Sep
29
More Thoughts on eBay Feedback
Filed Under Feedback
I’ve left approximately 25% more feedback than I’ve received. I understand that feedback is not compulsory, but one has to wonder what motivates an eBay user to choose to leave or not to leave feedback. Interestingly, I get more feedback when I’m participating in eBay as a buyer capacity than as a seller. As a seller, I generally leave feedback first, so retaliatory feedback shouldn’t be my buyer’s concern. However, in many cases, retaliatory feedback or the potential for retaliatory feedback is a significant factor in why eBay’s feedback system is dysfunctional. Sellers generally refuse to leave feedback until after the bidder has expressed satisfaction with the transaction by leaving a positive feedback. While eBay is expending a significant number of resources on Feedback 2.0 in an effort to improve the system, they are ignoring a root issue that significantly degrades the functionality and value of feedback. eBay must fix the retaliatory feedback issue.
I reluctantly admit that I have, on one occasion, withheld feedback on a Half.com transaction for fear of retaliatory feedback. I bought a textbook that was advertised as like-new. The book I received has writing on almost every page (in ink) and came wrapped in a paper grocery bag. I did not get what I paid for and wanted to warn other potential bidders via a negative feedback. However, it was not work the $15.00 I paid for the book to get my first negative, retaliatory feedback, so I waited until the seller submitted a feedback on me. It never happened, so I never left the negative. Call me spineless, but this really demonstrates the intrinsic value of eBay feedback. In this particular case, it was worth more than $15.00 not to get a negative feedback. When I first starting selling on eBay (after moving over from Yahoo! Auctions), getting the feedback was almost more important to me than getting the auction payment. I would keep better track of who “owed” me feedback than who owed me a money order (we’re talking pre-PayPal days) . So the thought of retaliatory feedback has many users paralyzed — refusing to risk leaving feedback first.
The feedback that does get posted seems to be inflated… a 97.5% positive feedback rating is indicative of a poor selling performance. eBay needs to fix this.
A recent Forbes article suggests several fixes:
- Alongside the number of total ratings a buyer or seller as received, list the total number of auctions he or she has participated in. This will tell you how many transactions went unrated. If the percentage is very high, it might flag a potential problem.
Comment: Would the fact that I’ve not been left feedback on at least 25% of the auctions in which I’ve participated be a red flag? I don’t think this is indicative of any problems I’ve had in the past. It’s more indicative of lazy eBay users.
- Allow for “double-blind” feedback. Under this scenario, the exact nature of the feedback for a particular transaction wouldn’t be published until both buyer and seller have entered their comments. If only one party decides to provide feedback, it will be held and not made public until after the feedback period had expired.
Comment: So if I woke up tomorrow and decided to defraud my customers, I could prevent them from leaving me negative feedback (and warning other potential scam victims) by simply not leaving feedback myself. I could get away with this for up to 45 days and the only thing my victims would see would be my 100% positive feedback rating I built up before I commenced my crime spree. This course of action does nothing to improve the buying experience.
- Separate the buyer’s and seller’s feedback. The way it works now, your rating depends on transactions for things that you bought as well as things you sold. Since it’s relatively easy to get a very high buyer’s rating — for example, you can purchase a large number of smaller items and pay promptly — it is argued that some sellers artificially inflate their ratings that way. The best solution: Have different rating scores for a person’s buying and selling transactions.
Comment: Not a bad idea, but this really does nothing to alleviate the retaliatory feedback problem.
I’d like to offer some more ideas.
Amend the Detailed Seller Rating to include another criterion. Instead of evaluating a seller for a shipping and handling charge that the buyer already approved and agreed to when they bid, replace it with a one to five-star rating of: “Would buy from again.” This would clue potential bidders in on the real buying experience associated with that seller. The anonymous nature of the Detailed Seller Ratings would protect the bidder from retaliatory feedback and would provide some actual usefulness to this new system (which, in my opinion, isn’t particularly useful in its current form).
An even better idea for improving feedback would be the one proposed by Brad on his ideas blog. He suggests a system in which after the first party (either the buyer or the seller) leaves a negative feedback, the other party’s ability to leave a feedback on that transaction is completely disabled. He astutely points out that nothing constructive ever comes for the second feedback left once a negative has been submitted. They are almost always negative and retaliatory in nature. Eliminating the capacity to leave retaliatory feedback would certainly eliminate the fear of retaliatory feedback.
The result would be a feedback system that more accurately reflects a buyer or seller’s historic performace with regard to satisfactorily completing eBay transactions. Accomplishing this would restore the utility of eBay’s feedback system significantly and improve both the buying and selling experience.
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2 Responses to “More Thoughts on eBay Feedback”
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I agree to this as the shipping and handling charge is already agreed to by the buyer.
I also think that the shipping time feedback can be unfair at times. I ship from overseas and always a day or two after payment is received, yet there are some buyers who gave less than a 5 stars rating. There are many reasons behind this. The item could be held up in customs or by the postal system or the buyer simply have very high expectation of delivery time.
If the item is slow in arriving due to the postal system some buyers will give a low rating and this is very unfair to the seller/s.
Hey I like this entry, the problem of retaliatory feedback on eBay really bugs me.
“He suggests a system in which after the first party (either the buyer or the seller) leaves a negative feedback, the other party’s ability to leave a feedback on that transaction is completely disabled.”
So if a seller wants to rip off a customer s/he can just leave bad feedback straigt away after the sale and disable the buyer’s feedback.
I think they should get rid of feedback for buyers. The buyer has to decide on how to pick the seller. The seller cant pick his/her buyers.