After being a member on ebay for many years, I have come across the widespread use and abuse of the feedback system. At first it seems to be a great idea, a way to rate a transaction based on the experience, but after a while, I realized the ebay feedback system had many flaws. There are some drawbacks to the existing system, and I will try to express them below.

1. Feedback retaliation:

Many buyers or sellers are afraid to give a member negative feedback for a transaction, fearing retaliatory negative feedback in return. So when a buyer or seller fails in their obligations, it may not be reflected in the feedback rating they give. This is usually due to the possibilty of fear of getting a negative feedback in return. Perhaps there should be a more stringent process of leaving a negative feedback. Personally, I feel there should be a mediation process. First a complaint is lodged against a buyer or seller, then ebay reviews the complaint and sees whether there is any validation to the complaint. Then, if ebay can decide that it is a legitimate complaint, the negative feedback is allowed to progress to the posting stage.

2. Buyers wanting immediate feedback for a PayPal payment:

This occurs when a buyer immediately pays through PayPal. The buyer then requests Postive Feedback for their rapid payment. However, even ebay suggests waiting for a transaction to be completed before leaving feedback. It is simple for a seller to leave positive feedback for an instant payment, only to have the buyer dissatisfied with the product, and then leaving a negative feedback without trying to resolve the problem with the seller. This skips the entire process of allowing a seller to make amends for the transaction, such as issuing a refund or a partial refund. This is a blatant abuse of the feedback system. If a seller isn't given the chance to correct a situation, the feedback system fails. How a buyer responds to a misrepresented item is part of how a feedback rating should be judged and issued. It is important for a transaction to come to a mutually satisfying close before either party leaves a feedback rating.

Just about all of my negatives were due to some unhappy rookie buyer who jumped the gun and left a negative rating without even giving me the chance to make good on the transaction. This in turn is a reason for me to leave them a negative, not as a retaliatory response, but as an example of how they handled a situation poorly. As it states on the Feedback page, negative feedback should only be used as a last resort. Buyers and sellers should try to work out their problems through email or phone conversation before leaving a negative.

3. People looking for a fight:

This issue relates to issue number 2 above. Some people are just looking for a fight. Some buyers and sellers can be rude when there is a problem, such as an item not showing up, or finding damage to an item that wasn't described. More often than not, a seller might honestly overlook a problem.  It seems that most people are willing to work out a remedy, but there are some buyers and sellers, who start things off rudely, making it difficult to work out a problem. While I feel most people on ebay have a reasonable demeanor, there are some individuals who feel ripped off and don't care to work things out. This tends to lead to a negative feedback. More often than not, these negative ratings are highly undeserved.

Let's remember to try all avenues of conflict resolution before leaving negative feedback ratings. Again, most people try to make good on their transactions, just give them a chance.

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These are the main points I have found as flaws in the feedback system. Let ebay know if you feel the same way, and perhaps ebay will take a look at their system to make it a more fair way of identifying good ebay-ers from people who repeatedly abuse the feedback system.