posted on May 7, 2008 12:12:48 PM new
I thought I would share an email I received from SquareTrade this AM. They were very helpful in removing the negative feedback I received which I will always believe was undeserved. I guess I am now left defenseless. I am considering not leaving feedback for any buyer in the future.
------------
"Important: Monday, May 12 will be the LAST day you can file a feedback withdrawal dispute with SquareTrade.
eBay announced today that they will no longer allow feedback withdrawal, including from SquareTrade. Details and rationale were posted this morning on eBay's announcements board.
So, the last day to file a feedback withdrawal case with SquareTrade will be May 12, 2008. NO feedback withdrawal cases can be filed after this. This timing should enable us to send all appropriate feedback withdrawal notices to eBay before their cut off date.
If you subscribe to a SquareTrade service that alerts you when you receive a negative feedback, this service will also be turned off on May 12, 2008.
Over the past few years, we have successfully handled hundreds of thousands of disputes and feedback withdrawal requests, and have been honored to support your business.
Please note: this change has NO impact on any other SquareTrade services you may use, such as the SquareTrade Seal or SquareTrade Warranties and CarePlus programs. We look forward to serving you there.
Our dispute resolution service has served an important neutral 3rd party role to eBay. However, as a 3rd party, we have no control, input or comment on eBay's policy changes and any questions or concerns are best addressed with your eBay T&S or account representative.
If you have any questions or concerns that are specific to SquareTrade, please contact us at [email protected].
And again: you have only 6 days remaining until May 12, to file disputes with SquareTrade related to feedback withdrawal.
Regards,
The SquareTrade Team "
-----------------
What are your thoughts? Will you continue to leave feedback for buyers?
posted on May 7, 2008 12:28:54 PM new
I will continue to leave feedback for buyers. I don't think it is right to penalize them because of eBay's policies. Now if they leave me neg. or neutral feedbacks, that is a different matter, especially if I consider them undeserved.
posted on May 7, 2008 12:31:27 PM new
When feedback first started, it was great. You could look at your buyers and see if they were good buyers or deadbeats. The same went for sellers. Then year after year, both sellers and buyers learned how to "beat" the system. You would have sellers moving 1¢ items by the thousands and thus increasing their numbers. As for buyers, simpliest thing to do was to just get a new ID and buy away.
I have been selling for several years and have usually left feedback AFTER it was left for me. 5-10% of the time I may leave it first. Yeah, I have received negatives, some deserved...some not. Who can say if buyers are really looking at these feedback numbers or not.
I guess my biggest gripe is that both Amazon and eBay are now using the so-called negative feedback AGAINST you whether they have proof or not it is legit. You can't have this discount, you can't sell this category, you can't have this status symbol...etc. The days of just being a VENUE are long gone.
So..for me...bottom line is I will continue my routine with leaving and responding to feedback. But one thing I have committed myself to is establishing TWO other "venues" to sell products. I will continue to increase these listings DAILY! Someone mentioned WIGIX on a previous post, an interesting item they have;
CASH $$$$ prizes for the number of items you list. The first place is $1,000(that person only listed 800 items in a month)....even 5th place at $100 was only 200 items. Bill, someone like you that knows A LOT about STAMPS...you become a CATEGORY EXPERT for them and "Keep your category accurate and you get paid 1% of the category's revenue (advertising and transaction fees)."
posted on May 7, 2008 12:44:08 PM new
The only reason to leave feedback is that a rather large percentage of buyers will hound you mercilessly until you do.
Had a buyer in February. The nasty leave-me-feedback-dammit emails started a week after the transaction. I got the 30th one a few days ago and...
Well, you know what came next.
My husband said, "I thought you couldn't leave negs for a buyer any more."
posted on May 7, 2008 01:42:59 PM new
"In January we mentioned that we'd block buyers from leaving negative or neutral Feedback for 3 days for sellers "with a track record." Since January, we've made the decision to increase the wait period to 7 days and define "track record" as active PowerSellers who have been on eBay for at least 12 months."
This sucks. I think they should broaden their definition of "track record" to include the many steady sellers who are not powersellers.
How they would do that, I have no idea, but I still think this route sucks.
posted on May 7, 2008 04:32:49 PM new
"Feedback? We don't need any stinkin' Feedback!" (a'la Treasure of the Sierra Madre)
Feedback is dead. It served its uses in the early days when eBay was a smaller, friendlier place. Now it's outlived its usefulness, and eBay has effectively neutered it. It no longer can be used to provide an accurate record of transactions since all buyers get 100% positive feedback. All NPB strikes are effectively shielded from public view, as is any history of fraudulent claims via PayPal. Everything appears to be fine in eBayland, but beneath the surface is a different story...
posted on May 7, 2008 05:40:56 PM new
I think I'll just continue to leave FB as long as I get FB (positive that is)
We just can't let this worry us, after all there is nothing we can do about it anyway.
posted on May 7, 2008 06:40:41 PM new
"""After much consideration, we've made the decision to remove the Mutual Feedback Withdrawal process. The reason is that – under the new rules - it opens sellers up to extortion."""""
WHAT???
...and this won't cause MORE EXTORTION!?!?! Hmm...might be able to make more money being a buyer and extort as many sellers as possible....
posted on May 8, 2008 11:25:18 PM new
Here is my concern with the elimination of SquareTrade as a third party representative for Sellers. Presently, SquareTrade does a great job negotiating for the Seller in the removal of negative feedback. On May 12th, eBay is eliminating SquareTrade as our representative. There will be no one to act as a mediator for us when a dispute arises.
We certainly cannot expect, nor would we want eBay to fill the role of SquareTrade.
If you conducted business in the real world, you could and would appreciate someone to advocate on your behalf in customer disputes, especially those which would be publicly posted.
We will soon be denied the opportunity to clear up problems, before and after they are posted publicly on ebay. At first blush, it would seem to me that eBay might be liable for damages by limiting our ability to mediate the removal of the negative strike against our "good" business names.
