Techdirt is off for the long weekend! We'll be back with our regular posts tomorrow.
eBay Bans Negative Feedback For Buyers; Everyone Be Good Now
from the here-in-lake-wobegone... dept
eBay has been making some changes lately that aren't sitting well with eBay sellers. First, it announced fee changes that initially were promoted as "lower fees," but the details showed were only lower for goods that didn't sell. The fees on sold goods were actually higher. Now, the company has banned sellers from giving "negative" feedback on buyers. This is quite an interesting move. Years back, eBay was often held up as the epitome of user feedback/rating systems. However, over the years, problems have cropped up, leading to questions about how effective the system really is, as it's often been gamed. A specific complaint is that many buyers are afraid to leave negative feedback, as a seller can retaliate and provide a similarly negative response to the buyers. The hope, then, is that by not allowing negative feedback, buyers can start being more honest about sellers. Of course, from the sellers' standpoint, it also means it's much more likely that buyers can now be problematic, without worrying about a response. eBay claims that it will now personally handle complaints from sellers about problem buyers -- which seems like a pretty big undertaking for the company. Either way, there does seem to be something silly in having a company offer a feedback system if you can only say positive things.Filed Under: bans, feedback, negative feedback
Companies: ebay
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Re:
We deal daily with individuals that want to bid and not pay. I am extremely uneasy about 0 to 10 Feedback buyers. I have too many playing games.
Leaving Negative has never been our first choice but after going through EBAY the slotted time frame, we have left a few negs to non paying buyers,Someone has to warn other sellers of these game playing jerks. We go through EBAYS channels to get refunded the final Value Fees. We eat the listing fees!. I feature alot of auctions and a nonpaying customers joke will cost me $20-$30.
But thats over now. They are free to destroy what took so long to build. I have welcomed the Good Buyer but Dreaded the bad one. Please remember, There are more honest sellers than the dis-honest one and the same for buyers BUT THE scale has tipped in favor of the buyers and the end for honest sellers in EBAY. Our hands are tied. I am jumping ship before it capsizes as are most of the others honest sellers who have been EBAY members longer than I have. All that will be left in EBAY will be the bad sellers. Take Care and good Luck .You'll need it.
Add Your Comment