Can eBay stop sellers from bloating their own feedback with <$1 items? Ripped off too many times!

[barginhunter4340]

Once you could trust the feedback and buy clothes with confidence. Now the feedback is bloated with items bought for less than $1, all padding the feedback to make it look high. When the feedback comes in over about 99.5%, you'd assume the negative reviews that say things like "Fake item", "Not like picture" , "Poor quality", "Refused refund", "Stay away" and other such warnings, are merely abberations and that the overall sales experience is quite good. However, the amount of effort these (sorry to say but mostly Chinese) clothing merchants put into padding their feedback makes choices difficult. True, many of the "buyers" who give feedback are different account holders, but how hard is it to set up multiple accounts all with the same back account in the back end. Basically you buy from yourself.

Also because these merchants are also setting up "stores" in western countries in order to get around the trend to avoid chinese merchandise, you can't even trust the local merchants. It's all the same poor quality Chinese clothing ripoffs!

Buying the more expensive option also does not guarantee you'll get what you pay for. It's all the same fake, poor quality clothing.

Though in the past I have bought clothes with confidence on eBay, more recently, I have been burned several times and I'm now preferring bricks and mortar shops for clothing and shoes unless I can be sure about what I am buying (which basically boils down to the seller having a recognisable bricks and mortar store name.)

I'm not sure what can be done to prevent this but I think it is time that items purchased for less than $1 (or perhaps even less than $5 - how do others feel about this?), be disallowed the privilege of giving feedback, since it is being so heavily abused and can only turn people off buying online! I'd be happy to hear other people's opinions on the matter. It's getting beyond a joke. (You can verify what I'm saying by simply checking out the feedback on any eBay clothing merchant. The attached screenshot is a from a Chinese CLOTHING merchant!)

Cheers

[*sparklz*]

The way ebay have their botts set up if a seller was buying from them self then they would pickup on it by the IP address if they used the same computer.

Hell they even stop you sending a genuine message to buyers with an email address or phone number in them.

If a seller is caught buying from them self to inflate prices or feedback they would be warned and or even shut down.

[enigmabear]

No

So many don't have the manners to leave feedback to start with

Ebay ENCOURAGES people to start auctions at 99 cents so that is what many do (which is silly but non of my business)

And as said above re IP addresses etc

Plus, I am not going to buy clothes from a Chinese seller with dodgey as feedback anyway

[gutterpunkz05]

Price of the item, has nothing to do with how many buyers bother to leave feedback

[shoppingbag*]

If you buy from China, then expect to get rubbish.  If you buy Chinese products in Australia, you still get rubbish. So if you don't want Chinese clothes or products, your house will fall down (from lack of repairs) and you will need to join a nudist colony. At least if you buy from a physical store, you can see and inspect the product before you buy. 

[lyndal1838]

Most Chinese seller sell a lot of different items in the same store.

The feedback you have posted shows that they sell beads so of course they are cheap....but it does not mean they are nasty.  By the nature of what they are selling buyers are going to buy a lot of the item.

You need to look at what items a seller has in their store before deciding the cheap items are shonky.

[laawesome2017]

I have brought lots of cheap items from Chinese sellers and have been very happy. I mean Aussie re-sellers sell the same stuff at inflated prices. I just started on ebay in October of 2017 selling handmade scrabble pendants. It's hard making a start on ebay with very little feedback. I am an honest seller who makes handmade stuff. At this moment in time most of my feedback has come from little items I have brought from these sellers. So to me it's very important. U have to have a little faith in sellers otherwise how do people like 'me' make a start? Xoxo lisa