posted on October 29, 2001 03:40:41 PM new
Okay... here's the situation... A winning bidder of mine won two auctions on 10/11/01. He received the items and posted positive feedback in my account on 10/22/01. Also on 10/22/01, I received the following e-mail:
>>>>>
Just wanted to follow up and let you know the widgets arrived
and are exactly as you described and in good working order.
I am headed to feedback to make two posting (one on each
item), If you have not done so-please do the same for me.
>>>>>>
I did not feel that this e-mail required a response, so I did not send one. Then, on 10/25/01, I received this second notice from him:
>>>>>>>
I posted a positive response in Feedback for both seperate items I received from you. As yet you have not done so for me? I hope this was an oversite, as your auctions use your positive feedback as a selling point.
>>>>>
This time I tried to respond to him with the following message:
>>>>>
We will be leaving positive feedback for your account. However, we use an automated-feedback program to respond to positive comments that are left in our account. We run this program about every two-three weeks. Due to our large volume in sales, this is the most efficient way for us to operate. Thank you for your understanding. It has been a pleasure doing business with you!
>>>>>
Unfortunately, the message was bounced back to my account, and I did not realize it until after this weekend. I was about to send it out from an alternate e-mail address, when I received this e-mail message from him (today 10/24/01):
>>>>>>>
This is the third time I wrote to this add. I purchased two seperate items from your auction house. I went to the feedback and posted two good feedbacks for the purchases. You say, you also post feedback. Copied below. Well afetr three tries it never posted, so i went to feedback and posted comment under yours telling you didn't. feedback is the heartblood of e bay and if you folks are getting so large that you don't take the time to do it, then e bay will go to the cheats, because the people who honor their promises will no longer buy here.
>>>>>>
The responses he left to his previous positive feedbacks were: To BIG to leave feedback? I did. Now... What should I do in this situation? Needless to say I am rather put-off by this pushy bidder. It has only been ONE week since he left feedback in my account. I am rather tempted to leave feedback for him.... NEGATIVE feedback. However, I am not sure if that is just a side-affect of the anger I am feeling right now. Anyhow... please post some opinions on what my next steps should be. As always, I am very appreciative of your help!
posted on October 29, 2001 04:00:03 PM new
I take feedback as strongly as my bidders. If they don't care about it, neither do I. It is a bit of a sham.
However, you have one testy successful bidder, and all your excuses about only once every full moon and only leave positive feedback for what is left----
give me a break and come down to the real world.
One on one seller, one on one buyer. They are diamonds in the rough and don't demean them by your restrictions. JMHO.
But then again, keep it up and either they will quit eBay or find me.
posted on October 29, 2001 04:05:56 PM new
I don't think the buyer is being pushy at all. He left you feedback, you should be ashamed that you haven't left it for him as well. He's got a point, if you depend on folks buying from you based on your feedback, it is only fair that you reciprocate and leave it for them.
I realize that feedback is not the most important thing in an auction, but what will it hurt to take a minute to leave the guy feedback, rather than wait a few weeks for your "auto" program.
I also would say that some bidders are very savvy when it comes to reading feedback LEFT by a seller. You could very well be putting a noose around your neck if you leave negative for this bidder. Because some folks will check, and you will look pretty silly for leaving negative feedback for a buyer that pays promptly, leaves you feedback, is satisfied with the purchase.
posted on October 29, 2001 04:13:42 PM new
Granted, your bidder is a bit uptight. My guess is he's a newbie as I've found people with higher feedback don't really care anymore. I think we forget that newbies are very concerned about their feedback. I try to post it within a few days of receiving their payment as sort of a "reward". I think waiting two to three weeks to run your program is excessive.
posted on October 29, 2001 04:24:14 PM new
I'm not taking sides here, just pointing out something that seems obvious to me. In the time it took you to reply to his second email you could have just as easily posted a feedback to his account and solved the problem. Perhaps you could run that automated program more often?
(Not rocketguy on eBay)
[ edited by rocketguy on Oct 29, 2001 04:26 PM ]
posted on October 29, 2001 05:49:12 PM new
After I have had a chance to calm down a bit and read your responses... I do admit that I may have overreacted slightly. That's one of the reasons I posted here... to get some alternate perspectives. Thank you for that.
