Should sellers be able to leave negative feedback for non-payments?

[2011emc2]

As a first-time seller, I had a buyer who didn't pay and didn't bother to contact me or respond to my emails. I opened an ‘Unpaid Item’ case, which again got no response, and closed the case today.

Yet the only feedback option available to me was to leave 'Positive' feedback for this buyer.

Really, eBay???

This 'buyer' still has a '100% positive' feedback rating on eBay. How is this honest or fair? Shouldn't a feedback system allow members of a community to comment on their actual dealings with people in that community?

Little wonder some sellers try to sneak in negative comments using the positive feedback option, to try to warn other unsuspecting sellers. Yet eBay deletes these from buyers' profiles.

I think eBay should change its feedback policy in order to allow equal footing for buyers and sellers. So sellers would be allowed to either: (a) leave negative feedback - if only for non-payment; or (b) automaticallly note non-payments into each buyer's feedback profile, so these are clear for all to see.

It's not a problem to demonstrate that a buyer hasn't paid. Why not give sellers the same rights as buyers to leave honest feedback? Wouldn't everyone benefit?

I didn't ship the item because payment never arrived or cleared.  Still, what a negative experience, especially the shocking attitude toward sellers whose fees sustain and enrich eBay.

What is your opinion on eBay's feedback policy for sellers?

(Newbies: FB = feedback, NP = non-payment)

[the3coopers]

You need to set Buyer Requirements from My Ebay > Account > Site Preferences... and block known non-payers.

It's not viable to check buyer's feedbacks before purchase, so there is no point leaving them negs anyway. Naming and shaming them does not work either - if they don't care about paying, why would they care about a red dot on a computer screen?

Maybe you don't know, but ebay deliberately stopped sellers leaving negatives a few years back, because of a serious and ongoing problem that it caused.

As a new member you can have absolutely no idea how bad it was years ago when sellers could leave malicious, retaliatory negs for buyers. The ones who actually matter (the GOOD buyers) were copping negatives from sellers when they complained about poor service or products... it was a nightmare.

Non-payers are a fact of life in sales. Just deal with them as quickly as possible, and move on... there is nothing to gain by abusing them (it just makes you as a seller look bad anyway - slagging off clients is NOT a good look)

[2011emc2]

the3coopers -

Many thanks for your very thoughtful and informative response. I changed my buyer requirement settings and that might well help me if I decide to relist the item.

Based on the historical account you have given, I can understand why eBay changed the feedback rules. I would not support any system that allows dishonest or malicious feedback in any form.

Yet I had no intention of going ‘chicken killer’ with the negative comments - I wanted to simply note the non-payment. It just doesn’t make sense to hide NP on any transaction, nor does it make sense for this buyer to still be presenting a ‘100% positive feedback’ profile to the rest of the community.

At the end of the day, people on eBay know each other only through their user profiles. So I think it’s important for these profiles to (as accurately as possible) reflect each person’s behaviour in terms of their transactions with other members of the community.

At the very least, I think I would still support having NPs recorded and figured into the buyer’s profile by eBay, once it has been established that the buyer did not pay for the item. This would prevent malicious feedback from unscrupulous sellers, while making the system more fair, accurate and accountable for everyone’s benefit.

[viewmont1071]

This is how ebay advertise their feedback system to NEW members ........ is it any wonder that people feel misled????

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/feedback/howitworks.html

Whenever you buy or sell something, we ask that you leave Feedback about the transaction that reflects your experience with the buyer or seller.

At the same time, we ask your trading partner to leave Feedback about you as well.

Over time, eBay memebers develop a Feedback Profile, or reputation, based on the comments and ratings left by other members.

The Feedback score is one of the most important pieces of a Feedback Profile.

 It’s the number in parentheses next to a member’s user ID and it’s also located at the top of the member’s Feedback Profile.

Why leave Feedback?

Leaving honest comments gives members a good idea of what to expect when dealing with other members.

 Leaving Feedback is also a way to express your appreciation for a job well done.

Finally, if you are a buyer, you can help spread the word about a seller you like, and if you are a seller, you can help recognise and reward loyal customers, which encourages them to buy from you again.

