posted on December 27, 2000 10:25:37 AM new
I was just looking through some coin auctions on eBay and noted that in place of the seller's feedback number, were the words "private feedback". When I clicked on it, I was taken to a generalized feedback summary, but with no specifics. There was a place for the seller to enter name and password to get access to the individual feedback record, but not for the buyer.
I found this to be really a PITA. In this case of this seller, he'd had neg feedback within the past week. It would have been nice to be able to review it and see what the neg was for.
WHAT is Private Feedback, is it new, and what purpose does it serve (other than to protect a seller)?
posted on December 27, 2000 10:27:03 AM new
Nope, its not new. And yes, it'd desgined (rightfully so) to protect a seller! Most likely someone slandered him unjustly in the FB but not unjustly enoguh for eBay to remove it.
posted on December 27, 2000 10:33:30 AM new
Email the seller and ask, if they don't have anything to hide they should respond. But I wouldn't bid until you had an answer or get an answer you can be comfortable with.
I think Private Feedback is one of the worst ideas eBay had.
http://pages.ebay.com/services/forum/feedback.html
The link should help.
Ain't Life Grand...
[ edited by twelvepole on Dec 27, 2000 10:36 AM ]
posted on December 27, 2000 10:37:27 AM new
On the contrary, it is one of the best. Rememebr, eBay customers are thier sellers!!!!!! Sellers need to be protected agasint slanderous and untrue FB left to them. If they operate as a business this slander would be upholdable in court law in most cases. eBay however will only remove it in the most aggregious cases. Thus they offer an alternive. If soemone has 100FB and 99+ and 1- and their FB is private, I really wouldn't worry
posted on December 27, 2000 11:06:43 AM newEd123, This person's overall feedback is very good, nearly 500+ with only 2 negs. I just wanted to check on the last neg to see if could have been shipping related due to the holidays.
What bothers me is why make it "private"? It's easy enough to sort out good sellers and bad, but why feel insecure enough to make it private? By not having immediate access to a seller's feedback, I, as a buyer, become automatically suspicious.
Please enlighten me more about this, because I frankly don't get it. Too, how does one make their feedback private?
posted on December 27, 2000 11:09:12 AM new
Hi, Iswansan -
There is a way you MAY be able to view the person's feedback, but it is a bit convoluted and may take a little time.
Go to vrane.com and use the feedback tool there to view the negative feedback LEFT by the seller in question. Then look for the feedback LEFT by those he posted negatives for - if they left negative feedback for him, you will find it there.
Of course, you can also view all feedback left for him in the same way, but chances are if he's had some negatives, this is the quicker, easier way to find it.
Another way to see the feedback he has left is to go to his feedback page and insert the word "left" in the URL, imediately following the word "feedback".
posted on December 27, 2000 11:12:40 AM new
OMG!! Why are you trying to get around this persons privacy rights!! He is entitled to make his FB private. Ebay needs to do something to dismantle this loophole. Just look at his ratio and frequency of recent negatives and if you dont like it dont bid. But dont invade his privacy!
posted on December 27, 2000 11:38:00 AM newed123, forget the seller's privacy rights. His rights are no different than mine as a seller or a buyer. Based on this particular instance, the seller is probably fine. BUT, the selling venue is PUBLIC. Why should I not be allowed access to a seller's feedback record? This is no different than a brick & mortar business. I have the right to investigate the business habits and reputation of a seller before I choose to do business with them.
Your suggestion (and eBay's) that I should contact the seller to inquire about his negative feedback doesn't make sense. No seller in his right mind is going to say, "I got 'negged' because I was really stupid and have unethical business practices".
Just trying to understand your viewpoint and the whole intent of private feedback.
posted on December 27, 2000 11:50:56 AM new
Private feedback also keeps unethical users from harvesting spam lists from a seller's feedback file. In that case, a seller making his or her feedback private is a rather noble gesture toward protecting the customers from unwanted email.
posted on December 27, 2000 11:57:20 AM new
marble and ED123 ... sorry guys, but I can't buy that argument. If eBay wants to allow users to privatize their FB, then they should also allow users to privatize everything else, including their email address, name, current auctions, current bidders yada yada yada.
