Never leave neutral feedback???

[wargul]

Without mentioning seller names - I have been an ebay user since it was run by its original designer in a house somewhere and never had many hassels - firstly as a seller but now only as a buyer. Anyhow, recently I left some neutral feedback for what I considered a very ordinary transaction. WELL, I get an email from the seller about how I have damaged his business and he has a circle of other sellers who will block any further purchases unless I retract the feedback. I have reported the seller's actions to ebay and there is no way I am going to be bullied into changing the feedback - even though it could bite me in the bum as I buy a fair bit of stuff for my collection.

Anyhow, I am wondering how widespread this harassment is and, if widespread, does it render ebay feedback meaningless. Has anyone else been lambasted for leaving neutral feedback? Sheesh, I shudder to thing what would have happened if I'd left negative feedback.

There is a sour taste that I wish would go away.

[cspotrunning]

look at my negative, because Australia post lost it or it got pinched from the letterbox. refunded her straight away when she contacted me. all that for a $3.25 movie. now she wont answer my emails and her phone number is bogus. and ebay keeps telling me its my fault and I need to improve.

check out all my other great feedback and tell me its deserved.

some sellers deserve bad feedback but it is so open to abuse. 

[**tay**]

Don't you have to tick that you contacted seller before leaving a neutral for a seller?

Think its only fair that a seller that regularly seems to satisfy customers has a chance to respond - even if item is not as described. 

I do very much believe in honesty in feedback - but to leave neutral before contacting is not the way to go I reckon. 

Don't know if they've changed it, but I left neutral for a seller without even knowing it. I ticked positive and left nice comment, then scrolled to submit. Can only assume it scrolled between the positive neutral and neg and I didn't notice. I was so mortified when seller contacted to ask me if why the neutral with positive comment... Not once at any point did ebay pop up with a 'you're about to leave neutral feedback' warning.

[thecatspjs]

Just checked it out what comes up is a little box orange box with a flag under the rating circles

it says:

Before you leave this Feedback, please contact your seller to see if anything else can be done to make your experience positive.  Sellers want you to be be happy and so do we.

[**tay**]

Looks like they've changed it then, thank god!

[nicole-n-daz]

There are a couple of things i do not get here.

How is a seller Harrasing When maybe all they want to do is fix the transaction so both parties are relatively happy with the transaction .? (Even though this seller obviously went about it the wrong way)Was the seller contacted 1st before feedback was left ? (If not then that would annoy me as well,as us sellers deserve the chance to make things right if something has gone wrong with the transaction.

I do not believe any seller deserves a neutral or a negative if they try really hard to make the buyer happy.Any seller can make an error in judgement,and i bet all of us have made mistakes before.

i once accidently left a neg for the wrong person,i rang ebay and they removed it straight away for me .(Directed to the last post here)

[bsal6160]

Well, if that seller tried to blackmail like that (threatening to have other sellers block me if i didnt remove the feedback)  i would have obliged them and left NEGATIVE feedback in regards to threatening emails.

Nowhere in ebay does it say its MANDATORY to contact a seller before leaving feedback.

[nicole-n-daz]

No it not mandatory,Just plain manners,which cost nothing.

And i agree there is no place for blackmail,But what is the real definition of blackmail ?

[digital*ghost]

There are a couple of things i do not get here.

How is a seller Harrasing When maybe all they want to do is fix the transaction so both parties are relatively happy with the transaction .? (Even though this seller obviously went about it the wrong way)Was the seller contacted 1st before feedback was left ?

The OP has already stated that part if the reason the neutral was left was due to the seller's response when contacted, and threats about getting other sellers to block them can't really be seen as an attempt to resolve the issue in the right or wrong way, IMO. 

[nicole-n-daz]

Hey digital,I totally understand this and the seller was totally wrong.

But my question is was the seller contaced 1st,which i believe is plain manners to do so,

And Ebay should make a rule that no negative or neutral feedback can be left unless the seller is contacted 1st.

[nicole-n-daz]

Sorry misread your post.

So if the seller was contacted 1st,then i guess fair enough.