“Yes we are using the pop up. This is simply a way of letting buyers know the ‘new news’ that they shouldn’t be afraid to speak their minds if they have a bad experience.
They’ll see it a maximum of three times and if you’re providing good service there is nothing to fear from this. In contrast we’re asking buyers to go through a three-part checklist if they intend to leave a neg encouraging them to make contact with sellers before leaving feedback.”
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eBay are constantly bombarding buyers with the message that they are immune from non-positive feedback from sellers. But why are they telling me as a seller? Firstly I’m sick to death of seeing this pop up and I’ve seen it a lot more than the stated three times. (You might ask why I’ve not ticked the box so that I don’t see it again and the answer is out of perverse interest to see just how long it’ll be displayed for). Secondly as a seller I only have the option to leave positive feedback anyway as can be seen from the greyed out section of the image.
Just how long is it going to be appearing for and how many times (certainly a lot more than three) will it be shown to each user?
30 Responses
The only way not to see this pop-up will be to not to use ebay.
it is very simple: this is an indication that the new changes have not been thought through.
The main problem ebay are having right now is that in very near future they will not be able to show sufficient growth of profit in order to be able to support the stock (by the way it is time to open short positions with the ebay stock) as the growth of recent years was primarily based upon regular fee hikes
In my opinion this is also the main reason for the change of ebay management.They are neither able to raise the fees nor can they leave stable because of stagnation.The stock will go down and the profits will go down too.
And the recent changes are just a misguided attempt to turn the situation in their favour.All this being made in a hurry due to a desparate need to change something and without time to think what consequences this is gonna have.
For buyers, it’s not just the pop-up. Once you’ve closed that, there’s a great big banner with the same message on it. It’s really very difficult to see what this hammering of buyers with the “you can neg em” message is supposed to achieve.
Should I have mentioned that that same banner message is also being shown to me when I go to leave feedback as a seller? Once the pop up is closed the banner message underneath it is:
“Sellers can no longer leave negative or neutral Feedback for buyers.
Buyers should leave honest Feedback without the fear of receiving negative or neutral ratings.”
Yep, that’s the one I see as a buyer. TBH I never leave f/b manually as a seller, but if everyone’s seeing it, I think that just shows how ill-implemented it is.
Clicking the box didn’t get rid of it for me. I had to also add the feedback page to my “trusted sites” (probably due to my security settings). It hasn’t popped up since, but did EVERY time until I did so.
It’s really very difficult to see what this hammering of buyers with the “you can neg em†message is supposed to achieve.
Less discounts?
Kevin the Cynical
Kevin – “less discounts” is the obvious thing, but if they didn’t want to give us a discount, they could just go “no more discounts”. Or not have introduced them in the first place. Or indeed, promise us we’re getting discounts and then not give us them… or was that last just me? 🙄
Far far far to many people rely on eBay to pay the bills and eBay know it, once they sucker you in and you build up a business you are then forced to put up with the corporate BS, eBay is a pimp, probably one of the best in the business.
JD = Lex Luther. RA = Lex Luther Jnr.
One day it will crash around everyone’s feet and the e-commerce world as we know it will be a distant memory. Anyone who relies on eBay to pay the bills needs to take a very close look at the future of eBay.
The blackmail has started for us too : 4 buyers asked for a full refund or else we’d get NEGs.
Two of them did -and worse- used alternative accounts to buy the cheapest products in our shop and within 7 days + 1h gave us additional NEGs.
This is getting out of control and will purely and simply put two persons, including a single mother of two, out of a job once we reach the lower feedback rating.
Ebay must wake up and step in before its seller base gets nuked by vicious buyers.
Could not agree more whirly there is defo life outside ebay I keep finding it, in fact I have had three people buy from me from my add’s on ebay through google!! and the click’s only cost me 8p! makes me wonder why I spent years paying fees!
I think this feedback thing has got way out of control and don’t even think ebay where prepared for whats happened, thats why there are big cracks showing.
I do wonder about feedback, customers will make their own mind up weather or not to come back to the site after having a bad experience, feedback I would of thought would make no difference to their habits.
Just look at the women at the catalyst event she had a bad buying experience of a camera I think, paid and then it didn”t turn up and she also didn’t get her money back, yet she still shopped on ebay, has feedback made a difference to her? No I don’t think so.
