fluffythewondercat
|
posted on October 15, 2008 09:57:04 AM new
Email received yesterday:
DEAR CLARENCE,
WHEN YOU HAVE A CHANCE WILL YOU PLEASE LEAVE ME FEEDBACK? SAME DAY PAY I WAS  YOUR PERSONALITY REALLY SHINES THROUGH ON YOUR SITE, AWESOME !! IS YOUR LAST NAME CLEMMONS AS IN BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN CLARENCE CLEMMONS? IMAGINE IF OUR STORES WERE NEXT DOOR TO EACH OTHER.........
Email received today:
HELLO CLEARANCE CLARENCE,
I PAID SAME DAY AUCTION ENDED FOR THE BEAUTIFUL XXXXX. I DO NOT MEAN TO BE A BOTHER, HOWEVER, WILL YOU PLEASE LEAVE ME POSITIVE FEEDBACK FOR IT HAS BEEN 5 DAYS SINCE MY PURCHASE.I'M SORRY I AM JUST SILLY ABOUT THOSE THINGS. I KNOW YOU ARE EXTREMELY BUSY AND PROBABLY HAVE NOT HAD THE TIME. I WOULD JUST REALLY APPRECIATE IT AND I THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH !!
Wow. Five whole days since her purchase. Poor baby.
I've been meaning for a long time to write a stock response to the feedback-annoyers, so here it is. Feel free to adapt for your own use:
I have been selling on eBay for more than 10 years. In that time, I've learned many things. One is that people who are pushy and hyper-insistent on having feedback left for them RIGHT NOW sometimes do other bizarre things on down the line with subsequent purchases.
It is quite likely that you don't mean to come across as a nutbar, but I thought I should tell you frankly that this repeated emailing is likely to get you blocked by sellers.
Feedback is entirely voluntary, and both buyers and sellers have 90 days in which to leave it.
Regards,
etc. etc.
fLufF
--
Planning to visit New Mexico? Beware of fake Native American jewelry!
[ edited by fluffythewondercat on Oct 15, 2008 10:08 AM ]
|
ggardenour
|
posted on October 15, 2008 10:55:19 AM new
God I love ya Fluff.
|
LtRay
|
posted on October 15, 2008 11:03:28 AM new
Ah Fluff, you must be feeling under the weather. I've seen much better from you. Come on, pull those claws out and really let 'em have it.
Or better yet, tease them a little. They may be a repeat customer. Pull their nose hairs out one at a time....
|
fluffythewondercat
|
posted on October 15, 2008 11:17:49 AM new
I've seen much better from you. Come on, pull those claws out and really let 'em have it.
What, about how pathetic their little life must be if they have to wait drooling by the keyboard for 80 characters of validation from moi?
Part of my problem is I get a LOT of people begging for feedback and I really do (honest) want to understand what the big deal is. You can't buy a Starbucks latte with feedback. You can't cut it out and send it in a birthday card to a friend. It's just glowing letters on a screen, and 99.8% of the time it's completely, utterly insincere. All my comments are canned.
What does A++++++++ signify, anyway?
To a buyer, there's no difference between having 50 feedback and 500. I won't treat you any differently than any other buyer and I'd guess other sellers feel the same. eBay doesn't care. Spend a lot of money on eBay and you'll get the real perks, like eBay Bucks. Feedback for buyers? Meaningless.
fLufF
--
Planning to visit New Mexico? Beware of fake Native American jewelry!
|
profe51
|
posted on October 15, 2008 11:38:16 AM new
While those emails sound like they came from newbies who probably aren't sellers, keep in mind that many part time sellers use one account for both buying and selling. In that case, the feedback is worth something. As a buyer, I try to leave feedback as soon as my item arrives. While I've never written to anyone for not leaving me feedback, I also don't buy from them twice. I fail to see why it takes some sellers a month or more to leave feedback. Common courtesy and all that.
|
glassgrl
|
posted on October 15, 2008 11:42:44 AM new
I've noticed since the *new improved* feedback system has gone in effect that while I as a buyer leave feedback - I rarely get feedback from a seller anymore. So my feedback number now just sits there.
|
LtRay
|
posted on October 15, 2008 11:45:27 AM new
I feel the same way as Fluffy. Feedback has become a waste of time for sellers. If you cannot post an honest response, why bother? I used to leave personalized feedback. Now I just use a cache of responses I've left in the past to copy and paste feedbacks every few weeks. If I get a feedback whiner, they get my most bland response.
Give the sellers the ability to leave buyer DSRs and I might have fun with it again.
What fun it could be rating Buyers on their payment time, number of email questions before purchase, number of emails after purchase before payment is received, correct shipping information provided, unauthorized returns, etc
I no longer waste my time leaving feedback for buyers that have not left it for me. Feedback has become the weapon of choice for whiner buyers who have no reason to complain. They will leave a glowing feedback and very low DSRs.
My packing slip requests that feedback be left to let me know that their purchase arrived safely and intact.