There can only be one reason why anyone would want to keep this stuff secret from the rest of the "Community".
twelvepole ... finally found something we can agree on
posted on December 27, 2000 11:57:35 AM new
That is also very true Nancy.
Lswanson: Look, obvioulsy eBay saw the potential for abuse to sellers here and offered us that option. That someone else here is posting a way to get around that is conniving, unethical, and just morally wrong.
posted on December 27, 2000 12:07:30 PM new
RB, does your opinion on private feedback mean you wouldn't bid on a seller's auction if his or her feedback was private? Maybe it was a case where someone entered the seller's name, address, phone number, etc. or some objectionable text and the seller opted to make the feedback private until eBay could assess whether or not to remove the "bad" entry.
On eBay, you can still see the number of positive, neutral, or negative comments and how recent they are.
I agree with sending the seller an email message if you wonder about the private feedback. There may well be a valid reason for it that does NOT result from unsavory seller practice. Of course, it's up to you whether you believe the person's explanation.
-Nancy
[ edited by marble on Dec 27, 2000 12:08 PM ]
posted on December 27, 2000 12:11:28 PM new
Having been victimized by a seller who had privatized his/her feedback, I am absolutely opposed to the idea. The whole idea behind feedback is to give both buyer and seller and idea of the type of person you are dealing with. The person I dealt with had a very high feedback rating, but had privatized it so I could not see the recent negetives that had been posted. The seller sent out an immediate end of auction e-mail and that was the last I heard from them, even though I sent several e-mails, called them twice (was told both times the person I needed to talk to was "out" when the merchandise didn't arrive. Only when I threatened to go to the Post Office and file a mail fraud complaint did they issue me a refund - 3 1/2 months after the auction closed. The reason they had privatized their feedback clearly was that they had gotten sloppy in handling their business and didn't want anyone to know.
posted on December 27, 2000 12:13:46 PM new
Alright, well you know what then? You could see how recent his negs were and how many of them there were and then chose not to buy! The reason someone Privatizes is not to hide the neg but to hide the comment of the neg from other customers. So someone who is being shady and has lots of recent negs, I woudlnt buy from anyway. But I respect a seller right to privatize thier FB if they want to and deplore attempts to get around that by using javascript tools on other websites to go filtering through FB!
posted on December 27, 2000 12:16:07 PM new
gk4495, the way eBay is set up, you could see that there were a rash of recent negs. You just couldn't read them. I'm not sure I'd bid on a seller's auction who was racking up negs left and right. Did you email the person in advance for any kind of explanation? Just curious.
posted on December 27, 2000 12:37:54 PM new
Unfortunately, I was near the beginning of the "rash of negs." When I bid in the auction, they had several negs over the last month, (none before that) but also many positives. However, like vote tallies on election day, the negs seemed to climb each time I checked their feedback after my merchandise didn't arrive within a reasonable period of time. That is when I tried e-mailing them and calling them. Their feedback rating at the time I bid, was 500+, are a high volume seller (seem to run auctions as part of their brick and mortar business), and near as I could tell, the negetives were all fairly recent, but when compared to the apparent positives, I wasn't too worried. Granted, the ultimate fault is mine for bidding, but in this situation being able to see what the feedback actually was, would have been very helpful.
posted on December 27, 2000 01:41:17 PM new
ed123 - it is not at all necessary to "use javascript tools on other websights" to view private feedback; it is possible without leaving the eBay site.
The only really useful tool that eBayers have to judge buyers and sellers with is Feedback. When I, as a seller OR a buyer, leave feedback for someone, I consider that it "belongs" to me and the eBay community as much as it does to the person I leave it for. It is my opinion of the person and the way s/he conducted business with me. I post it for the BENEFIT OF OTHERS who need some idea of what kind of person they are potentially doing business with, not as a "personal note" to the particular eBay member.
