Ebay bans negative feedback from sellers

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7228460.stm

Bad move IMO. I have had to leave bad feedback for buyers who did not complete the transaction. I've never had to leave bad feedback for a seller.

 

interesting......that said - I think there is the potential for more scammer sellers than buyers...

 

Yes, but the point of the feedback system is that it can and does cut both ways equally. If you tip the balance in favour of one group over the other, you invalidate it.

 

yes - i agree there...can and will most likely make the system very unfair...

 

But the current system isn't that effective either as sellers just retaliate if left negative feedback. In fact feedback itself has become a traded commodity. I think ebay has recognised this.

Anyway the system is already biased towards the seller in that buyers have to part with cash before they recieve goods. Thus the probability of loss on the sellers part is limited. The only thing a buyer can do wrong is to not pay...so the worst the seller suffers is the difference between that bid and the next best one.

 

But isn't that the way it works? I don't know any business that will give you goods before you buy.

I wont use it again, no feedback allowed, paypal can hold money for 21 days, illegal, and higher commission rates all adds up to a disaster.

 

So surely a better solution would be to require that the seller leave feedback before the buyer and require that in order for a seller to leave negative feedback the dispute process must be completed? That would prevent the problem of retaliatory feedback.

 

In most cases you exchange money and goods at the same time e.g. a shop. IN may cases you can also be sent goods and then invoiced.

For internet/telephone (i.e. distance selling) sales there are very stringent safeguards to protect consumers ( i.e. can return for any reason within 7 days etc.)

 

Makes sense - I guess they could have gone for this option

 

I dont think it matters, and I don't think eBay are bothered about anything than making money, their opinion is that if someone gets stung..tough.. though they still take the fee's including a percentage of the postage if payment is recieved via paypal.

Examples.

I got negative feedback from a seller I didnt recieve goods from, I had contact thru ebay in my ebay, showing he still had items I paid for, and him saying he had them, and I had evidence of him asking for more money.

Now I won multiple items, which I had bid on after him agreeing to combine postage, and send all discs in the same package 1st class, it took weeks for me to recieve a couple of discs in bin bags.

I recieved a single positive from him for the promp payment, but after waiting for discs (the rest never arrived, and he had stated in an email that he still had them), I complained.

I recieved a negative feedback for an item I had clear evidence of paying for, eBAy did nothing about it even after months of complaining, they told me to sort it out with the selller, who got away with selling me shoddy goods, stealing money off me, and giving me negative feedback.

I was selling an expensive road bike, it didnt sell, and I had to relist, but ran into difficulties as the bike had been previously sold by me according to eBay. Turned out someone had sent invoices to bidders of the first listing, and again on the second listing, the winner of the second listing was getting invoices from two sources. eBay left me and the potential buyer to sort this out amongst ourselves, we found out the details of the fraudster and I ended up selling my bike.

 

Couldn't be happier. I purchased a few ($100) records that the guy didn't send for two weeks and when they arrived they were a mess because all he'd done is put a piece of cardboard on either side of the four records and then taped it up. I emailed him and told him and he said "so what ?", I told him I'd leave negative feedback and his reply was "go ahead mate I'll do the same".

The buyer needs protecting not the seller.