posted on May 2, 2001 12:17:36 PM new
I think I agree with Laptopper on this, for the most part.
We're used to "grades" from our school days, and a 95% is pretty good! But in this environment, someone who gets 5 negs for every 95 positives IS doing something wrong--- they're obviously not fraudulent sellers, but they are probably pissing off many of their customers unnecessarily.
Yes, there are differences depending on the types of merchandise sold. I sell to an older, more settled market (old car collectibles)-- these folks tend to be pretty mature and reasonable. It might be a different situation selling Nintendo cartridges or punk clothing.
I think the following would be pretty telling, and more helpful than the current feedback system:
1. An indication of the feedback PERCENTILE ranking of the seller. If, for example, the average seller has 1% negatives, he would be in the 50th percentile. Someone with 5% negatives might be in the 10th percentile. A lucky seller with no negatives and 1000 positives would likely be in the 99th percentile. (Personally, I take a closer look at a seller who is getting more than about 1 negative per 100 positives).
2. I'd like to see a ratio of Total Positives to Unique Users-- this as an indication of the frequency of repeat customers. The raw data for this is available on the feedback page, but I'd like to see it as a score of some type-- a sort of customer satisfaction index.
posted on May 2, 2001 01:50:38 PM new
Steve...I like your suggestion #1 but I'm not so sure about this one..
"2. I'd like to see a ratio of Total Positives to Unique Users-- this as an indication of the frequency of repeat customers. The raw data for this is available on the feedback page, but I'd like to see it as a score of some type-- a sort of customer satisfaction index."
I think it would give a skewed picture of the seller for this reason..a seller such as yourself who sells mainly one type of merchandise would naturally, if they have good customer service and accurately described merchandise, have many repeat customers. They would have those repeat customers because the customers collect in that field so would be returning for more of their collectible.
But a seller like me, who sells a wide variety of items, won't have as many returning customers no matter how good the customer service is.
As an example...recently I was able to buy a lot of mid 1950s car brochures. I have listed many of them already. The buyers have been happy so far. But when these are gone I probably won't find more for a long time.
Or...about 2 years ago I bought a lot of 1950s doll house furniture. They sold well and the buyers left me glowing feedback. It was 18 months before I came upon more of this furniture. The buyers this time were different from the first time, probably because the original buyers had already acquired these items in the meantime, or the earlier buyers were no longer using ebay.
Even if the original buyers had bookmarked my auctions 2 years ago they had long ago stopped looking at my auctions because I hadn't offered anymore of the item for such a long time.
Out of 2389 feedback recieved only 354 are repeat purchasers...and most of those are people who bought multiple items at one time. Something like what you suggest would make it look like sellers like me have poor customer service because we have a low "returning customer" ratio.
posted on May 2, 2001 02:02:59 PM new
I'd agree with amy- I don't think providing a "repeat customer ratio" would be a good idea. My feedback rating is only a third of hers, but I have nearly the same number of repeat customer feedback comments, probably because I sell almost exclusively in a very specialized niche.
If a bidder is interested in a repeat customer ratio, they can always figure it out for themselves, but I think putting it upfront would be unfair for those who sell items from all over the map.
posted on May 2, 2001 02:55:56 PM new
So, laptopper...where did I go wrong? I have 287 positives...and 8 negs! The first was from a customer who left the neg a month after the end of the auction...said she was unhappy with item but NEVER contacted me before leaving the neg! The other 7 were from a deadbeat bidder who reneged on over $750 on 7 different auctions. His negs were in retaliation to the 7 I left him. My only "sin" was doing the "good service" by alerting the "community" that this jerk would reneg on auctions if he found the same thing cheaper! Not all red negs are painted with the same brush.
posted on May 2, 2001 05:42:17 PM newShow me a seller with lots of positives and no negatives and I'll show you a seller who will do ANYTHING to avoid negative.
Not true at all. I have almost 1500 total feedback on 2 selling accounts, 1 neutral, no negs. I WILL do anything within reason to avoid a neg, which means NO NEGS FOR DEADBEATS. It's a losing proposition for the seller and a temporary irritation at most for the bidder. In other words, risking a neg over a deadbeat is unreasonable (IMO of course).
Does this mean I never leave negs? Of course not. I left one a couple of weeks ago. But it was NOT left for a deadbeat.
My only "sin" was doing the "good service" by alerting the "community" that this jerk would reneg on auctions if he found the same thing cheaper! Not all red negs are painted with the same brush.
This is why I have never left a neg for a deadbeat and I never will under the current feedback system.
posted on May 3, 2001 07:28:07 AM new
This is a Yahoo bidder.
Yahoo used to encourage people to use Feedback as a way to communicate when Email didn't work for some reason. On yahoo you can always add to feedback left and charge the final rating, although the old comments remain.
I got one of these but fortunately it was a positive.
posted on May 3, 2001 08:14:16 AM new
hcross-
I don't know if ebay still does this, but I merged two accounts about 3 years ago, which resulted in my first neutral "feedback for XXXXX has been transferred to XXXXX".
