Feedback on eBay is a hotly debated topic.  Some sellers leave feedback only upon receipt of positive feedback from the customer.  Some buyers only leave positive feedback upon receipt of positive feedback from the seller.  So how can you get around this issue and maintain a reliable feedback page upon which potential customers and sellers can make informed decisions?

What does feedback mean?

First, it is important to decide what feedback means.  Is it truly a way to let other potential customers and sellers see how you rated your trading experience?  Or is it a method of only letting others learn of that experience if it was bad?  Or maybe you only believe feedback should be left if it is positive.  Is the advice given to us by our parents recommending that, "if we don't have something good to say, we should say nothing at all", applicable here?  Everyone has an opinion on this matter, and I hope this guide helps you learn how to leave constructive feedback, whether it is positive, negative or neutral.

Sellers

As an eBay seller, I choose to leave positive feedback as soon as I print the shipping label.  So, what does my positive feedback mean?

1. The customer has paid for the item he contracted to buy.
2. The payment was received in a timely fashion.

As a seller, I ask nothing more of my customers than the two items listed above.  The feedback I leave varies, but the message is essentially the same. I am telling my customers that I enjoyed working with them, they are always welcome back and I recommend their business to any other eBay seller.

Pros and Cons of this method

Sellers run the risk of leaving positive feedback only to be slammed by the customer, if the item didn't live up to the customer's expectations.  But that's business.  I try to provide my customers with the best quality merchandise at a very reasonable price, and with excellent customer service.  Sometimes I make mistakes.  Sometimes things happen beyond my control. At any rate, it seems obvious to me that occasionally a customer will experience a problem with a transaction.  I always ask my customers to contact me BEFORE leaving neutral or negative feedback, so that I can make the appropriate adjustments to make them happy with their experience.  But this is what I ask of them.  They are in no way obligated to do so, and I have, on occasion received negative feedback, without the customer contacting me first.  The first time this happened, my feelings were REALLY hurt.  I contacted the customer and honored my 100% satisfaction guarantee.  I responded to his negative feedback, accepting the error on my end. It cost me money, time and hurt my feelings, but he had every right to indicate in his feedback the way he honestly felt.  Most of the time, customers do try to contact me first if there is any problem and I always honor my advertised guarantees.

Sellers typically enjoy a better positive feedback rate if they do leave their feedback first.  I have purchased from many sellers who let me know that they will leave positive feedback upon receipt of the same.  This, they say, ensures the customer is completely satisfied with the transaction.  I disagree.  As a customer, I could be purchasing an item for a particular event, say a birthday.  If the seller take his time shipping the item or the item arrives and is not as advertised, there is really no way that the seller can make my experience a positive one.  These are things that sellers need to realize before holding a customer's feedback hostage.  When I read the feedback left by seller who advertises this practice, I am never quite convinced that I am getting the whole story.  But, I understand that sellers try to avoid negative feedback by requiring the customer to be happy with their experience before the seller leaves feedback.

In short, as a seller, you need to determine what you feel is more businesslike.  Whatever you choose, let it be stated as part of your policies, so that customers can decide whether this is acceptable to them.

Customers

As a customer, I leave positive feedback as soon as I receive the item and assess that it is, "as advertised."  There are a few exceptions to this rule.  I buy a lot of audio books.  Occasionally, though everything appears fine, the tapes have problems.  I realize this is a possibility when I buy the audio books, but I don't wait to leave feedback until after I have listened to the whole book.  I go ahead and leave it when I receive it. If I do experience problems later, I typically contact the buyer and have, in each instance, been very happy with their willingness to fix the problem.  Still, as a seller, I recognize that certain items have to actually be "consumed" before the customer can determine whether his is satisfied with his transaction.  So I certainly don't mind customers who leave feedback a month after they receive the item.

If I encounter a problem with the item upon receipt, or, if the seller never ships the item, I contact the seller first to try to get the matter resolved amicably. If that fails, I use the eBay system for disputes and allow the system to work.  If, in the end, the transaction was unsatisfactory, I do leave negative feedback.  Other potential customers have the right to know that, even if I am the only one who has ever had a problem with this seller, my problem was real.

Constructive Feedback

Everyone has his own way of expressing his experience, buying or selling.  I use the following to leave what I consider to be constructive feedback.

As the Seller

As the seller, I like to leave feedback that lets other sellers know a little about the customer, such as, he buys multiple items, he is a return customer, he pays quickly, he communicates well, etc.  Below are some examples, in the requisite 80 characters or less

• Excellent transaction. Speedy Payment. Come Back Anytime.
• Excellent transaction. Great communication. Come Back Soon!
• Excellent transaction. Speedy Payment for multiple items. Thanks!
• Excellent transaction. Speedy Payment. Great Return Customer!
• As always, a pleasure doing business. Come back to Judy's Corner soon!
• Customer never paid for item. No communication. FVF recovered.
• Customer changed mind. FVF recovered. New eBayer.

I don't use the stars and graphics to demonstrate my lack of artistic talent.  I enjoy getting those, but am not artistic enough to be creative, so, my feedback is generally words in the English language!

As the Customer

As the customer, I like to leave feedback that lets other potential customers know a little about the seller, his products and his customer service. Below are some examples, again, in the requisite 80 characters or less.

• Excellent transaction. Speedy shipping. Great Product. Thanks!
• Excellent transaction.Great customer service, and product. Thanks!
• Item was broken when received. Seller handled professionally. Thanks!
• Received wrong item. Seller corrected immediately. Great seller. Thanks!
• Seller never sent item. No communication. Filed reported with PayPal.
• Item was unacceptable and was returned. Seller refunded payment. Thanks!

As you can see, there are some that are clearly positive, some that are neutral and a few that are negative.  But always, the tone is important and should not be accusatory.  Simply stated, the negative feedback communicates the message without having to use words like "liar", "fake", etc.

In Conclusion

Feedback is what it is.  A statement by one party in a transaction describing his experience.  When reading feedback left by others for me, I also look at feedback they have left for others.  If I have received ,"Thanks." and the customer leaves a lot of, "THANKS!!!" feedbacks, I know that they were OK with my transaction but not "over the top",  shall we say.  Accordingly, I don't get upset by a feedback of "thanks" if that is the feedback he leaves for all of his positive feedbacks.  Personally, I try to learn from my customers' feedback.  I want to be the best eBay seller possible and I know I need to continue to learn from my customers, as well as from other sellers from whom I purchase items.

The feedback system is such that there is no requirement to leave feedback and, while this can be very frustrating whether you are a customer or a seller, it is just another indicator you can use in determining whether you choose to engage in repeat business with the other party.  So, use feedback as you would like others to use it for you. I enjoy at least an 80% feedback rate and the majority of that feedback is positive.