

[Super Mario]

Should sellers or buyers leave first?

 

[heartyourlife]

Should sellers or buyers leave first?

My two cents: as a seller, I don't leave feedback unless it's been posted on my account. A buyer leaving feedback says to me they are happy with the transaction. Time to move onto the next one.

I also think raising your feedback number is much more important for sellers than it is for buyers. Since people only focus on if there is a neutral or negative, it doesn't really matter what a buyer's feedback number gets to, as there's no way to know if they are reliable or not. Too many of either will make me second guess a seller every time. As such, I don't want to spend my time leaving feedback for thousands of transactions as a seller every year, when the majority of buyers don't reciprocate. But if a buyer leaves feedback for me I will always do the same for them.

 

[hive17]

This is not addressed at the OP, but: **** eBay feedback. I haven't cared about it and have barely left it since eBay titled the whole process toward unscrupulous buyers.

 

[AMAZIN HOF COLLECTOR]

I was thinking the same thing. As a buyer I always leave feedback, but I noticed more and more sellers don't reciprocate. I keep all my purchases in my eBay history until I receive feedback from the seller (again note that I already left feedback for them) and right now I have close to 10 items I'm still waiting for feedback on.
As a seller I stopped leaving feedback for buyers until feedback was left for me. I had hundreds of auctions that I left feedback for the buyers they never took the time to leave feedback for me. So I even state in my auctions "Due to the lost art of leaving feedback, we will now leave feedback for you once feedback has been left for us and you are satisfied with your item."

 

[Yanks2151]

Just my two cents. I have not sold in the past year but when a buyer promptly paid he/she did their part and I left them positive feedback. Myself as a buyer, I win and I pay right away. I did my part. I figure with all the complaints from sellers how they don't get paid or they have to chase people down.... Not me...I did my part leave me feedback. The sellers that say they will leave me feedback after I leave it for them I just don't understand that. I do understand Hives thinking but I still believe in the process if the sellers and buyers do their parts correctly.

 

[Hawk8]

I went a long time without leaving much feedback at all, but I leave feedback as soon as I receive an item in satisfactory condition now. Some times that isn't until weeks after I have received the item due to me working on the road. I even have sellers that will message me and ask me to leave them feed back and I kindly explain to them that I am working on the road and when I get home then I will leave them feedback.

 

[Pine Tar]

I was thinking the same thing. As a buyer I always leave feedback, but I noticed more and more sellers don't reciprocate. I keep all my purchases in my eBay history until I receive feedback from the seller (again note that I already left feedback for them) and right now I have close to 10 items I'm still waiting for feedback on.
As a seller I stopped leaving feedback for buyers until feedback was left for me. I had hundreds of auctions that I left feedback for the buyers they never took the time to leave feedback for me. So I even state in my auctions "Due to the lost art of leaving feedback, we will now leave feedback for you once feedback has been left for us and you are satisfied with your item."

Feedback is not necessary under the use of eBay.......But it would me nice if both parties are satisfied that they communicate it as so.

As a seller I leave once payment is made to me.....And as a buyer I leave it once I got my item and everything is good with the transaction

 

[michaelstepper]

Never had a problem until the last 5 months. No negatives but I have several buyers and more than a half dozen sellers that haven't left feedback..

 

[olerud363]

Just my two cents. I have not sold in the past year but when a buyer promptly paid he/she did their part and I left them positive feedback. Myself as a buyer, I win and I pay right away. I did my part. I figure with all the complaints from sellers how they don't get paid or they have to chase people down.... Not me...I did my part leave me feedback. The sellers that say they will leave me feedback after I leave it for them I just don't understand that. I do understand Hives thinking but I still believe in the process if the sellers and buyers do their parts correctly.

+1

At least 90% of my feedback is as a buyer but when I do sell something, if the buyer pays promptly I feel that they've done their part and I leave positive. I don't see why a seller needs to wait and see what feedback the buyer will leave. If the buyer has an issue with the transaction that doesn't change the fact that they upheld their end of the agreement and paid promptly after they purchased your item. Granted, high-volume sellers probably have many examples of situations where it's not so cut-and-dry.

 

[dmarren349]

As a buyer, I leave it as soon as I get the card but as a seller I always waited for the buyer to leave first cause I feel that "completes" the deal. Yet that left me with a lot of non feedback, but tried some the other way also with same results. I think people just don't leave feedback as much and I'm not one to message someone about leaving me feedback.

 

[mrmopar]

Ah, the feedback argument that never ends. It seems that the majority of sellers now won't leave feedback until they get it first and buyers won't leave feedback until the seller leaves it first. In the end, buyers don't need feedback, so who cares. Sellers can't leave negative feedback, so what is the point in them bothering either. Buyers don't bother with it because what's the point and because it is time consuming.

