eBay changes

[Bill]

The feedback system is flawed and I rarely bother with it anymore. I give the buyer feedback as soon as payment is received, as long as it's not late, and don't really mind too much if I get no feedback from time to time. I have had far more problems with non paying bidders than I have shady sellers, but hey, if they want to make feedback even less important to me and others they're more than welcome to change the system.
I'm assuming they will leave your seller/buyer history so anyone who really needs to know can check out your history instead of just looking at the number attached to your user ID.

[dumbldor]

Well that is the the stupidest thing Iv'e read in a while. Feed back if left ( it is a voluntary thing) should be left at the end of the transaction. If you think the transaction ends with you paying, them ebay probably isn't for you.

Wow, I couldn't agree with you more, Zemo. Sometimes, the ability to leave a buyer negative feedback is a seller's only consolation after the buyer does a chargeback and rips off the seller, well after the buyer paid. The buyer's obligation and responsibility in a transaction does not end when he has paid.

[toys2cool]

the only good thing I read was that the feedback from the repeat customers will count

[Brue]

But if the transaction was over when you paid, what gives you a right to return something? Following your logic, you paid, your end of the transaction is over, so that's it, you take what you get.

What gives a buyer the right to return is a sellers own stated return policy. often stating that if the item does not match the description.

besides - how often has a buyer actually returned something to you?
my policy allows buyers to return if the item does not match the description - which would be my own fault anyway - wouldn't it? i have offered it once before when a seller felt that i did not represent the product well (stains on a Halloween costume - they were clearly visible in the photos but i did not state them in the description - i gave them an option of a small partial refund or return (they pay return shipping) - again a seller who is representing teh product honestly will not have returns - also a wise seller will establish a reasonable return policy.

the buyer still met THEIR end at payment. should walmart not allow you to take home your TV when there is a chance you will bring it back?

[JPkempo]

"When a buyer doesn't respond to the Unpaid Item (UPI) process the negative or neutral Feedback they have left for that transaction will be removed. "

I think this is to counter the no neg feedback.

[dumbldor]

Brue stated that FEES HAVE BEEN LOWERED.

That is actually not true. The listing fee has been slightly lowered, gallery is now free, but the final value fee is WAY UP (which brings the overall cost WAY UP!!!).

[Zemo]

If Bruce had not left feedback at payment for this buyer. He would not have ended up with this

NEG- ARRIVED IN AWFUL CONDITION NOT POST OFFICE ITEMS WERE THROWN IN BOX CRUSHED garcia1732 ( 14) Aug-23-06 13:50
Reply by brueh (Aug-23-06 18:42):
Item sent in good cond & buyer made no attempt to contact me before leaving neg.

Obviously this transaction was not over at payment.

[Mikey]

Brue stated that FEES HAVE BEEN LOWERED.

That is actually not true. The listing fee has been slightly lowered, gallery is now free, but the final value fee is WAY UP (which brings the overall cost WAY UP!!!).

Dang !!!
I never noticed that until you mentioned that Dan.
Even with their free Gallery and lower Insertion Fee, it still comes out more on the final value fee.

m

[JPkempo]

Final Value Fees
The Final Value Fees will be revised per the table below.




Final Value Fees for Auction-style and Fixed Price listings





Closing Price Final Value Fee Final Value Fee (effective 02/20/2008)
Item not sold No fee No change
$0.01-$25.00 5.25% of the closing value 8.75% of the closing value

$25.01 - $1,000.00 5.25% of the initial $25.00, plus 3.25% of the remaining closing value balance ($25.01 to $1,000.00) 8.75% of the initial $25.00, plus 3.50% of the remaining closing value balance ($25.01 to $1,000.00)

Over $1,000.01 5.25% of the initial $25.00, plus 3.25% of the initial $25.00 - $1,000.00 plus 1.50% of the remaining closing value balance ($1,000.01 - closing value) 8.75% of the initial $25.00, plus 3.50% of the initial $25.00 - $1,000.00 plus 1.50% of the remaining closing value balance ($1,000.01 - closing value)

[MegoSteve]

the buyer still met THEIR end at payment. should walmart not allow you to take home your TV when there is a chance you will bring it back?

You should be morally opposed to returning stuff, because your part of the transaction ended when you paid for it. That's it, you have no further recourse, because your part of the transaction has ended.

Oh, wait, now you're saying it didn't end until you had a chance to look at it and decide if you want to keep it? Well, if that's the case, then I'm going to wait to leave you feedback, because it's at that point you can still try to jerk me around.

That's why I never leave feedback as a seller first. I do as a buyer, because the transaction truly ends when the buyer has had a chance to evaluate the merchandise and contact the seller to work out a resolution if there is an issue.

