Sellers extorting feedback by intimation?

[robert_053]

When selling I have ALWAYS given feedback when the customer pays for the item. The quicker they pay the better the feedback.  AS IT SHOULD BE.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

When buying how ever I have found a lot of sellers do not leave feedback until you leave them feedback.  Is this GOOD practice?  I don't think so, in fact it causes me to give poorer feedback than I may have originally as I class this activity as bad customer relations in the 'seller's communication' area.  As a rule I start asking why I had not received any feedback after four to five days, then if I do not receive a reasonable answer and immeadiate feedback the seller loses points.  As a majority of postal times from sellers average at least 7 days I usually wait that long before "reducing" the stars on communication.  Then every four days they lose another.

Today I contacted a seller asking "why?" on an item 320731808127 purchased on the 9th of May and received this reply:

"Dear robert_053,

Hi
thank you for your information.
our system work that when customer leave me positive feedback.
the system leave him positive also.
please leave me first.
miranda"

to which I have replied:

Hello Miranda,
That is very rude.
I order and pay for items straight away and so I expect positive feedback STRAIGHT AWAY!
What YOU are doing is extorting good feedback from customers so they will get good feedback too.
IF you had checked my members profile page you would have discovered that this is a particular "HATE" of mine.
It also causes those sellers who do it to LOSE 'points' when it comes to me making my assessment.
To me that is a "failure for proper seller's communication"
**excerpt from my page
**quote**
Business Information

NOTICE TO SELLERS!When I purchase your product and Pay immediately, I EXPECT feedback immediately!! Should you delay feedback, until I receive the item and give YOU feedback, you WILL receive LESS STARS in communication the longer you delay!
**endquote**
Sincerely,
Robb

Do YOU think I am right in doing this?

[patchoo78]

I really do not understand why a seller should be judged on how slow or how incompetent the relevant postal authority is.

They're not.. The postage stars are there to rate the seller on how long it took them to post the package, not how long it took to arrive..

[jillywinkle]

i wanted to vote, but would have gone for undecided, truth be known. My mind is a myriad of whirling thoughts with many variables attached & all other options presented, were just not on my list.

Still...always great to connect with other sellers and I do admire the OP's (Robert, in this particular scenario) unwavering staunchness & undying attitude, against the hammering tide of rebuttals & opinions released...bla

Lots of fun all round really. Beats banging one's head against the wall....and of course, how could one go against being flattered so nicely amongst it all...pfft...life is marvellous really when you think about it...

[jillywinkle]

go digighost...!!

[jillywinkle]

and god forbid...I simply must be bossy about some more grammar....intimation?? Umm....errr....I think it should be intimidation? intimation has an entirely different meaning...snog smooch personal etc....missed out some letters there...ahh well, nations have been built on worse mistakes...jillywinkle grammar police B-)

[lane-ends]

and god forbid...I simply must be bossy about some more grammar....intimation?? Umm....errr....I think it should be intimidation? intimation has an entirely different meaning...snog smooch personal etc....missed out some letters there...ahh well, nations have been built on worse mistakes...jillywinkle grammar police B-)

my nanna used to be called the "Granma police" because she kept pulling people up on their incorrect use of English and spelling.

[robert_053]

and god forbid...I simply must be bossy about some more grammar....intimation?? Umm....errr....I think it should be intimidation? intimation has an entirely different meaning...snog smooch personal etc....missed out some letters there...ahh well, nations have been built on worse mistakes...jillywinkle grammar police B-)

Yeah I see where you are coming from but that isn't what I was saying.

"intimation" is correct ... It means to infer, hint at, etc.

To intimate is to suggest by an indirect method.

But I do like your version of the meaning better 😉  **smack**  **cops whack on the back of the head**

Damn! Didn't see the misses reading over my shoulder:-(

Robb

B-)

[darrenh67]

Ok having read through the first page of all these posts I’ve decided to throw in my 2 cents worth.  Most likely it will be farting against thunder but here it is anyway.

In simple terms if it were not for buyers seller’s wouldn’t have a business. Therefore if you look at the process it goes something like this:  Buyer purchases item, Buyer pays for Item, Seller ships item, Buyer receives Item. Transaction closed.

