Buyers demanding feedback on Ebay.

[VG_Maniac]

I've noticed that it seems like buyers on Ebay are always demanding that you leave them feedback, yet sellers don't seem to request it very often (at least in my experiences). When I sell something, usually the buyer will email me within 2 or 3 days of them paying...requesting that I leave feedback. Sometimes they will be rude and very pushy about it. However, I rarely ever get a feedback request from sellers...which is odd, because sellers need good feedback way more than buyers. I mean, why would a buyer need feedback so desperately? They can have 0 feedback, still buy whatever they want...and never have to worry about getting a negative due to sellers no longer being allowed to leave them. Sellers on the other hand, need all the good feedback and ratings they can get due to Ebay's strict rules. If you don't have good feedback, than you get restricted on how visible your items are in Ebay's search engine, how much of a seller's discount you get, how much you can sell...or if you can even sell at all. So, with this in mind...it just baffles me that buyers are always the ones demanding that you leave them feedback.

[Mason P.]

I personaly think the seller should leave feedback fisrt. I have to complete the transaction on my end first, and wait to see if the seller screws me. The only recourse I have is to leave negitive feedback. Now what happens is the seller waits to see what I do. If I did everything right, and the seller diserves a negitive I guarantee that I would get on in return. It like thier way of sayin" syou have to follow my silly rules, put up with my horrible service, and deal with my product not as discribed oh and you have to leave feedback first. Bull crap. As a buyer I only leave feebak once mine is left first. WIth 175 feedback (only from buying), I really dont care about getting any more.

[megasdkirby]

I evaluate whether I leave feedback or not.

For instance, I look at the sellers history of leaving feedback. If they do NOT leave feedback, I will not leave feedback either. There have been times in which these same sellers contact me to leave them feedback, and I politely tell them that even though the transaction was awesome, I won't leave feedback due to their past feedback history. If they leave feedback afterwards, then I give them feedback. If they still don't leave any, so be it.

However, if the seller already left me feedback, or I notice that I will get feedback in return (while evaluating the sellers feedback habits), then I will happily leave feedback.

[TRM]

I rarely sell on the 'Bay, but when I did, sellers were still able to leave negative feedback. In those days, it seemed to me that the sellers were ALWAYS begging for me to leave feedback, while the buyers did not.

With that being said, I personally think that sellers SHOULD leave the positive feedback once they receive payment, no questions asked. Why should the buyer have to leave feedback first, and also have to pay first? Once the buyer sends that payment, his or her part of the deal is complete, except for leaving feedback. The seller received the payment, so the buyer upheld his or her end of the bargain and positive feedback should be left. Once the buyer receives his goods and sees that the seller honored the transaction, then the closing part of the deal should be one final positive feedback left to the seller, for completing his or her part of the bargain. But really, the buyer does his or her part of the transaction way before the seller begins his or her part, so the seller should leave the feedback first, and in a timely manner. If a buyer is expected to pay timely, then the seller is also expected to do his part of the transaction timely as well, imo.

[Cornelius]

I rarely sell on the 'Bay, but when I did, sellers were still able to leave negative feedback. In those days, it seemed to me that the sellers were ALWAYS begging for me to leave feedback, while the buyers did not.

With that being said, I personally think that sellers SHOULD leave the positive feedback once they receive payment, no questions asked. Why should the buyer have to leave feedback first, and also have to pay first? Once the buyer sends that payment, his or her part of the deal is complete, except for leaving feedback. The seller received the payment, so the buyer upheld his or her end of the bargain and positive feedback should be left. Once the buyer receives his goods and sees that the seller honored the transaction, then the closing part of the deal should be one final positive feedback left to the seller, for completing his or her part of the bargain. But really, the buyer does his or her part of the transaction way before the seller begins his or her part, so the seller should leave the feedback first, and in a timely manner. If a buyer is expected to pay timely, then the seller is also expected to do his part of the transaction timely as well, imo.

I used to feel this way, but after selling quite a bit, I now feel there is an additional step the buyer has to take for their end of the transaction to be complete. Namely, not being a PITA. This includes, but is not limited to: using the seller as a rental service, changing their mind, finding out that they are unable to repair an 'as-is' clearly described as broken item and wanting to return it, filing unwarranted paypal claims, and etc. The easiest way for a buyer to demonstrate they are satisfied and are not going to be a PITA is for them to leave feedback.

Since sellers can no longer leave negatives, I don't really see how it matters at all anyway. In my position, I've got enough good feedback that I'm happy, and I don't sell enough to be a power seller and get those discounts and stuff, so I don't really care if people leave me feedback (though I always do leave feedback in return).

