I think it's a bit of a catch 22. Ebay changed their policy from allowing sellers to leave negative feedback to banning it because when a buyer would leave honest feedback netural or negative the seller would often retaliate by leaving negative feedback for the buyer, so buyers simply either didn't leave feedback or didn't leave accurate feedback which made the ebay feedback system inaccurate because they were worried about retaliation.

I not too long ago purchased a signed photo that was significantly blurry however that detail was not listed in the description and was not visible in the picture of the listing. There were a couple of other issues like too expensive given quality (which I didn't know until I received the item) and an illegable COA. I sent a very polite email the seller but he ignored me so I left a honest feedback listing positive and neutral comments. I thought I was generous in that (I didn't say the item was in fact crappy) however the seller didn't like what I said and left me a somewhat neagative comment criticising my communication skills and saying I didn't know what a COA was. He also sent me a not so nice email to accompany his feedback.

I didn't report him or open a dispute for a $60 item because I couldn't be bothered. I will however never buy from this seller again.

I would also like to add I have experienced far more positive experiences on ebay than negative.

My point is this if this seller had been able to leave negative feedback he would have left it for me when I did nothing wrong.

I am not a seller. I think on most occasions it's good that sellers can't leave negative feedback however I also think in the case of non paying buyers (when provable) an exception should be made to this rule.

30helena30 wrote:

I am not a seller. I think on most occasions it's good that sellers can't leave negative feedback however I also think in the case of non paying buyers (when provable) an exception should be made to this rule.

there are always going to be inconsistencies with any application of negs for buyers.

Take this situation, a seller has PayPal listed as a payment option, but then tells the buyer 'no PayPal'.  So the buyer doesn't pay as they want the protection that PayPal offers.  The buyer becomes a non-payer and the seller leaves them negative feedback.  Of course the buyer could appeal any strike and would rightly win that appeal.  What happens to the neg left by the seller because of provable non-payer?  Exceptions to rules create inconsistencies as the rule is no longer black and white.

"if a story doesn't make sense . . . . then it is not true" - Judge Judy

I recently had a buyer who did not pay in spite of being reported to Ebay. On advance search I discovered the buyer won quite a number of items but paid for very few. I would be interested to know whether any other seller has a link I could be referred to to see exactly how Ebay communicates with NPs. Surely this buyer should have been deregistered for theirr consistent refusal to pay. If all sellers who have come across a NP reported them and blocked them from bidding we may weed some repeat offenders out.

This is exactly what happen to me, I sold an item, sent invoice 1, heard nothing, then week later invoice 2 as reminder or may had missed first one, then 3rd contact I messaged politely asking if there are any issues I should be aware of item I sold, as for non payment, suggested contact me to solve issues/problem. Not one single reply, infact ignored me outright.

Only then went into this all positive feedback and noticed many many many non payments received.

I logged a non payment, left feedback, could only leave positive, but did wording persons lack of payment.

This person has over 500 positive feedback stars, yes I can block them, but this doesn't assist other sellers like myself as casual or new seller/buyers. There has to be another way!

I also noticed this person has more than 1 account.

This buyer also had been ripping ebay off with payments, selling multiple items in one 99c LISTING, no doubt paid only on 99c, not upto over the $3,000 different pricing advertised, using mobile number, these since have been removed after ebay was notified.

That's a lot of money you and I have paid, this seller has been on ebay for over 5 yrs, no doubt ripping off ebay most of the time.

Why is it that sellers who think it is OK for them to breach ebay policy by leaving feedback for non payers are often the ones that complain loudest about other members breaching policy by not paying etc?

The rules are there for everyone and the consequence of not paying can, and should be, a strike which helps protect all sellers. The consequence of leaving false positive feedback are the possibility of a policy violation reducing your TRS compliance,  the addition of a green dot for the buyer with no comment because that will be removed, the possible removal of the UPI strike and buyers not purchasing from you because it is obvious you don't care about following ebay policy.

Now tell me again why you think leaving a neg for a non payer is a good idea?

My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.

There were some changes recently regarding non payers and feedback.

As soon as an Unpaid Item Dispute is opened the ability for the buyer or seller to leave feedback is blocked by eBay.

If the buyer ends up not paying and the seller closes the UPI dispute then neither the buyer or the seller can leave feedback.

This message from eBay comes up if as a seller you try.

Sorry, it's not possible to leave feedback for this transaction.
Feedback has been disabled because payment was not recorded

If the buyer ends up paying and it is recorded by eBay then it is no longer an Unpaid Item so normal feedback rules apply.

I for one would never trust a solicitor who would take on a case against a non payer.

I would imagine that the courts would consider it a frivolous case and refuse to award any costs to the OP.

My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.

writingcj wrote:

I may possibly be leaving negative feedback for the non payer, but it is POSITIVE for future sellers who have the same problem!

Sounds like a "plan" except for one extremely important thing that you've overlooked:

If the buyer reports you, then you INSTANTLY get a Policy Violation against your account. A couple of those, and your selling account will be restricted.

... oh, and eBay removes your Feedback comment too. So that makes 2 things you've overlooked.

"There ARE NO COSTS if the Buyer doesn't pay. Not $50, not $1.,.. nothing. They are refunded by ebay when you process the correct non-payment report. So you are engaging a solicitor ROFL, yeah sure you are."

Superficially you are right!

If the non paying buyer is the sole bidder then not much cost, but if he is not the only one, the seller now could have sold to someone interested. These bidders usually move on after losing on bids.

just realised that this is another ZOMBIE!!! 

t-bone0421 wrote:

This might be an old issue , however i have noticed recently with some non paying buyers that you cant give them negative feedback. You can give positive feedback with a negative comment but not negative or nuetral options. The thing with this is that they gain more points towards stars etc. So in reality you could buy 50 items , not pay and if all the angry sellers leave feedback that person could get themselves a blue star. I think this is something that needs to be fixed. Apart from the annoyance of non paying buyers , its the nuisance of having to get back final value fee's etc.

You can give positive feedback with a negative comment

No.....you can't....... because that's again eBay rules.

Leave a positive rating with a negative comment, and I hope you get reported and a violation against your account. 

We are what we think.

this is an old thread

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.