I'm a small buyer to e-Bay, have read hundreds of feedbacks and think I have learned to "read between the lines". Buyers complain and sellers say they were never notified or buyer refused compensation. I can believe this in some cases but what buyer wouldn't try to resolve a problem to save his money. I bought a used slide projector that seller claimed was checked and works perfectly. It didn't and was so gummed up it hadn't worked for years. I got it working but didn't file a negative feedback because they would of returned a negative one saying it worked when they sent it as they told me when I notified them. What good would a feedback of done? I got no feedback that I paid within hours. I bought a meat grinder that was advertised as easy to clean. I showed it to a meat manager and he said he would be afraid to use it because of bacteria hidden in the rough casting. Seller said they would refund my money but the thing weighed 60# and I would of lost shipping costs both ways. I spent hours machining the inside by hand. I didn't give negative feedback because I would of got the same. Again no credit for fast pay. Some try to resolve problems but the buyers are most always shown in the wrong. That's where I have the problem. I do believe most sales go smoothly it's the negative ones I think aren't honestly handled for the buyer. Do any veteran e-Bayers agree or am I off base? ........ Thanks for any comments.

 

I have been Ebaying for over 5 years now and I have been lucky so far with all my transactions (knock on wood!). I will only purchase from sellers that have a positive feedback rating of 96% or higher, depending on the # of transactions.

I have also been a seller on Ebay and I alway give both good and bad info. If my item is crap I will say so. Alas, many sellers exaggerate about the quality of their products.

Buyer beware! Ask any and all questions you have of the seller. Check their feedback responses and comments, AND be willing to accept inferior products if you don't query the seller first!

I am certainly not trying to dog anyone, but you get what you pay for...if you're lucky!

aerostargal (formerly-now I am driving a ~GASP!~ Dodge Grand Caravan)

 

ive sold a good bit of stuff on ebay, my feedback shold be 100+ but theres been a ton of transactions where i never recieved any sort of feedback

i think the ffedback system is an ok idea, its great for showing good buyers and sellers, but most of the time noone will leave negative feedback because that person will do the same to you...somehow i have maintained 100% feedback

i have found that the key to good transactions is good communication before and after the sale...as a seller i always take the initiative to tell the buyer whats going on and thank them for the purchase etc...

ive had people leave me a few neutral feedback about something that could have been resolved....IF THEY CONTACTED ME FIRST

i personally try and stay away from the big time sellers

also im one of the rare sellers who leaves the buyer feedback first about their payments speed etc...

i agree with you, i think the feedback needs some work, because most people are afraid to leave negative

 

Ive both bought and sold on Ebay in the past. I often wont deal with somone unless they feedback rating is 95% of higher.
It would be great if someone reviewed the reason why negative or positive feedback was left to make sure that it is warranted, but I highly doubt Ebay has the neccesary manpower to do that. Ebay is so huge that it would take a lotta people to do this day in and day out.

 

Ebay's system is flawedd bacause it allows for retailitory feedback

you cant be afraid to get some battle damage.

As a seller I wait till the buyer OK's the transaction with me, because thats when the transaction is over.

As far as 96%, I think its a gamble if its less than 99% X amount of people get screwed, I want to limit my "x" chances as much as possible

 

I'm with most all the others. As a buyer, I'll leave the seller feedback when I've gotten the item and checked it out. As a seller, I started out leaving feedback when the item was paid for, but a couple experiences changed my mind--I now wait until the buyer lets me know (doesn't have to be feedback but so far always has been) that all is well. I've returned one item, the seller was very easy to work with, replaced it quickly. So far I'm at 100% positive, no negatives and no neutrals, but I've also been almost entirely a buyer for the last couple years, and other than a car, most everything I get on eBay is low-dollar stuff--old computer parts, odds and ends that pretty much cannot be bad, etc. The car was a good deal too as far as that's concerned--couldn't have found one locally for the price in that condition.

 

I do the same.

One problem I have encountered was from a guy who expected a mint condition item. Even though I said it had damage.

