Revised feedback = false impression of seller

[supragirl0416]

What a waste of time is feedback. I have so many items not received, seller delays with promises until too late to open a case, I leave negative feedback, then am offered a refund and "stalked" to change feedback to positive. This gives false feedback ratings and allows seller to continue this practise. This in turn RENDERS FEEDBACK TOTALLY FALSE. EBay needs to follow up and stop giving these sellers 100% positive ratings

[repentatleisure1952]

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@supragirl0416 wrote:
What a waste of time is feedback. I have so many items not received, seller delays with promises until too late to open a case, I leave negative feedback, then am offered a refund and "stalked" to change feedback to positive. This gives false feedback ratings and allows seller to continue this practise. This in turn RENDERS FEEDBACK TOTALLY FALSE. EBay needs to follow up and stop giving these sellers 100% positive ratings

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Why do you allow yourself to be strung along with delays ?

You have FREE buyer protection with Pay Pal.....open an Item Not Received dispute after a reasonable time....I wait a max of 21 days for domestic & 35 days for o/s deliveries.

Leaving negative feedback before the transaction is complete is not going to get you the items any quicker.

Why would you change a neg to a positive? Feedback is there to reflect your overall experience with the transaction,not as a hurry up to the seller.

Works for me !!!

[repentatleisure1952]

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@supragirl0416 wrote:
What a waste of time is feedback. I have so many items not received, seller delays with promises until too late to open a case, I leave negative feedback, then am offered a refund and "stalked" to change feedback to positive. This gives false feedback ratings and allows seller to continue this practise. This in turn RENDERS FEEDBACK TOTALLY FALSE. EBay needs to follow up and stop giving these sellers 100% positive ratings

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Just noticed that you seem to buy from large volume Chinese sellers who have heaps of negs !

Had you taken heed of their feedback I'm sure you would not have dealt with them. I know I would'nt !

[harley_babes_hoard]

1.Start buying from sellers with less negatives.
2.Stop allowing yourself to be strung along until you can't open a case.
3. Stop giving in to changing feedback. If they keep hassling you to change back do a feedback follow up saying "seller harassing me to change feedback for refund" This will usually stop them.

[modestbods]

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@harley_babes_hoard wrote:

1.Start buying from sellers with less negatives.
2.Stop allowing yourself to be strung along until you can't open a case.
3. Stop giving in to changing feedback. If they keep hassling you to change back do a feedback follow up saying "seller harassing me to change feedback for refund" This will usually stop them.

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OP, do exactly as harley babe suggests above.

Regardless of how nice a seller is, or what promises they may make, ALWAYS open a dispute with Paypal by day 45 (I open it on day 43/44 just in case I did the math wrong), this then allows you a further 20 days in which to escalate it to a claim if the items still haven't arrived.

 Just send a polite message to the seller, something to the effect of "Hi, I realize the item is probably on it's way & will arrive soon, as you have promised, but in order to cover myself I had to open a dispute now before it was too late to do so. As soon as the item arrives, if within the next 20 days, I shall close the dispute. I'm sure you can understand." Any legit seller will be fine with your doing this... but do not close the dispute no matter what the seller says/promises, until you have either received the items or a refund.

 I also agree with the others suggesting not to leave any feedback until everything has been concluded with the seller. You have 60 days in which to leave feedback, so there's no rush. A seller knowing you can still leave feedback (and thus negative feedback) is incentive for them to please you & 'turn that frown upside down', more so than if you've already left a neg (in which case even if you change it later, the short term damage has already been done to the seller). 

Sellers feedback can be a very effective tool/guide for prospective buyers to use provided it has been left reasonably & honestly.

Good luck.

[springyzone]

You have a huge number after your name, so it looks as if you have had a lot of ebay transactions. You'll be wanting them to work out more smoothly.

Your complaint is easily fixed.

First off, if you don't get your items, put in a claim well before the 45 days is up. 20-30 days is a reasonable time to wait. Not much longer. No ifs, no buts. Doesn't matter what any seller promises. Tell them you will only withdraw the claim once your item arrives.

Next, don't change your feedback unless you personally want to. If you feel you must respond to seller pleas, just type NO.

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I don't think feedback is totally false because a lot of buyers are not like you. They wouldn't give in and neither should you. You either get the goods or you put in a claim and give a neg. You don't have to tell them that either. Just do it.

In my present ID, I haven't had anywhere near as many transactions as you have, but I have been on ebay now for about-must be getting on for 12 or 14 years- and I have had only a very few disappointing experiences. Over the last couple of years, any sellers I have dealt with have been totally on the ball.

If I am thinking of buying, I try to have a quick look at feedback to see if the seller is generally okay. Plus I try to buy from Australian sellers. I have bought from a few Chinese sellers (who had excellent feedback) though and no trouble. 

From what I can make out from these boards, the main trouble seems to come from phones and things like that. Just resist the urge to buy anything on ebay that might break down and have to be sent back to China etc and you should be okay.

[digupatin]

Just found this thread and it addresses my concerns.

I've left a seller neutral feedback, with a fair explanation, because the item I purchased didn't arrive and I requested a refund because even if they mailed the item again it would arrive too late for Xmas.

They have emailed me asking me to contact eBay and say I made a mistake with my feedback and I want to change it to positive.

I don't feel I can lie and give false positive feedback and they don't deserve negative feedback for the transaction.

If they contact me again I'll follow springyzone's suggestion and not give in.

Thanks

[cq_tech]

I can understand why you might feel that way but look at the situation from the seller's POV. In all likelihood they've posted your item in good faith but for reasons outside their control the item has gone missing in transit. You clearly feel that it wasn't a positive experience, but as far as eBay is concerned, leaving neutral feedback for the seller is exactly the same as leaving negative feedback and they will be given a defect as a result.

In such situations where the seller is not at fault, the only time I would leave negative or neutral feedback would be if they argued the point about giving you a refund. If they were courteous and promptly refunded your money in full, then I don't believe they deserve to be punished, which is exactly what you're doing by leaving them neutral feedback. Far better to leave them no feedback at all. After all, you've only lost a bit of time. The seller is out of pocket the cost of the item and postage, and that's punishment enough, particularly when it's not their fault.

Changing your feedback from a neutral to positive isn't lying. The fact that they refunded you without argument is, to me, a positive thing, given that many sellers will argue the point and make you lodge a dispute with Paypal, so on that basis I believe it would be the right thing to do as they ask and revise your feedback to a positive.

Ask yourself this. Given that it was not their fault, do you think they deserve a defect, which can cause major damage to a seller's standing? It's hard enough being a seller on eBay without being penalised because of somebody else's incompetence, and being Christmas, don't you think it would be a nice gesture to revise your feedback? You'll probably feel all nice and fuzzy inside if you do, and there'll be no bad karma to come back and bite you on the bum when you least expect it. 🙂

[i-love-my-sheep]

I copped a neutral for communicating with my buyer, giving them a full refund before they asked and even gave a bit extra in case they incurred fees as my PayPal was empty so I sent via a payment. Buyer said I had bent over backwards and was really happy with how I handled things and wouldn't leave me bad feedback. 4 weeks later, whammo. Neutral and defect. He may as well have hit ,e with a red dot as it did the same damage.

Yes, it hurt, especially when I did everything right, and more. There's just no pleasing some people.

[cq_tech]

Sheep, you should know by now that eBay is the home of disgustingly low and despicable acts. 😞