Poll - How many of you would join me boycott eBay for the upcoming changes?
- Thread starter Christiflora
- Start date
^As a buyer, the changes may be good, but as a seller, they're a bad thing. Does anyone REALLY think it's fair for buyers to be able to leave negatives for sellers, but the sellers can't do the same? What if the root of the problem WAS the buyer?
Granted, you're probably one of the ethical buyers that sellers would love to deal with, but unfortunately, not every buyer reads, follows directions, pays on time, and doesn't try to pull one over on sellers (i.e. "this is fake" when it isn't). It's just so biased, I see lots of sellers NOT selling anymore.
Yeah, ebay is trying to push "communication" but some vindictive buyers just don't WANT to communicate...like others here have said, if a seller opens an NPB dispute, all the buyer has to do is throw in a curse word or one random letter into the response box and they're eligible to leave you a negative; but the sellers can't do anything about it. Fair? I think not.
Ideally I think a blind feedback system would be best but very difficult to put into effect. Aside from that, if protection must lean toward one or the other, I think it should lean toward the customer. Yes, they can be a pain in the butt at times but it comes with the territory of selling. As a whole I think it's more important to have authentic seller feedback on Ebay and with sellers poised to retaliate any neutral or negative feedback left for them we're just not getting that. So, if the scales have to tip in one direction or the other - yes I think the buyers should be able to speak freely about their experience with the seller without fear or threat of retaliation. It may not seem 'fair' but I think it's what is right.
IMHO of course!
Linda
^But it's not "right" I guess, for only one side to be able to tell their story...not all sellers are unethical and not all buyers are unethical, but I think the system needs to have a way to let other sellers know if a buyer is a potential threat.
There are two sides to every story and to only let ONE tell it is just wrong.
With this system, buyers can go around claiming sellers are this or that and knocking their stars needlessly (which are now going to count more) without the seller being able to do anything about it. That's just not right, you can't have only one side being represented.
I'm a buyer too (used to buy strictly but now I sell occasionally) and yes, it's good that feedback is counting more, but I'd like to buyers to be held accountable too. Buyers are protected more than anything...there isn't a star system in place for them, and now they can leave negatives and neutrals for sellers, but the buyers can't do the same? Sellers can't warn other sellers that a buyer didn't pay for their auction? Makes absolutely no sense to me and I know I'm not the only one.
There are two sides to every story and to only let ONE tell it is just wrong.
With this system, buyers can go around claiming sellers are this or that and knocking their stars needlessly (which are now going to count more) without the seller being able to do anything about it. That's just not right, you can't have only one side being represented.
I'm a buyer too (used to buy strictly but now I sell occasionally) and yes, it's good that feedback is counting more, but I'd like to buyers to be held accountable too. Buyers are protected more than anything...there isn't a star system in place for them, and now they can leave negatives and neutrals for sellers, but the buyers can't do the same? Sellers can't warn other sellers that a buyer didn't pay for their auction? Makes absolutely no sense to me and I know I'm not the only one.
It's not that I don't understand where you are coming from, I do.
However for me the important thing isn't that both parties get to 'tell their side of the story' - the issue of main importance is having authentic seller feedback which I think we've lost on Ebay for a long while. So given that, if I weigh that against the issue of a seller not being able to ding a buyer in return, having true and honest seller feedback is far more crucial. Buyer feedback may important to an extent but on a much smaller scale overall. Right now the feedback system in place favors the one who goes last and sellers are making sure they are the ones to do so, so I'm glad at least that Ebay is making some effort to change that.If these changes go into effect there will be more sellers with negatives out there but that will be for everyone, not just a single seller. Buyers will learn to go in and actually read feedback - no more thinking they can rely on a 100% score which we know doesn't guarantee a smooth transaction anyway. They'll be able to make a better informed decision on whether or not to buy from any particular seller. As a consumer and customer I support that.
Linda
^As long as the buyer and seller are both on the up and up, there's no problem. I've just seen (especially here) an increasing amount of vindictive, irresponsible buyers (i.e. "Oops, I accidentally BIN'ed, can I cancel?") and now sellers won't have any recourse. I've only left 8 negatives, no neutrals in the 7-ish years I've been on ebay...6 were for buyers who bid and never paid, never tried to work anything out. If this happens to me again, I won't be able to warn other sellers about them.
It's just dumb to only allow sellers to leave positive feedback and buyers can leave whatever they want. It's so one-sided, that's the problem. I just think they could create a better system and remember that it's the sellers who are keeping them in business, so they shouldn't forget them when creating all these rules.
It's just dumb to only allow sellers to leave positive feedback and buyers can leave whatever they want. It's so one-sided, that's the problem. I just think they could create a better system and remember that it's the sellers who are keeping them in business, so they shouldn't forget them when creating all these rules.
I think the CEO change is happening in March and I am sure this is part of the whole plan.
A site with monitors sounds like a GREAT idea... however, how could a site charge less in fees than eBay but have higher overhead by hiring designer brand educated employees to review and approve listings?
The reason ebay changed their fees is because the users asked for it! It is also because the number of listings and users on ebay has been dropping for awhile now. By lowering the upfront cost, there is less risk to selling something on ebay. Whenever an investment has less risk, the payout is always going to be a bit less. It would be even better if eBay gave an option for what fee schedule you wanted to pay. If you think your item is going to sell for sure, you can take a higher listing fee and lower Final Value Fee, or the other way around.
