eBay Springs Feedback Surprise on Sellers

by: Bidonmine

In truth, I don't care at all about feedback. I have the auto-feedback set so I don't have to concern myself with it. Since you can only leave positive feedback for buyer, why even care about the process?

by: Vector

That's funny .."If it ain't broke..."  In may I wrote a post on my ecommerce blog about just that. "Ebay Listing Tool – If It Ain’t Broke.." It was about the Bubbles when listing on ebay, as if the listing tool needed fixing. Like dogs pissing on the bushes after another dog, everybody there has to leave their Mark. In my blog I wrote "If it ain’t broke – then fix it the Ebay way so it really IS BROKE!”. Cheers everyone.

by: LasVagueness

Sure enough, I see it on my end as a buyer. The pre-populated comment is a blatant LIE and feedback manipulation. This is obviously a corporate ploy to rustle up sales.

Suppose a seller has multiples of an item, and I check the feedback on prior sales. In all probability, I may have an inflated and wholly inaccurate view of the product, the seller, packing, and shipping.  

As of August 2022, eBay comments can no longer be trusted.

Caveat emptor, folks, caveat emptor!  

by: spooky

I leave feedback every Monday for items sold all week. This is the message I get when attempting to leave feedbacks today 8/8/22: "Uh-oh.
We ran into a problem, but we're working on it. Please try later."

by: cellarebayer

Again. Don't fix what is not broken.
Last month was so slow with averaging a little over 1 sale a day.
They need to be working on their servers to get the items to be seen by the customer. There have been people complaining of not even being able to find their items in their own store. Even when searching in incognito mode using their own title. With over 2200 listings and 38 sales last month, I think our items are just not being seen.
eBay. Please don't mess around with things that aren't broken and fix the things that are.  

by: zeek6228

Buyer feedback is utterly meaningless.  It serves no purpose whatsoever.

I frequently use Google Pay to purchase things in gas stations and grocery stores. Every time I do so the merchant should be required to leave me 5 star feedback "Great customer, fast pay, thank you for buying your large coffee"

by: zeek6228

Gas stations should be required to leave positive feedback for all customers but they shoudn't be allowed to leave negative feedback for customers who shoplift, use counterfeit money, start fights with people in line. Only positive feedback.

"great customer, bought 2 hot dogs"
"A++++ buyer thank you for buying beef jerky"
"Bought $40 worth of gas and a red bull. A++++"

This would be just as useful (to nobody whatsoever) as eBays buyer feedback system.  

by: Shanna

Hey eBay executives, we know you read these blogs. If you need help figuring out what to do, just ask, we can give you a list of 500 things that need actual fixing on eBay before you work on fluff like this.

by: ScottC

Found this blog post on Google search "eBay feedback." Thank you! Annoying and time consuming indeed. Added... my feedback section as Seller, is actually a feedback section as if I was the buyer! I still use it, and the feedback still goes to the buyer if I check their account after posting it. Wacked. And I have to manually type something in each time like those stated above. So much for streamlining. Thank you for the work you do on this blog!  

by: Marie

@lasvagueness

Is your saying something that is different that what I see on mine.  On mine I see "Help other buyers by sharing your experience."

While I can see why having anything populating the comment box can be confusing for buyers, but clearly this isn't meant to be the FB the buyer leaves.  Unless others are seeing something different on their accounts!

I also don't see the need for Ebay to change this.  Clearly if the buyer sees this message, they are in the feedback screen likely with the intention to actually leave feedback.  So to me it doesn't make any sense as to the purpose of this change.

by: Marie

@zeek6228

While I agree with you that the FB for buyers has no meaning really.  Every chance I get I suggest to Ebay that they simply remove leaving FB for buyers totally, which is what most if not all similar sites did years ago.

However the subject being discussed here is the Buyers leaving FB for sellers.  To my knowledge the FB for sellers to leave FB for buyers hasn't changed.

by: pace306

Feedback became worthless years ago and serves no REAL purpose.

It should have stayed 2 way, but eBay was afraid of hurting "the poor buyers feelings" (everyone together ... "awwwwwww") and thought that if they coddled them, they would come back.

To hell with sellers and getting a fair shake - sellers are just noise anyway (Im mean all they do is source ship and list - its like they almost do NOTHING all day)(oops no - thats they typical eBay exec).

I havent seen this yet, but I trust my own 20+ (1998) years of experience - eBay has (what The Hollies called)(Google them if you need) "King Midas In Reverse" aka they turn gold into lead.

