Do you read eBay feedback?

Walking Man

Walking Man

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Feedback: +3 / =0 / -0
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May 28, 2003
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I sold a knife on eBay to a guy who I'm pretty sure will pay, because of his good feedback (300+), but he or she is pretty shy with the communication. I'm considering leaving a neutral point for him, but I'm afraid if I do he'll leave a neg. point for me. I can handle a neg. point if people actually take the time to read them, because I can write that he only left me a negative point as revenge for my neutral point, and I can accept that. What I can't accept is getting a neg. point if people don't actually look at what the feedback is.
So what do you guys think? Advice? thanks.
 
I do read feedback on buyers and sellers on ebay. I used to leave feeback right away when selling if the buyer communicated and paid quickly, but after one jerk left me a negative because of their own misunderstanding, I don't do that anymore. I tell them I'll leave feedback after they do, if there's any problem, let me know BEFORE they leave feedback. As a buyer, I leave feedback after I receive my items. If a buyer doesn't leave me feedback, I don't leave it for them either. The system works most of the time, but can be easily abused.
 
I read feedback, I like to see firstly, how the person responds to negative or neutral feedback-I don't like to give vindictive or petty people my money. Secondly, I read to see wheter there are a lot of ones saying stuff like 'as described' or 'arrived' this kind of damning with faint praise is a buit of a red flag to possible future problems.

I don't understand sellers not leaving feedback until the seller has or leaving vindictive revenge feedback. As a buyer, I'll sometimes not leave any feedback instead of leaving neutral or even negative, this shouldn't mean the seller leaves no feedback, if my dough arrived in a timely manner and you can buy groceries with it, why no positive. No offense meant to you Stormdrane, just saying how it feels to be a buyer ignored by a seller.
 
If I am buying something I ALWAYS check their feedbacks for:

1. Any rate lower than 98% and I won't bid at all.
2. How did they handle complaints? Work it out or attack the buyer.
3. I check their last 5 feedbacks for how much time pasted between the end of the auction and when the feedback was left, to judge how fast they are at shipping.
 
So what do you guys think?
Should I do the right thing and let others know that he doesn't comunicate (and take the chance or receiving neg. feedback).
OR should I do the right thing and protect my reputation?
Tough choice, isn't it? (I know this isn't a life or death situation, but I think the more answers I get, the better)
 
I think that the deciding factor as a seller would be, How long does it take to get paid for the item I have listed. As a buyer I would look at, After getting paid how longer did the seller take to get the item to me and is it as discribed.
 
woodysone said:
I think that the deciding factor as a seller would be, How long does it take to get paid for the item I have listed. As a buyer I would look at, After getting paid how longer did the seller take to get the item to me and is it as discribed.
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Okay, I haven't heard from him at all, and the first auction he bid on ended 8 days ago, and hasn't paid. I don't hold this against him, because since then he's bid on a couple other items, and I think because he wanted to combine shipping he didn't pay for the first one right away, BUT he didn't communcate his intentions to me at all.
 
ropey dope said:
Secondly, I read to see wheter there are a lot of ones saying stuff like 'as described' or 'arrived' this kind of damning with faint praise is a buit of a red flag to possible future problems.
. . .
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I sure do read the feedback on anyone under 100% positive. I want to know why he/she got negative -- real hose job or crazy customer. Often, one can't tell.

For me, "as described" is a strong positive. The biggest problem I have with eBay is that some sellers simply lie about the condition of their goods. I basically stopped buying slipjoints on eBay due to this problem. When you get an "excellent - strong snap" knife and it is actually all pitted and has no snap, it knida takes the shine off the day.

Just "arrived" would seem to send a message.

(Also, I won't buy from anyone who gives a detailed description and then adds: "Sold as is with no returns." It can be sold as is [or as pictured] or as described. Anyone trying to have it both ways doesn't understand what they are saying OR, worse, is bent -- either is potentially trouble.)
 
Ok, that is a hard one! As a seller, Two weeks is max. time for payment. If he does not respond to your messages sent through Ebays system on his intent ie. save on shipping or not paid till the 15th. etc. I would give a neutral if payment received within 15 days and a negative if payment is after that or not at all. But use ebay's message system to so proof of your actions. AS for your other actions he is bidding on, I had one buyer that tied up three of my items over two weeks that never paid.
 
I read feedback all the time. Sometimes just for something to do. What I look for are reoccurring problems and how problems are handled. I also look to see how the person that has been left negative or neutral feedback handles the comments. If they indulge in retaliatory feedback, I am not interested in dealing with them. If they hide their feedback I won't deal with them either.

Most people will not leave negatives or neutrals because they are worried about retaliatory feedback. I personally believe that if I am truely convinced that this kind of feedback is warranted, I will leave it and to hell with what the other person does.
 
