eBay

aramatic · ‎02-23-2023

I've just gone to leave feedback for some items I purchased and was surprised to find no Leave Feedback box under View Order Details. At first I thought it was a glitch but then discovered that Leave Feedback has been moved to a drop-down menu under More Actions. Why? Apart from adding an unnecessary mouse click, making the feedback option less visible is only going to mean less feedback. Quite a number of buyers already don't leave feedback until reminded, and some not even then. This latest bit of pointless tinkering will only make things worse for sellers.

reallynicestamps · ‎02-23-2023

I'm here for the money not the feedback.

And that was unnecessarily glib. Sorry.

I think FB is a legacy of the 20th century internet when buying online from a stranger thousands of kilometres away was exciting and scarey.

And now it is how we order pizza and buy new kitchen cabinet handles. (My own last two online purchases.)

I rather it was dropped and replaced by a running total of transactions with a concurrent total of successful totals, that being the number of transactions (buy or sell) that did not result in a claim, dispute or cancellation (successful or not).

So if I buy 100 items,one goes unpaid and one is returned for refund my rating would be 100/98.

And if I sell 1000 items and have one return for refund and give one UID Strike, my rating would be 1000/998.

And overall my rating would be 1100/1096.

Many would disagree.

ricarmic · ‎02-24-2023

@reallynicestamps but I would note that when we're buying pizza or kitchen cabinet handles online now, if they're from a new provider, we're checking their google/facebook etc ratings before we buy.

It's what I did when I needed to find a local electrician, I checked their feedback/ratings. Its what my spouse does all the time when it's a place/provider/thing we haven't purchased before.

I do think that feedback not only here does still play a part in people's decisions, I know at least in our household it does.

msau4301 · ‎02-24-2023

@ricarmic wrote:

I do think that feedback not only here does still play a part in people's decisions, I know at least in our household it does.

I have to agree with ricarmic feedback/reviews plays a big part of decisions in our house too!

Feedback is basically a review of the seller and when trying to decide between a few sellers with same or similar product and price it is often the deciding factor in which one to chose. While I would still buy from someone with some bad feedback (we all know how fussy some buyers can be) it does still play a part depending on what is being purchased and affects the decision.

Even the younger generation still responds to good reviews. My 20 year old daughter is always showing me stuff she wants to buy from random people/companies she's seen on instagram but we've only bought from those with good reviews (of course that generation even posts photos with their reviews!) so to me feedback is still relevant. None of us would want to stay in a 1 star hotel afterall!

Plus the feedback is often reassurance that an item was received. I had a package delivered to a buyer in residence at college this week (first time for that) and was concerned it would actually make it to them in their room. When I received feedback from them my mind was immediately put at ease.

avidhiker-33 · ‎02-25-2023

Not only has the feedback "button" been removed, the small icons that indicated whether I had already left feedback and whether the seller had left feedback for me were also removed.

Agree with @aramatic ... this change will result in less feedback being provided.

Yet another change implemented without user involvement. Unfortuanately the "if it ain't broke ... break it" attitudes are not by any means unique to ebay.

mrdutch1001 · ‎02-25-2023

Other than for new sellers starting out who really do need to garner feedback to show their trustworthiness, consistency and reliability, feedback for well established sellers really serves no further purpose, especially for those sellers with over 2500 feedback. If 2500+ feedback does not show a seller's truth worth for credibility, reliabily and trustworthiness, nothing beyond that will make much difference.

Even at 1700+ feedback for myself, I give no attention to my feedback. If, after 20 years of selling on eBay, buyers cannot see that I have credibility, reliability, trustworthiness and give the best of my ability customer service, then so be it. I sell quite well on my other 2 selling sites where, in the 2-3 years of my existence as a seller on those sites, I have accumulated a TOTAL of less than 25 actual feedback on either site.

