posted on December 27, 2000 07:58:49 PM new
There has much discussion here about feedback.That high feedback sellers with what I consider low negative feedbacks is considered unacceptable to some.
So what do you think ?.
How many do you have ?
I have close to 4000 feedbacks with almost 2800 unique with 2 negs.One for payment getting lost in the mail and not getting the goods and some competitor that was trying to shut me down over 2 years ago.
I have had no negs in almost 2 years.
Yes some bidders are put off by the 2 negs.
So what is acceptable.
I recently bid and won an item with a guy who had 500 feedbacks and 40 negs.I read his negs and they where mostly due to lack of communication.
His system is totally automated so its hard to get a personal answer which does not bother me but bothered a lot of others.
Other problems he quickly addressed and offered refunds.
So I bid and we will see.
As a result his items do not get the bids they should good for me and bad for him.
posted on December 27, 2000 08:10:16 PM new
When I am bidding anyone with a 50 feed back or better I never check to even see if they have negs.
50 or less feed back I might check the frist page of there most reasent feed back if this is all good I have no problem bidding how ever if I check a low feed back seller and find more then one neg in the same month I am looking to bid I wont bid on that auction.
I feel if you negitive feed back is in the past 4 to 6 months the past is the past and so burried its of no value what I want to know about a seller or buyer is there record for this week and this month.
posted on December 27, 2000 08:36:12 PM new
I woke up this morning and when I logged onto eBay, I found I had received my 50th neg. The customer, who never sent payment, complained that my ad was deceptive in that I didn't disclose this was an "older" version of a software program.
The version number is plainly stated twice in the ad, including size 70 bold font right at the top of the ad. It is impossible to miss. As for the software being older, well, she won a $6.98 auction for an $80 piece of software. It shouldn't come as a surprise this is an earlier version. (By the way, when the user installs it, it automatically logs itself on to the Web and updates itself to the current version.)
I feel this neg was undeserved and I left her one right back for non-payment. I am willing to admit that some of the negative feedback I have earned. Most of it is unjustified. (My previous neg was for slow shipping - got payment on Thursday, shipped on Monday. The customer took three weeks to pay.)
My positive feedback number is around 3500 total, which brings my total ratio to about 98.5%. I'm comfortable with that. (Considering that I get 50 or more deadbeats per month, I think my ratio is pretty good.) And I don't submit to feedback extortion.
posted on December 27, 2000 09:44:04 PM new
I think it depends on what the negative comments actually say, and how the person responded to the negatives.
For example, if I were buying (say) a $50 item from a seller who had great feedback other than a couple of negatives for non-payment as a buyer, that wouldn't concern me nearly as much as it would if the seller had the same number of negatives for more extreme situations, such as ripping people off (as a seller).
Also, if there were several negatives, I would look to see if the person had gotten those negatives within a certain time frame. Maybe he had been in the hospital and was unable to ship items promptly for a time, but before and after that period, his feedback is great otherwise.
It's not really a black-and-white question that can be answered easily.
I personally have 1,802 positives (a little over 3,000 total), with 3 negatives. One retaliatory from a seller I negged 2 years ago, one about 8 months ago from a bidder who tried to PayPal me and typed in my e-mail address wrong and thought I didn't "claim" her payment, and one from about a month ago from a newbie bidder who didn't like her item and negged me without bothering to contact me first (nevermind that I have a 100% satisfaction-guaranteed return policy clearly posted! Grrr!) Anyway! he he
edited to add: Also, I think the types of items a person sells has an effect on their feedback. Sellers who list items directed toward a younger audience (generally speaking!) such as video games (etc.) probably have a higher percentage of non-paying bidders, and as a result, probably more retaliatory negatives than another seller might. Same thing for sellers who list items that people tend to be very picky about, such as higher-dollar collectibles, etc.
[ edited by thedewey on Dec 27, 2000 09:56 PM ]
posted on December 27, 2000 11:18:52 PM new
(BTW, I see one of the most 'notorious' high feedback but high negative eBayers is currently NARU, anyone know why? F***M*****.)
I've got lots and lots of positives. I have a large number of negatives. I've often wondered what the 'feedback ratio' on the local supermarket, or the phone company, or the police department, or the City Hall, or eBay, or whatever, would be, if they had a 'feedback machine' posted next to their front door for customers to use on their way out. I'll bet their ratios would not look as good as mine.
I frankly don't want the business of those people who can look at, say, 50,000 Positive Feedbacks and concentrate on the 300 negatives. These people are complainers and nitpickers.
