Why do some sellers not leave you any positive feedback?

[youcanonacanon]

I don't get it. Some sellers leave positive feedback as soon as they receive payment (and so they should). I always do this when I'm selling. After paying, the buyer has done all there is to do, so why not leave them feedback at this point? I suppose there are a few bad eggs who make false claims for refunds, etc but I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, and why should the buyer have to be the first one to leave feedback in the transaction?

Another question - why are the coloured star ratings no longer displayed next to a seller's name?? I worked so damn hard to get my stars, I remember it took me years and years to get the green star, and now it basically means nothing?

[sandypebbles]

Feedback is optional

It is up to buyers if they want to buy items or green dots/stars

And feedback as a buyer basically does mean nothing, since only positive feedback

I have no problem seeing stars next to seller's names, the last one to leave you feedback has a bright blue one, as do you

And no, sellers should absolutely NOT leave positive feedback as soon as payment is received

They have no way of knowing if the buyer is going to turn around and open a fake claim or item not received, or a fake not as described dispute. Up to you if you want to give th amount of scammers out there today the benefit of the doubt

Just read the forum to see how many very bad eggs are scamming eBay sellers every day 

[repentatleisure1952]

What a coincidence.

"I don't get" why you are worried about feedback & coloured stars.

What can you do with them?

Most sellers prefer the cash & buyers just want their items.

[springyzone]

I think it is more professional if a seller does leave positive feedback but as a buyer, I would, these days, no longer expect it until after the purchase and delivery is settled.

Some sellers do leave it automatically on payment, some leave it till after I have given them positive feedback and occasionally, some sellers don't give it at all. Which I think is a bit slack actually, if a buyer has given  positive feedback to them.

I do think feedback has some value, even for buyers. It shows the seller if a person has a steady history on ebay plus it may help if that person does decide to sell. I always look up feedback and even if a person's feedback is all as a buyer, I like to see if they are reasonably regular and can be expected to know the ropes.

If there is a huge gap since their last feedback, I might be wary of a hijacked account.

But no matter what you & I might think, or anyone else on this forum, the fact remains that feedback is voluntary and some choose to give it, some don't.

Ebay itself seems to be sidelining it a bit, sometimes making it less obvious at a glance if someone has had bad feedback over the last 12 months.

As a buyer, I have to say I pay no attention to what coloured stars sellers have and actually I often prefer to buy from medium to small sellers rather than those whose turn over is in the hundreds of thousands.

[the_dutchess_of_dork]

Let me tell you why some sellers do not leave positive feedback immediately or at all and it's not only about fraudulent returns.

A few months ago I had a returns "demand" which was particularly rude so I did some digging into the buyer's feedback left for sellers.  From the feedback, it was apparent the buyer had numerous returns (because she mentioned it in her positive feedback), items not received and items not as described.  I also looked at her neutral and negative feedback left for sellers and stopped counting negatives at around the 50 mark.  It is the worst feedback left I have ever seen.

IMO, there are three possibilities: the buyer is the unluckiest buyer on ebay, the buyer has unrealistic expectations or the buyer is an outright scammer.  I was fortunate to not join the ranks of negatives because I was expecting to.

I have also seen buyers leave negative feedback for things which are completely outside the control of sellers like postage delays (providing the item was posted in a timely manner) and issues which are clearly manufacturing issues.  For example, a buyer once left me neutral feedback because the breathable MESH sports shoes I sold were not waterproof.  Sometimes buyers will even mention a problem, admit they didn't read the description which clearly stated the problem but still leave negative feedback.

Then there are buyers who leave negative feedback for items purchased for under $1.  They buy a generic product at a fraction of the cost of a branded product and expect it to be identical in appearance and performance.  How many buyers would bother to return a $1 product to a store and register a complaint?

Finally, why do buyers feel prompt payment is praiseworthy?  Ebay is one of the only retail sites where delayed payment is even possible.  Most real life and online retail environments require immediate payment so paying promptly does not make you a particularly fantastic buyer.  It only makes you a buyer because until you pay, you're not even that.

[davewil1964]

I leave feedback for 100% of my buyers. I get feedback from less than 20%.

Seller feedback is relevant, buyer feedback not so.

What is your actual question?

[davewil1964]

I've got a red shooting star. No way in the universe I've qualified for that. Do I care? No. Does it matter? No.

[springyzone]

All the cases you have outlined are the exact reasons a seller should hold off on feedback till after a sale is settled.

If I were still selling & some buyer gave me a neg for a stupid reason, there is no way I would give them any feedback.

If they gave me the slightest grief in any way, no feedback.

My feeling is why push up their score to make them look better than they really are?

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I know people say there is no benefit to a buyer in getting feedback but I think there is.

Once their score starts to go up, they don't look like such a newbie to some sellers. Often I have seen posts where some sellers try to delay buyers from opening a claim & it often works. I suspect sellers are more likely to expect it to work on low score buyers.

And if a buyer becomes a seller (it is possible to be both at once), a low score leaves a person open to being targeted more by scam buyers, I suspect.

Plus there are quite a few items these days that have make an offer. I don't know how sellers assess those-mainly on price, I imagine, but if an offer is on the borderline, a seller might be more inclined to accept if the buyer's recent record looks reliable.

But talking of feedback, I recently bought a small item & was surprised today to receive a message in my inbox. Obviously an automatically generated message.  It has been an eternity since I last had any seller asked for feedback from me.

Dear Buyer Thank you for Shopping with us.Your order is being processed and will be shipped soon.. Once your item arrives in satisfactory condition, please leave positive feedback and five stars for us. If there are any issues, please let us know and we will be happy to help. Thank you once again and have a great day!

I don't mind someone suggesting feedback but I am not rapt to be told how many stars they expect.

We'll see. They have 100% rating but a bit of a history of things running late, though the ad says express delivery. It is now saying posted untracked, which surprised me as I thought only flat things would work that way and this has a round wooden handle. So we'll see! Poor wrapping does not equal 5 stars.

[sandypebbles]

So true

"I bought something and I paid for what I bought without wasting the seller's time by delaying payment so they should thank me for it by giving me a green tick"

[lezned-toycollector]

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@youcanonacanon wrote:

I don't get it. Some sellers leave positive feedback as soon as they receive payment (and so they should). I always do this when I'm selling. After paying, the buyer has done all there is to do, so why not leave them feedback at this point? I suppose there are a few bad eggs who make false claims for refunds, etc but I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, and why should the buyer have to be the first one to leave feedback in the transaction?

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No they shouldn't.

Firstly, the automated feedback setting provided by eBay can be set to leave feedback after the buyer leaves a positive rating. If the buyer doesn't do so, they don't get any feedback - simples.

Secondly, as you are aware, nobody should ever leave any feedback until the conclusion of the transaction. If you believe that making payment concludes the transaction, have you ever left feedback for your seller at this time (FYI, some buyers actually do this)? If you don't think the transaction is concluded at this time, and leaving feedback would be premature, then why on Earth would you expect your sellers to leave feedback prematurely?