I think that at this point I do intend to leave him feedback... however I'm wavering between nuetral and positive (you can tell I'm getting less angry ) I still think that he has been difficult to deal with. What I would like to do, however, is to send him an e-mail expressing how I feel he acted far too hastily in his actions of leaving follow-up feedback. All this happened in the period of a week. What if I had been on vacation? Or on a business trip? Such things do happen! He IS a newbie and most likely does not understand that most of us sellers have other lives beyond eBay. I really don't think he gave me enough time to respond to his requests. Does any one have a stern, yet tactful, e-mail I could send to this bidder? I think he's likely to get in to more trouble on eBay if he continues this type of rash behavior.
As to my system of leaving feedback, I can tell that some of you do not approve of it. However, I consider it much more important to get my items shipped promptly to my winning bidders than to leave them feedback. I DO leave everyone feedback who leaves feedback in my profile first. I don't leave feedback before that point because I don't feel the transaction has been completed until the bidder has received their merchandise safely. While it may take them two-three weeks to get their feedback from me, I am in the business of selling my merchandise NOT feedback. Feedback, in my opinion, is a bonus... sorta like those rebate checks you have to wait awhile for! My customers WILL get their feedback... but that is not my prime concern for them.
Anyhow... if you have any suggestions for an e-mail response I could send him and/or a feedback I could leave that is both fair to him and me, I would appreciate your input. Thank you for your comments.
posted on October 29, 2001 06:27:22 PM new
While personally I would have reacted as rocketguy suggests (posted the FB at the first request), I think we're coming down on this seller a little too hard.
There are legitimate reasons that a seller might not respond and/or post FB immediately, and the sooner this newbie realizes it the smoother his future transactions will be.
A gently-worded email is a better choice, though, eauctionmgt. If you word it well, you might even persuade him to amend his nasty FB remark.
We all need all the bidders we can get right now, no?
posted on October 29, 2001 06:45:44 PM new
Sounds to me like your hesitant to leave feedback in case someone gives you a neg and then you cannot retaliate.
Your quote says it all "I DO leave everyone feedback who leaves feedback in my profile first. I don't leave feedback before that point because I don't feel the transaction has been completed until the bidder has received their merchandise safely."
So, if the item did not arrive safely, then the buyer is not entitled to feedback?
Now, I don't know what kind of auction service you utilize but why would a seller complicate this process by waiting until the buyer has the merchandise before leaving feedback. How do you determine when and if the buyer received the item? By feedback? Sounds like a lot of extra work to me.
Watch this:
a. Buyer wins auction
b. Buyer pays for auction
c. Seller ships item
d. Seller leaves appropriate feedback
e. Buyer returns appropriate feedback
upon receipt. (if they wish to)
posted on October 29, 2001 07:27:23 PM new
eauction,
I can see your side of this, and everyone elses. There are people out there who just don't do feedback. As a seller, I prefer to wait until I know the buyer has recieve the package and is satisfied. I'm not playing feedback hostage games, I just want to make sure that everything is OK. I've gotten emails from newbies asking me to leave feedback and while I'm tempted to leave the classic, "you wanted feedback, here it is." I try to be understanding, and just leave them an appropriate feedback.
Maybe just send him a note stating that you are sorry you didn't get the feedback done in a more timely fashion, you were buried in sales last week and spent alot of time packaging and shipping items. Feedback is optional, and as such, you prefer to focus on getting customers' packages to them in a timely fashion. You do/leave feedback when time allows.
And then, being the gracious seller that you are, leave them a positive focusing on the actual transaction.
posted on October 29, 2001 07:49:49 PM new
Cin131,
Thank you for your good advice. Here is an e-mail I am considering sending the bidder:
>>>>>>>
I am sorry that you are unhappy with our speed of posting feedback. We manage many auctions a week. Our prime concern is to ensure that our customers receive their merchandise safely and promptly. While we recognize that feedback is an important part of the eBay system, it does not receive top priority from us. To best utilize our time, we use an automated feedback program to respond to feedback that is left in our account. This program is run every two-three weeks. Your one-week deadline for the feedback to be left was simply not enough time for this program to run. It was our intention to inform you of this system after we received your second e-mail. However, your server rejected our e-mail and it was bounced back to us. Before we could re-send the message from an alternate e-mail address, your third e-mail and follow-up feedback was received.
