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Posted 01/12/2008 10:57 pm
I have to disagree with the first post and agree with the subsequent posts regarding feedback. Don't immediately assume a seller is bad simply because he has a lower feedback rating than you would like. Look for quality...not just a number. And the reverse can also be true...bad sellers could have good ratings. Here's a little more information than you probably want, but I'll offer it anyway...
ALWAYS read the feedback narratives and don't just look at the number. Why?
(1) "Good seller, bad feedback percentage" - Lots of things can happen. The seller might have left negative feedback on a non-paying bidder. In most instances, the deadbeat will return the negative feedback, just for retaliation. Or perhaps the mail carrier lost/damaged the package. It wouldn't be your fault, but the customers will normally leave bad feedback anyway. Maybe the buyer orders the wrong item or just doesn't like it...most buyers seem to expect you'll accept a full return (even if the listing says sales are final), pay for s/h both ways, etc. When you don't give them what they want, they leave negative. And here's the worst case scenario, but sadly it isn't uncommon. Some buyers feel that retaliatory feedback isn't enough, so they REALLY make things bad on the seller...they create numerous fake ebay profiles and use them to overbid on and win listings. Then they leave negative feedback on every listing and the seller is also stuck paying all the listing and FV fees. The fees can be refunded and the item can be relisted for a listing fee credit, but the process to get to that point takes about 2 weeks. So please READ a seller's feedback...it might be clear that he/she is a good seller with some unfortunate experiences.
(2) "Bad seller, good feedback" - Lots of sellers are significantly worse than what is reflected in their feedback rating. Always be sure to check the number of feedbacks withdrawn by mutual agreement. What happens is a buyer gets upset with a poor seller and leaves negative feedback. The seller then leaves retaliatory feedback, knowing that the buyer will be very upset to have a tarnished reputation. The seller then sends the buyer a "mutual agreement to withdraw feedback" offer and, in most cases, the buyer will accept it simply to restore his/her own favorable feedback rating. The narratives will always remain in the seller's feedback profile, so if you see a lot of withdrawn feedback, always check out the original comments.
Sorry that was so long. I'm a full-time eBayer (my only source of income) and I've seen and experienced it all. I've been burned by the fake accounts bidding on my items scam twice. Once was about 2 years ago and once just recently. It's clear this is what happens, but ebay will not take action. The worst part about it is ebay now "restricts" accounts with excessive poor feedback within a 30 day period. They restricted my account in November (right before Christmas season) based on the feedback from this scammer with fake accounts. I finally just gave up on fighting it and gave up my account (which I'd been using since 1998 and completed in excess of 40,000 transactions with). I took over my sister's account which had just 20 feeback and I'm basically back to square one as a seller. I've built up to 140 feedback this month, but already have one negative. The customer didn't like something. I offered her a refund, even though my listing said sales were final. She told me that she didn't want the refund because the rest of the items were too great of a deal, so she just left bad feedback instead.
ALWAYS read the feedback narratives and don't just look at the number. Why?
(1) "Good seller, bad feedback percentage" - Lots of things can happen. The seller might have left negative feedback on a non-paying bidder. In most instances, the deadbeat will return the negative feedback, just for retaliation. Or perhaps the mail carrier lost/damaged the package. It wouldn't be your fault, but the customers will normally leave bad feedback anyway. Maybe the buyer orders the wrong item or just doesn't like it...most buyers seem to expect you'll accept a full return (even if the listing says sales are final), pay for s/h both ways, etc. When you don't give them what they want, they leave negative. And here's the worst case scenario, but sadly it isn't uncommon. Some buyers feel that retaliatory feedback isn't enough, so they REALLY make things bad on the seller...they create numerous fake ebay profiles and use them to overbid on and win listings. Then they leave negative feedback on every listing and the seller is also stuck paying all the listing and FV fees. The fees can be refunded and the item can be relisted for a listing fee credit, but the process to get to that point takes about 2 weeks. So please READ a seller's feedback...it might be clear that he/she is a good seller with some unfortunate experiences.
(2) "Bad seller, good feedback" - Lots of sellers are significantly worse than what is reflected in their feedback rating. Always be sure to check the number of feedbacks withdrawn by mutual agreement. What happens is a buyer gets upset with a poor seller and leaves negative feedback. The seller then leaves retaliatory feedback, knowing that the buyer will be very upset to have a tarnished reputation. The seller then sends the buyer a "mutual agreement to withdraw feedback" offer and, in most cases, the buyer will accept it simply to restore his/her own favorable feedback rating. The narratives will always remain in the seller's feedback profile, so if you see a lot of withdrawn feedback, always check out the original comments.
Sorry that was so long. I'm a full-time eBayer (my only source of income) and I've seen and experienced it all. I've been burned by the fake accounts bidding on my items scam twice. Once was about 2 years ago and once just recently. It's clear this is what happens, but ebay will not take action. The worst part about it is ebay now "restricts" accounts with excessive poor feedback within a 30 day period. They restricted my account in November (right before Christmas season) based on the feedback from this scammer with fake accounts. I finally just gave up on fighting it and gave up my account (which I'd been using since 1998 and completed in excess of 40,000 transactions with). I took over my sister's account which had just 20 feeback and I'm basically back to square one as a seller. I've built up to 140 feedback this month, but already have one negative. The customer didn't like something. I offered her a refund, even though my listing said sales were final. She told me that she didn't want the refund because the rest of the items were too great of a deal, so she just left bad feedback instead.
Edited by mahgobbi
01/12/2008 11:00 pm
01/12/2008 11:00 pm
