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If you are a buyer on eBay, you currently have ALL the power!
Over the past several months, eBay has pretty much stripped away almost all the protections it once gave sellers, and has removed whatever leverage sellers had in the daily battle to make a living on eBay. They made it impossible for a seller to leave negative or neutral feedback, even if it was deserved. But they did not strip that right from buyers. And feedback is a seller's life blood!EBay doesn't protect the seller anymore. And good, ethical sellers are what keep eBay in business.
Certainly, eBay DOES need to protect buyers from undeserved negative feedback, and to enforce ethical selling policies, but the lion's share of sellers on eBay are just like you and me, who are just doing their best to make a few extra bucks, or even to make a living on eBay. And they are honest and ethical to a fault.Having been a buyer on eBay for well over ten years, and having been a seller for almost as long, I know BOTH sides of the eBay fence, and have been nipped in the behind by BOTH buyers and sellers from time to time. Believe me...it isn't fun.
I have placed many, many guides on eBay over the past couple of years, and I've talked about good manners and and what it's like to own an eBay Store, but I think we really need to discuss exactly what it takes for a good, honest seller to remain in eBay's good graces and be allowed to sell on eBay, and just how much hard work it is to just to maintain a presence on eBay, and avoid unfair and even extortive feedback from buyers who know that sellers can no longer fight back.
Those of you who have never sold on eBay need to understand several things:
- eBay is there to make money, and all sellers must pay through the nose to sell on eBay, especially if they want to make decent money.
- eBay is FREE for buyers. Buyers pay nothing - nada - to buy on eBay. It isn't free to sellers.
- Sellers who use eBay as a storefront must factor in the costs of selling on eBay and using PayPal as part of the price of their items.
- Sellers must perform to eBay's high standards. In other words, sellers must receive excellent feedback from all their buyers in order to be able to continue to sell on eBay and to maintain their standing. And I have seen buyers who inadvertently use negative or neutral feedback to damage a seller's reputation even when they get the item, and it was in good shape. Maybe it's just lack of information that causes this, so here we go...
eBay has TWO kinds of feedback.
First, a buyer has the option to leave positive, negative, or neutral feedback after a transaction has been completed.
POSITIVE: If a sale was proper, the merchandise was as described, and you are generally satisfied with the transaction, you leave POSITIVE feedback. (This means, even if the dude was a bit slow in getting it to you, or you had a minor communications problem that eventually got straightened out, it still turned out well.)
NEGATIVE: If the seller sold you garbage that was nothing like the item shown and what you bid on, or the seller blatantly lied in the item description AND the seller won't make it right after you contact him or her and go through all of the proper steps eBay sets up for problem resolution, you have the option to leave NEGATIVE feedback. NOTE: This is NEVER an option simply because you didn't like what you bought after you bought it. Buyer's remorse is NEVER grounds to leave negative feedback. Using negative feedback simply because you changed your mind after you got the item, and the seller won't take it back and give you your money back is tantamount to extortion. The seller sold the item to you in good faith. If the item was correctly described, works properly, and you change your mind after it arrives, that is not the seller's fault.
NEUTRAL: Leaving a seller neutral feedback after completing a transaction is is roughly the equivalent of smacking your seller in the chops and telling him or her to go straight to heck. It ranks with eBay the same as a negative. Leaving a neutral feedback means the seller is mediocre, or not a good seller, and is roughly equivalent to a negative.
If it takes five weeks to get my item that should have arrived in two weeks from Asia, I use the Five-Star rating to rate his delivery speed as "very slowly". I leave positive feedback if I got the item in good shape, and I simply say something like "thanks". Then I use the Five-Star ranking to show my displeasure over the extra four weeks of delivery time.
For example: A seller in Houston Texas had a buyer who could not reach him by e-mail for a week, and then left negative feedback because the battery in the new cell phone she bought didn't take a charge properly. (The seller guarantees his phones 100%.) In this instance, a nasty hurricane had just hit the seller's city, leaving him without Internet, power, phones, or utilities for over three weeks. Her seller was unable to access his eBay account, his e-mail, or even use his computer for nearly a month. If she had simply asked for his contact information from eBay, she could have reached him by cell phone, and taken care of the problem instantly.
That negative CANNOT be removed without mutual request. And that negative and associated complaint to Trust and Safety was just enough to have eBay cut off his selling privileges for 30 days. And eBay doesn't care that there were seriously extenuating circumstances.
According to eBay, a small issue like a category 3 hurricane is no reason for a seller to not respond to a complaint.
NEGATIVE: If the seller sold you garbage that was nothing like the item shown and what you bid on, or the seller blatantly lied in the item description AND the seller won't make it right after you contact him or her and go through all of the proper steps eBay sets up for problem resolution, you have the option to leave NEGATIVE feedback. NOTE: This is NEVER an option simply because you didn't like what you bought after you bought it. Buyer's remorse is NEVER grounds to leave negative feedback. Using negative feedback simply because you changed your mind after you got the item, and the seller won't take it back and give you your money back is tantamount to extortion. The seller sold the item to you in good faith. If the item was correctly described, works properly, and you change your mind after it arrives, that is not the seller's fault.
