SELLERS will no longer be able to leave NEGATIVE FEEDBACK on eBay!

[Pendaboot]

The big problem with the entire feedback system is that it has become a game, where everybody is enticed into giving good feedback. My wife sold over a thousand items with maybe two negative feedbacks. Once the transaction is in play, seller and buyer cooperate into making positive feedback all around. That does not tell me anything, except to never buy from a seller with less than 99% positive feedback. Anything ebay does to make feedback meaningful is a plus. We will see if this works.

[SteveDMatt]

My biggest problem with all of these feedback systems, including here at CS, is the way they are used.

It is hard for me to understand why a buyer isn't given positive feedback once the payment is made. That is where their responsibility stops, a timely payment. Almost all sellers play into the game of "I'll give you a positive feedback when you do the same for me." IMO, this is done by sellers who don't trust their own product or method of shipping. They are afraid to get a negative feedback and not be able to leave one for the buyer as a retaliation.

Very childish. Very hard for me to understand why this happens at CS, but it does.

[hotreds]

I DO NOT like the idea of not being able to leave negative feedback for a buyer! I, for one, always leave positive feedback as soon as I get payment from a buyer- but I notice that indeed, many of my sellers wait until I leave positive feedback to give me the same, even tho I pay immediately with ****** once I win an item. Indeed, as others have said, feedback seems to have become a tit-for-tat game.

Ebay does have too may rules, but alas it has become a rich target for scammers and rip-off artists. I got a CD from a seller who listed himself as based in London- the CD came from Russia complete with Russian insert. Hmmm.... But, altho others have started similar sites(Epier comes to mind) these are basically worthless. Ebay has the market basically sown up, so they can do whatever they want with little fear of retaliation. Talk about a monopoly!

And, yes, altho the listing fees went down five centavos, final sales fees are up. No big gain for sellers here!

The good news is that 99% of Ebay transactions are good and problem free- but one really has to tread very carefully! Caveat Emptor DOES apply here!

[mugwump]

I've been selling online since the early days and have always avoided eBay as much as possible. In the past I used Half.com (until eBay bought them) and then switched over to Amazon Marketplace. The fees are higher but the fixed price setting seems to turn away most of the scammers and life is much more hassle free. Now that just about everyhting under the sun is listed on Amazon I very rarely use eBay anymore.

[SteveDMatt]

After thinking about this further, it would be a bad idea to not allow sellers to leave negative feedback. I do however feel that they should only be allowed to leave feedback for a set period of time, but less time than a buyer for obvoius reasons. I would imagine that most sellers require payment within 7 days. If Ebay would allow sellers to leave feedback for 14 days, would that be sufficient? It gives buyers plenty of time to make their payment and not have to worry about leaving a negative feedback for a seller after they receive their item.

If there is a problem with either of these ideas, it is that sellers are more likely to not leave feedback at all.

[physiognomy]

Some more interesting developments... FYI

"EBay's new policy of holding ****** funds on "high-risk" transactions for up to 21 days has business owners spooked..."

http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/08/smbu...ney_topstories

Edit - The link includes a censored word... You will have to access the article directly from this page (click).