Considering the circumstances, we have gone-ahead and run our feedback program early to ensure that your positive feedback is placed in your profile. I am sure you will be pleased with our praise. I do, however, kindly suggest that you allow sellers a little more time before leaving comments in profiles that can damage the sellers reputation. Thank you for your understanding.
>>>>>>
I still need to think of exactly what I want to leave in his positive feedback comment. Our standard one is:
Prompt Payment, Good E-mail Communication, A Pleasure to Do Business With
In this case.... I can't honestly say he was that much of a pleasure to do business with! I'd also kind of like to add a little more in the e-mail to show the bidder that they left the follow-up feedback prematurely, and that it could cause him problems in future transactions....but I can't think of a tactful way to say that. Any body have some good suggestions? Thanks again!
posted on October 29, 2001 07:55:01 PM new
In all honesty, after all this time, trying to offer any sort of explanation or justification is probably just going to make the situation worse.
Yes, I appreciate having automated feedback & a schedule, I have one as well. But try to remember back when YOU eagerly logged onto ebay to see if your feedback had gone up. When you thought getting to 100 was like being a kid again waiting for Christmas to come.
Schedules don't have to be written in concrete. You are the boss, you can change them. In the time it took to email him your "reasons", you could have left him feedback & made him a happier camper (and possibly a repeat customer).
Instead, he's never going near your auctions again & left less than friendly follow up feedback.
If he paid in a timely fashion & was anything less than a MAJOR PITA prior to this issue, he deserves positive feedback, certainly not negative or neutral.
Your anger is misplaced & taking it out on him through feedback really isn't appropriate. If the feedback situation hadn't occurred, you wouldn't have thought twice about giving him anything but positive.
Remember, when you climb up on a high horse, it's darned hard to dismount with grace & dignity. Do the right thing here.
posted on October 29, 2001 08:22:37 PM newtry to remember back when YOU eagerly logged onto ebay to see if your feedback had gone up. When you thought getting to 100 was like being a kid again waiting for Christmas to come
Heh. I'm pushing towards 700 FB's and I STILL anxiously look to see if I've got a new positive I am not fanatical over it but I am happy every time that number goes up It's not just the newbies who like to see their numbers moving
posted on October 29, 2001 08:58:12 PM new
Ah, GEEZ.
But try to remember back when YOU eagerly logged onto ebay to see if your feedback had gone up. When you thought getting to 100 was like being a kid again (or a kid at heart!) waiting for Christmas to come.
posted on October 29, 2001 10:41:31 PM new
Happy Holloweennnnn. BULL, what is the effort involved to post an Automatic feedback program, 5 sec. to push the buttons. (Im not a typer/speller and this response will take me more time to do than leave a Positive Feedback for A positive tranaction with an automatic feedback machine) Buyer paid and kept word like an atomic clock, We (I) need um, where where you when they needed you. Yuaddaapoligize to the Great Buyer for your misdeeds, or send um to me so I can groval with greatfast-payers, greatfast-feedback, greatfast-busy-ness. Thank you buyer for telling Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms BiggiyPants that you are our bread&butter and the lifeblood of the online internet auction.(Damn, how did it get to be 3-1) Newbies be Dammed, this is a direct busyness malfunction. Sorry to see this BROAAAD(E) GO, learned a lot about auctions, software, ethickkks, and the greatest of all, YAALL.
posted on October 30, 2001 02:24:06 AM new
I leave feedback when the check or payment arrives. It is easier for me to remember to do this at that time. One time recently I left feedback for a newby, mailed his item and FORGOT to send an email telling him I mailed it. Guess what, he gave me a neutral!! Do you always email people to tell them you mailed an item? I had company and he used the new checkout (which I hate, had to hunt up my Billpoint password to see if he paid) and I just forgot to email him.
) I still think that he has been difficult to deal with. What I would like to do, however, is to send him an e-mail expressing how I feel he acted far too hastily in his actions of leaving follow-up feedback. All this happened in the period of a week. What if I had been on vacation? Or on a business trip? Such things do happen! He IS a newbie and most likely does not understand that most of us sellers have other lives beyond eBay. I really don't think he gave me enough time to respond to his requests. Does any one have a stern, yet tactful, e-mail I could send to this bidder? I think he's likely to get in to more trouble on eBay if he continues this type of rash behavior.
