Feedback is an effective method to judge the past dealings and trustworthiness of a complete stranger you are considering giving your hard earned money too. Other EBay users who have dealt with this seller leave feedback to express their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the service provided, product purchased, honest auction description, communications, timely delivery, and a variety of other issues.

In the early days, EBay sellers almost always left feedback immediately for prompt payment, good communications, etc. It was assumed that as long as they were honest in their dealing with the buyer that the buyer would be honest and fair in returning feedback also. Unfortunately humans are not always honest. Buyers would often neglect to leave feedback for the transaction. Or even leave feedback that was inappropriate for the transaction without contacting the seller first to try to resolve any issues they felt were handled badly.

A buyer can receive exactly what they ordered and in perfect condition. Yet if the delivery gets delayed they leave the seller negative feedback, even though the seller has no control once it leaves their hands. Buyers leave negative feedback for a variety of reasons, buyers often claim poor communications, even after you have sent them many emails. Most lost communications occur because the buyer uses a FREE email service like AOL, hotmail, or yahoo. These services block many business emails. Always send communications to the buyer using EBays contact buyer screens. At least then you have additional proof that the contact attempts were made.

Buyers new to EBay frequently try to claim they did not end the auction. They claim EBay made a mistake. They were unaware that the purchase had been made or something else. Usually it’s because they misread the auction, found another seller selling the product for less or they simply get caught up in the moment then hoped they would get out bid. How you handle your response greatly determines the resulting feedback from transactions like this. Remember you have listing fees as well as final value fees to pay due too the buyers actions. You can file a NPB claim which they usually ignore, or you can ask them to cover your fees then agree not to pursue NPB or final value fee collection from EBay. This way your fees are covered. You simply re list your product and neither of you leaves the other any negative feedback. If you pursue NPB and leave negative feedback you can be sure they will leave you negative feedback. Hopefully the buyer learns from this and doesn’t repeat it with other sellers.

Don’t use feedback as a weapon or be dishonest. State the facts. Try not to get personal. One of the most frequent feedback complaints is shipping costs. If your pricing strategy or your product requires a high shipping price be sure to state your shipping cost clearly and in large type. Be prepared for complaints anyway. EBay frowns on excessive shipping charges. IE an IPOD for $10.00 with $100.00 shipping charge could be considered an attempt to defraud EBay of listing fees. EBay does understand and allow reasonable handling fees. After all, the actual shipping charge is not your only expense when shipping a product. You have too include packaging materials, employee time, and possible travel expenses to UPS or USPS if you live in a remote location. Buyers do not consider any of this when looking at the auction. The other day I saw an auction where a buyer bought a $400.00 once worn dress for $11.00. The auction clearly stated in large type that the shipping fee was $30.00. The buyer paid for the auction and was probably thrilled with the deal they got. Yet, they had the nerve to leave negative feedback complaining of high shipping costs. No, it was not one of my auctions. Bottom line is this. Clearly, honestly describe your products, shipping costs and method, as well as your return and feedback policy. Communicate quickly and state the above information in your communications. Even with all your efforts you will find buyers who still complain about something. If you leave positive feedback first then you have little hope of getting buyers to think about feedback before leaving it. If you wait until the buyer leaves feedback for your accurately described item then you can leave appropriate feedback. Buyers who leave inappropriate feedback affect your selling reputation. Leaving appropriate feedback and replying to their inappropriate feedback can be your only defense. Finally as a last resort EBay does allow two parties to mutually withdraw feedback under certain circumstances.