Going Deep To Dismantle the Core Feedback System - A Letter to eBay

What is worse, an undeserved, big red flag and ugly comment to go with it, or an underserved star?

With every transaction, the core feedback system leaves every party vulnerable to attack-even if it's a perfect, flawless, over-the-top-good transaction. It simply doesn't matter what the circumstance is.

Example: if I go to Wal-Mart, regardless of what experience I have, I can't go out and paint a giant red frown face over their store sign. Nor can I hang a red frown face flag on one of the rafters in their store proclaiming my wrath. But if I did paint over their sign, it would last a long time, damage Wal-Mart's image, and cost them considerable to clean it up. This is exactly what the core feedback system does. It does what can't be done at any other store.

Wal-Mart is just an example; use any store you want. The point is Wal-Mart is in control of the space it chooses to sell in. Why aren't we? If someone paints a face on Wal-Mart, and they didn't deserve it, they can press charges, sue for clean up, or at the very least they can have the paint removed. We can't have our red marks removed. eBay won't let us. I've tried extensively. We didn't deserve them, but eBay will not dip its hands into these matters. Then why the hell have the damn system if you're going to sit back, watch it be abused, and do nothing?

Why not make feedback optional for your user ID? Why not opt in or out of the core or star system?

What's more is eBay leaves us vulnerable with the core feedback system. You know that giant red flag that nobody can leave in front of a retail store without getting into some trouble? Well, not only can they freely leave that flag on eBay, but they can lean on threats of it to coerce, leverage, or extort things from someone.

What's worse is the offending party doesn't care. The people who abuse the feedback system typically don't last long on eBay. Usually, they know this and thus don't care about their accounts. They'll hijack another one or start another one and run it into the ground the same way. That makes them into a kamikaze force. Some people just don't care what they do. Well guess what, eBay? They may be gone after a while, but that dirty red flag they hung in front of my name won't.

You don't have to say 'pay up or else' to be guilty of coercion. The threat of negative feedback is automatic with every transaction. If the buyer experiences any problem, the threat of negative is usually implied, but always possible. We don't deserve to sell or buy under this threat, and the people who abuse the system don't deserve to have these leverage tools available to them. Get the heck rid of the core FB system.

And replace it with what? The star system for starters. I really don't care what system we use, as long as it is fair and accurate. For now, that happens to be the star system. The core feedback system does not live up to the standard of fairness or accuracy. How many sellers leave automated feedback with no or accidental relation to the actual transaction? Positive isn't always an accurate reflection either. I do it myself, but I'd rather not. I see the core feedback system's original purpose. It can help us build reputations, but do we really need it, especially with the new star system?

One system is enough, and the core system has to go. It's certainly possible to incorporate all the achievments and status into the star system based on the number of transactions we have. We don't need the core for that. But the percentage system was never much of an accurate system, especially when expectations are so high that many people will not even deal with you if you have 99.5% or less. Look at what we're doing to the market-99.5% is freaking fantastic. We would kill for scores like that on a calculus test. But on eBay it's the mid to low percentile. What a crock. Is that really the system that best reflects our work?

Not my work. My work is superb. Much of your work is too, I suspect. With the star system, the details of our transaction would be invisibly incorporated into the rating. No undeserved red flags, no opportunity for libel, no opening for coercion or extortion-hey, especially if you have the option to disable feedback on your account.

If eBay is really an open 'venue,' why does it impose this on us? Why can't we choose to enable or disable feedback, which can be used to hurt us? Why does eBay have to say we absolutely must have a feedback system? If my reputation is good, it will speak for itself, and if it is not, the litigation will knock me off the face of eBay anyway, just like in the real world. In the brick and mortar world, there is no red/green feedback system. You either have a good business, or you don't, and people will have their individual experiences, but one they thing they cannot have is the right to paint a red frown over your storefront. So why do they have that right on eBay?

Should we get rid of feedback altogether? No. I don't think so. It's one of the things that makes eBay fun. What we need is a better system. The star system is a step in the right direction, which is why I think eBay designed it. They said as much at the Live! town hall. It will always be a challenge to make sure people don't abuse whatever system there is, but the time for the core feedback system is long over. It's done.

Which is worse, an undeserved negative, or an undeserved star? eBay, it's time to take us into the stars.

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