[Dave Mc]

As a buyer your end of the bargain does end after you've paid. Or what else are we supposed to do? Go to the seller's house, pack the stuff we just bought ourselves and mail it out ourselves... to ourselves? Come one, man...

You're forgetting something Thomas, and I think that's why you feel this way. You're honest. Of course you're going to feel this way. You completed your end, you're smart enough to read descriptions and look closely at pictures to know what you are buying. You're not going to try to scam anyone by making false claims that parts were missing, items were damaged (that were not) or back out of a deal simply because you no longer feel like you want it.

When you're honest, it's easy to not think about the scumbags that are not. That's on both sides of the fence, as seller and buyer. There are some people who live by the code "complain to get a discount" even if there is nothing to complain about, both on ebay and in "real life". My boss is one of these, I see it everyday. Pretend something is not right and demand partial refund so you can get it cheaper. Those are the people I'm refering to here. You have a proven track record of being honest in your deals, so you wouldn't try to screw someone as described above, but there are plenty that try it all the time and an honest seller needs to do whatever he can to protect himself, even if it's holding feedback until he's sure the buyer isn't going to try any of this shady stuff.

The deal ends for the buyer when he's received the item and is satisfied it was as described. The deal doesn't end for a seller when he's paid, it ends for a seller when the buyer says all is well. That's why as a buyer I will never wait for seller feedback. Leaving feedback first is my way as a buyer of telling the seller that I got the item, and all is well, the transaction is complete. Once the seller sees that, he knows he's done as well, and is more comfortable leaving feedback.

[Flynne]

On February 20th the Final Value fee goes from 5.25% to 8.75%. eBay stores have a 2% increase on inventory sales as well. So if you are a Seller then Bay just a tossed you a five cent discount off of listing fees, fifty cents for a free Gallery picture, but takes another 88 cents off of an average $25 dollar sale. Sellers can "earn" a 15 % discount so long as Buyers deign to leave feedback as to how accurate you were, though even if you do "earn" the discount it doesn't even cut the enhanced fee scale bite in half. Add to this that Sellers can no longer leave negative feedback for unscrupulous buyers who demand refunds for items received in as stated condition or perform chargebacks. Is that about the size of it?

I think I'll go get my auctions started so they end before February 19th...

[PCofmisfittoys]

well after all this it's like gas in your car..you will have to get it sooner or later. I've seen everything from the days EBAY was free to this.
I don't even care about feedback either way. Like power sellers , it's a scam and i don't pay much attention to it. the only time i pay attention to feedback is for newbies. Newbies always hike up their shipping and are slow to ship , but overall i'm happy with ebay and make lotsa money from them tax free.

[Brue]

If Bruce had not left feedback at payment for this buyer. He would not have ended up with this

NEG- ARRIVED IN AWFUL CONDITION NOT POST OFFICE ITEMS WERE THROWN IN BOX CRUSHED garcia1732 ( 14) Aug-23-06 13:50
Reply by brueh (Aug-23-06 18:42):
Item sent in good cond & buyer made no attempt to contact me before leaving neg.

Obviously this transaction was not over at payment.

Believe me - that one (my only neg) Hurt!

Yet like I said - I stand by a policy of leaving feedback as a seller when paid.

For this guy - I considered leaving no feedback. Because he certainly walked the line of deserving a negative. I left it in good faith based on my policy. I got burned.

After it I thought about changing my policy. But I don't believe it is good business practice.

As a buyer I do not bid on auctions from sellers who left a negative AFTER receiving a negative.

You should be morally opposed to returning stuff, because your part of the transaction ended when you paid for it. That's it, you have no further recourse, because your part of the transaction has ended.

Oh, wait, now you're saying it didn't end until you had a chance to look at it and decide if you want to keep it? Well, if that's the case, then I'm going to wait to leave you feedback, because it's at that point you can still try to jerk me around.

That's why I never leave feedback as a seller first. I do as a buyer, because the transaction truly ends when the buyer has had a chance to evaluate the merchandise and contact the seller to work out a resolution if there is an issue.

As I said earlier - your course of action is exactly why ebay needs this policy.
-nuff said

[MegoSteve]

As I said earlier - your course of action is exactly why ebay needs this policy.
-nuff said

Who the heck are you to act as if you know what my course of action during an eBay transaction is? You never even bought from me as far as I know, so you have absolutely no clue as to how much I might bend over backwards for people that buy things from me on eBay. I resent the fact that you are acting like I'm blackmailing my buyers by not leaving feedback immediately. It's utter garbage.