[TRM]

Oh I also forgot to mention, that a lot of times when I receive packages, sellers include business cards or generic thank-you letters which mention that they hope you will leave positive feedback for them and their services. I have never included messages like that in with payments (paypal or snail mail), but it seems a bit pushy imo.

[jb143]

I've actually noticed with the items that I sell that I usually forget to leave feedback. It's usually "oops, I forgot to leave feedback" about a week or 2 later. I think it's because I could (almost) care less anymore. The eBay feedback system is a joke nowadays. It means very little for buyers since they can't get negatives, and if a seller does get one then it will be null and void in a few months anyways. I've never had anyone email me asking me to leave them a positive though. That does seem a little weird to me. And if they ever did, I'd probably send them a note saying sorry, explain what I just did above, then leave them feedback.

[ryborg]

The feedback system is broken and worthless, now that sellers can no longer leave negatives. I no longer leave positives for ANY buyers. I get those demanding emails all the time and I ignore them.

[The 1 2 P]

As a seller my buyers never demand I leave them feedback. Sometimes they politely ask if I would leave it for them but I basically will not leave feedback first for items I sell. That may seem srtrange but I've had a few bad experiences that changed the way I look at it. As a buyer, I always leave feedback first, unless I notice that the seller no longer leaves feedback(which a number of sellers actually no longer do once they reach a certain number).

The only time I've been demanded to leave feedback was from a seller. But he was basically trying to harrass me because he sent messages everyday demanding me to leave him feedback. I reported him to ebay(of course) and obviously never left him feedback. That was back when sellers could still leave negatives but if it had been recently I would have left him a negative for all the harrassment.

Now that I think about it, there was one time I demanded....I mean, politely asked for positive feedback from a buyer. Basically they won an item from me and told me they didn't want to pay for it because they had found that item somewhere else cheaper(they messaged me about this a few days after winning my auction). So I told them that although I could leave a negative for them and file a non-paying bidder complaint, I wouldn't do any of that as long as they left me a positive. They left it and all was well in the universe. If has happened two other times but I just let them go because they were nice about it.

[megasdkirby]

As a seller my buyers never demand I leave them feedback.

Aye, because from stories I've read about in the past, if a buyer starts demanding and does not get what he/she wants, they usually leave a neg.

Dunno if it's true, but knowing how stupid people on Ebay can be, this would not surprise me.

Gosh, what people would do... :(

[darkslime]

i've never been asked buy a buyer to leave him feedback. that's weird.
i do leave feedback first and leave notes in my packages asking buyers to leave feedack. its really helped get more and get my dsrs up.

[mnbren05]

One buyer I dealt with a few times continually would ask me to leave feedback. I would post it after shipment etc but he would pressure me immediately after the auction. Once I refunded his purchase because he claimed it did not work (b.s.) and went on a 3 day weekend trip to Atlantic City. Came back to 8 messages threatening legal action for not leaving feedback. I replied back "I think I will be in contact with your local Franklin, TN Ebay Dept. of Claims officer, about Ebay harassment and disorderly conduct. Thank you." Not a word from him again and I also blocked him.

[garagesaleking!!]

sellers are screwed in every way possible on ebay these days, the buyer is not done when they pay like another person said above, they have to complete their end of the transaction, which is open the item, make sure it works, and let you know they got it, and then leave you the feedback you deserve. I usually do leave feedback first as a seller before the buyer does because thats just whats normal, but it works either way.

As a seller i will always contact my buyers after about 14 days to ask them for positive feedback. as a buyer i rarely do even think about whether i will get feedback or not.

[RoyVegas]

After the deal I just went through I wont leave feedback as a seller before they leave feedback for me. Here is why:

I sold 4 games, buyer pays by Paypal. I leave positive feedback. I ship games Priority Mail with tracking. He gets games and leaves positive feedback for me. He then orders 10 more games and pays by Paypal again. I leave positive feedback and ship the games Priority mail with tracking that I printed directly off Paypal. The next day after he knows the next 10 games are in the mail since he got the tracking #, he contacts his bank and reverses the payment on the first 4 games he bought. I win the dispute with paypal and get my money. I then get an email asking where the second order of 10 games are. I provide the tracking # and say that USPS says they delivered them per the tracking. Then he files a dispute with Paypal for the second order of 10 games. I provide all of the information to Paypal including the emails and tracking. They side with me since I obviously sent the second set of games and he received them per the USPS tracking. Then he hits me with a negative feedback, even though tracking says he got the games and Paypal agreed.

Lesson learned, I wont leave feedback right away.

[garagesaleking!!]

but damn ebay wont let you leave him a negative feedback, makes no sense.

[peeingas]

I don't get why buyers care about feedback. It never mattered anyway for buyers (yes even when the could get negatives). In fact, the whole "sellers can only leave positives" system is an ACKNOWLEDGEMENT that buyer feedback is meaningless. The only reason they didn't eliminate it altogether is because they realize it is a great gimmick; buyers love seeing that number rise, even if it means nothing.

