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)

[leader-of-the-band]

........ the proof is in the poll ebay

hardly a statistically valid poll!

Disaffected sellers are more likely to vote which would skew the results.  Also, many posters have multiple IDs which they could vote with which would skew the results either way.  Too small a sample size which would not make results reliable.

If I started a poll topic which asked "Would you support an effective measure from eBay that would prevent Non-Paying buyers from bidding/buying your items?  YES / NO" I would think the results would be an overwhelming YES vote.  If I started a poll topic which asked "Is the current buyer strike policy effective in stopping Non-Paying buyers?  YES / NO" I would think the results would be an overwhelming NO.

I don't get non-paying bidders/buyers on any of my logins.  I will qualify this statement by adding that I am only a casual seller of lower priced items.  I believe there is currently an effective system available for sellers . . . . . but it relies on sellers helping eachother out by doing the UPI thing . . . . which many sellers do not do.

[*kazumi*]

bumpety bump bump.................... the proof is in the poll ebay

Proof of what?  That there are many lurkers newbies, who do not understand the benefit of present scheme?  There is only ONE way of improving it; get rid of the option to leave FB for buyers.  Instead just increase their score of transactions when the payment is marked as received.

[nanna_bunny_slippers]

I agree with what the original poster wrote.

kaz, if the feedback system operated along the lines you suggest then sellers would become totally unable to warn other sellers of Paypal scammers. I certainly appreciate those sellers who leave honest feedback comments.

[*kazumi*]

kaz, if the feedback system operated along the lines you suggest then sellers would become totally unable to warn other sellers of Paypal scammers. I certainly appreciate those sellers who leave honest feedback comments.

PP scammers?  You mean those people who get their money back for SNAD or INR?

[digital*ghost]

This may all be a non-issue sooner rather than later, anyway.

eBay's solution to eliminate NPB's appears to be the possibility of introducing immediate payment required on all listings, even auctions (where payment details will be entered upon placing a bid and charged if/when the item is won).

http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2012/5/1336844611.html

[viewmont1071]

I wonder why there is a rumour  that ebay is addressing a problem that some members deny the existance thereof?

[*kazumi*]

I wonder why there is a rumour  that ebay is addressing a problem that some members deny the existence thereof?

nobody is saying that NPBs do not exist, or that they are not annoying; what we are saying that leaving them negative FB would not help.  having people to have to process payment before they can bid sounds good, except how would that work for snipes like Gixen?

[leader-of-the-band]

I wonder why there is a rumour that ebay is addressing a problem that some members deny the existence thereof?

there are a number of problems.  Who is denying that there is a problem?

My problem is with sellers who do not do the UPI thing that would help weed out these non-payers, sellers who do not have blocks in place that would exclude these non-payers from bidding/buying, and sellers who think the answer to all this is negs for buyers.

Negs for buyers wouldn't stop them bidding or hitting the buy-now button, but properly awarded strikes do.

These sellers are not only not helping themselves, they are not helping other sellers.

[no1supernanny]

Hi there

I agree. I just had a newby not pay for an item and I have closed the case. Too late for me to relist as it is now the last item left and really who would find the listing.

All I could do (to make me feel better) was to send her an angry email to tell her, if she doesn't intend to pay..... Don't bid.

No1supernanny

[nanna_bunny_slippers]

Sellers who leave honest comments in feedback are helping other sellers. For example, once had a buyer who claimed she hadn't received her item. I checked her feedback and found that she always claimed that items hadn't been received. If not for the warnings from other sellers, I would have immediately refunded.

And now no doubt someone will want to use the usual 'I'm alright, Jack' argument. I'm waiting.