I don't like the new Final Value Fee but I do like the some of the new rules. For instance. A chance to get 15% off your final value fee if your satisfaction is high enough. It is very possible to get those and I know I already qualify. With that new rule in place I will be saving much more money even with the Final Value Fee.
Plus, sellers now have global protection for over 190 countries instead of only the US, Canada, and the UK. Alos, protection for unconfirmed addresses which opens up the market considerably. I have turned down many potential customers because of an unconfirmed address.
Searches will factor in the star rating which means the better sellers will sell more, and the cheaters who continually get bad marks will fade off to the dreaded 2nd page and than into oblivion.
Feedback over a year old won't count towards your percentages anymore either... that is another one I like.
Buyers will be held accountable when sellers file unpaid item marks, and a buyer has to wait three days in order to leave feedback as well.
If a buyer doesn't respond to an Unpaid Item Claim, their won't be able to leave you negative feedback! I KNOW this one has been brought up on tPF many, many times so most of you should be happy about this one!
If a member is suspended or removed from ebay, their feedback will be removed as well. WHAT TOOK 'EM SO LONG?
The case of ebay holding money.... would only happen in less than 5% of all ebay transactions. What is the chance it would be you? Do you have more than 5% unsatisfied customers? If you do, I would think that is the #1 area of concern in that case. Although eBay also calculates the level of risk for the category you are in. It would be cool to know what risk level designer handbags are.
Of course, many of these changes effect power sellers.... so some of these rules may not even apply to some sellers.
A site with monitors sounds like a GREAT idea... however, how could a site charge less in fees than eBay but have higher overhead by hiring designer brand educated employees to review and approve listings?
The reason ebay changed their fees is because the users asked for it! It is also because the number of listings and users on ebay has been dropping for awhile now. By lowering the upfront cost, there is less risk to selling something on ebay. Whenever an investment has less risk, the payout is always going to be a bit less. It would be even better if eBay gave an option for what fee schedule you wanted to pay. If you think your item is going to sell for sure, you can take a higher listing fee and lower Final Value Fee, or the other way around.
I don't like the new Final Value Fee but I do like the some of the new rules. For instance. A chance to get 15% off your final value fee if your satisfaction is high enough. It is very possible to get those and I know I already qualify. With that new rule in place I will be saving much more money even with the Final Value Fee.
Plus, sellers now have global protection for over 190 countries instead of only the US, Canada, and the UK. Alos, protection for unconfirmed addresses which opens up the market considerably. I have turned down many potential customers because of an unconfirmed address.
Searches will factor in the star rating which means the better sellers will sell more, and the cheaters who continually get bad marks will fade off to the dreaded 2nd page and than into oblivion.
Feedback over a year old won't count towards your percentages anymore either... that is another one I like.
Buyers will be held accountable when sellers file unpaid item marks, and a buyer has to wait three days in order to leave feedback as well.
If a buyer doesn't respond to an Unpaid Item Claim, their won't be able to leave you negative feedback! I KNOW this one has been brought up on tPF many, many times so most of you should be happy about this one!
If a member is suspended or removed from ebay, their feedback will be removed as well. WHAT TOOK 'EM SO LONG?
The case of ebay holding money.... would only happen in less than 5% of all ebay transactions. What is the chance it would be you? Do you have more than 5% unsatisfied customers? If you do, I would think that is the #1 area of concern in that case. Although eBay also calculates the level of risk for the category you are in. It would be cool to know what risk level designer handbags are.
Of course, many of these changes effect power sellers.... so some of these rules may not even apply to some sellers.
I am selling the stuff I have left now before the changes take effect. After that I will join the boycott!
As I understand it, Ebay will be cracking down on non-paying bidders so I don't know how necessary it will be to warn other sellers about them. And, isn't it possible to block bidders with a certain number of strikes? I've never done this myself so I truly don't know.
It's not only the sellers that keep Ebay in business, it's the buyers as well. However, if there is a better system out there I'm open to it. While I see these changes as and important step in the right direction I'm not saying they're the perfect solution.
I can clearly see that many of you are very upset about this, so I know you are not alone here. I'm just offering up a differing opinion, as I do not see these changes as a bad thing. It's not meant to offend of course! :shame:
Linda
The problem lies that there are more problems with buyers than just "non-paying bidders"... Scammers aren't all sellers, scammers aren't all buyers.
Yup, ITA! They come in all shapes and sizes...non-paying bidders, buyers who get the item then file a chargeback later on after receiving it, buyers who claim authentic items are fake when they're really not, claim the item was x, not y, as they thought it should be, when it clearly states that is IS y and threaten negative feedback if the seller doesn't refund them, who yank security tags off of items then demand a return and on and on.
Like you said, not all sellers are scammers and not all buyers are either, but for the ones who ARE, there needs to be recourse, not just on the buyer's end but on the seller's end too.
This is aimed at everyone by the way, I was just using your post as a quote.
LindaP said:
Yes, but if there aren't any sellers there to SELL, then there won't be any buyers either. The majority of ebay's business lies with sellers willing to list their items on the site for people to buy.
Yes, that does really bother me.... that I won't be able to leave negative feedback for a bad buyer. However, the only reason I would leave a buyer negative feedback is if they filed a chargeback after receiving the item or not paying at all. In either case, a seller could file a Non Paying Bidder which would be worse than a negative feedback since ebay is making changes to how they treat those cases. So, sellers can still warn other sellers, but it will just be in a different way.