In those days, you also got neutrals when a person who left a positive became unregistered. People would leave neutrals for themselves saying "having problems with isp, please use XXX@XXXX instead". Neutrals were not considered poor feedback, a disaster, or anything like that in the "old days". So another thing to consider on someone's feedback is the age of the neutrals.
posted on May 3, 2001 02:28:54 PM new
I am new to this board, and have enjoyed reading some of the topics, including this one. I am mainly a bidder and not quite in the same league as the majority of you super sellers, but I felt I had to throw in my perspective on this.
I think that having to deal with the deadbeats, no-intention-to-pay's, and extortionists has skewed your perspective on what the average shopper on ebay sees/looks for in a seller's feedback profile.
I don't look for a "perfect record" i.e. no negatives or neutrals. I look at the feedback profiles for every seller who is new to me before I bid on their auction. I am aware that some people push the wrong buttons and leave neutral when they mean positive or even negative, so I try to read all the non-positives, as well as skimming through the positive remarks. In the case of some of you shooting stars, a look at the past 100 transactions is usually a good sample. I also check out the feedback on people who leave negative feedback for the seller, usually a good way to add some more info to the process (especially if I find a lot of changed feedback on them due to failed extortion attempts).
Finally, I email the seller if I still have questions. I used to email people who had left positive feedback but I don't do that anymore with the email contact changes eBay made.
I am aware that not every bidder does this, but just like I feel that the majority of eBay sellers are honest (though seem to be addicted to Mrs. Swanson's dinners and court tv), I think that any discerning buyer will weigh all the facts before bidding. If I saw that Billpoint payment message listed as a neutral, I would regard it as a mess-up on the part of the buyer and no reflection on the seller at all.
Sorry to be so long winded, enjoy Judge Judy!
posted on May 4, 2001 05:02:54 AM new
"Newbie bidder (feedback 4) wins one of my auctions on April 26. In my EOA I ask for reply within three days. Never heard from them, resent original EOA email (as a reminder) on April 30. This evening I receive a NEUTRAL from the bidder. Are you ready for this?
I will pay be billpoint from home tonight. "
I haven't read rest of the posts on this topic so please forgive me if I am saying something that has already been said. People this stupid should be shipped to a small island in the middle of the ocean and left there to fend for themselves. He may be a newbie but that is no excuse. He should have spent five or ten minutes when he signed up learning about feedback. Having said that a neutral is not the end of the world, if people take the time to look at the comment they will see that an idiot posted it. If they don't a neutral will probably not bother them as much as a negative would. I am sorry that this happened to you.
posted on May 4, 2001 08:29:52 AM new
Well, having retired from eBay [OK, maybe "semi-retired" is more accurate, since I am still looking to fill a few holes in my china pattern] with 402 postives, no negatives, and only one neutral [a positive that was converted to neutral when the user was NARU'd], I can unequivocably say that anybody who has any negatives at all must be scum. And I say this firm in my conviction that everybody is just like me and has had the exact same experiences I have had.
You see, I'm perfect, and I just won't do business with anybody who isn't pefect as well. No excuses. I don't care if you have 15,000 positives and only one negative from your first week on eBay, and that negative was actually a positive where the user accidentally hit the wrong button. I'm sorry, but you're just sub-standard and I don't want to deal with the likes of you. And it's clear from some of the messages in this thread that I am not alone in my beliefs....
Regards,
Barry
---
The opinions expressed above are for comparison purposes only. Your mileage may vary....
posted on May 4, 2001 09:02:20 AM new
I recieved the following neutral a few months ago:
"Neutral: I would like to pay for Maxi by personal check"
This was from a zero feedback bidder the same day the auction ended. Was I disappointed? You bet I was . My response?
"Response: Please feel free to send a personal check for Maxi ... and Welcome to eBay !!!"
Sometimes you've just gotta make lemonade. I don't think this neutral is going to hurt me if someone takes time to read it and the response. I'm hoping my response is a reflection of how I treat my customers.
I'd like to mention a couple of other things. In the early days on eBay every time a person changed their e-mail address they had a neutral added to their feedback file stating the old and the new address. I've got a few of those.
Also re: the getting feedback removed because a name is posted. I have my name mentioned specifically in one of my feedbacks, which happens to be my only neg. My name was listed both on my feedback, and then the seller also listed it on hers, and had others post my name on hers. (I have an unusual last name, so this makes it much worse.) The seller was Narued shortly after my transaction with her. She was re-instated, and is now permanently Narued. The neg stands. I contacted support and requested to have the feedbacks removed under eBay guidelines. I sent all the eBay applicable links quoting 2 grounds for removal. One was for multiple feedbacks left for the same transaction, the other was for them intentionally listing my name, not once but 3 times. I wanted all of those removed.
eBay refused to remove them.
Here is the reason they quoted me:
"Thank you for contacting me with your feedback removal request. I will
be happy to advise you in this matter.
Unfortunately comments can only be removed if they were left after March
4, 2000. This is the date the feedback removal policy began. What this
means is that older comments cannot be removed as the removal policy was
not in place at the time they were left.
The feedback to which you are referring is all dated prior to March 4,
2000. I am sorry we cannot remove the comments in question.
Thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter."
Personally I think it's a crock. If eBay is so supportive of privacy issues, then why don't they make changes like that retroactive?
Sigh.
My only alternative is to make my feedback private, which I dislike doing.
. My response?
!!!"