So once the buyer has filled his obligation of paying for the item he has in effect completed his part of the deal and now trusts the seller to do his part and promptly ship the item as described. The buyer can only confirm what he purchased, is as the seller described, only once he receives it.

So when it comes to leaving feedback the buyer can only honestly do so once he or she gets the item.  The seller on the other hand has already received his payment before he or she even shipped the item so he or she can leave feedback on buyer at that point. This is good customer relations, basically it says thank you for your business you have done your part which I as a seller acknowledge.  By not leaving feedback until the buyer leave feedback basically says that as a seller even though I have got your money I still don’t trust you.

This from the buyers point would make me question the honesty and integrity of the seller, If he or she is offering a crap service or goods they deserve bad feedback, and by trying to protect themselves by holding feedback back until they receive a positive feedback suggests that the seller is far from honest.

If I were to take that same mentality as the seller who will only give feedback once the buyer has  BUT as a buyer then my stand would be something along these lines – Purchase an Item from a seller but don’t pay for it until the Seller leaves positive feedback or take it one step further and only pay for the item once I have actually received it and the seller has left positive feedback.

Ridiculous isn’t it there would be no ebay if that were the case.

So the question is why must the buyer who’s put themselves out there first and handed over their hard earned cash be subjected to “gorilla” tactics so perceived dishonest sellers (their mere actions create this perception) can try look good.

It’s all about trust the buyer trusts the seller by paying first. But if the Seller cannot trust the buyer to leave honest feedback then the sellers honesty and integrity is in question!

[*new2vintage]

I'm not sure why the OP has started a feedback thread. The subject has been done to death more than once and I'll point out what myself and others have pointed out before - Feedback is voluntary. Why let it bother you ?

[the3coopers]

The problem is that people tend to forget that there are at LEAST as many bad buyers out there as there are bad sellers.

But if the Seller cannot trust the buyer to leave honest feedback then the sellers honesty and integrity is in question!

It's got NOTHING to do with Sellers waiting to see what feedback a buyer leaves for them. It's about leaving feedback for the buyer that is accurate.

Paying for an item is an obligation, if the buyer doesn't do that then there isn't any transaction in the first place.

The seller can ONLY leave a Positive, so they cannot threaten or bribe or destroy a reputation or whatever... the only ones who can and do that are the Buyers.

[digital*ghost]

So the question is why must the buyer who’s put themselves out there first and handed over their hard earned cash be subjected to “gorilla” tactics so perceived dishonest sellers (their mere actions create this perception) can try look good.

-_-

How is not leaving feedback equal to "gorilla" tactics. You said you read the first page of comments - did you read my post? The one where I mentioned there are a lot of buyers out there who think the exact opposite you do (i.e. that a seller who leaves feedback on payment lack confidence in their product etc). Perhaps, every time I sell an item, I should message the buyer and ask a list of questions "do you want feedback with that? As part of the main course or should I save it for afters - anything special you'd like me to add? "Perfect buyer" is currently in season and goes perfectly with your winter greens". That way I won't have to wonder how my buyer would like these inconsequential things done - I'll waste a whole bunch of time finding out each individual preference....instead of getting on with my actual job - packing and posting their item.

An open piece of advice to all buyers, since it would make everyone's time on eBay so much more pleasant:

STOP thinking that the way you think things should be done can become expectations you can foist on to other people. If a seller isn't breaking any rules and is providing good service, they don't have to change a thing on account of the odd buyer who wants everything done their way.

ACCEPT that diversity is a wonderful thing - it makes the world turn round (and not around any one person in particular, I'll just point out), and where others have a choice and a different opinion about things, they have a right to exercise it in any way they choose.

Seriously, I would really like to know why there's so much emphasis on feedback as though it's part of the transaction ?:| - a small dot accompanied by an up to 80 character comment is NOT part of a transaction, it's an evaluation of a transaction. If a seller does not want to evaluate the transaction until they deem it fully complete, then for crying out loud just accept that as it's their choice.

There is no need to analyse a seller's motivations nor their trustworthiness etc over something that is not even a part of the transaction or the service they provide.

Consider me wound up, then unwound. :^O