posted on January 29, 2001 10:10:03 PM new
In the last 2 weeks, 2 people have left my name in their feedback for me. I know some people don't mind this, but I do. Ebay is taking forever to remove it, but that is a whole other story. My question is, is there anyway I can tell buyers not to leave my name in feedback without putting them off?
One was a newbie and one had hundreds of feedback.
posted on January 29, 2001 10:19:22 PM new
Great topic, and one I haven't seen discussed here, in my time at AW.
When I first started at eBay, I thought I was *personalizing* things by leaving someone's name in their fb. Like, "Thanks for the quick payment, Joe!"
Then my DH saw me doing that and said, "WTH are you doing! Talk about an invasion of someone's privacy!"
After that scathing rebuke by my smarty-pants DH, I refrained from ever using people's names in their feedback profiles again, for their privacy's sake.
Now re. your question. I think there would be nothing wrong with simply stating in your response to their EOA that you would prefer your name not be mentioned in the feedback. If it's something you feel strongly about, by all means let the seller know. Saves a headache on your part.
posted on January 30, 2001 01:01:25 AM new
I can get your first name, your last name, and your phone number from ebay via contact request, so who cares if they leave your name in your feedback.
I can get your first name, your last name, and your phone number from Ebay via contact request too. And if you did, I would know it and I would automatically be given yours too. So? I'm not talking about that.
Did you even read my post? I care if buyers leave my name in my feedback. Why? That's my business. And don't tell me what I should be thankful for. I prefer not to have my name in feedback, and that is my choice. I appreciate feedback, but I do Ebay for the money, not for feedback. As long as my buyer is happy, I am happy. Ebay allows me to remove name in feedback, and I have been and will continue to exercise that right.
posted on January 30, 2001 05:47:29 AM new
When buying via one of my buying ID’s I include a note that explains that this is my “buying ID” and that I would prefer not to have my name left in feedback. People seem to understand and honor that request.
posted on January 30, 2001 12:56:36 PM new
Sometimes I respond to the person, sometimes to the public about the transaction. Depends on my "mood", lol. Regarding them using my name, at first I didnt like it because of personal reasons and forums, since I have the same name someone else does that isnt allowed to be said here. Now, I dont care, because I had that name first
posted on January 30, 2001 01:03:29 PM new
I would make the request for anonymous feedback in the last correspondence you have with the buyer.
Something like:
Hi,
I received your payment and your item has been mailed.
I hope you like it.
I appreciate your feedback, but out of concern for my privacy, I do request that you not publish my real name.
Thanks,
Griselda (EBAY seller booksamillion)
Or for a seller,
Hi,
I mailed your payment today.
I look forward to receiving my new left-handed thing-a-ma-bob. I will leave you feedback upon my receipt. I appreciate your feedback, but out of concern for my privacy, I do request that you not publish my real name.
Thanks,
Griselda
posted on January 30, 2001 01:22:41 PM new
I'm glad this has been brought up as I, too, have used first names in feedback. It never occurred to me that someone might not like it.
posted on January 30, 2001 01:45:44 PM new
To date I've only had one person ask me not to use their name in feedback, not that I've ever done it anyway. She had zero feedback but was definitely not new. I think she was trying to avoid people who bid on similar items. There was lots of competition for the items she was bidding on and didn't want people to know it was her with a new ID.
posted on January 30, 2001 02:15:50 PM new
Toolhound
Apparently you can, but I am very wary of someone whose feedback is 'private.' I collect widgets, and there have been several auctions with hard to find ones, and there were no bids; Both sellers had private feedback.
posted on January 30, 2001 04:37:53 PM new
I have a good personal reason why I wish people wouldn't leave my unusual name in my feedback. We live in a small town and everyone watches each other. If we figure out this widget is worth lotsa bucks we don't want everyone else to know about it. My fathers ebay account is common knowlege but my ebay account is not. Sometimes he sells his buys and buys things on my ebay account because he likes to be anonymous.
posted on January 30, 2001 07:56:25 PM new
I don't like it when people leave feedback with my first name in it. I know they mean it to be a nice thing and I appreciate their leaving any feedback at all, but I just don't care for it. For one thing, my boyfriend and I both use one of our Seller ID's and it looks strange if you are buying something from (guy's name) and then you see feedback to (girl's name). It might put some buyers off, or make them wonder if we are on the up and up (of course we are, but they don't know that.) Also, it just seems overly personal to me and I prefer it if they would avoid my name. Anything else that's nice is surely appreciated, but not my name!!
