Is leaving feedback safe?

[comics.cards.clothes]

Let me first start off by saying that eBay is way to heavily weighted towards the buyer. With eBay and paypal policies and enforcement it amounts to a shoplifters paradise and a genuine hard working sellers nightmare. But after reading recent posts on the new defect seller requirements, correct me if I am wrong but sellers are able to go back and see what transaction in fact caused said defect and who and what buyer caused it. I am all for sellers being able to block buyers who leave them negative, neutral or low dsr ratings. In fact I believe if a buyer does so they should automatically be blocked from future purchases from the seller that they left low or negative ratings. But if a seller can now go back and see who caused them a problem and has their name and address can potentially now leave the feedback leaver in personal danger from a disgruntled seller. I feel the whole feedback system is a bit of a joke but if one can see who leaves low feedback there is now a danger for buyers leaving feedback that affects sellers negatively. In closing I know 99.999% of sellers would do nothing more than block a trouble buyer, but it's the .001% who will use this info to do harm in one way or another.

[comics.cards.clothes]

Would love to hear from a store seller if this is correct? Do they want sellers to automatically rollover and refund? and buyers to be afraid of leaving justified feedback which is less than glowing of the seller?

[springyzone]

Sellers have been able to access buyer details such as phone numbers and addresses for many years and they would know who gave negative feedback but I agree, the low star ratings etc should be confidential.

I can recall getting a blast from an angry seller many years ago when i left a negative, he was on the phone furious but also puzzled as to why I gave it.

What had happened is he sold my daughter a concert ticket She bought it via my ebay account) but when she drove a fair way to pick it up, she found it was not for the day advertised. The seller apologised and ended up selling her another ticket for the right day, but not in as good a location.

It was an honest mistake on the part of the seller so i advised her not to leave any feedback at all. She didn't feel she could leave positive in the circumstances.

A few days later, I was shocked to see the seller had launched an unpaid item dispute with me. No message first, no reminder-if there had been I would have been able to remind him what had happened.

So I responded to the dispute and gave him a negative for all round incompetence. Boy, did he go off and his main gripe? I hadn't let him know, didn't give him a chance to do anything before I gave negative, I said he didn't give me a chance either before he launched into a dispute. You know, if he had, I would not have given any feedback at all.

So yes, it can get a bit fiery when things go wrong, but I doubt sellers would worry so much about low stars, they would worry more about a negative? And they have always had addresses of buyers.

[horizon1907]

Leaving feedback is Voluntary. If you feel uncomfortable about it, don't. Personally, I don't really think you have any reason too though. The Seller has your details anyway. It's a valid point you make. 

[comics.cards.clothes]

Yes I am aware that the address of a buyer leaving a neg is easily accessible but now leaving a 3 star feedback on any dsr rating now constitutes a defect and now leaves the buyer open to retribution from being identifiable.

[bsal6160]

And what if a negative was well deserved by seller? So you are saying if a seller gets a neg that is well deserved they should not get a defect and the buyer should then be punished for a bad seller? There are processes in place for BOTH parties to follow.

[comics.cards.clothes]

Here we go!!! Did you read the original post? My whole point of this post is that genuine and reasonable buyers are able to leave anonymous, accurate and impartial feedback towards sellers who genuinely deserve it.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[2011.narelle]

Some valid points but the chances of a seller having a rage attack over feedback & hunting down a buyer would be possible but unlikely.Most of my buyers are in other states,am i going to fly to Perth to abuse someone?Rhetorical question cos i really couldn't bother to do anything except leave an appropriate response to feedback & block them.

On the other side of that,i have to put my address on the back of each satchel,so several hundred people have my address & details.So that scenario goes both ways & I've never had a threat or visit from a buyer.

[digital*ghost]

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@comics.cards.clothes wrote:
Here we go!!! Did you read the original post? My whole point of this post is that genuine and reasonable buyers are able to leave anonymous, accurate and impartial feedback towards sellers who genuinely deserve it.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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It's interesting you bring this up, I posed a question on the seller's board recently asking if anyone thought the defect system was going to affect buyers and buyer behaviour, but got no replies... 

Here's what I want to ask you first...

Should buyers really be able to have a tremendously adverse affect on a seller's account anonymously and with absolutely no accountability?

That's largely the way it was under the old system, and personally I vote an emphatic no. 

I would have aboslutely no problem whatsoever with DSRs remaining anonymous if eBay didn't use them to punish sellers, but they do use them in that way, and as far as I'm concerned that means there needs to be some accountability for buyers, not free license to leave whatever the heck they want for whatever reason they want and allow eBay to use it as though it's tangible evidence of bad seller behaviour etc.  

If they were merely overviews / general reviews, keep them anonymous*, I wouldn't care, but when my capacity to sell on eBay is compromised because someone decides to rate a star at 3 rather the 4, not a word to me directly or via feedback of any problem, I would like the opportunity to prevent them from doing it again.

The flip side, however, is that I recognise buyers will become more conscious of the DSRs they leave, and possible consequences of causing a defect (and by consequences I'm more referring to seller reaction, including contacting buyers and/or blocking them), and I do believe that is going to have some kind of effect on buyer behaviour, and I don't really think it's for the better. 

Personally, I think it would be a rare occurence for a seller to compromise the safety of a buyer over an eBay issue - not saying it hasn't ever happened (I don't know), or wouldn't ever happen, but I don't think it's going to be more likely due to the defect system. 

*Fact of the matter is, DSRs were never truly anonymous, it was a convoluted process of running several reports to determine who left a low rating, so a seller had to be committed to finding out, but it has always been possible. 

[comics.cards.clothes]

Thank you for responding. No I feel buyers have to much weight on the sellers ability to be able to sell on eBay. Buyers should be able to be rated the almost same as sellers, not quite to the extant of sellers but at least enable sellers to know if their buyer has a history of IRN of low dsr or negative feedback. Look I myself have sold here and we are left at the hands of buyers to do the right thing, If both sides are left in fear of negative consequences(mainly the seller) is this whole thing just a whitewash which now enables hard working sellers to be defrauded and buyers put at risk from retribution from non store sellers?