How long should I wait for feedback?

Helen_from_yorkshire

I recently sold two items of ladies clothing on ebay (to separate buyers), posted these to them by first class post on 28 April but have yet to receive any feedback from them.

Although I obtained a certificate of posting, there' s no way I can check if they received the item so am in a bit of limbo ... though I guess if they'd not received it they would have got in touch with me.

I'm aware that you have 90 days in which to leave feedback, and I suppose you don't necessarily have to leave it, but I posted the items with a very short space of time and I was hoping the feedback would be positive.

Do you think it's too early for me to contact the buyers and, if I do contact them, do you think I should contact them on the basis that I'm checking if they've received the goods rather than asking them where's my feedback!

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Cheers

Helen x

rdwarr

There's no real need for you to do anything. If the goods don't turn up you'll hear from the buyers soon enough and they'll leave feedback if and when the want to.
How long after receiving payment did you leave feedback for them?
Never write asking for feedback by the way; it's as popular as the people on here who explicitly ask for thanks in their signatures and you may end up with the wrong sort of feedback.

lillybell

My advice for your future listings. ALWAYS send recorded delivery. Or for high priced items special delivery. This is a MUST when selling on ebay.

This way you have a tracking number so you can see if your item has been received.

soolin

lillybell wrote:

My advice for your future listings. ALWAYS send recorded delivery. Or for high priced items special delivery. This is a MUST when selling on ebay.

This way you have a tracking number so you can see if your item has been received.

There is absolutely no need to use recorded for items under £32, I sent 100 parcels last week and using recorded would have cost me £68, I can afford to lose several parcels and still make money before I cover that cost. My post and packing is competitive, if i added 68p on everything my competitors would have a field day and I'd never sell anything.

Why would i need to know something has been delivered? If an item doesn't arrive I'm sure my buyer will tell me. I email them as soon as I send th eitem, explain that it has gone 1st class and should be with them in a couple of days so they know to expect the goods.

On the rare occasions a parcel doesn't arrive then I just refund the buyer in full and reclaim after 15 working days from the Royal Mail.

Even if a recorded delivery item goes astray, or even if the buyer chooses not to collect it from the sorting office (as happens if they live too far away) then you would still have to refund the buyer, and since the RM don't reimburse the postage costs you are a further 68p out of pocket each time.

Soo

frivolous_fay

Feedback is VOLUNTARY!

soolin

frivolous_fay wrote:

Feedback is VOLUNTARY!

Quite so Fay, and in fact once you stop worrying about it life gets a lot easier :j

Asking for feedback is a just asking for problems. Many people find it a huge irritation and will either ignore you completely or even leave a neutral.

Soo

RichyRich

To be fair, I do use the "Feedback Reminder" option on eBay, but I've changed the wording of it to a custom message. Although I am not one of those sellers who will only post feedback after it has been left for me, as this is tantamount to "Negative Feedback Insurance" in that if you receive a neg you are in the position to retaliate.

I know the fb system has its faults (IMHO you shouln't be able to see what the other person put until you leave fb yourself) but it does help with checking a seller's record. So I send out a polite friendly email (like this one):

Hello there {B_FULLNAME}!

Awhile ago you bought an item from me:-

Item title: {TITLE}
Web Address: {ITEMLINK}
Item number: {ITEM#}
Buyer User ID: {BUYERUSERNAME}
Seller User ID: {SELLERUSERNAME}
Total: {TOTAL$}

Now that the transaction's complete, you should find that I have left positive feedback for you. This has been added onto your profile and is in the brackets displayed after your name. Your feedback profile is your eBay reputation - the higher it is the more likely you are to be trusted by other members.

I notice that you haven't left feedback for me. That's fine if you don't want to - the feedback system's voluntary. However, I appreciate honest feedback from my buyers. If you've been happy with the transaction (which I certainly hope you have been), please leave me a positive.

If anything about the transaction hasn't met your expectations, I couldn't be sorryer. Please don't be hasty and leave me a negative or neutral straight away. If you email me on xxxxxxxxxxx@hotmail.com I will do everything I can to put things right. My ultimate aim is always to make my buyers satisfied.

To leave feedback, just click on the link below:
{FEEDBACKLINK}

Thanks for your business. If you want to buy anything else from eBay in the future, I hope you'll bear me favourably in mind.

Take care

Rich (richardthemonster)

pug_in_a_bed

I have had four emails in the same day from a seller asking me to leave feedback. I wasn't going to as I was annoyed that the item was blatantly used, although described as new, but if she sends me one more then she will probably be getting some off me, and likely it wont be the positive she's looking for!

mintymoneysaver

If I haven't heard anything about 10 days after posting I just contact the buyer via ebay to check they received it okay.That usually prompts them into leaving feedback!

Helen_from_yorkshire

Thanks for everyone's replies. I'm fairly new selling stuff on Ebay so I didn't know whether to ask for feedback ... given everyone's comments I think I'll not ask and hopefully they'll leave feedback eventually. I had thought though that, as they'd received a positive, they may well reciprocate (positively I hope!), though I did leave a positive feedback for genuine reasons.

I didn't send the items via Recorded Delivery as all the items sold for less than a tenner. If they were more expensive, I would consider it.

When people have claimed from the Royal Mail for non-arrival of parcels, how much do you claim? Just the cost of the item posted or the cost of the item and postage charged to the seller? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks again.

Dormouse

RichyRich wrote:

Awhile ago you bought an item from me

Give me slap if you want for not minding my own business , but I would change that to "a while ago". A spelling mistake right at the beginning is not a great way to start an email. (Apart from that, it's a great email! )

Back to the OP: I've sometimes had to wait quite a few weeks for feedback -- you never know what might be going on in the buyer's life, maybe they're just extremely busy