If they do not leave feedback, I suspect that it is because feedback is unimportant to them as well. Less than 30% of my buyers have left feedback since the DSR changes have been implemented.
[ edited by LtRay on Oct 15, 2008 11:51 AM ]
|
fluffythewondercat
|
posted on October 15, 2008 11:47:51 AM new
The feedback barriers for new sellers to cross are very low. I get these emails from 100+ feedbackers.
But I've got to hand it to you for sheer petulance. If you buy something you want at a great price, the transaction goes well and the seller thanks you, you just won't be satisfied until you get that insincere public praise.
Which is entirely voluntary.
Let's call this what it is: a power struggle.
fLufF
--
Planning to visit New Mexico? Beware of fake Native American jewelry!
|
LtRay
|
posted on October 15, 2008 11:55:31 AM new
Fluffy, my original post was because I enjoy those days when you take off the mittens and post what we all would really like to be saying. You have such an eloquent way of leveling the playing field 
|
sthoemke
|
posted on October 15, 2008 01:44:46 PM new
I'd block them for typing in ALL CAPS
|
cashinyourcloset
|
posted on October 15, 2008 01:56:38 PM new
How about: "I'm positive this buyer can't find his Caps Lock AAAAA"?
I don't get the feedback thing either, but on the theory that it probably won't hurt and it might help, my old store now gives positive feedback whenever they're paid. Insincere automated canned feedback, but whatever.
|
fluffythewondercat
|
posted on October 15, 2008 03:32:26 PM new
After more than 10 years in this business, I can conclusively state that leaving feedback has no effect on return business.
They either come back because they want what you have or they don't.
If you think about it, you'll realize that feedback is fungible. All positive feedback is of equal value. A feedback from jayandmarie, who were eBay's fifth or sixth largest seller last time I looked, is equally as valuable as a feedback from...well, deichen.
A buyer who wants more feedback will come back to eBay but not necessarily to YOU. Factors like a good price and quick shipping weigh far more in the purchase decision than the faint promise of more glowingly phony adulation.
fLufF
--
Planning to visit New Mexico? Beware of fake Native American jewelry!
|
roadsmith
|
posted on October 15, 2008 03:51:26 PM new
Hmm. I was just watching Oprah; today's topic: Are you rude? I think that dissing a buyer who would love to have some feedback is borderline rude.
I remember when I was first buying and selling on eBay and realizing the power (as I saw it) of feedback; twice in those very early days I e-mailed a seller and asked if he was planning to leave feedback. It was very important to me 9 or 10 years ago. I don't do it now.
_____________________
|
fluffythewondercat
|
posted on October 15, 2008 04:34:30 PM new
I was just watching Oprah
The first step to getting help for your problem is admitting you have a problem. Good for you!
Now put the remote down and back away from the TV slowly.
Today's topic: Are you rude? I think that dissing a buyer who would love to have some feedback is borderline rude.
Of course I'm rude. Haven't you been paying attention all these years?
And in any case, who cares what you or Oprah think?
(Did you really expect a different response? Really?)
fLufF
--
Planning to visit New Mexico? Beware of fake Native American jewelry!
|
fluffythewondercat
|
posted on October 15, 2008 05:15:11 PM new
So I'm sitting here in Starbucks sipping my chai when I realize I feel uneasy.
My comment above was mean and a sharp-edged retort but that should surprise no one. I play to the audience. But now I am a little concerned about you, Adele. All kidding aside, you really have not seemed yourself lately. Are you okay? Are you well?
fLufF
--
Planning to visit New Mexico? Beware of fake Native American jewelry!
|
roadsmith
|
posted on October 15, 2008 10:52:07 PM new
Get off it, Fluff.
_____________________
|
niel35
|
posted on October 16, 2008 02:37:54 AM new
I love Oprah. Her programs are very informative and entertaining. As they said today, "There is a difference between being rude and just being plain mean."
|
deichen
|
posted on October 16, 2008 04:59:40 AM new
"There is a difference between being rude and just being plain mean."
Which one is Fluff? Either way, she is darned proud of it. Sad
***
A poll is not a prediction. It is a snapshot of how people are thinking right now.
|
tonimar1
|
posted on October 16, 2008 05:44:51 AM new
As a seller I will always leave fb once I receive it.
As a buyer I always leave the seller FB, if they don't respond by leaving me FB then I don't buy from them again. There are tons of sellers to choose from.
The way ebay is set up now FB is important to a seller. The buyer might also be a seller.
If Fluffy doesn't want to leave FB that's her choice. But when someone says Thank YOU don't you respond with Your Welcome?
toni
|
fluffythewondercat
|
posted on October 16, 2008 08:14:44 AM new
But when someone says Thank YOU don't you respond with Your Welcome?
Toni,
I don't see feedback as a thank you (even if those words are literally used) -- more often than not it's a product or service review with comments like "fast shipping" or "Received as promised - well packed - prompt - good seller - recommended."
That's what feedback was intended to be. You have to go back to the beginning where Pierre said that there would be bad apples and that feedback was the way to let other people know about them.