[phorum_junkie*]

It's not a problem to demonstrate that a buyer hasn't paid

What about the many buyers who realise, better late than never, that the item they have bought is fake/doesn't exist/is really not as described etc before making payment. If they come here we always say DON'T PAY!

Should they have that recorded against their account? Of course it wouldn't make an awful lot of difference as checking out every single bidder on all your items is an impossible task unless you only sell a couple of things at a time and how would you stop them sniping at the last minute?

[2011emc2]

viewmont1071 -

Thank you for posting eBay’s own words promoting the value of its system of feedback and profiles. I think it’s fair to say that what eBay says and what eBay does are two different things! I think eBay should start honouring the spirit and intention of the feedback system it clearly presents to its members.

phorum junkie -

With respect to your first point, my understanding is that eBay intervenes and advocates strongly for buyers who don’t receive an item or receive an item that is significantly different from that which was advertised by an unscrupulous seller - and these buyers get full refunds. And of course that should not be recorded as non-payment on their accounts. This is why I favour having eBay leave the feedback for non-payment, to ensure that only unscrupulous buyers are identified as non-payers.

Regarding the ‘impossible’ task of ‘checking out every single bidder’ - that really misses the point of my argument. I’m saying that it just makes sense for each profile to fairly and accurately reflect (as much as possible) the experiences that other members have had in their dealings with that person. If sellers decide that’s too much trouble, well that’s their decision. But is it really too onerous to check the profiles of the top bidder/s? You should be able to quickly see if any of the top bidders have had any non-payments, then cancel their bids and deal with more reliable bidders. This just bolsters the argument that eBay needs to restore the integrity of their feedback system.

jillywinkle -

I wish I’d done that when I had the chance! Good on you. I think it is fair and proper to warn other sellers of ‘buyers’ who bid and then ‘develop amnesia’ as you so kindly put it. I am frankly gobsmacked that eBay does not factor in non-payments when calculating a person’s feedback profile. That would raise a clearly visible red flag for sellers who don’t have the time to trawl through every single ‘positive’ comment to look for hidden feedback about non-payments.

[lane-ends]

Nah, it just sucks you into a tit for tatt, you neg them they neg you..Some sellers will withold feedback and automatically neg anyone who dares to neg them, regardless of how much the seller deserved the neg. This results in some sellers intimidating buyers hence keeping their fb % up while at the same time being aggressive and poor sellers.

Better off moving on, giving them an invisible and impersonal strike. less stressful and more effective. So what, you sell 100 items and 5 people inconvenience you by not paying and causing you to relist. Its not the same as forking out money and receiving a peice of junk in return.

If you stay out of squabbles, file, close then relist, makes life a lot easier. Occassional non payers are part of life as a seller, juat accept it and dont get bogged down with them

[phorum_junkie*]

All leaving a pos with a negative comment does is draw attention to the fact you aren't interested in following ebay policies.

As a buyer I would wonder if you also flouted the rules by describing things wrongly or indeed if you would bother to send what I purchased.

Likely outcome if I saw you breaking the rules would be I would hit the back button and find a seller who did things by the book.

It also leaves you open to a policy violation being recorded against your account, too many of those and you won't be able to sell at all.

[mia_store]

I strongly agree seller should have right to give negative FB. I can forgive peope who don't pay if they think the item are fake or they regret. The transaction can be cancelled after communication between both sides. However some buyers are malicious and don't have credit at all. They just bid then go away. Have a look at this example:

http://feedback.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=i.bogoda8486&ftab=AllFeedback&mywo...

I don't understand why such buyer can be still allowed in eBay. Sellers should have right to know such buyer and put them in black list. I totally agree buyer should have proctection. But eBay should also considered proctecting sellers against malicious bidders. After all, eBay get paid by sellers instead of buyers.

[the3coopers]

However some buyers are malicious and don't have credit at all. They just bid then go away. Have a look at this example:

http://feedback.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=EDITED_TO_REMOVE_LINK

I don't understand why such buyer can be still allowed in eBay.

The are allowed on eBay because all those sellers have given them Positive Feedback and none of them have issued Non-Payment Strikes.

If just TWO of those sellers had issued a strike, then the buyer could be blocked from purchasing. It is the SELLERS, not eBay, who are letting that get away with it.