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Why sellers should be able to leave negative feedback...

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  • lovinituk
    lovinituk Posts: 5,711 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Oh and btw, retailers do mark their customers, the security teams do it all the time, even have profiles of the dodgy ones.
    But they can't pre-empt a dodgy buyer! They can only add dodgy ones to their do not serve lists after they have been hit by these buyers for the first time. Its exactly the same on ebay - you get hurt once, then you block the buyer.
    Negative comments would allow that.
    Customers don't carry around negative feedback from other sellers outside of ebay to warn you, so why should it be any different?

    Ebay removed sellers ability to leave negative feedback because it was more abused by the sellers than buyers. Sellers used to leave negative feedback in retaliation for a buyer leaving valid negative feedback! How does that help anyone? It either discourages buyers from leaving honest feedback or worse, it drives buyers away completely.
  • RFW
    RFW Posts: 10,389 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    lovinituk wrote: »
    It either discourages buyers from leaving honest feedback or worse, it drives buyers away completely.
    That is exactly the reason it was changed. Before the changes Ebay was losing buyers and began to survey them to ask why, the majority of reasons were buyers receiving negative feedback. I'm as guilty of it as others, but can't help but be surprised how much feedback affects people above and beyond Ebay.
    .
  • Crowqueen
    Crowqueen Posts: 5,726 Forumite
    Outside, unless someone actually does something wrong, no shopkeeper is as defensive as some eBay sellers - and many retailers or retail workers rely on customers for their livelihood or their jobs.

    And yet no customer out there carries round proper references. The only situation in which buyers do sometimes require references is obtaining credit, particularly in business-to-business transactions.

    It's only because eBay instituted buyer feedback that this thread exists at all. If it had not, no-one would miss it.

    I think they should just scrap it entirely - there would be perhaps six months' worth of angst, but it would be worth it in the long run since sellers would have a better idea of their buyers' obligations and feel no need to harp on about it. Most people would do the NPB dispute - and to eBay's credit they are making it easier to report fraudulent buyers and including a definite link to the NPB process in the report facility - but it will still remain the case that that is a reactive, not a proactive process.

    If you want to vet your buyers, go ahead, there is nothing stopping you listing only auctions and checking everyone who bids. But most of us who want the custom will list how items best sell (BIN or auction; no-one can check who buys out an item before you are obliged to sell to them if they pay) treat everyone as innocent until proven guilty. I just don't have the bids at the moment to go cancelling them on a whim.
    "Well, it's election year, Bill, we'd rather people didn't exercise common sense..." - Jed Bartlet, The West Wing, season 4

    Am now Crowqueen, MRes (Law) - on to the PhD!
  • RFW
    RFW Posts: 10,389 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Crowqueen wrote: »


    I think they should just scrap it entirely - there would be perhaps six months' worth of angst, but it would be worth it in the long run since sellers would have a better idea of their buyers' obligations and feel no need to harp on about it. Most people would do the NPB dispute - and to eBay's credit they are making it easier to report fraudulent buyers and including a definite link to the NPB process in the report facility - but it will still remain the case that that is a reactive, not a proactive process.

    If you want to vet your buyers, go ahead, there is nothing stopping you listing only auctions and checking everyone who bids. But most of us who want the custom will list how items best sell (BIN or auction; no-one can check who buys out an item before you are obliged to sell to them if they pay) treat everyone as innocent until proven guilty. I just don't have the bids at the moment to go cancelling them on a whim.
    :T
    Great post. No feedback for buyers = less hassle all round. Mark them as having purchased an item and paid to build up a tally if they want one, otherwise there's no point. As you say it would be easier to see who hadn't paid as sellers would be more likely to report non payers and there would be an easy to view feedback.

    The hostility some sellers have towards their buyers makes Basil Fawlty look like Terry-Thomas.
    .
  • soolin
    soolin Posts: 74,073 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    It is often said that ebay are going the same way as Amazon re selling. If that is the case then be prepared for no buyer feedback at all!

    Also on Amazon you cannot block buyers or set up restrictions for those who have proved problematic in the past- unlike ebay where we do still have some say in which sort of buyers we would prefer not to deal with.
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the eBay, Auctions, Car Boot & Jumble Sales, Boost Your Income, Praise, Vents & Warnings, Overseas Holidays & Travel Planning , UK Holidays, Days Out & Entertainments boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know.. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • lovinituk
    lovinituk Posts: 5,711 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    ebay have gradually been emulating Amazon for a long time now so I think you are absolutely right soolin.
  • Crowqueen
    Crowqueen Posts: 5,726 Forumite
    Agree about a tally of purchases to ease the transition, but I find the existence of feedback per se for buyers tends to bring out irrationality in everyone. You just have to read Buyer Central to realise some buyers get miffed at not being left feedback when they pay - so in some ways a simple tally might help both buyers and sellers get used to a transition from old system to new, given that if it is ever removed we are in for possibly years of foaming at the mouth.
    "Well, it's election year, Bill, we'd rather people didn't exercise common sense..." - Jed Bartlet, The West Wing, season 4

    Am now Crowqueen, MRes (Law) - on to the PhD!
  • Crowqueen
    Crowqueen Posts: 5,726 Forumite
    I suspect, however, Soo, that Amazon are stricter about buyers in general - so people who muck about with the dispute system find themselves out in the cold far sooner than they do on eBay (though the new report system might help matters a bit).

    Also you can't not pay for something on Amazon, so that eliminates NPBs in one fell swoop.
    "Well, it's election year, Bill, we'd rather people didn't exercise common sense..." - Jed Bartlet, The West Wing, season 4

    Am now Crowqueen, MRes (Law) - on to the PhD!
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