Why eBay feedback changes pissed off all their users
Posted: February 10th, 2008 | Author: alicetiara | Filed under: business | 9 Comments »EBay bans negative feedback for buyers.
EBay is finally confronting the “revenge problem” of negative feedback: almost nobody leaves negative feedback for sellers in fear of being retaliated against. I know I’ve bought from sellers who were terribly late or uncommunicative, who deserved at best neutral feedback. Instead, I just didn’t leave any feedback at all. Unsurprisingly, sellers are super pissed and are organizing a mass boycott against this and other new policies (including some shady sounding PayPal holds).
This edges up against two common themes of online communities: ownership and transparency. Who “owns” a community? Is it the company who runs it, and who invests in infrastructure, personnel, server costs, and maintenance, or is it the users, who make the community economically viable? LiveJournal and Digg have both seen very nasty fights over this issue in the last year, with users arguing that they should have a say in community policy-making, bringing us to transparency. Like it or not, online communities are usually supported by commercial structures, which replace democracy or constitutional politics with Terms of Service. These ToS can encompass everything from limiting political discourse to copyright infringement liability, and they are always tipped in favor of the company that writes them.
This is why making claims about the internet as “democratic” space are always problematic.
Powered by ScribeFire.
Just to set the record straight here, as an e-bay seller, I am not upset with e-bay. The new feedback system will update my feedback from the past year’s sales and will add to my feedback rating my return customer feedback points. Previously, feedback went back through to the beginning of time and carried everything that has transacted, only allowed any singular Ebay buyer to give you one feedback rating that counted; no matter now many purchases they have left.
When the post office increased their prices last June, our store went to their new Flat Rate envelopes & boxes and our charges for shipping are exactly what the post office charges us; we have no handling fee.
Do we have Buyer Bullies that try to extort us via the feedback – darn right we do; and we have quite a few of them blocked from purchasing from us, much to their dismay.
Currently, if YOU use PayPal to make a purchase and PayPal feels that YOU are a risk, then PayPal will be holding the money YOU pay for an item for 21 days. This will allow the Seller to Cancel the order and place YOU on their block list. WHat Seller is going to want to ship to you, knowing that the E-bay / PayPal system feels you are an AT RISK buyer?
After reading various comments on many forums, I am more concerned that ever that seller’s will not be in a position to leave neutral or negative feedback for the buyer. It is quite obvious from the comments made that there are some very vindictive people out there who can’t wait for the new rules to take place. SELLERS’S PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING: Now there is a website where you can leave neutral or negative feedback for those buyer’s who warrant it. http://WWW.VOX-POPULI-ONLINE.COM is a site where you can list your feedback about the buyer. It’s a very clean looking site, easy to navigate and it is a free service. So stop worrying about buyer’s holding you to ransom and take a look.
Today (May 1) marks the second round of seller defiance (strike/boycott) to eBay policies. While I am all for the rights of the people… I can’t help but wonder if in this global environment of the Internet these types of actions can truly be effective or for that matter even measureable. I certainly fight for people’s right to voice an opinion but in the back of my mind I can’t help but wonder to what end result?
I guess some people here don’t sell Electronics or computer equipment on ebay, because if they did, they would be mad. Instead of policing that wholesale listers and the like, ebay decided to screw all the honest sellers, like myself. People get the electronics, then take advantage of you buy claiming it doesn’t work, and refusing to send it back. And paypal does not go in favor of the seller….so screw them too. People will go to craigslist or amazon or another forum and in due time, ebay will not be as popular, you mark my word.
I am totally pi$$ed off with ebay buyers now like………….. they can totally hold you to ransom by claiming the product was damaged etc, and you haven’t got a fucking leg to stand on.
Does “it” still refer to Om ?
Mixing cocaine and vicodin….
Vicodin. Vicodin online without prescription. Order vicodin. Cheap vicodin. Generic vicodin….