P.S. I once had some dude leave my name after I sold a vintage lingerie item (NOT MINE) and he wrote "great bra...thanks (name)" Gee thanks!
posted on January 30, 2001 08:29:26 PM new
I hate it when sellers leave my name in the feedback. It is an invasion of my privacy and destroys my anonymity.
In the category in which I buy, dealers and collectors are quite competitive. I know of at least two individuals who have Excel spreadsheets with the user ids, email addresses and names of the competition.
Bidders start up new ids constantly to gain privacy only to find the id turn useless when a seller leaves their name. When the competition learns a competitor's new ids, the bidding history is studied and analyzed to determine the id's strategy for search methodology in finding the rare and unique items that were not properly identified by the sellers.
Finding just one rare item can mean a profit of anywhere from hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars. I know of one individual's purchase of a $350 item has been appraised at over $100,000.
Because of the enormous profit that can be made, the individuals who keep the spreadsheets, they spend hours looking for the new ids. When the bidding of known ids falls off, they figure those users have new ids and they start actively looking for them. They might think an id is a new one, but they will never know for sure until the seller leaves the name in the feedback. Then that id is destroyed, all of the positive accumulated feedback has been wasted, the investment in a new email addressis money tossed to the wind.
posted on January 30, 2001 09:34:55 PM new
I don't need "anominity" (is that the same as anonymity?) just DISCRETION.
Just because I tell people my name when I meet them doesn't mean I want to wear my name on a big red tag on my shirt for every single stranger in the world to see.
posted on January 30, 2001 09:47:23 PM newIf you want anominimty why don't you use a different name in your ebay correspondence??
It isn't a good business practice to hide under initials and different personas if you are a person who both sells and buys. Eventually the bidding ids get discovered, whether from a seller leaving the name in the feedback or because the buyer purchased an item from somebody in that field and information is shared. There are negative repercussions to the sales if buyers perceive that someone went to great lengths to hide who they really are; it is an appearance of not being ethical.
I will give you one example. An avid collector in my category started selling last year. Everyone already knew his multiple bidding ids. He set up his selling id with just a business name and answered correspondence with a fake first name. However he used the same post office box address as his buying ids, the same address registered with his membership in the collector's organization to which everyone belonged. When he started selling some very nice rare and unique items, the buyers bid at first. Soon they started sharing information that this seller had to be that awful person who sniped them on their bids because the address was the same. They asked each other, why is he hiding who he is. Now hardly anyone bids on his auctions and he is probably wondering why he can't sell his valuable stuff. Well duh.
Just be open, honest and ethical. If buyers perceive you to be otherwise, forget it, you've lost your customers.
Myself, I gave up getting other ids. I keep my two ids, the selling id and the buying id. I have no plans on acquiring anymore. Most of my repeat buyers know my bidding id, I let them know it. And I make it a fast rule to never bid against my customers. So my sales remain high, my repeat customer base remains loyal and when I find the rare item I just forward the auction url on to one of my customers, let them bid for it.
posted on January 31, 2001 08:00:34 AM new
The first time this happened to me, it bothered me a little. Then I thought about it, what is the big deal? My customers find out my name when I send them emails, it's on the return address of the package and they make their checks out to me. I am a friendly person and sometimes add things to my EOA emails and have developed 'pen-pal' relationships with some of my customers. That is just the way I am. So why in the world should I be upset about someone typing in my name on the feedback line? AND why should I be try to hide my real name? I would rather be called by my given name than jerk, stupid, idiot, dumb butt or some other explicative name.
posted on January 31, 2001 10:24:27 AM newBECAUSE, (and I will repeat this s-l-o-w-l-y for those who cannot comprehend the concept):
I
asked
you
to
please
not
leave
my
name
in
feedback!
This is my buying ID.
I’m not trying to be anonymous to the seller. I want privacy from others, who are potentially both my customers and my competition if I buy and sell in the same category.
Go ahead, be suspicious – let your paranoia run rampant! Just don’t post my name in feedback after I have asked you to please refrain from doing so.
Geez – is that such a difficult concept to understand?
NOW:
As far as my seller ID – feel free to include my name in any feedback you leave. However, I respect the wishes of wbfan to not have a name posted under their seller ID.
(edited to add)
And wbfan to address your original posted question/comment:
I see nothing wrong with asking your customers to not use your name in feedback. You might also make it less likely that they will do so by using just a single first name initial in all correspondence.
[ edited by corrdogg on Jan 31, 2001 10:34 AM ]
posted on January 31, 2001 10:48:49 AM new
Thanks to everyone who replied. I think I will take the suggestion to ask customers not to leave my name in feedback. I am glad lots of you can understand why I feel this way.
Anyway, I'm ecstatic, this is the first thread I started that has generated more than 4 or 5 posts! LOL