I think ebay are paying for the original mistake now of not vetting sellers, or at least big sellers on there first before they can sell!
Stu
So very true Whirly. I have spent the day finalising my figures for the accountant and they make depressing reading.
Despite selling roughly 20% more than the previous year, the profits have tumbled and the costs soared. The combination of the lack of overseas & shop visibility, increased fees and the dodgy search have played a big part. Mind you it might help if I didn’t get so easily distracted but thats another story.
Sobering – I’m off to get a large G&T, I need one.
.
It’s in Ebay’s interest to get buyers to leave poor feedback and DSRs so that Ebay dont have to give powersellers their fee discounts.
Buyers have been given way too much power. Power corrupts. This new feedback system gives birth to a whole new breed of criminal, the extortionist.
Are ebay going to stop them? Can they catch rain in a collander?
No.
Ebay for far too long have placed the site shortcomings onto the sellers who use it. They won’t be changing that attitude anytime soon.
Don’t expect any help from ebay, it’s not coming.
I am at the end of feedback extortion… sigh. A buyer doesn’t want a item, so I offered a full refund which he agreed to. It was collect only item and he wants all petrol costs too. And I’m paying up, What can I do, I’m a low volume seller and I gave him a positive as soon as he had paid. Like everyone has said, they have the power, we are at their mercy and they’ll begin to catch on very quickly.
Yael,
The only good thing, is that it’s a collection….Now I’m not suggesting you ‘mug’ the guy 👿 But here’s an oppurtunity to do something.
Agree to his terms, but he has to return the item in person for the refund.
When the guy turns up, print out and present him with a replacement contract. It could say things like,
1/ You’ve been a good seller.
2/ He is satisfied with your service
3/ He will not leave NEG feedback as he agrees with 2/ above.
4/ Take his full name/address/Car registration (So you know where to go)
5/ Have a 2nd person present to witness the situation
6/ ONLY agree to allow the exchange
7/ Make sure he signs it & you too
Finally agree to put the fuel in his car yourself, & whilst he’s not looking put unleaded petrol in if it’s a diesel (& opposite).
And after all this be very intimidating as it’s likely you will get a NEG anyway from someone like this..
It is TIME EBAY suspended everyone immediately that even tries on feedback extortion……IMMEDIATELY….and that should be part of the pop up boxes, mentioned above by Chris & Sue.
Good Luck anyway & report this to ebay NOW!!!!!.
Well I’m busy buying 1p auctions in advance of the expected neg. The eBooks maybe gone but you can still buy a penny for 1p! (Search BEST OF BRITISH). Does only seller feedback get taken into account of SNP or overall feedback including those for bought auctions?
Gerry not quite bond anymore….
Funny suggestions, but he’s a 6 foot bloke and I’m a woman at home alone with a toddler. I had a chuckle tho! I will try and persuade him not to leave a neg or neutral but I’m hoping fluttering eyelashes will help (carrot, not stick!)
Yael;
Good news….ALL positive feedback applys to SNP totals
Gerry, re. #17 – not doubting you for a minute, but do you have a source for that? (It would explain why you are suspended from buying as well as selling, I suppose; you can’t just shop your way out of trouble. What a farce this is.)
Sue;
Actual no source. But I assumed (hopefully correctly) that the SNP rules is a simply adding & subtraction of + – & neutrals….As Yeal says #16 surely the ‘computer’ at ebay just looks at how many + you have & deducts the – /neu then suspends you if the maths add up wrong. Cannot imagine it defines the difference in + between buyers & sellers………
Of course, this argument assumes you act & get more +’s before any suspension
Sue,
You will probaly know better than me, but again my assumtion, Is it not the case, when you are suspended, you cannot buy or sell generally on that account.
I am not aware the suspension is one or the other!!??….
No, the suspension is definitely selling AND buying. It just seems crazy to me that eBay would take *buying* feedback into account for SNP. For example, I could buy dozens of 99p items to get my feedback up, and use that to protect my account if I chose to rip off buyers of very high ticket items.
The computer is certainly capable of telling the difference between the f/b you have for buying, and the f/b you have for selling.
I know, I know… I am assuming there is method in the madness.