The saddest part is that Wall Street thinks that these kind of games are somehow GOOD and that the 22 cents eBay stole from sellers (dont worry - switch to eBaypay and your costs will be LOWER and of COURSE we will protect you) (and I have a bridge in Kings County NY (Brooklyn) to sell you.

Who "lets go of a successful past"? On what planet does that work. No, you BUILD on a successful past and grow it, nurture it - to be the best it can be.

Another day, another stupidity - welcome to eBay 3.0

by: iheartjacksparrow

@Marie - Did you read the article? The subject IS the issue of sellers trying to leave feedback for buyers. It isn't until the end of the article where it is mentioned that buyers were also inconvenienced by the change.

by: The End

The Other saddest part is:
Developers are afraid to give us a Brand New Site or 3.
I don't understand how no one is creating a killer site right now.
They'd really make out....even just with the 3% on the item only....
Stay off Wall Street, NO BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
That's where everything Always takes a wrong turn.

by: LasVagueness

@Marie I have one item pending (delivery scheduled in several days). Here is my 'suggested' feedback from eBay verbatim:

"Great find! I've been looking for this and considered two other options. This one looked most promising. When I got it, it was even better than the picture! Plus, the extra detail in packaging made it perfect."

I haven't received the item yet! The more I think about this, the more my blood boils. Surely, you can see the issue with eBay LYING and hoping I will click 'submit' because I am too lazy to craft my own response.

Marie, think this through and tell me we are not on the same page. (You probably did not have enough info when you posted your reply above...happy to provide an example of their malfeasance.)

I usually refrain from bashing eBay as I genuinely respect the company. However, automated feedback is an egregious assault on buyers' integrity and intellect. It denudes feedback of meaning and sincerity. It is NOT HONEST.

To think that there is a backroom at corporate with young hires who have been trained to type up ***anticipatory*** 5-star feedback designed for customers to portray the site and the products they sell in the most favorable terms whether true or not.  

eBay; This is bulls*t and feedback manipulation! Shame on you!

by: LasVagueness

@zeek6228 Thank you for the comic relief. So true!

by: LasVagueness

I thought I was done...nope! My item was delivered a few minutes ago and I promptly left 5-star feedback across the board and in ***my own words.***

As soon as I clicked 'submit' I was taken to an eBay page that thanked me for my feedback and then asked the following:

"Was there an issue? If so, you can open a request to get that taken care of" followed by a blue "resolve your problem" bar link.

Why, eBay? It feels like you are stirring up trouble when there is no trouble. I know YOU KNOW I just left 5-star feedback. What's up with that?  

by: I Must be Crazy

How lame. So eBay is trying to actually put words in buyers' mouths as well? It is one thing to make your product sound better than it really is. But to resort to manufacturing feedback comments? Really? What a waste of time.

What is so maddening about this is the fact there are so, so many problems and random glitches on the platform that are never addressed. The priorities of management have been so misplaced for so long. Talk about a company that has had little to no management talent. (With Jamie Iannone being the least capable of them all.) The only reason eBay makes money at any level is because it can rely on the solid efforts of the seller base. Sellers literally carry eBay.  

by: Marie

@LasVagueness

Ebay should have never made this change, especially on the FB buyers need to leave for sellers without explaining to the ON SCREEN that they can over-ride what is prefilled just by typing in the box.  It is ridiculous that they did this.  I have no problem with agreeing with that at all.  On the threads I've expressed my concerns as well.

OMG I was NOT aware of that follow up page you described.  This is just another example of Ebay self inflicting damage to the site, not to mention it's sellers.  Totally unnecessary.

by: Snapped

“ It denudes feedback of meaning and sincerity. It is NOT HONEST. ”

Yup.  Except, due “respect”, that ship has sailed sailor.  

If it were a rocket eBay launched on the date back in aught-eight when they first fat fingered the feedback, that payload of machination has surely left the solar system by now.  Nobody knows where it’s going.  It missed the mark completely and is tumbling out of control.

Feedback hasn’t been honest since eBay restricted it, scrubbed it, monetized it, and objectified it’s unfounded accusations while enabling it as a tool of extortion.  It’s corrupted, infected, and dysfunctional.  Much like the venue now absurdly seeking to automate the rot.

And it is blatantly, arrogantly hypocritical considering they wholly censor any ‘feedback’ about them that might reveal their true nature, both to the extent their tentacles encircle, and in some cases, reaching into the unlawful and morally bereft realm of intimidation by domestic terror.  

Too bad they can’t auto bot that and spew it around.