Walking Man said:
Okay, I haven't heard from him at all, and the first auction he bid on ended 8 days ago, and hasn't paid. I don't hold this against him, because since then he's bid on a couple other items, and I think because he wanted to combine shipping he didn't pay for the first one right away, BUT he didn't communcate his intentions to me at all.
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I have learned from Ebay, that some folks are REALLY bad at communicating and that drives me up a wall to.

Ebay has guidelines set up for these situations, have you checked that out?
 
The Last Confederate said:
Ebay has guidelines set up for these situations, have you checked that out?
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Ebay gives less than one sixteenth of a rat's butt about anything more than their profits. :thumbdn:
 
It helps when selling to put something in your listing like, " I expect to be contacted within 3 days of end of auction about payment method, and receive payment within 7 days or I will re-list item and report non-paying bidder to ebay." I think that's plenty of time for a buyer to communicate and get payment to a seller, at least within the US. If you're not getting a response from the buyer, try sending messages from different email accounts to the buyer, as SPAM filters do block alot of 'ebay' emails because of all the phishing scams.
 
I've met some real nice, honest people on Ebay and a couple of real weirdos. The worst one was a guy who won a $200 knife and immediately after the auction ends, sends an e-mail stating that he is disabled, on government assistance and won't be able to pay for at least 2 months, at a minimum. I asked him why he was bidding on items under his circumstances. He said he was sorry and that he got caught up in the moment. I used the second chance offer for the next lower bidder and he gladly accepted at that price, and paid immediately. Another winner immediately sends an e-mail after the auction ends, asking the length of the blade (clearly stated in the ad) and saying that if it is less than 3.5 inches (it was advertised at 3")...that he didn't want it. I explained to him that he had already won the auction and the details were clearly stated, in addition to the line; "please ask any questions before bidding". Ebay did straighten that one out. You have to be careful, as you are dealing with a large population of bidders and there are some people who are challenged out there. In your case, I would give it a bit more time to see where you stand....maybe send a few more e-mails and internal e-mails through the Ebay system. Good luck!!
 
This is pretty weird. For a guy that has 300+ positives you'd think he knows what he's doing. :rolleyes:
 
I always check feedback very closely - and the best deals I've had were from people with a couple of negatives. What's important is how those negatives were handled and why they were posted in the first place.

A few years ago I bought a Sony PDA for about $500 from a guy with 6 *recent* negative feedbacks. When my son saw that, he asked me if I was nuts for dealing with this guy. Well, yes, I am nuts, but in this case I saw that all those negatives were left by people who didn't bother to read his VERY explicit explanation about his shipping method and timeframe. I had a very smooth transaction with this person and ended up with a NIB factory-fresh item that would have cost just over $1,000. locally.

OTOH, I made a recent purchase from someone with a 100% rating and the item was definitely NOT as described (something I didn't find out until I had already left them a positive rating)
 
Stormdrane said:
It helps when selling to put something in your listing like, " I expect to be contacted within 3 days of end of auction about payment method, and receive payment within 7 days or I will re-list item and report non-paying bidder to ebay." I think that's plenty of time for a buyer to communicate and get payment to a seller, at least within the US.
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I agree with this 100% something unequivocal like this is a really handy thing to be able to point to in case of a dispute.

As to your current dilemma, I'd say you have to do what you feel is right. Ebay is a microcosm of the real world, stand up for yourself. :D
 
I pretty much do what the others do here also.

I check to see the feedback %. If its under 98%, I look to see why. If it looks like most of it is because of a misunderstanding between the buyer and seller vs. receiving items that are not what was decribed in the ad. I'll bid on his item. If not, I'll pass him by. I also look to see how the complaints were handled. That tells a lot about the seller's personality I think.

I've never been a seller, only a buyer so I can only speak of that experience.

I tend to ask questions, A LOT OF QUESTONS! but In over 100 buys, I've only had 1 seller respond to my questions with a sh**y attitude and smarta** remarks. Needless to say, I didn't bid on his item.

vr
Mark T.
 
e-Bay feedback is important and you MUST read it before you bid or buy. As for myself, if the seller has negative feedback in the most recent six months I usually don't bid on the item. I made the mistake of doing it once and learned my lesson. It took about four weeks to get him to ship my item and shortly after e-Bay booted him. $200 was not something I cared to lose, so I looked him up on the internet and started calling him at home. A couple late night calls and my bipod was shipped! Lack of communication drives me nuts too. I just left feedback on a knife I purchased and I couldn't get the guy to talk/e-mail for squat. The knife was as his listing stated, and he left feedback after I did. So it was a satisfactory sale. I know a number of folks that do a lot on e-Bay and they experience what I do, and that is that a certain number of people just don't communicate and do not leave feedback either. Yeah, it's tough to leave negative feedback because you don't want him to zing you with a negative for revenge. If he won't contact you, report him to e-Bay, if he still won't respond, relist and hit him with a negative, but remember to just state the facts. Don't sensationalize or get personal. The facts will hurt him more than anything derogatory you may say. Good luck!
 
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