We were selling a 77 F250 hood and I specifically said there was a dent and some surface rust. He won the bid for $25.00 and when he came to pick it up he said that it was junk and was rusted through (It wasn't). We refunded his money on the spot and he left negative feedback.

Some people expect to get a brand new item for next to nothing and don't fully read the item description or ask questions. Then they go complaining without giving the seller a chance to correct it.

 

i hate that for you, ive had a problem similar where the buyer didnt read the description and expected somehting different and they were dissapointed..but luckily i have been able to get everything resolved......i usually try and go out of my way to make things "right" in the name of keeping my 100% feedback

 

I haven't bought on Ebay simply because I like to actually see what I am buying, but a friend at work has bought 2 motorcycles over it. The first one was close to what he thought he was suppose to be getting and the only trouble he had was getting it shipped to him. The 2nd though has been a problem child. He has gotten to the 90 day mark and still hasn't gotten the title and the stock seat for it even though his checked has long been cashed and he even gave the guy a extra $25. to mail the seat. He now is going to have a penalty to pay when he goes to register the bike and is calling the DA to see what can be done concerning the title.

 

My wife and I have been using ebay for about 7yrs both buying and selling and it has changed in those 7yrs,alot more scum and theives,granted there are some good sellers and buyers but it was hard to keep a 100% feedback.We have over 750 positives and two negatives one was left by mistake and both the guy that left it and I could not get it removed(ebay will not change feedback even if both partys agree it was a mistake )The first one we got was retailitory I won some ink for my printer and the guy never contacted me and would not return my phone calls after 60 days of this crap I left him a negative well guess what as soon as I did I got a nasty email from him calling me every name in the book and my first negative feedback,well he is no longer on ebay and I am and I looked up his current feedback and it must have been a kid becase all of his friends left playful feedback all positive but the rest was negative and they booted him off.IF I left feedback for all the bad deals I have had my feedback score would be horrible from retailitory negatives.I check feedback very carefully even if it means going through pages of positives to find one negative.When ever I have had problems with a buyer or seller ebay has not giving one ounce of help so you are really on your own.

 

The sellers I dislike are the ones that say after you leave positive feedback I will leave positive for you. I don't ever leave these guys feedback. I will not be held hostage for feedback. I emailed one seller once and told him this. I said I paid by paypal so the payment is instant so I expected not to have to wait for feed back.

 

i've seen the case where an e-bayer either manufactured false names in order to give himself good feed back or had his buddies give him false feedback!

 

Its almost like you should be suspect of someone with a high rating and perfect 100% feedback. No matter how hard you try, there is always something that is going to go wrong when your selling, or some hothead who has unrealistic expectations and is going to give negative feedback no matter what you do.

I think ebay could improve its system by giving each user two rating numbers, one for selling and one for buying experiences.

I've left neutral feedback in one case where i was charged "actual shipping costs" of $25 when the item arrived in manufacturer packaging and $4 worth of postage on it, postmarked three weeks after the auction closed.

I've also left positive feedback with sarcastic comments like "wow! $96/lb is an awesome deal on styrofoam peanuts!"

 

Well, I buy and sell. I have a 100% feedback. I am very careful of who I buy from and who I sell to. What I sell is always a fantastic bargin for the buyer (I think that helps). I do check feedback and mostly rely on responses to questions when buying. Is it a form response? How quickly they respond and I look for negative feedbacks. Negatives I view with the tone and problems reported. This has worked well for me.

I do tend to be a bit careful of High volume sellers, but understand there are a lot of people who make a living selling items for other people. These are the sellers I find have slower shipping times and "form letter" responses. I view their feedback with a fine tooth comb.

Finally, when I am purchasing from someone, I view what they have purchased. Someone selling electric motors and buying collectables and childrens books are usually average joes like us that don't want the hassle of problems.

My .02

 

I have only one negative and that followed a negative that I filed because the seller would not respond to repeated attempts. Now I file last or not at all.