Have eBay's recent policy changes done more to erode buyer confidence than to address it?

[pennyforum14]

I have been an eBayer for 15 years, sold for nearly 10, then took a break from selling and only returned a year ago. 

I remember the time when, if a buyer had an issue, the very first thing they would do is contact the seller to see what they could do to fix it.  Since returning to selling on eBay, I am now finding that, not all the time, but all too often, buyers are jumping in and lodging disputes or just going straight to leaving negs, without even bothering to contact the seller to express their dissatisfaction and see what could be done.  Furthermore, they will often not respond to attempts to correct the problem, even when a seller offers a refund. 

I believe this behaviour has been instilled in some buyers by eBay's blatant promotion of the MBG and defect system.  It is far easier to push a button and request a refund through the system, than to write a message to the seller.  Okay, I can understand that part, but what's with the neg thing?  I have seen numerous posts in recent weeks and it has happened to me twice now, where the buyer just goes straight to negative feedback.  The first you know there is a problem is when you see the red dot.  I always contact the buyer, and ask what the problem is and offer a solution, which usually includes the offer of a refund, but on both occasions recently, there has been no response from the buyer.  Why would they not want to accept a refund?  And why are they so keen to jump to negs without contacting the seller first?  Is it because all eBay's so called "buyer safety" measures actually do more to erode buyer's confidence in sellers than to make them feel safer?

Open for discussion......

[mbselections00]

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@dylan11235813 wrote:

I think it changes if the seller leaves feedback.

Why bother trying to give great service when I get 4 defects from a customer because it took Australia Post 2 weeks to deliver an order within Queensland. I contacted the buyer about it and said it is out of my control and they didn't even bother replying. I get more and more messages like "I need this by the weekend" also, should I just cancel and tell them to go f off, I have express post if it is that urgent. Basically I worry about the order not arriving in time and then becasue of ebays "policies" I get all the rest of it.

I think ebay are creating spoilt brats. Most customers are wonderfull but there a few that need a bit of schooliing.

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Wow, evil & dylan - I just went and checked mine & regardless of whether seller has left feedback or not, they are all showing with the main button being the Leave Feedback one !! 

The button is blue for orders with only 1 item & white for orders with multiple items, regardless of whether seller has left feedback.

Wahoo, a great improvement . . . . .  would it be asking too much for a couple more  ??

[cq_tech]

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@evil_akuma_2002 wrote:

"even when you go to leave Feedback (as a buyer) there are options like  - Return this Item -"

Interestingly enough, ebay may actually be listening to us!

On my homepage, under 'purchased items', to the right of each item is a big blue button that used to read 'leave feedback', then mysteriously changed to 'return this item'.

However, items purchased since mid-March have returned to 'leave feedback'!   So instead of prompting me to return the item, it's prompting me to leave feedback!

Halle*bleepy* lujah!  Wonder how long it will last, though?

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Not very long, apparently. Seems that my blue box reverted from "View Order Details" to "Return This Item" on March 26 and has remained that way on all orders since then, once feedback has been left. 😞

[evil_akuma_2002]

I've got 4 items awaiting delivery ATM - 2 pre mid-March, and 2 post. Both of the pre's show 'return item', and the others 'leave feedback'. All sellers have left feedback, so I don't think that feedback is a trigger.

Anyway, I'm keeping my fingers crossed!  Maybe it's not so much that ebay's listening to us, but more to the bigger sellers they're in bed with?

As far as the spoiled brats concern?  I think you're pretty close to the mark! Luckily, with my niche market, most buyers are pretty laidback individuals, so there usually aren't too many problems.

Unless of course, you buy from one of the asian sellers - trying to save myself some $$, I've bought some items from these sellers lately, (I know, I know...I'm sorry!). Every last one unusable in some way - missing pieces, faulty workmanship, damaged in transit, (usually due to the faulty workmanship),  or completely NAD.

However, I've learned my lesson, and am sticking to known brands thru aussie sellers, and have found no issues.

I've also grown weary of reporting blatant forgeries or imitations, all from asian sellers, labelled as genuine articles to ebay, and seeing those same listings day in, day out. Here's a perfect example #251844346439 - definitely NOT what it's stated to be. I reported it 8 days ago. Still there.

[evil_akuma_2002]

Curious...mine changed back to feedback in mid-March and have stayed that way. Wonder what others are experiencing?

[joethenuts]

and how would ebay know if its a fake ,is it price   color  look   where is that brand of reel made.

[cq_tech]

A 12-bearing Shimano reel for $40-odd? What is it with eBay when they can't see that it's a blatant fake, particularly when it's been reported as such, and all of their prior feedback is for $0.01 emailed recipes for Asian food! Great way to boost their feedback figures, but I have to wonder if they're being paid via Paypal, with the 30c fixed fee, each feedback would be costing them 29c (unless Paypal charges lower rates for Asians).

[lane-ends]

For a start off if it was shimano it would say shimano on the reel. Look at the name in the brand ssection, it says a different brand. Looks nothing like shimano reels. 

Concerns me the seller has sold a lot of 1 cent PDF recepies, probably to boost fb.

[evil_akuma_2002]

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@joethenuts wrote:

and how would ebay know if its a fake ,is it price   color  look   where is that brand of reel made.

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Joe...in a niche market, it's not too hard to pick the fakes. I'm sure you, with your expereince, could spot a fake can of Taubmans or Dulux.

Ebay T&S only have to go to Shimano's website to see that that particular reel is not part of the Shimano lineup...

I've now reported the fake reel 3 times over 2 weeks - still waiting...not holding breath...

[evil_akuma_2002]

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@mbselections00 wrote:

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Wahoo, a great improvement . . . . .  would it be asking too much for a couple more  ??

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Hmm...I wouldn't hold my breath waiting!

[dylan11235813]

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@cq_tech wrote:
A 12-bearing Shimano reel for $40-odd? What is it with eBay when they can't see that it's a blatant fake, particularly when it's been reported as such, and all of their prior feedback is for $0.01 emailed recipes for Asian food! Great way to boost their feedback figures, but I have to wonder if they're being paid via Paypal, with the 30c fixed fee, each feedback would be costing them 29c (unless Paypal charges lower rates for Asians).

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You can actually get what I think is called "micro payments" through paypal, you have to apply for it as a whole. They are $0.05 but a higher percantage. From memory it works out cheaper if what you sell is under $10.