NEUTRAL: Leaving a seller neutral feedback after completing a transaction is is roughly the equivalent of smacking your seller in the chops and telling him or her to go straight to heck. It ranks with eBay the same as a negative. Leaving a neutral feedback means the seller is mediocre, or not a good seller, and is roughly equivalent to a negative.
If you have a problem with your seller, but the seller works it out with you and you get the product you wanted despite a delay or a miscommunication, then consider the transaction completed positively, or choose not to leave feedback at all.
If you are upset about something like slow shipping, use the seller's five-star rating to let eBay know that your seller took five weeks to ship instead of the three he said in his item description.
If you are upset about something like slow shipping, use the seller's five-star rating to let eBay know that your seller took five weeks to ship instead of the three he said in his item description.
In addition to these three types of feedback, eBay asks the buyer to rate the seller's honesty, communication, speed of delivery, and integrity by the Five-Star method.
When I buy from any seller, I always expect it to take up to ten days for a package to arrive, unless the seller states it takes longer in the item description.
If the post office or UPS is slow, that does not mean your seller is slow. It's sort of out of the seller's hands once the item is dropped into that chute. That's why many sellers ship with delivery confirmation. That way they can track to see how long it takes to be delivered.If it takes five weeks to get my item that should have arrived in two weeks from Asia, I use the Five-Star rating to rate his delivery speed as "very slowly". I leave positive feedback if I got the item in good shape, and I simply say something like "thanks". Then I use the Five-Star ranking to show my displeasure over the extra four weeks of delivery time.
If any kind of problem comes up with a transaction, eBay wants buyers to FIRST contact the seller and use every tool eBay offers a buyer to get a fast resolution.
THE KEY HERE IS TO NOT PANIC.
Panic causes lots of headaches to eBayers, and creates loads of ugly messes that cannot be undone. Unfortunately, most newbie buyers (and sellers) on eBay tend to do just that, and start shooting off complaints to eBay's Trust and Safety department without seriously trying to communicate with their trading partner.For example: A seller in Houston Texas had a buyer who could not reach him by e-mail for a week, and then left negative feedback because the battery in the new cell phone she bought didn't take a charge properly. (The seller guarantees his phones 100%.) In this instance, a nasty hurricane had just hit the seller's city, leaving him without Internet, power, phones, or utilities for over three weeks. Her seller was unable to access his eBay account, his e-mail, or even use his computer for nearly a month. If she had simply asked for his contact information from eBay, she could have reached him by cell phone, and taken care of the problem instantly.
That negative CANNOT be removed without mutual request. And that negative and associated complaint to Trust and Safety was just enough to have eBay cut off his selling privileges for 30 days. And eBay doesn't care that there were seriously extenuating circumstances.
According to eBay, a small issue like a category 3 hurricane is no reason for a seller to not respond to a complaint.
I am listing below the proper methods of contacting a seller (or buyer) BEFORE even thinking of leaving uncomplimentary feedback.
- Make sure you have the correct e-mail address for the other person. This is NOT an uncommon cause for lack of communication. I sold an item last week and got an instant payment via PayPal. I e-mailed the buyer telling them that I was shipping the item the following day, and got an autoresponder from the e-mail server that the e-mail was "undeliverable". I had to go to my own My eBay account and ferret out the correct e-mail address so that I could tell the buyer her item was on the way. If you are a buyer or seller on eBay, you NEED to make sure your address, e-mail, and contact information are updated and correct on all your eBay and PayPal accounts. If you don't it can lead to bad public relations, or worse.
- If you use PayPal or other instant payment methods, and do not receive a confirmation that your payment was received and your item is being shipped, immediately send an e-mail to the other party to verify the contact information. Good, smooth communication is essential to a good eBay transaction!
- If you do not pay instantly and have not received an invoice within 48 hours of end of auction, CONTACT your seller! If your seller has not invoiced you, it could mean that eBay does not have your updated information.
- If you cannot contact via e-mail, use eBay's notification system.
- If there is still no response, don't panic. Simply get the other party's contact information from eBay, and CALL. Most sellers have a cell phone listed for contact purposes.
To request a member's contact information:
- Click on the Advanced Search link located at the top of most eBay pages.
- On the left side of the page under Search, click the Find Contact Information link.
- Enter the member's user ID and the item number of the item you are trading with that member.
- For security purposes, you may be asked to enter a verification code displayed in the image.
- Click the Search button.
The information you requested will be e-mailed to your registered eBay e-mail address.
It is the buyer's responsibility to understand how to make these contacts, as well as the seller's. Remember that eBay is there for all of us to enjoy and use, so let's protect both buyers AND sellers from undeserved complaints and feedback.
ENJOY!
If you don't get an e-mail within one hour, your eBay account info needs to be updated immediately!
Remember...we all use eBay as a way to get great bargains, or to make a few bucks. If we don't use eBay and its tools properly, we ALL LOSE! If you are a newbie buyer who is unsure of how to handle a problem, please don't panic...ASK! Don't go crazy and leave feedback you cannot retract or start making formal complaints to eBay when you have not actually contacted the seller to tell him or her there is a problem. Sending one e-mail does not constitute contact. Phones are more direct.It is the buyer's responsibility to understand how to make these contacts, as well as the seller's. Remember that eBay is there for all of us to enjoy and use, so let's protect both buyers AND sellers from undeserved complaints and feedback.
ENJOY!
Guide created: 10/05/08 (updated 09/24/09)
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