Buyers with private feedback

[sand.in.my.pants]

Can I cancel a purchase from someone with private feedback or is this something that ebay doesn't allow?

Thanks for the help!

[dutchman48]

If you do, you will receive a defect for a cancelled transaction which is one of Ebay's seller killers

[mr.elmwood]

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@sand.in.my.pants wrote:

Can I cancel a purchase from someone with private feedback or is this something that ebay doesn't allow?

Thanks for the help!

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Why would you cancel? That makes no sense.

[ricarmic]

Buyers can have many reasons for making their feedback private....

Before eBay made it so one can't see who bought what from who, people used private feedback to protect their "sources" in eBay.

Buyers can of course also be using it to hide problems, however, it is more likely given the new "privacy" that they're protecting problems as a seller as opposed to a buyer in their feedback.

If something is making you worry, you can take extra precautions that you might not have before, like upgrade to tracking if it wasn't already included. 

I have sold lots of stuff to folks with private feedback. In my case I believe it is to protect their sources (even though they're protected now anyway but some folks still don't trust eBay)... but I am in the stamp world, so things might be different in your world.

[momcqueen]

While I share your basic distrust for buyers with private feedback, you cannot use this as a valid reason to cancel a transaction. 

Ebay allows buyers to have private feedback, therefore they do not consider it wrong.

If it were me, I would make certain I used a tracked service for the transaction, to protect myself against whatever it is the member is trying to hide. 

Was this for the doll? One of the long-standing ebay Discussion Board members frequently states that doll shoppers are among the hardest to please. Protect yourself with perfect packaging and tracking. 

[mr.elmwood]

20% of my buyers are zero (0) feedback. Should I cancel them?

[momcqueen]

Not if you're smart. A new buyer is new. Nothing more. 

A buyer with private feedback is hiding something: their feedback. Why? What's the reason for that?

Private feedback on ebay is, to me, like walking into a 7-11 at midnight in July wearing a balaclava and expecting the clerk to NOT think they're going to be robbed.

I stand firmly opposed to private feedback. Unless, of course, I was a crook. Then I would love it. 

[ricarmic]

I have to say myself that since they made it so that one can't theoretically trace a transaction back to a buyer I'm surprised that they've still allowed private feedback.

However we all remember the times glitches have allowed folks to temporarily once again see who bought what.....

[momcqueen]

That's right, especially now that transaction details are obscured, there is no reason to hide your feedback under 'private' unless you really have something to hide. I just don't trust it. 

[mr.elmwood]

Feedback is meaningless when buyers with feedback sign in with guest accounts (0).

Feedback is meaningless when sellers have two accounts, one for selling, and one for buying, thus hiding what they do.

Buyer feedback has no value, eBay has made it that way.

[momcqueen]

I agree with you to some extent, but if all my Feedback Left for Others on any account said: 'This seller is a $%^&bag who sends #$%&!' then you better believe it would be private and I would be hiding something. 

[ricarmic]

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@mjwl2006 wrote:

That's right, especially now that transaction details are obscured, there is no reason to hide your feedback under 'private' unless you really have something to hide. I just don't trust it. 

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I got called away and my edit time expired.... however we all remember the glitches times when temporarily one can see it again...

[momcqueen]

I think public feedback keeps people honest. 

[ricarmic]

I agree, however by accident a few years ago I discovered one of my suppliers suppliers whilst I was checking his feedback.... so I do understand why in the olden days people did it..... although it is easily fixed by having a buying id separate from a selling id.

[momcqueen]

For the longest time, I totally resisted even having a separate buyer ID from my selling ID because I figured I had nothing to hide. If anything, it forced me to leave kinder feedback for sellers who might not have otherwise deserved it because I didn't want it reflecting poorly on me as a buyer with my seller's ID. 

Now I have two, one for buying and one for selling, but it's more to keep Canadian and American transactions separate. 

I still feel as if I have failed to do my part to resolve a problem if I feel the need to negative feedback (or even a soft positive) for someone. 

[mr.elmwood]

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@mjwl2006 wrote:

I think public feedback keeps people honest. 

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Public feedback does not exist, has not for years. Buyers can only have positive, from sellers that leave it.

Buyers and sellers have multiple accounts to hide what they are doing. Buyers routinely sign-in with disposable IDs.

Sellers hide behind made up names.

My rate of feedback received is around 25% of all sales.

eBay states that feedback does not count.

[sand.in.my.pants]

It's regarding the listing I have live now.

I had the listing originally as a  "buy it now or best offer" and had received several extremely low offers from different people all in the same zip code area - which I think is very weird.  I checked the feedback these people left for others and there was a high amount of negatives given out by all of them.  

Annoyed with this low-ball nonsense, I revised the listing to "buy it now".

Today I received a message from someone else who's location is in that same zip code but their feedback is set to private.  

I'm just suspicious of people who hide their feedback (and maybe their intentions,as well).

[momcqueen]

I know that you say that but it still does count. In terms of a reflection on a member's public reputation. Feedback Left For Others in an excellent gauge of a person's willingness to play fairly.

[momcqueen]

Sorry, my previous reply was to Mr. Elmwood.

You can BLOCK any buyer you don't like the looks of before they buy.

[momcqueen]

Yesterday, I got an Offer for $125 less than my asking price on a $175 item. For all three of them in my possession. My entire inventory of it! $25 on $175 item.