Protocol for Leaving Feedback

[crystals3643]

When should the seller leave feedback for the buyer..before or after the buyer has left feedback for the seller which can sometimes take weeks?  In my buying experience I have found that some sellers will not leave feedback for the buyer until they have received back (positive) feedback from the buyer.   Is this proper protocol and when should the seller be leaving his/her feedback for the buyer--after the buyer has received the item and given the seller positive feedback or immediately after the buyer has paid for the item but before the buyer has received the item?  I would appreciate any comments from members on this issue.

[dmil8030]

There is no official ebay policy on when - or even if - a seller must leave feedback for a buyer.  It's a matter of choice, it's optional, and no one 'owes' anybody feedback. 

Some sellers leave it right away after being paid, some right after they've shipped it.  Some have their system set up to automatically respond with positive for the buyer when they receive positive first.  Others do it manually on an individual basis, - each and every time.  Some do it in batches every so often, every month, and I know of one seller who has not left any at all since 2008.  Haha, he doesn't get much these days either. 😄

It is up to seller.  Some do it early hoping for the same in return, and some simply will not leave a buyer positive until they themselves have received one.  And still others will not leave positive until they have clearly ascertained that the buyer left 5s in DSRs because in spite of the alleged anonymity to that, - smaller sellers can easily figure it out.  Here is a link to tell you all about feedback if you would like to have a look:

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/feedback/allaboutfeedback.html

[scifan57]

Whatever feedback policy you decide on,it's entirely your choice on how,when and whether to leave feedback at all. The only choice you don't have is the one between positive or negative feedback. Sellers can leave only positive feedback or none at all.

[amjoda]

Well, when I sell something I do wait for either feedback from the buyer or an email saying they have received it and are happy with the item. It's only when I know there won't be any returns that I consider the deal done and fitting for feedback. But, I actually write them and tell them that. So, maybe they're waiting to hear if there's going to be a return.

[ok_so_im_50]

I buy and sell and was always of the belief that a seller should wait until after they have received feedback from the buyer before leaving it for them.

Back in the day, sellers could leave negative feedback and non payers could too. Can you imagine a non payer leaving negative feedback and not being able to respond in kind? Well fortunately non payers can't leave any feedback if they got a strike.

The who should leave feedback first question used to come up quite often when buyers could get negs but I think this is the first time I've seen it since it was implemented in 2008.