My husband almost LIKES negatives! He says that when someone punches up the typical feedback page for most eBayers they'll see 1 or 2 negs tops, 100s or 1000s of positives and move on. When someone visits OUR feedback page for the first time, sees 10,000s of positives but 100s of negatives as well they'll take the time to hunt up the negatives and read them. In the process they'll run across 1000s of glowing positives. By the time they reach the negatives the posting of the negatives looks kinda silly by comparison, and they'll have been forced to quickly review all these great reports from great customers.
posted on December 28, 2000 12:10:37 AM new
Marie -- You sell what I'd consider a more "wide-audience" type of item than I do. In other words, you're undoubtedly more prone to deadbeats and prank bidders than my "middle-aged-lady's-hobby" type of items are. LOL! Therefore, I'd pretty much expect you to have more negatives (retaliatory or undeserved) than I do.
I think many bidders consider that as well when deciding whether to bid on an item or not. I know I've worked my backside off for the positives I have, but I'm sure you've had to work even harder for the ones you have!
Sometimes negatives DO serve a purpose, I think. They show potentially dishonest bidders exactly what you'll stand for and what you won't, whether it's not paying for an auction, pulling a switcheroo on a return, or whatever. In a way, some negatives may actually have a positive effect in the long run.
posted on December 31, 2000 02:05:43 PM new
Just because a seller has PERFECT feedback doesn't mean you won't have a problem also - I have just had 2 HUGE problems - the one lady had over 200 PERFECT feedback and the other over 600 with 2 negs. What happens is this: over 30 days you can't leave FB because the item is out of the system and if you are negotiating - you still think you have a "chance" to get the item/or refund so you hesitate to leave it. The woman with over 200 perfect fb took 7 months and 50 emails and I finally got the refund Christmas eve. I paid on paypal within 5 minutes of auction ending! PAYPAL did NOTHING to resolve this! I am a long time buyer and seller on ebay and the misery I endured was absolutely outrageous. Lesson learned - no item/refund in 30 days - I start filing complaints immediately - I don't care how sick they are, who died, what happened...never again!
posted on December 31, 2000 02:58:04 PM new
I don't know how many are too many but some are worse then others. Would you buy from a seller that has: 5161 Positives, 134 Neutrals
258 Negatives? This seller has 7% negs and neutrals.
We personally have 1306 positives, 12 Neutrals and 2 negs, but don't do nearly the volume of business as the seller mentioned above.
posted on December 31, 2000 03:09:22 PM new
I look at the RATIO of negs, rather than the number.
I look at the way the Seller responded to them. (Professionally, nastily, apologetically, etc.) This response can make a Seller look good or bad. I also want to know if the Seller retaliates with a neg for no other reason than because the Buyer negged him. Bad, Bad, Bad!!!!
I also read what the neg says. I would not be bothered by "Seller overcharged me on shipping by .14" or seemingly petty bitching.
The offenses would have to be significant enough that they would have ticked me off, too.
My system of checking feedback has worked well for me. I have only negged one Seller. He was a newbie and also an out and out thief. NARU'd right away. Luckily, not an expensive item.
posted on December 31, 2000 03:32:22 PM new
Lots of variables at work here.
Some categories are more likely to result in problem bidders, and problem transactions.
Sellers who give deserved negs are more likely to get negs in return.
BUT- I think that a seller who has hundreds of positives and a negative ratio of greater than about 2% has some sort of problem. Maybe unclear terms, maybe poor communication skills, maybe an ad description that is unintentially misleading.
A seller who does a good job in the customer service area should be able to get 1,000 positives without also getting 20 negatives, in my view. Lots of sellers do much better than this- and it's not just luck.
posted on December 31, 2000 06:13:23 PM new
Two rules:
1) I check the reason for the NEGS, and 2) I find out how far back they go.
I have found that many NEGS have been received by the User's during his/her very early days on Ebay. And this year, I am seeing more NEGS left by NEW Users who do not seem to understand the system. People are getting a little...heavy-handed
That said, there ARE some pretty bad Sellers and Bidders who seem to make it their mission to be unpleasant... Gosh Shosh!
posted on December 31, 2000 11:52:59 PM new
I think it's all in the ration of pos to neg FB. The overall picture counts most of all.
Honestly, for a very long time (i.e. years) I wouldn't even CHECK feedback or read it if it was over 100 or so! I just started making it a point to read FB regardless, and I'm often shocked. One recent bidder had a rating of 150 or so, but when I clicked on her number I discover that she has over 30 negs, which IMO is ridiculous. She's looking like a problem bidder already, btw, and is officially "late" on payment today..and miserably slow on communication even though most of her negs seem to be from buyers and not sellers.
I, personally, have 156 overall rating, with one neg and two neutrals (one I gave myself responding to the neg, and one from someone who is NARU'd). So, 30 negs for the same overall number is scary and were I looking to bid on that person's stuff I'd think long & hard about it. When someone has huge numbers of FB though, I *expect* a decent number of them to be negs and I'm not put off by that in most cases.