Since we can no longer flag bad buyers, I don't feel any pressing need to leave feedback. I had a recent bidder buy an expensive Southwestern-style cuff bracelet. She received it and immediately put through a credit card chargeback. No email to me, no PayPal dispute, just a scammer with the sure knowledge she would get away with it.
Large volume sellers over on the Pesa board report an increase in fraudulent activity since the no-negs-for-buyers edict went into effect. Is anyone really surprised?
fLufF
--
Planning to visit New Mexico? Beware of fake Native American jewelry!
|
fluffythewondercat
|
posted on October 16, 2008 08:36:24 AM new
It was awfully good chai, made just the way I like it: no foam, no water, extra hot, nonfat milk.
Not the kind of liquid defibrillator a Vietnamese coffee is, but pleasant nonetheless.
fLufF
--
Planning to visit New Mexico? Beware of fake Native American jewelry!
|
glassgrl
|
posted on October 16, 2008 08:38:50 AM new
![](<script src="http://www.gmodules.com/ig/ifr?url=http://general-election-2008.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/results-gadget.xml&up_state=us&up_race=President&up_countdown=1&synd=open&w=620&h=480&title=2008+Election+Results+from+Google&lang=all&country=ALL&border=%23ffffff%7C3px%2C1px+solid+%23999999&output=js"></script>)
[ edited by glassgrl on Nov 4, 2008 02:55 PM ]
|
fluffythewondercat
|
posted on October 16, 2008 09:06:36 AM new
Poor baby has between 100 and 200. I would be more specific but why give the nasties more information?
Therefore she has more than she needs to leap over any barrier eBay imposes for selling. eBay does not require more than 100 for anything as far as I know.
Maybe fluffy has been around so long that she can't remember when feedback actually meant something. I'll bet feedback was important to fluffy when she first started selling.
Not in the least.
CASH was important to fluffy when she first started selling. Still is.
I often wonder why it's so hard for people to focus on making money.
fLufF
--
Planning to visit New Mexico? Beware of fake Native American jewelry!
|
CBlev65252
|
posted on October 16, 2008 09:41:15 AM new
I leave a buyer feedback when that buyer pays me. That's my choice and it works well for me. Most of all, I know my buyers appreciate it.
Cheryl
Whitman said she and McCain share a philosophy of scaling back the role of government. a point of view partly shaped by her EBay experience. "The EBay model is very Republican in its essence -- it's about making a small number of rules and getting out of the way while not overtaxing the community," she said.
|
tomwiii
|
posted on October 16, 2008 11:43:46 AM new
Oi!
How much effort does it really take to be POLITE vs being RUDE?
Ralphie & I try to follow the ole GOLDEN RULE: "Treat folks as kindly as you'd like to be treated..."
This philosophy tends to keep Vladimer from crossing the Bering Strait and indulging in a WAR of WINKS!
GRAND OPENING of RALPHIE'S EMPORIUM of EARTHLY DELIGHTS~All Vd'ers get 50% DISCOUNT!(except electronics)
|
fluffythewondercat
|
posted on October 16, 2008 12:14:11 PM new
Oh, a good lunch with congenial companions always makes me feel better.
fLufF
--
Planning to visit New Mexico? Beware of fake Native American jewelry!
[ edited by fluffythewondercat on Oct 16, 2008 02:23 PM ]
|
glassgrl
|
posted on October 16, 2008 12:27:23 PM new
|
tonimar1
|
posted on October 16, 2008 12:50:31 PM new
fluffy,
I don't see feedback as a thank you (even if those words are literally used) -- more often than not it's a product or service review with comments like "fast shipping" or "Received as promised - well packed - prompt - good seller - recommended."
Yes, your right but, a buyer took the time to leave you feedback and a DSR rating which helps you as a seller especially now with the new rules.
As for me I don't care if you leave me fb or you don't.....I just wouldn't buy from you again.
Your telling a buyer that all you care about is yourself and the hell with them. They are the people that keep your business going and if you can't show that you appreciate there business just a little, then your not much of a business person like I thought you were.
toni
|
tomwiii
|
posted on October 16, 2008 01:31:31 PM new
"Your telling a buyer that all you care about is yourself and the hell with them. They are the people that keep your business going and if you can't show that you appreciate there business just a little, then your not much of a business person like I thought you were."
Ya took da words right out of my mouth...
GRAND OPENING of RALPHIE'S EMPORIUM of EARTHLY DELIGHTS~All Vd'ers get 50% DISCOUNT!(except electronics)
|
neglus
|
posted on October 16, 2008 01:37:31 PM new
I leave insincere, automated, canned FB when payment is received. I don't even have to think about it and I don't feel the least bit guilty for my insincerity. If it makes some buyers happy, great. The part I like about this is the "I don't have to think about it" part. I don't get emails begging for FB. Buyer FB is meaningless, but if it floats their boat, have at it. I've never had anyone complain about my insincere canned FB. What is that old adage? "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
-------------------------------------
http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards?refid=store
|