I have resorted to only leaving feedback now if it is negative or neutral. That is the only kind that really matters (if everyone is doing the right thing, we ASSUME good feedback for a transaction) and if sellers won't leave feedback for buyers and vice versa, then the negatives will stand out more.

 

[theacox]

I have resorted to only leaving feedback now if it is negative or neutral.

Same here, although those are extremely rare for me. I had a seller block me last month because I didn't leave feedback. To each their own, I guess.

 

[mrmopar]

That is funny. I won't take your money as a good buyer (i'll assume you paid quickly) because you don't leave me feedback. That right there is an idiot.

 

[gamecockfanatic]

taken from my own ebay template :



Feedback Policy :
I do NOT require a buyer to leave feedback for me , but I do ask that buyers let me know they have received their package and are satisfied by EITHER posting accurate feedback or E-mailing me using the Contact Seller link on E-Bay . Once I know everything is OK , I will post feedback . My simple reason for this policy : If a buyer is not satisfied then my job is not yet done . Only when my buyer is satisfied is my responsibility fulfilled ; therefore , my feedback is the final seal on the deal . If there is any problem , please contact me so we can devise a solution to ensure mutual satisfaction .





as a buyer , i ALWAYS leave feedback after i've had time to examine the item to make sure i get the correct item and its condition match the listing....sometimes that may be as soon as the package arrives , sometimes (especially with larger lots) that may be a week or so when i have the free time....i dare say that i receive feedback from sellers on less than 50% of my pruchases ......as a seller , you see my policy above....i don't require feedback - just SOME FORM of acknowledgement that the customer is satisfied....everyone who leaves feedback , messages me via ebay , e-mails me , comments on a trading site , calls me , etc will have feedback posted for them....i'd estimate than roughly 25-30% of my buyers leave feedback.....currently my feedback is 4601....that consists of 7419 total feedbacks received (1684 as a seller and 5735 as a buyer)....for sake of comparison , i've left 8393 (can't see the exact breakdown , but a very close estimate would be 1693 as a seller and 6700 as a buyer)......

 

[Super Mario]

I'm not a huge eBay buyer, and I'm even less of a seller.

When I buy, I always leave feedback as soon as I receive the item.

I've been a member of eBay since 2004, with 100% feedback. Only with 164 feedback though.

I've recently started selling, and haven't left feedback for my buyers unless they leave one first. I am not sure exactly how it works, but I don't want to leave a positive for a seller, just to have them leave a negative and screw up my perfection.


My wife is into purses and she asked me last night if I would buy from someone on eBay who only had 4 positive feedback. The item is expensive, and the seller has only been a member since November, so I told her no, I wouldn't.

But we all have to start somewhere, right?

 

[wallyscards]

I've noticed fewer buyers leaving feedback as well as sellers. I have it set up to automatically leave feedback once a buyer pays.

 

[mrmopar]

To the first statement, withholding a positive from a buyer won't stop them from leaving you a negative. Assuming you deserve a negative, you are simply promoting the attitude of feedback extortion in a round about way. If a buyer pays quickly, they have done their job in the transaction. IF a seller in that same transaction does something that leads to a negative and doesn't resolve the matter to the buyers satisfaction, why shouldn't the buyer have the opportunity to leave accurate feedback showing displeasure for the transaction and warn others of possible issues when dealing with this seller, yet still receive positive for handling their end of the deal? Because many people are petty and that kind of seller won't have an issue withholding a positive even though one is deserved, because they hold that feedback hostage to make sure nothing bad happens to them first.

I think that most, but not all, sellers who withhold feedback do so with a slanted view of reality. I'd be willing to bet that if a seller does a good job, that 99% or more of their transactions would end smoothly and without a negative. There will be a few nut bag buyers that like to cause issues and abuse the feedback system and I think a lot of sellers exaggerate the impact of those very few when discussing feedback, especially since buyers can't receive a negative. A buyer can be punished for not upholding their end of the deal though, with a non-paying strike. Enough of those and you are eventually gone.

To your second point, why not? If you use PP, you are protected in case the seller flakes. There is almost no risk now as a buyer, even with a seller who has crappy feedback scores. Pay with PP and file a case if you need to. As many point out, it is almost impossible for a buyer to lose a case these days. I could see potential issues with fakes, damage and partial shipments, but if a seller doesn't prove delivery, they almost automatically lose.

I've recently started selling, and haven't left feedback for my buyers unless they leave one first. I am not sure exactly how it works, but I don't want to leave a positive for a seller, just to have them leave a negative and screw up my perfection.


My wife is into purses and she asked me last night if I would buy from someone on eBay who only had 4 positive feedback. The item is expensive, and the seller has only been a member since November, so I told her no, I wouldn't.

 

[Zan]

Just left feedback for something I got yesterday and was reciprocated with positive feedback