That’s what Yael @#16 is doing….I think
That why you cannot buy or sell, otherwise you’d buy to lift the suspension.. I suppose.
otherwise you’d buy to lift the suspension
when in fact, it would be more appropriate to “make the punishment fit the crime” and have people only suspended from selling, and only have feedback from selling count as far as SNP is concerned.
It’s all just completely the wrong way around, this policy (believe me, I had to think very long and hard to find a polite way to express that thought…)
😡
Do you know this NEW feedback system, has another underlining flaw.
If as a buyer you have say 99.1 % (as I do) then I suppose that’s not bad!!!!.
Now I bought 1 thing last month, and my seller gave me 1 pos. That’s good, but as I buy less, the feedback score drops away. Im now on 99%.
Therefore with the ‘new’ system, buyers are in danger (unless they buy to to replace their feedback drop out), of becoming a BAD ebayer to someone that dose not check the scores.
If I don’t continue buying at the same rate as the last year, your feedback progressively becomes less over the year.
AS feedback is mean’t to show the ‘good’ standing’ of a buyer/seller should this be happening atall.
It cannot be fair, that say a person has a months holiday and buys nothing, when they come back their feedback score is way down, as the yearlt score drop out occurs.
Hence my character is being made to look as if Im a bad ebayer, when in fact my only ‘crime’ is that I haven’t bought or sold anything for a while.
This is a REAL bad thing that ebay is doing. It boarders on slander as from another ebayers point of view they are dealing with someone with bad feedback.
I mentioned this the other day on the forum, I recieved 2 positives and 3 dropped off the rolling 12 month on the same day, so my score dropped…….putting that simply, 5 buyers left me a positive but my % score dropped.
Nobody will ever convince me that buyers feedback is important anymore, if it’s a one way system only one person will win and one will loose.
Wlirly
Sorry Mate, I did’nt see your posting, not intentionally trying to grab your thunder.
This is really bad though!!!,
So ebay are loosing sellers right, left & centre, NOW on top of that for the one’s that are left (and the new one’s that join) are effectively being blackmailed by ebay to stay on the site, AND moreover buy & sell to keep the feedback scores up.
What on earth will be the NEXT travesty……..Maybe a class action for defemation by a few hundred ebayers, might bring them to their senses….as if.
To suspend or not to suspend, that is the question???
Recent Feedback Ratings (last 12 months)
1 month 6 months 12 months
Positive 16 287 396
Neutral 2 4 6
Negative 1 6 6
👿 Bloody hell, pity they don’t treat their sellers as well…..
Copy Email from ebay;
Let us help you get through your dispute
Dear ****** *****,
We’re really sorry to see that you’ve had to open a ******* because you didn’t receive your item or it wasn’t what was described in the listing n; (************). You’re one of our most ****** *** loyal customers, so it’s important to us to help you resolve this issue.
We’ve asked the seller to respond to you in the Resolution Centre. Disputes can usually be resolved by direct communication between the buyer and the seller. A friendly conversation can help sort things out quickly – if you haven’t already, request the seller’s phone number and give them a call.
we encourage you to let us know how it went and to leave Feedback for the seller.
If your concerns are resolved – you can close the dispute at any time.
If you can’t reach an agreement with the seller – you can escalate the dispute to a PayPal Buyer Protection claim. As you probably know, all PayPal purchases are covered up to £150,……………etc’ etc (added by me).
We hope you’ll be able to resolve things with this seller and that you’ll continue to buy and sell on eBay for a long time to come. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions at all.
Regards,
eBay Customer Support
I was under the distinct impression that only fb for items “sold” counts towards SNP calculations (but I could be wrong). If this was not the case could it not be easy for a low volume seller to buy lots of 1p items as another poster has suggested to raise their fb profile.
Seems to me the best way to do this is to get all your friends and relatives (with different address/cc info etc) to open several eBay IDs and to “buy” one cheap item from you each week. For example trade cards, postcards, stickers, etc. Then they can each leave you 5 stars across the board for DSR. For example if you got 10 friends to open multiple accounts that could easily be 20 5 star ratings each week which would certainly boost your DSR rating. And all perfectly within eBay rules. If you only sell 50 or so items a month you could easily double your fb this way.