I appreciate those eBayers who leave negatives when they are deserved, in spite of the fact that it often results in a retaliatory neg. (We all have the option of entering a reply to feedback, and that is what should be done when some explanation is needed or desired.)
I recently had a bidder on one of my auctions who had private feedback. By viewing the feedback he had left, and the feedback left for him, I saw very quickly that he was not someone I wanted to deal with and I canceled his bid. It is an insult to those who had previous serious problems with him and consequently left him negatives that he is able to hide those feedback comments. (They, in turn, have negatives from him, but have chosen to leave them visible to any who view their feedback.)
I will always make an effort to view the feedback of anyone bidding on my auctions who has made their feedback private - and it is ludicrous to say that is
"conniving" "unethical" or "morally wrong". It is no more wrong than when a b&m business checks to make sure the credit card or check I hand over to them is not stolen, or checks the info on my check and driver's liscense to make sure I'm who I say I am.
As for a seller with private feedback, I wouldn't even bother to look. There is no way I would bid on their auctions.
posted on December 27, 2000 01:45:51 PM new
I don't understand the point of eBay having private feedback if they allow these kinds of loopholes in the system (enabling people to view the fb) to stand.
Maybe you dont know how damaging a slanderous or libelous neg is to a seller? Often more damaging than privatizing his fb. In fact, I am for undoing the thing that makes it say "private" It used to be you would click on the # and then it would give the breakdown and how recently and then not give the comments. That is how it should be again!
posted on December 27, 2000 02:45:49 PM newIswanson That was me who suggested you email the seller not ed123, but you're right, you shouldn't have to. I like kudzurose's suggestions about vrane.com, that is one way and will give you the information.
RB
Any seller worth their salt won't hide their feedback and can respond to negatives. I have only seen a few with "private" feedback and one I was the cause for...they got suspended shortly after.
So when it comes right down to it, I wouldn't bid on a seller with a privitized feedback.
Ain't Life Grand...
posted on December 27, 2000 03:27:40 PM new
IMHO, if you are going to make your feedback private you may as well make your auctions private too because Homey don't play that.
posted on December 27, 2000 03:37:26 PM new
Yeah that's very catchy Powerhouse. If you dont want to bid on private fb auctions, then don't.
[ edited by ed123 on Dec 27, 2000 03:48 PM ]
posted on December 27, 2000 03:55:48 PM new
As a buyer (which is the only thing I am, as I do not sell), I would never buy from someone who has their feedback private. it just gives me a creepy feeling that a seller does not want me to see what the opinions of his/her customers.
I don't bid based on the raw numbers, I prefer to see what the seller's response to a slanderous negative is, and what the feedback of the person who left it.
posted on December 27, 2000 03:58:02 PM new
Yeah, but that seller has the right to hide the text of the slanderous negative from you. Some on here would say that he doesnt and try to promote or invent programs to help you circumvent that. Shame on them.
posted on December 27, 2000 04:13:27 PM new
Ed, I take it from your recent editing that you did not intend to direct that comment at me specifically.
Thank you for your honesty.
posted on December 27, 2000 04:18:58 PM new
Some sellers keep their auctions and feedback private in order to keep their customer list out of other seller's view. In some categories, there is a lot of competition and bottomfeeders can easily gain contact information off the auction & feedback pages.
I would have to see the number of positives and negatives and when they got them to be able to decide if I want to buy from them.
posted on December 28, 2000 02:19:15 PM new
I appreciate the good advice from all of you. I don't think the numbers of feedback tell enough of the story, especially if the neg was recent.
I DO agree with Pocono that more aspects of eBay need to be made private. I had been on eBay for over a year when I discovered that anyone could check and see what items a buyer had been bidding on for the past month. While I have nothing to hide, it is pretty much an invasion of privacy. NJRAZD's point that it protects customer lists is well taken.
In my own particular case, I attempted to contact the seller regarding a particular coin type and date, and strictly as an aside asked about the private feedback. I didn't get very far as his mail server rejected my e-mail entirely. Go figure.