[ryborg]

I don't get why buyers care about feedback. It never mattered anyway for buyers (yes even when the could get negatives). In fact, the whole "sellers can only leave positives" system is an ACKNOWLEDGEMENT that buyer feedback is meaningless. The only reason they didn't eliminate it altogether is because they realize it is a great gimmick; buyers love seeing that number rise, even if it means nothing.

This is EXACTLY why I don't bother with it anymore. Who cares if your feedback goes from (152) to (153)?

[Japan-Games.com]

"With that being said, I personally think that sellers SHOULD leave the positive feedback once they receive payment, no questions asked."

There's more to a good Buyer than just sending a payment. A lot of times buyers don't read the description or make another mistake and they want you to remedy it for them, like buying a Japanese game and trying to play it on a US console. The chances of stuff like that happening means Sellers really shouldn't leave feedback just because they got a payment.

As a Seller I leave feedback once they leave feedback for me. As far as I'm concerned the deal isn't done until they get the item and they say they're happy. Then I respond in kind. In reality most people here are right, feedback is mostly a joke nowadays anyway. I don't really have anyone asking me for it unless they're new to the system.

[Namnuta]

I Agree with Japan-Games (Who i have bought from before. :) Think i bought my Neo AES from you) . As a seller, i never leave you feedback until i know that the buyer isn't going to try a fast one on me. I have only had to deal with one bad buyer before, but that's enough in my books.

[The 1 2 P]

I can imagine an angry mob of ebay noobs sitting around a table with forks in their hand, slamming the forks against the table chanting "feedback, feedback, feedback".

[unwinddesign]

I don't see what difference it makes witholding feedback until they leave you a positive. It has not outcome on the overall transaction. If they were gonna try to screw you with a Paypal complaint, they'll do it whether they get a +1 to their feedback score or not.

Buyer negatives never mattered unless you were a seller too, in which case they affected your entire positive percentage. Which was dumb as hell. It didn't matter if someone with 10 negs as a buyer bought an item from you, you still had to ship it if he paid for it...you can't really refuse sale to anyone once they pay, sadly.

[ryborg]

It didn't matter if someone with 10 negs as a buyer bought an item from you, you still had to ship it if he paid for it...you can't really refuse sale to anyone once they pay, sadly.

Whenever I sell a high-value item, I check out the bidder's feedback history if they make a good offer. If I find they're a pain in the ass to sellers, I'll either reject the offer and block them, or make a counter offer for a higher price to make it worth my while. You may not be able to see negs for buyers, but you can see the feedback they leave for others. I do this for auctions, too, but I really don't use those anymore.

But yeah, if someone uses BIN for the full price and pays, there's really nothing more you can do but ship and hope for the best.

[Ed Oscuro]

This is EXACTLY why I don't bother with it anymore. Who cares if your feedback goes from (152) to (153)?
But eBay gave me this pretty Adobe Acrobate with MY NAME ON IT!!

Buyers don't even need to worry about feedback being withheld for them being crap buyers, since there's no blatantly obvious way they've done something wrong from looking at that.

[aaron7]

I hate not receiving feedback. Many times I have to prod my buyers and people I've bought from to leave it.

[Greg2600]

I hate not receiving feedback. Many times I have to prod my buyers and people I've bought from to leave it.
So do I, and I especially get roiled by sellers who don't leave any. eBay should have a system whereby if the other party fails to leave anything after 90 days, it automatically is a positive.

[Damaramu]

With my last couples purchases on Ebay, the sellers did not bother to leave me feedback after I had received the item and left positives for them (the items arrived A-Ok).

Annoying, but not the end of the world.

[mobiusclimber]

Paypal has actually used seller feedback to determine the outcome of disputes, so that's why it's never a good idea to leave positive feedback right away. Of couse sellers can't leave negative feedback for buyers, but if you leave a positive one before the deal is actually finished, then you just open yourself up to losing Paypal claims. It's stupid but it's true. At any rate, how can you grade the buyer if the transaction isn't finished. Just b/c the buyer has paid you doesn't mean that the transaction is over. It isn't over until the buyer is happy w/ the transaction. How can you leave positive feedback for a transation that hasn't finished?!

I'd like to say too that I've gotten plenty of messages from sellers wanting positive feedback. I usually ignore them. I don't leave feedback anymore, ever. I used to tell them this, but I've gotten too many messages back w/ nonsense trying to get me to leave a positive. Look, I'm not doing it. Don't give me feedback, I won't give you feedback, it's all done. I don't agree w/ FeePay's feedback system, they broke it. So no. I'm not using it.