...It's not like in the old days, when feedback was held in high regard. In today's world, buyers are only interested in making their purchases, receiving what they ordered and as described....

and thereafter if they provide feedback that's a bonus.

aramatic · ‎02-25-2023

(1) Even for established sellers a neutral or negative feedback can be detrimental. It's human nature to gravitate towards negative rather than positive comments, and according to the algorithm eBay uses, less feedback makes a negative strike more prominent and last longer. (2) It's a double standard to have Leave Feedback in a prominent box on the Sold page (ie to leave for buyers) and to hide it away on the Purchase History pages (to leave for sellers). As avidiker-33 says, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

mrdutch1001 · ‎02-25-2023

Feedback is what it is ...

life will go on with or without it..

There are way more important fixes needed on this site that are years over due that need attention way more so than this current hidden feedback issue...

and while I may agree with "if at ain't broke don't fix it"...eBay is well known for its desire to make changes for the sake of change...ongoing for at least 13 years now...

C'est la vie!

Que sera, sera!

aramatic · ‎02-26-2023

"Feedback is what it is ...

life will go on with or without it..

C'est la vie!

Que sera, sera!"

Good grief.

avidhiker-33 · ‎03-09-2023

@mrdutch1001 wrote:
Other than for new sellers starting out who really do need to garner feedback to show their trustworthiness, consistency and reliability, feedback for well established sellers really serves no further purpose, especially for those sellers with over 2500 feedback. If 2500+ feedback does not show a seller's truth worth for credibility, reliabily and trustworthiness, nothing beyond that will make much difference.
Even at 1700+ feedback for myself, I give no attention to my feedback. If, after 20 years of selling on eBay, buyers cannot see that I have credibility, reliability, trustworthiness and give the best of my ability customer service, then so be it. I sell quite well on my other 2 selling sites where, in the 2-3 years of my existence as a seller on those sites, I have accumulated a TOTAL of less than 25 actual feedback on either site.
...It's not like in the old days, when feedback was held in high regard. In today's world, buyers are only interested in making their purchases, receiving what they ordered and as described....
and thereafter if they provide feedback that's a bonus.

@mrdutch1001, in your case the 1700+ feedback is likely indicative of high credibility.

However that's not always the case as I've learned in the ~ 27 months I've been active on ebay. Some memorable "lowlights" from my early days here ...

A "Like New" blu-ray purchased from a "Top Rated Seller" with 900+ feedback arrived in a Blockbuster case, had the BBV stock number written on the disc, and the many playing surface scratches resulted in pixillation and an eventual freeze during playback.

I recycled the coverart and garbaged the disc & case. Which is what the "Top Rated Seller" with many feedbacks should have done rather than listing it for sale on ebay.

A "Like New" blu-ray purchased from a seller with 1100+ feedback arrived in a case that had a large piece missing, a rental label on the disc hub, and visible scratches on the disc. The disc still played perfectly, so after replacing the case I dropped it in the donation box.

Btw, after receiving the blu-ray I checked some of the sellers' other blu-ray and DVD offerrings and miraculously every one of them was in "Like New" condition.

A "Watched Once! Like New!" OOP dvd purchased from a seller with 4400+ feedback must have been loaned to Bubbles & the Sunnyvale Boys for use as a street hockey puck after it was "Watched Once!" ... because it was covered in scratches and non-playable.

This Seller with many feedbacks included a hand-printed note in CAPITAL LETTERS stating "IF YOU LEAVE POSITIVE FEEDBACK FOR ME I WILL DO THE SAME FOR YOU". The slimeball did not need to state the corollary ... that if I dared to return it or leave negative feedback then he/she/it would post feedback warning other sellers to avoid this newbie.

These sellers have ZERO credibility with me and I have never and will never buy from them again.

I've wondered how many customers ebay has lost due to sellers such as the above.

My own first experience with ebay was in the spring of 2004 and I did not revist ebay until 2017 when I was unable to source a discontinued camera locally or via various websites ... and as a last resort set up an alert on ebay to go along with alerts set up elsewhere.