@csbowesuk,
Possible reasons for giving a (generous) time limit for feedback rather than leaving it an eternal blank slate for the disappointed or happy buyer include:
- seller is entitled to assume a transaction is done and dusted after a reasonable time
- buyer is not entitled to even hint at using feedback as a lever (in effect, a product warranty through feedback threat) after sustained period of use
- the very great majority of transactions are (and are intended to be) complete within a certain timeframe - and sixty days is a reasonable timeframe
- feedback has lost a good deal of its value in the wake of eBay's various changes (including sellers no longer able to give negative feedback (some pros, some cons to that), timeframe changes, ability to change feedback after giving it, neutrals once upon a time having a bad effect, negatives once upon a time resulting in seller defects, and quite a few others), and it no longer drives buyer behaviour in the same way
- for buyers who really want to visibly thank their seller, it may be a little frustrating if a transaction takes far longer than 60 days, but if the item delivery is going to take that long, the seller is hardly going to expect feedback... (If they did, they'd be shipping via a method that is likely to cut down that shipping time)
- good sellers with high feedback numbers will have ceased to care about feedback (unless they suddenly receive a Red Sea of negatives and need some appreciative green dots to counterbalance that - highly unlikely)
- good sellers are focused upon selling, not upon individual feedback
- when buyers have a valid negative to give, sadly it does not seem to stop most other buyers from buying from that seller... (It's still a valid process for prospective buyers to look through the seller's feedback, which I certainly do... but I can see - from the vast hordes of buyers purchasing from Chinese sellers on eBay whose feedback certainly shows persistent problems - that many many buyers just go for the "too good to be true" transactions
From my perspective, I continue to leave feedback for almost every purchase, probably because when I started buying on eBay, feedback was important. It's now ingrained in me for eBay purchases. I am also aware that new sellers or casual sellers are more in need of positive feedback than are high-volume sellers, and I have purchased from such sellers. Partly too it's to remind me of what I've purchased from whom and when, I suppose. However, if an item arrived too late for feedback, my concern would not be "Oh no, I can't give feedback". My concern rather would be to lodge an INR claim, and if the item ended up arriving later on, I'd repay the seller through PayPal.
The only time I'd not leave feedback is when I'm not really satisfied with the transaction, but the seller's error isn't egregious. I'd be hovering between leaving a bland comment and a neutral, or saying nothing and leaving nothing. I can count on one hand the number of times I've had an unsatisfactory transaction. That also informs my views on feedback.
But really... feedback is not personally important to me. I buy for the items, not for feedback received, and presumably sellers sell to make a profit, not for feedback received, which after all can't be used as coupons, discounts, Frequent Flyer points, currency, chat-up lines, or fuel in one's car...
I can see from the feedback you leave for sellers that you're an appreciative buyer. You haven't left a swathe of red dots in your wake. I don't think you're likely to misuse feedback - but there are some horror buyers, some unreasonable buyers, and some overly demanding buyers, in respect of whom the unfortunate seller wants only to be able to draw a line under the whole thing and never ever have to deal with that buyer again, including feedback, phone calls, messages, emails, house visits, threats of motorcycle gang violence, and repeated attempts to disrupt further transactions, etc.
Feedback has to have an arbitrary time limit. I wouldn't object to a longer limit but I have no need for it myself. In my experience, 60 days is long enough, and I think for the majority of buyers on eBay, it's long enough.*
* CAVEAT: there are some buyers who allow themselves to be strung along with excuses from bad sellers (usually Chinese) until it's too late to make a claim for either INR or SNAD. Such buyers have posted on these boards, often complaining bitterly of not being able to leave feedback, but they're actually out of pocket when they didn't need to be. I continue to think that getting a justified refund is more important than venting in feedback... and in any event, as I mentioned, if it were I, I would simply lodge a claim in good time, and upon receiving my refund, I would leave factual feedback. The timeframe would not be up because I'd be acting within the apppropriate timeframes for everything involved.
(Also, if it were I, I'd not have bought from a dodgy Chinese (or any nationality including Australian) seller who sends either fakes/SNADs or doesn't send at all.)
I hope that explains it to some extent, at least from my perspective. This is a bit of a scroller, admittedly, but I'm feeling rotten and should be in bed, and I let my fingers just roam free for a little while.