As others have said, you just never know. One of my best deals (as a bidder) was with a person who had over 2000 total, a huge number of negs, negs for items not as described or shipped slowly. I bid anyway, because it was a very small dollar amount, and when I had a problem with the description vs. reality, the guy was GREAT to work with and did all he could to make me happy. So, sometimes the negs s/he has racked up have actually been a learning experience for them. I've also had some of my VERY worst bidders (extremely slow pay, snotty attitude, etc) be those with *stellar* high feedback. So ya just never know.
posted on January 1, 2001 12:19:00 AM new
I cancelled a bid from a guy with (-3) rating a couple of weeks ago. Three negs for non-payment, no positives. The guy emailed me a couple times asking me if I would reconsider. Claimed his sister messed with his account a "long time ago." (Right, like two weeks?) He was actually more polite and pleasanter than many of my "paying" customers, but I just didn't want to deal with it. He complained that no one would sell to him now.
posted on January 2, 2001 02:27:08 AM new
Last week I cancelled the bid of a fellow who had 8 negs for non-payment and a history of nasty retaliatory feedback.Had to tellhim TWICE not to bid on my auctions.He came back and tried to do it. When I cancelled the last time he sent me a nasty [and somewhat laughable] tantrum-by-email.I'm checking bids now before eoa to see if there are more serious problems looming. Certain categories are more prone than others. Most of the deadbeats I encountered had histories of it, and the way ebay is at handling NPB appeals these guys are running loose instead of getting a richly deserved NARU. The only way to tell is feedback. I have a number of retaliatory negs.,but I shrug it off when I think that that it's the price you sometimes have to pay to red flag the deadbeats. Deadbeats will only be around as long as they are tolerated.When it stops getting fun they'll go somehere else to cause trouble.
posted on January 2, 2001 05:48:58 AM new
I don't check the feedback of my buyers, but I do check sellers' feedback when I buy. I look for trends.
One seller had lots of late shipment feedbacks, to which she almost always responded that the leaver of the feedback should learn to control their anger. I passed on her auction.
Sometimes I've seen sellers who have sold tons of items in their first few months on eBay have lots of feedback about mixed up shipments. I generally won't bid there just because I don't like dealing with hassles.
If there's more than one of what I want out there, and I'm uncomfortable with the feedback of one seller, I'm happy to pay a dollar or two more to deal with a seller who ships on time, answers emails, etc.
As to the original question, I wouldn't be put off at all by two negs and 4000 positives (looking at transactions rather than unique users). Even if both negs are for legitimate reasons, one twentieth of one percent error is fantastic, and I wish the heck all businesses were that efficient!
posted on January 2, 2001 06:53:42 AM new
I think lots and lots of positives are good...but a lot of negatives is worrisome. Maybe it's true that a certain number are inevitable because of retaliatory negs or confused/quarrelsome customers. But if most of the negatives reflect slow service, poor customer relations, or misleading auction ads, then it's a problem. As a buyer, how would I know for sure that my transaction wouldn't be the next one to fail in some way?
posted on January 2, 2001 07:48:53 AM new
I still think alot of people do not use the feedback because they are afraid if they give a negative they will get one in return.Most people I think that you see with the perfect feedback have never given a negative to a NPB or a bad seller because they are afraid to darken their good name.In that respect I find the feedback system flawed.I think that if a bidder does not pay they should get negative feedback but then in return not have the right to retaliate to the seller in this manner.If it could be done you would see alot less negative feedback on alot of sellers pages from NPB.I do although commend those sellers that are not afraid to mar their feedback rating and give a negative where it is deserved!Without those people alot of these people would just continue on to the next victim!
--------------------------------- If I had money I'd be rich!
--------------------------------- My Bit
posted on January 2, 2001 12:37:31 PM new
Jereth, you make a good point. I, too, will check out FB and read lots of glowing positives to find the negatives. Then the fun begins when you click on the feedback of the person who left the negative. Better than a video game! You could amuse yourself for hours, especially when you hit the newbies .....
Honestly, I look at the overall record. Especially what happened over the last 6 months. The rest is all old news.
posted on January 2, 2001 01:48:06 PM new
I always look for a pattern of the past week, month, 6 months. But ebay has become the last place I look when looking to add to my collections. Too over priced, too many hassles with sellers that bring too much personality to business, too much dictorial attitudes of sellers, and above all too many shipping ripoffs.
So an acceptable amount is based on the individual. I have seen some people who think 1 negative is too many. Its whatever you feel comfortable with. Oh yeah I don't have any negatives but don't let negatives bother me when shopping. They might raise a flag but I can tell accidents along the way from bad business practices.
he he
